Category: Basic Foundations

Sentence Stress

Learn how to stress important words in sentences to communicate effectively and sound natural.

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What is Sentence Stress?

Sentence stress is the pattern of stressed and unstressed words in a sentence. We stress content words (important words) and reduce function words (grammar words).

Content Words (STRESSED)

These words carry the main meaning:

  • Nouns: dog, book, teacher, city
  • Main Verbs: run, eat, study, work
  • Adjectives: big, beautiful, important
  • Adverbs: quickly, always, never
  • Question Words: what, where, when, why
  • Negative Words: not, never, don't

Function Words (unstressed)

These words are grammatical and less important for meaning:

  • Articles: a, an, the
  • Prepositions: to, in, at, on, for
  • Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we
  • Auxiliary Verbs: is, are, was, have, can
  • Conjunctions: and, but, or, because

Examples

Capital letters = stressed words

  • "I WANT to GO to the STORE." (want, go, store = stressed)
  • "She's READING a BOOK in the GARDEN." (reading, book, garden = stressed)
  • "WHAT are you DOING toMORrow?" (what, doing, tomorrow = stressed)

Changing Meaning with Stress

Stressing different words changes the meaning:

  • "I didn't say he stole the money" (someone else said it)
  • "I didn't SAY he stole the money" (I implied it)
  • "I didn't say HE stole the money" (someone else stole it)
  • "I didn't say he stole the MONEY" (he stole something else)

Practice Tips

  1. Listen to native speakers and notice which words are louder
  2. Practice reducing function words (say them faster and quieter)
  3. Exaggerate stress at first, then make it more natural