⏱ 5 Minutes · A2/B1
📖 From Experience
My first week in Sydney, I said reCORD when I meant the noun. My colleague said REcord and I thought he was pronouncing the same word. He was. In English, stress changes meaning — and it changes whether people understand you at all.
📚 The Rule
English word stress is fixed — it doesn’t shift based on sentence speed. But it CAN change by word class:
| Noun | Verb |
|---|---|
| REcord · PREsent · CONduct · REfuse | reCORD · preSENT · conDUCT · reFUSE |
📚 Stress in Multi-syllable Words
- -tion / -sion words: stress the syllable BEFORE the ending — eduCAtion, inforMAtion
- -ic words: stress before -ic — eCOnomic, phoNEtic
- -ly words: keep the stress of the root — NAtural → NAturally
✏️ Your Turn
Mark the stressed syllable (use CAPITALS):
- photograph / photographer / photographic
- economy / economic / economically
- present (noun) / present (verb)
💡 Check Answers
- PHOtograph · phoTOgrapher · photoGRAPHic
- eCONomy · ecoNOMic · ecoNOMically
- PREsent (noun) · preSENT (verb)
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