Sentence stress

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Sentence stress

• Which words in the sentence carry stress?

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• Distinguish between
• LEXICAL WORDS
• (content words, open-class items)
• nouns
• adjectives
• adverbs
• lexical verbs
• STRUCTURAL WORDS
• (functional words, closed-class items)
• prepositions
• pronouns
• auxiliary verbs

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Placement of sentence stress

• 1 Sentence stress falls on the STRESSED SYLLABLES
  of all lexical words
• 'sort, ob'jection, re'ceive, Mc'Cartney

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Placement of sentence stress

• 1a If the stressed word also has secondary
  streses
• international, observation, quartercentenary
• show the main stress
• for long words and careful speech, show both
  stresses

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• Its an international committee
• Its a question of predestination

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Placement of sentence stress

• Stuctural words may carry sentence-stress if
  emphasised in some way
• (a) when cited How do you spell "than"?
• Compare bigger than me

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Placement of sentence stress

• Stuctural words may carry sentence-stress if
  emphasised in some way
• (b) for emphasis
• I don't think I can do it
• But I think you can do it

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Placement of sentence stress

• Polysyllabic structural words may carry
  sentence-stress
• until behind

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Placement of sentence stress

• 4 Adverbs are usually stressed, even if they are
  technically structural words
• She 'jumped 'off the 'table
• It's 'too 'late to 'change our 'minds

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Placement of sentence stress

• 5 Adverbs of position carry sentence stress
• I'm 'not 'coming 'here a'gain
• I 'left it 'over 'there

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Placement of sentence stress

• Demonstratives are stressed
• 'This 'book is 'really 'worth 'reading
• 'That's the 'stupidest i'dea I ve 'ever 'heard

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Placement of sentence stress

• Negatives are stressed
• I'm 'not 'coming 'here a'gain
• We 'can t ex'pect 'everything
• I 'hope you 'won t be an'noyed

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