UFC – Suprasegmental Phonology exercises (Word and Sentence Stress) 1

Prof. Dr. Ronaldo Lima Jr

A. How many syllables do these words have?

1. furniture ________ 9. police __________
2. brought _________ 10. grandmother _____
3. blackboard ______ 11. impossible ______
4. examination _____ 12. electricity _______
5. remember _______ 13. rabbit __________
6. collect _________ 14. directions _______
7. anybody ________ 15. good-bye _______
8. please __________ 16. contribute_______

B. In each line, four of the words have the stress pattern shown, and one has a different pattern. Underline
the odd one out.

1. ◦ ○ above, chicken, prepare, guitar, correct

2. ○ ◦ under, dirty, handsome, Japan, reason
3. ◦ ○ ◦ exciting, tomorrow, November, injection, president
4. ○ ◦ ◦ appointment, popular, yesterday, politics, sensitive
5. ◦ ◦ ○ ◦ unemployment, competition, supermarket, information, immigration

C. How many syllables do these words have?

1. economics ____ 9. diplomat ____
2. Chinese ____ 10. Arabic ____
3. August ____ 11. Italian ____
4. accountant ____ 12. September ____
5. Morocco ____ 13. July ____
6. biology ____ 14. Russia ____
7. photographer ____ 15. Germany ____
8. chemistry ____ 16. Brazilian____

D. Use the words in part I to complete the conversations below. Choose a word that matches
the stress pattern shown.

1. What does she do ?

◦ ○ ◦ She’ s a(n) ________________.
2. When are you going on vacation?
○ ◦ In __________ .
 UFC – Suprasegmental Phonology exercises (Word and Sentence Stress) 2
Prof. Dr. Ronaldo Lima Jr

3. I really liked history in school.

◦ ○ ◦ ◦ My favorite subject was ___________.

4. Do you speak Spanish?

◦ ○ ◦ No, but I know some ___________.

5. Where are you flying to?

◦ ○ ◦ First to France and then to __________.

E. Transcribe the following words, marking its primary stress.

Example: about 

1. after ______________ 16. measure ______________

2. another ______________ 17. mistake ______________

3. between ______________ 18. mother ______________

4. body ______________ 19. often ______________

5. color ______________ 20. receive ______________

6. correct ______________ 21. remember ______________

7. even ______________ 22. service ______________

8. exit ______________ 23. something ______________

9. family ______________ 24. sometime ______________

10. forget______________ 25. story ______________

11. general ______________ 26. thousand ______________

12. hundred ______________ 27. together ______________

13. important______________ 28. understand______________

14. letter ______________ 29. visit ______________

15. many ______________ 30. without ______________

 UFC – Suprasegmental Phonology exercises (Word and Sentence Stress) 3
Prof. Dr. Ronaldo Lima Jr

F. Underline the stressed syllable of the words below.

1. Coordinator 22. Supervision

2. Exercise 23. Motivation
3. Supervisor 24. Decadent
4. Teenagers 25. Reticent
5. Necessary 26. Maintenance
6. Everything 27. Complacent
7. Adjective 28. Malignant
8. Anybody 29. Control
9. Television 30. Email
10. Vocabulary 31. Percentage
11. Atmosphere 32. Definitive
12. Disorganized 33. Qualify
13. Telephone 34. Heretic
14. Distributed 35. Aerobics
15. Paragraph 36. Canoe
16. Contributed 37. Athlete
17. Intermediate 38. Utensil
18. Dictionary 39. Eligible
19. Memorize 40. Exquisite
20. Anything 41. Retina
21. Development 42. Hospitable

G. Mark the correct stress in the boldface words in each sentence:

1. Please record the record.

2. She was completely competent.
3. We project that the project will be good.
4. The Sheik was fifty with fifteen wives!
5. His hairline began receding recently.
6. The teacher was content with the content of the report.
7. He objects to the objects.
8. I mistrust Mister Smith.
9. She will present you with a present.
10. I suppose supper will be served.
 UFC – Suprasegmental Phonology exercises (Word and Sentence Stress) 4
Prof. Dr. Ronaldo Lima Jr

H. Read the following dialog and mark the stress of the boldface words.

Michael - Welcome to the annual meeting of the Perry Produce Company. Does everyone
remember our motto?
All – Yes. “We produce the best produce!”
Michael – Thomas, do you think there will be an increase in profits next year?
Thomas – Yes, Michael. We will increase our profits. Progress is our goal.
Michael – Do you project having a new market?
Thomas – Yes, Our latest project is the import of exotic fruit.
Michael – Really! What will we import?
Thomas – Pineapple from Hawaii and dates from the Sahara Desert.
Michael – Did you say desert or dessert? I love desserts!
Thomas – Ok, Mike. I’m so content with the content of this meeting, I’ll treat you to some
fresh fruit.
Michael – Please, Tom, no more fruit! Health Digest says fruit is hard to digest. I’ll have
strawberry ice cream!

I. Underline the syllable that receives primary stress.

Example: collecting

1. themselves 6. president
2. birthday 7. compound
3. engineer 8. completely
4. September 9. adjective
5. Saturday 10. telephone

J. Read the following words and circle the one word in each group that has a
different stress pattern than the others:

1. connect control contain constant

2. agent annoy allow agree
3. protect program pronoun protein
4. token toaster today total
5. supper sunken suffer support

K. Circle the number of the stressed syllable:

1. Keep a record of your expenses.

1 2
2. The convict escaped from jail.
1 2
3. The police don’t suspect anyone.
1 2
4. The student will present a speech.
1 2
5. The present was not wrapped.
1 2
6. The invalid was in the hospital.
1 2 3
 UFC – Suprasegmental Phonology exercises (Word and Sentence Stress) 5
Prof. Dr. Ronaldo Lima Jr

L . What do the different word stresses mean?

1. I always use
a. cold CREAM. =__________________________
b. COLD cream. =__________________________

2. My brother is a successful
a. head DOCTor.=__________________________
b. HEAD doctor. =__________________________

3. I’ve always wanted a

a. green HOUSE. =__________________________
b. GREEN house. =__________________________

4. Be careful with that

a. yellow JACKet. =__________________________
b. YELlow jacket. =__________________________

M. Notice the stress pattern in the chart, then underline the stressed syllable of
the words below.

NOUN / ADJ. ADJ + NOUN COMPOUND NOUN

It’s chocolate.
It’s a cake. It’s a chocolate cake. It’s a pancake.
It’s a pan.
It’s a nail.
It’s a finger. It’s a short nail. It’s a fingernail.
It’s short.
It’s a book.
It’s good. It’s a phone book.
It’s a good book.
It’s a phone. It’s a book case.
It’s a case.

a) It’s a nice watch. d) It’s the backbone.

b) It’s a wristwatch. e) It was an expensive glass.

c) It’s the back door. f) It’s a clean cup.

 UFC – Suprasegmental Phonology exercises (Word and Sentence Stress) 6
Prof. Dr. Ronaldo Lima Jr

g) Look at that bookstore. n) That’s a shiny star.

h) I want a hot bath. o) It’s a wineglass.

i) It’s a cold fish. p) This is a sharp knife.

j) It’s a baby alligator. q) Look at that large store.

k) It’s a baby bottle. r) It’s a coffee cup.

l) I want a hot tub. s) It’s a goldfish.

m) This is a steak knife. t) He’s a movie star.

N. Underline the stressed words in the utterances below.

1. in a moment
2. to tell the truth
3. Silence is golden!
4. Honesty is the best policy.
5. A penny saved is a penny earned.

O. Stressing words to clarify or change meaning.

Sometimes a speaker wants his or her sentence to convey a special

meaning which it wouldn’t have in the written form. This can be done by
stressing a specific word in order to call attention to it. The word that
receives the stress depends on the personal motive of the speaker.

Example A: “I bought ten ties.” (I wasn’t given the ties; I bought them.)
Example B: “I bought ten ties.” (I didn’t buy shirts; I bought ties.)

Mark the stress in the questions according to the stress in the responses:

1. Who likes candy? Sam likes candy.

2. What does Sam like? Sam likes candy.
3. Is that his car? No, that’s her car.
4. Will she stay? No, she’ll leave.
5. Where are you going? I’m going home.
6. Who’s going home? I’m going home.
7. When are you going home? I’m going home now.
8. Did Mary buy a book? No, she bought a pen.
9. Did Mary buy a book? No, Sue bought a book.
10. Did Mary buy a book? No, Mary borrowed a book.
 UFC – Suprasegmental Phonology exercises (Word and Sentence Stress) 7
Prof. Dr. Ronaldo Lima Jr

Notice that the English language tends to stress content words, and
reduce unstressed words. Also, notice how the verb might be considered
a content or a function word.

Bob sees Betty. He sees her.

Betty knows Bob. She knows him.
Ann and Ed call the kids. They call them.
Jan sells some apples. She sells some.
Bill and I fix the bikes. We fix them.

The dogs eat the bones. They eat them.

The dogs are eating the bones.
The dogs will eat the bones.
The dogs would have eaten the bones.
The dogs shouldn’t have eaten the bones.
The dogs might have eaten the bones.
They are eating them.
They will eat them.
They would have eaten them.
They shouldn’t have eaten them.
They might have eaten them.

P. Underline the stressed word(s) in the sentences below.

a) The girls have a choice. j) Just do it.

b) They like it. k) Go for it!
c) The tourists went shopping. l) He lived there.
d) The boys need some help. m) He works in one.
e) They bought it. n) Bob and I called you and Bill.
f) They play with them. o) You and Bill read the news.
g) Robert likes English. p) Marty wants a car.
h) Children play with toys. q) I’ll tell her.
i) She likes it. r) She’ll do it.