English Word Stress and Sentence Stress

English is a language with variable stress. Though many words have first-syllable stress, it can also occur with other syllables. Sentence stress is also important. In sentences many monosyllabic words are stressed more than others.

Variable word stress can be illustrated with the words photograph, photographer and photographic. Though the three words are related, they are all stressed differently. The word photograph has first-syllable stress, the word photographer has second-syllable stress and photographic has third-syllable stress.

The modal verb can is monosyllabic, In has two pronunciations, strong and weak. The strong pronunciation occurs when it is stressed and the weak pronunciation when it is unstressed.

In the sentence Yes, I can, the word can has strong stress. However, in the sentence You can sing very well, the word can is usually unstressed and pronounced with either a syllabic nasal or schwa. If the word can is stressed, the sentence sounds emphatic or as a response to a sentence such as I can't sing very well.

In sentences certain words are said with more prominence than others. Notice the stress in the following sentences:

We want to start.

We want to start the presentation.

We want to start the presentation after lunch.

We want to start the presentation after lunch, but we understand if we can't.

English stress is important both at the word level and sentence level. Many English words that may be stressed in isolation are unstressed in sentences. Words such as can have two pronunciations. The stressed pronunciation is strong, and the unstressed pronunciation is weak.