English Pronunciation

Stress tells the listener where to listen

English words of more than one syllable have one syllable that is stronger than the others. Word stress in English is that pattern. "REcord" as a noun and "reCORD" as a verb are the same letters with the strength in a different place, and listeners use that difference.

In a sentence, the words that carry new information are stronger, and the small grammar words are quicker and lighter. If every word is equally strong, the sentence is a flat list of items and the point gets lost.

The voice rises, falls, and joins words

Intonation in English is the melody. A finished statement usually falls at the end. A yes-no question often rises. A list rises on each item and falls on the last, which tells the listener the list is over. Getting the words right and the melody wrong can still confuse, because the melody says whether you are asking, insisting, or done.

Connected speech in English is the other half. In a phrase, the end of one word runs into the start of the next. "Next stop" does not have a clean gap. Learners who pronounce each word as if it stood alone are clear at first and then hard to follow at a normal pace, because listeners expect the joins.

What listeners stumble on

Listeners lose the word when the strong syllable is in the wrong place, or when a sentence has no light words and no joins. Both are more damaging than a single vowel that is slightly off.

Not: I will preSENT the preSENT. Use: I will preSENT the PRESent. The verb stresses the second syllable. The noun stresses the first.

Not: And. Then. I. Went. Home. Use: And then I went home. The small words stay light and join the stressed "went" and "home".

Not: You're coming. Use: You're coming? The same words ask a question when the voice rises at the end.

What to work on first

Start with the stress of the words you already use, then the fall of a statement and the rise of a question, then the way common phrases join. A perfectly isolated word that you cannot place in a sentence is less useful than a slightly rough phrase a listener can follow.

1. Mark the strong syllable in the twenty words you say most.
2. Say statements with a fall and yes-no questions with a rise.
3. Practice a few everyday phrases as one piece, not as separate words.
4. Record a short talk and listen for words that lost their stress.

Absolute Beginner

• Intonation in yes/no questions The rise that makes a statement a question.
• Rhythm in short sentences Which words are strong and which disappear.
• Saying the letters of the alphabet Each letter by its English name.
• The -s ending on plurals The three ways -s is said.
• The sounds /iː/ and /ɪ/ The long and short i that separate many words.
• The sounds /p/ and /b/ A contrast many first languages do not make.
• The th sounds The sound English writes as th, and what it is not.
• Word stress in two-syllable words Which half of a short word is louder.

Beginner

• can and can't with /ə/, /æ/, and /ɑː/ How can weakens and can't does not.
• Hearing numbers accurately Telling -teen from -ty when it matters.
• Irregular verb pronunciation Hearing and saying the past forms that do not take -ed.
• Plural endings — /z/ and /s/ Which plural takes a buzz and which a hiss.
• Regular past simple endings -ed as /t/, /d/, and /ɪd/.
• Sentence rhythm Stressing the words that carry meaning and weakening the rest.
• Sentence rhythm and polite intonation Sounding polite rather than abrupt when you ask.
• The alphabet Saying and hearing letters, and spelling aloud.
• The sound /ɒ/ and silent consonants Short o, and the letters you do not say.
• The sound /ð/ and sentence rhythm Voiced th, and the beat of a short sentence.
• The sound /ɜː/ and other vowels The long central vowel.
• The sound /θ/ Unvoiced th.
• The sounds /ɑː/ and /ɔː/, and linking Two long vowels, and joining words together.
• The sounds /dʒ/ and /g/ Soft and hard g.
• The sounds /dʒ/, /tʃ/, and /ʃ/ Three consonants learners routinely swap.
• The sounds /h/, /aɪ/, and /iː/ Three sounds that carry the first words you learn.
• The sounds /ɪ/, /əʊ/, /s/, and /ʃ/ Short i against the o diphthong, and s against sh.
• The sounds /ɪə/ and /eə/ Two diphthongs that sound alike to most learners.
• The sounds /j/ and /juː/ The y sound at the start of a word.
• The sounds /ʊ/, /uː/, and /ŋ/ Short and long u, and the -ing ending.
• The sounds /ʊə/, /s/, and /k/ Sounds that come up in prices and shopping.
• The sounds /ʌ/, /æ/, and /ə/ Three short vowels that decide whether a word is understood.
• The sounds /w/ and /v/, rhythm and linking Two consonants often merged, in connected speech.
• The sounds /w/, /h/, /eə/, and /aʊ/ Question words and the sounds inside them.
• Third person -es and sentence rhythm The extra syllable, and where the stress lands.
• Vowel sound review Pulling the level's vowels together.
• was and were in connected speech Their weak forms, and when they are stressed.

Elementary

• Consonant groups Clusters English allows and learners break up.
• Final -s and -es The three ways a plural or third-person ending sounds.
• Irregular past participle sounds Saying the third form accurately.
• Linking Joining the end of one word to the start of the next.
• Long and short vowel sounds The pairs that change a word's meaning.
• Past simple verb sounds Hearing a past form as it goes by.
• Regular past -ed endings -ed as /t/, /d/, and /ɪd/.
• Saying the Its two pronunciations, and which one goes where.
• Sentence stress Which words in a sentence get the beat.
• Silent letters The letters that are written but not said.
• The alphabet and sentence stress Spelling aloud, and stressing the words that matter.
• The letter h When it is pronounced and when it is silent.
• The schwa and the consonants /tʃ/, /ʃ/, /dʒ/ The most common vowel, and three easily confused consonants.
• The sound /j/ and giving opinions The y sound, and the intonation of an opinion.
• The sound /ŋ/ The -ing ending.
• The sound /ʌ/ and the letter o When o is not the sound you expect.
• The sounds /aɪ/, /ɪ/, and /iː/ Three vowels learners routinely merge.
• The sounds /ð/ and /θ/, and saying the date Voiced and unvoiced th, in use.
• The sounds /eə/ and /ɪə/ Two diphthongs that sound alike.
• The sounds /ɜː/ and /ə/ Two central vowels, one stressed and one not.
• The sounds /ʃ/ and /ə/ with linking Connected speech in ordinary phrases.
• The weak form of to How to almost disappears before a verb.
• Third person -s The ending only he, she, and it take.
• Understanding connected speech Hearing where one word ends and the next begins.
• Vowel sounds and word stress The vowels English runs on, and which syllable carries a word.
• Word stress in longer words Finding the strong syllable in a longer word.

Pre-Intermediate

• Contractions 'll and won't Producing and hearing the contracted future forms.
• Diphthongs The two-part vowel sounds and the spellings that signal them.
• Double consonants in spelling and sound Why a doubled letter is one sound, and what it signals about the vowel.
• Final -s and -es — /s/, /z/, and /ɪz/ Choosing the right ending sound on third-person verbs and plural nouns.
• Homophones Words that sound the same but are spelled differently.
• Intonation in wh- questions Falling intonation on wh- questions, and stress on the question word.
• Linking words together Joining a final consonant to a following vowel in connected speech.
• Pronouncing used to and didn't use to The reduced pronunciation of these past-habit forms.
• Reading aloud with natural phrasing Grouping words, pausing at punctuation, and keeping the rhythm.
• Regular past endings — /t/, /d/, and /ɪd/ Pronouncing -ed correctly after different final sounds.
• Sentence stress and rhythm Stressing the information words and weakening everything else.
• Silent letters and final silent e Words where a written letter is not pronounced at all.
• Stress on prepositions in phrases When a preposition is weak and when it carries stress.
• The -ing ending and the letter o Pronouncing -ing clearly, and the common sounds of the letter o.
• The consonant sounds /ð/ and /θ/ Voiced and unvoiced th.
• The consonant sounds /ʃ/, /tʃ/, and /dʒ/ Distinguishing three consonants that are easily confused.
• The English alphabet — letter names and sounds Grouping the letters by their vowel sound and spelling words aloud.
• The letter g — /g/ and /dʒ/ Predicting the hard and the soft sound of g from the spelling.
• The letter i The main sounds this vowel spells, and when each one appears.
• The letters c and ch Predicting /k/, /s/, /tʃ/, and /ʃ/ from the spelling.
• The letters ea The main sounds this vowel pair spells.
• The letters y and j Distinguishing /j/ and /dʒ/ in common words.
• The vowel sound /ɔː/ Recognizing the spellings that produce this long vowel.
• The vowel sounds /e/, /əʊ/, and /ʌ/ Telling apart three vowels that learners often merge.
• The vowel sounds /ə/ and /ɜː/ Hearing the short unstressed schwa against the long stressed vowel.
• The vowel sounds /ʊ/ and /uː/ Contrasting the short and the long back vowel.
• The weak form of to and linking Reducing to before an infinitive and linking it to the verb.
• Weak forms of was and were Reducing was and were in connected speech, and stressing them in short answers.
• Word stress in two- and three-syllable words Finding and marking the strong syllable in a word.
• Word stress in two-syllable verbs Where the stress falls in verbs of two syllables.

Intermediate

• Intonation in question tags Rising to ask, falling to check.
• Linking, and the spellings ough and augh Joining words, and two spellings that defeat everyone.
• Regular and irregular past participles Saying the third form accurately.
• Sentence rhythm and the weak form of have How have almost disappears in perfect forms.
• Sentence stress and word stress Which words, and which syllables, carry the beat.
• Short and long vowel sounds The pairs that change meaning.
• Silent consonants Letters written but not said.
• The letter c and sentence stress Hard and soft c, in connected speech.
• The letter s and used to When s is /s/, /z/, or /ʃ/, and the reduced past-habit form.
• The letter u The several sounds this vowel spells.
• The letters ai The sounds this pair spells.
• The schwa and the two pronunciations of the The most common vowel, and when the changes.
• The sounds /ɔː/ and /ɜː/ Two long vowels learners merge.
• The sounds /ʃ/, /dʒ/, and /tʃ/, and linking Three consonants, in connected speech.
• The sounds spelled o and or Two spellings that cover several sounds.
• Word stress Finding the strong syllable in a longer word.

Intermediate Plus

• Consonant clusters Groups English allows, and how learners break them.
• Homographs Same spelling, different sound and meaning.
• Regular past -ed endings and sentence rhythm The three past endings, in connected speech.
• Sound review Pulling the level's sounds together.
• Stress on be, do, and have When an auxiliary is weak and when it is stressed.
• The endings /s/, /z/, and /ɪz/ Which ending a plural or third person takes.
• The letter r and final -r When r is pronounced and how it colors a vowel.
• The sounds /aɪ/ and /eɪ/ Two diphthongs learners merge.
• The sounds /w/, /v/, and /b/ Three consonants that swap in many first languages.
• Vowel sounds The full set, and the pairs that are confused.
• Vowel sounds and sentence rhythm Vowel quality inside the beat of a sentence.
• Word pairs joined with and fish and chips, back and forth — the reduced and.

Upper-Intermediate

• Changing stress on nouns and verbs record and record, present and present.
• Intonation and sentence rhythm The tune and the beat of a sentence together.
• Intonation for showing interest Sounding engaged rather than flat.
• Irregular past forms and sentence rhythm Saying past forms inside connected speech.
• Linked phrases Phrases that run together as one unit.
• Pausing and sentence stress Where to break, and what to emphasize.
• Sentence rhythm and intonation Rhythm and tune in longer stretches.
• Stress in word families How stress shifts across a family of related words.
• The sounds /s/ and /z/ Voiced and unvoiced, in endings and elsewhere.
• The sounds /ʃ/, /dʒ/, /tʃ/, and /k/ Four consonants that decide whether a word lands.
• The weak form of have How have reduces in perfect and past-modal forms.
• Word stress and intonation Where the stress falls, and what the tune adds.
• Word stress in three- and four-syllable adjectives Longer adjectives, and their stress patterns.
• Word stress with prefixes and suffixes How an affix moves the stress.
• Words taken from other languages Loanwords, and how English says them.

Advanced

• Auxiliary verbs and to in connected speech How they weaken, and when they do not.
• Foreign words in English Loanwords, and how English pronounces them.
• Identifying attitudes through intonation Hearing stance in the tune.
• Intonation and linking in exclamations The tune of surprise and emphasis.
• Intonation in cleft sentences Placing the focus with the voice.
• Linking in short phrases Phrases that run together as a unit.
• Main and secondary stress Longer words carry two beats, not one.
• Sound and spelling relationships The patterns behind English spelling.
• The ending -ure How this suffix is actually said.
• The rhythm of English Stress-timing, and what it does to unstressed syllables.
• The schwa The most common vowel in the language.
• The sounds /æ/ and /ʌ/ Two short vowels routinely merged.
• Using a dictionary for pronunciation Reading the phonemic script and the stress marks.
• Word stress with suffixes How a suffix moves the stress.
• Words with silent syllables Syllables that disappear in natural speech.

Advanced Plus

• Acronyms and initialisms Which are spelled out and which are said as words.
• Binomials The stress and rhythm of fixed pairs.
• Consonant clusters with s The clusters that defeat many first languages.
• Contractions Where English contracts, and where it must not.
• Contrastive stress Stressing the word that carries the contrast.
• Reading aloud Phrasing, pausing, and pace in continuous text.
• Sentence intonation with adverbs How an adverb changes the tune.
• Short and long vowels The contrasts that survive at speed.
• Stress and intonation The two together, over longer stretches.
• Stress and intonation in long numbers Saying figures so they are heard correctly.
• Stress in multi-syllable adjectives Longer adjectives and their stress patterns.
• Understanding an accent Following a speaker whose accent is unfamiliar.
• Verb and noun word stress, and stressed articles record and record; when a and the take stress.
• Vowel sounds and spelling The relationship, and where it breaks down.
• Words with two pronunciations Same spelling, two accepted sayings.

Proficiency

• Accents across the English-speaking world Following, and placing, an unfamiliar accent.
• Connected speech at natural speed What happens to words when nobody slows down.
• Intonation and implied meaning The tune that changes what a sentence means.
• Loanwords and proper nouns Saying borrowed words and names as English says them.
• Reading aloud with interpretation Reading a text so its meaning survives.
• Stress for contrast and emphasis Choosing the word that carries the weight.
• Voice, pace, and pausing in delivery Holding an audience with silence as much as sound.

Frequently asked questions

Guides by topic

• Word stress in English
• Connected speech in English
• Intonation in English

Related learning areas

• English

Questions

• All questions in this subject

Teachers

• Christopher Huntley
• Robert Salo
• Andrie Oberholzer
• Minnette Oberholzer
• Mary Huntley
• Jasmina

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