Have you ever noticed that native English speakers seem to "swallow" some words while making others stand out clearly? This is sentence stress at work. Understanding which words to emphasize is essential for sounding natural and being understood.
This post is part of our Music of English series on prosody and pronunciation.
What is Sentence Stress?
Sentence stress is the pattern of emphasized and de-emphasized words in a sentence. Unlike Spanish, where each word tends to receive relatively equal emphasis, English creates a strong contrast between stressed and unstressed words.
Listen to this sentence with natural stress:
"I WANT to GO to the STORE to BUY some BREAD."
The capitalized words are stressed (louder, longer, clearer). The lowercase words are reduced (quieter, shorter, often with schwa sounds).
Content Words vs. Function Words
The key to English sentence stress is understanding two types of words:
Content Words (Usually Stressed)
Content words carry the main meaning of the sentence:
- Nouns: book, teacher, coffee, idea
- Main verbs: run, think, believe, want
- Adjectives: big, beautiful, important
- Adverbs: quickly, very, always
- Question words: who, what, where, why, how
- Negatives: not, never, no
Function Words (Usually Unstressed)
Function words provide grammatical structure but little meaning:
- Articles: a, an, the
- Prepositions: to, from, in, on, at
- Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
- Auxiliary verbs: am, is, are, was, were, have, has, do, does, will, would, can, could
- Conjunctions: and, but, or, because
- Relative pronouns: that, which, who
How Function Words Reduce
In natural speech, function words are not just quieter; they often change pronunciation completely. This is called reduction.
| Word | Full Form | Reduced Form |
|---|---|---|
| to | /tuː/ | /tə/ |
| for | /fɔːr/ | /fər/ |
| and | /ænd/ | /ən/ or /n/ |
| can | /kæn/ | /kən/ |
| have | /hæv/ | /həv/ or /əv/ |
| the | /ðiː/ | /ðə/ |
| a | /eɪ/ | /ə/ |
| of | /ɑːv/ | /əv/ |
| was | /wɑːz/ | /wəz/ |
| are | /ɑːr/ | /ər/ |
Practice Examples
Read these sentences aloud, stressing only the content words (shown in capitals):
Stress Changes Meaning
Sometimes we stress function words to change meaning or add emphasis. Compare these:
Normal Stress Pattern
"I gave the BOOK to HIM." (neutral statement)
Contrastive Stress
"I gave the book to HIM." (not to her, to HIM)
"I gave the book TO him." (I gave it, not lent it)
"I GAVE the book to him." (I definitely gave it)
"I gave the BOOK to him." (the book, not something else)
More Contrastive Stress Examples
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "SHE bought the car." | She bought it (not someone else) |
| "She BOUGHT the car." | She bought it (didn't rent or steal it) |
| "She bought THE car." | That specific car |
| "She bought the CAR." | A car (not a motorcycle or house) |
The Rhythm of English
English is a stress-timed language. This means stressed syllables occur at roughly regular intervals, regardless of how many unstressed syllables are between them.
Say these sentences and notice how they take about the same time:
- "DOGS CHASE CATS." (3 words)
- "The DOGS CHASE the CATS." (5 words)
- "The DOGS will CHASE the CATS." (6 words)
- "The DOGS will be CHASing the CATS." (7 words)
The unstressed words get compressed to fit between the regular stress beats. This is very different from Spanish, where each syllable takes roughly equal time.
Common Mistakes by Spanish Speakers
Spanish speakers often make these sentence stress errors:
1. Giving Equal Weight to All Words
Wrong: "I want to go to the store." (each word equal)
Right: "I WANT to GO to the STORE." (stress pattern)
2. Not Reducing Function Words
Wrong: "I need TO talk TO you." (full pronunciation of "to")
Right: "I NEED tə TALK tə you." (reduced "to")
3. Stressing Articles and Prepositions
Wrong: "THE book is ON THE table."
Right: "The BOOK is on the TABLE."
Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Mark the Stressed Words
Read each sentence and identify which words should be stressed:
- The meeting has been canceled.
- Can you tell me where the station is?
- I would have called if I had known.
- She is working on an important project.
Exercise 2: Read with Rhythm
Practice these sentences, keeping the stressed words at regular intervals:
- "PLEASE PASS the SALT."
- "I THINK it's going to RAIN toDAY."
- "We NEED to LEAVE in TEN MINutes."
- "The TRAIN was LATE beCause of the WEATHER."
Answers to Exercise 1
- The MEETING has been CANceled.
- Can you TELL me WHERE the STAtion is?
- I would have CALLED if I had KNOWN.
- She is WORKing on an imPORtant PROject.
Tips for Improvement
- Exaggerate at first: Make stressed words much louder and longer than normal. This helps break the habit of equal stress.
- Hum the rhythm: Before speaking a sentence, hum its rhythm (da-DA-da-DA-da). This helps you feel the stress pattern.
- Listen for reductions: Pay attention to how native speakers reduce function words in movies, podcasts, and songs.
- Record yourself: Compare your stress patterns to native speakers. Are your content words standing out enough?
Key Takeaways
- English sentences stress content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and reduce function words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries)
- Function words often change pronunciation when reduced (to → tə, and → ən)
- English has a regular rhythm based on stressed syllables
- Changing which word is stressed can change the meaning
- Spanish speakers need to practice the contrast between stressed and unstressed words
Continue the Series
Now that you understand sentence stress, learn about intonation patterns:
➡️ Next: Intonation Patterns, Rising and Falling Pitch