§1. Sentence Stress
Sentencestress is very important in English. The rhythm of sentences spoken in Englishalerts listeners to the message presented. Words or phrases important to thecontent of the message tend to be stressed, whereas words or phrases that arenot important tend to be reduced.
1.1 Sentence stress on content words
Certainwords within a sentence are given importance because of the meaning theycommunicate. These words are referred to as content words. Words with little orno meaning outside their grammatical function are usually not stressed withinthe sentence.
-Content Words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs
-Function Words: auxiliary verbs, be verbs, most pronouns, prepositions,articles Stressed syllables are pronounced longer, pitched higher, and spokenslightly louder.
1.2 Listenand Repeat
Underlinethe contentwords and say the sentence. Be sure to stress the content words.
1. Before that, I spent hours in the librarydoing research.
2. My life was changed by an unexpectedblizzard.
3. In addition, they provide counselors whohelp troubled youths with problems.
4. I believe that childhood is an integralperiod in a person's life.
5. Public schools, on the other hand, can anddo provide this setting.
6. That's more captivating and educational thanlooking at pictures or reading texts.
7. I prefer the system in which voting isoptional.
8. Instead, she believes the housing should beassigned based on need.
