Sentence StressSentence Stress

And And SuperSuper Stress Stress

Word Stress & Sentence Stress

GuaranteeHoweverunderstand

Can you see?Is he clever?I’m in the band.

Notice the similarity between word stress and sentence stress?

Word Stress & Sentence Stress

GuaranteeHoweverunderstand

Can you see?Is he clever?I’m in the band.

Sentences have peaks and valleys just like words do.

Some words are longer; others are shorter.

Just like stressed syllables, key words have the following

features:LongerLouderHigherClearer

Which words carry the meaning?Circle them

Do you like the picture on your passport?

Did you take the test for a driver’s license yet?

The Students pay a lot of money for their books.

The painter is coming. He’s planning to retire next year.

Notice the pattern

Content words Nouns Main Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Question words

Function words Articles: the a an Prepositions The verb to be Auxiliary verbs: can,

will, have, do Pronouns Conjunctions: and,

but, so

Basic Rule

Content words are stressed;

Function words are reduced.

Use a rubberband to feel the difference

Place it between your thumbs and pull on the key words

Be careful!

English is stress timed,

Not syllable timed

Stretch out content words, and squeeze in unstressed words

Bird eat worms TheThe birds eat worms TheThe birds eat thethe worms TheThe birds willwill eat thethe worms TheThe birds willwill havehave eaten thethe worms..

Read all sentences in the same amount of time.

Stretch and Squeeze

Soup and salad, please I’ll have soup and a salad, please. I’ll have a bowl of soup and the Caesar

salad, please.

Name?What’s your name?What’s your first name?

Meeting?When’s the meeting?What time is the meeting?What time will the meeting take place?

We need to visit the school.We need to visit the school’s teacher.We need to visit our son’s school’s

teacher tomorrow.

Tips to save energyHere are some tips to save energyUse compact fluorescent light bulbs.Turn off your computer and monitor

when not in use.Lower the thermostat on your hot water

heater to 1200F.Look for the Energy Star label on home

appliances and products.

Practice stretching and reducing with everyday

phrases

Also use easy reading material to practice.

Super Stress!Super Stress! To help your

listeners focus on what you’re saying, use Super Stress: extra emphasis that is even higher, louder, clearer, and

l o n g e r than regular stress.

When to use Super Stress:

Emphasize contrasts

The meeting is today, not tomorrowTransition words

However, first, moreover, thereforeNew Information

First we’ll discuss energy. Then, we’ll look at ways to reduce energy use.

Strong emotion

I hate cold weather!As necessary to express agreement,

disagreement, misunderstanding, surprise or clarification.

I agree!

Use sheet music to plot your sentences

Level 1= end of statements Level 1= end of statements or wh/how questionsor wh/how questions

Level 2 and 3 = normal Level 2 and 3 = normal speechspeech

Level 3 = phrasal stress and Level 3 = phrasal stress and yes/no question endingsyes/no question endings

Level 4 = super stress Level 4 = super stress (emphasis)(emphasis)

Plot these sentences

What’s your name?My name is Cara Fu.Would you like some tea? Yes, thank you. How do you like the weather?I love it!

Internalize the music

And you’ll be indistinguishable from

Americans!