Stressed and unstressed syllables

Every day, we use words to communicate with others, whether through our voice or in our writing. Each of the words we use is made up of letters that are joined into small groups called syllables. the syllableTherefore, it is each of the voice beats that we emit when pronouncing a word and there are two main types: stressed syllables and unstressed syllables.

In this lesson from a PROFESSOR, we are going to explain in detail what are stressed and unstressed syllables of the words, so that you are able to recognize them and that helps you to write well.

Index

1. What are tonic syllables
2. What are unstressed syllables
3. How to find stressed and unstressed syllables in a word
4. Examples of stressed and unstressed syllables
5. Stressed and unstressed syllables exercise
6. Solutions to the stressed and unstressed syllables exercise

stressed syllables are those that have an accent, that is, it is the place where the word gains more power and uses most of the force of our voice.

exist four types of stressed syllables and will depend on the place where they are located within the complete word:

• Aguda tonic syllables: When the force of the word falls on the last syllable of the word. For example: stroked, fork, charger, lion, etc.
• Flat or grave tonic syllables: We find them when the strength of the voice is in the penultimate syllable, that is, before the last. For example: ticket, glass, key, bag, floor, coin, etc.
• esdrújulas tonic syllables: We find these words when the strongest syllable is the one found before the flat one, that is, it has the accent on the penultimate syllable. For example: plea, bat, pale, warm, etc.
• Sobreesdrújulas tonic syllables: They are all those tonic syllables that are found before the penultimate syllable. For example: timidly, repeat it to me, weakly, answer it, etc.

At unProfesor we help you to know recognize the stressed syllable easily.

The unstressed syllables are the opposite of the previous ones, so we can say that it is about the softer syllables of the word, since they do not have the force of the word in any of its parts. These syllables are found in all words that have two or more syllables, and there may be more than one.

This means that if a word is monosyllable, will only be composed of a stressed syllable and we will not find any unstressed syllables in its structure. This is because all the force of the voice falls on the only syllable it has.

Here we tell you how to recognize unstressed syllables.

If you like identify the stressed and unstressed syllables in a word, The first thing you should do is separate it by voice blows. You can use a clap for each voice hit, to make it easier for you to separate. Let's give you some examples:

• His - Gives – Fri – Fri
• Ho – phone
• Tran – Yes- Cion
• Eat - Dor
• tro - Beak

As you can see, the force of the word is found in a particular syllable. Some of them have an accent, which will help you identify the stressed syllable at a glance, but others don't and you'll have to find where the strongest voice hit is. All words have a syllable that stands out above the rest and helps us to pronounce it correctly.

So that you can better understand this lesson, we are going to give you some Examples of words that have one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables. We have indicated the tonic syllable in bold font so that it is easier for you to identify it and we have left the unstressed in normal font. According to the location of the tonic syllable, could you tell which of them are acute, flat, esdrújulas or sobreesdrújulas?

• toI yelledline
• a B Cgivesriver
• toction
• to theboom
• todeath
• buocear
• barbaro
• barbaricdad
• camiNo
• ACsays
• goodfidude
• sweetenerranyou have
• limeass
• ACbaI cry
• ispagives
• Dogcún
• dogtar
• excelyousimo
• ECrámica
• cerdo
• financió
• colera
• crashedthetea
• gesto
• comfucking
• shortplusfurther
• hablah
• givesnes
• costea
• hurtba
• fosforum
• cross
• hiNojo
• frankcophone
• diccionariver
• hurgar
• geometrito
• andNojo
• ilimitado
• glándula
• fruncir
• lustro
• gráfica
• gonna
• monstrue
• habitaass
• libro
• natureral
• heygnaws
• light
• I neededdad
• ífraud
• madre
• onEC
• Yomoregenes
• seafil
• planta
• jurisdiction
• month
• potop
• kiitmeter
• ninedad
• thatlaugheddo
• thecreeps
• orthobutday
• rhomboidal
• maíz
• peace
• I feltwhileto
• morertir
• fishcito
• SWgives
• Ixico
• deepeneddad
• taxi
• nation
• surroundedtodo
• trabajo
• eitherxíhummock
• romanEC
• thunderco
• protectsrá
• withouttagma
• urbaNo
• rustico
• superficie
• sawgives
• yesmonkey
• tango
• Walter
• termometer
• termo
• xylophon
• threestillgulo
• urucool
• alreadytea
• seetick
• goesAC
• zanACgives

The turn has come for you to put this lesson into practice and demonstrate everything you have learned in the previous sections. In this exercise we propose a list of words for you to find the tonic syllable in each of them. As you know, all the syllables that you do not mark are unstressed. Let's go there!

• Change
• Genius
• Bravo
• Stratosphere
• stratospheric
• Donkey
• Barbarity
• Responsibility
• exceptionality
• Grammar
• Throat
• Alphabet
• Alphabet
• Kaleidoscope
• Calendar
• Vain
• Vote
• Goal scorer
• Rug
• Screen
• TRUE
• Fake
• Yellow
• Blue
• Orange
• Pineapple
• Bubble
• Underlined
• At sign

Below you will find the solutions to the previous exercise of stressed and unstressed syllables. We have marked the tonic syllable of each of the words in bold font, so all those that are not marked are the unstressed syllables. Remember not to consult this section until you have tried to find the answer yourself, so that learning is complete:

• cambio
• gechild
• bravo
• Stratafaithra
• Stratafaithrich
• boorro
• Barbarydad
• Responsibilitydad
• exceptionaldad
• Gramoreethics
• garganta
• A B Cgivesriver
• Alphababyto
• caleidoscocheep
• calengivesriver
• VanidoSW
• votetion
• hitpain
• To thefombra
• Breadtashe
• trueofro
• falseSW
• mistresslaughedI cry
• TOblue
• naranha
• Pina
• Burbuoha
• Subraalreadydo
• TOrroba

We hope this lesson has helped you understand a little better What are stressed and unstressed syllables and how are they used? If you want to continue learning a little more about this subject and become a good writer, do not hesitate to consult our section on grammar and linguistics.

If you want to read more articles similar to Stressed and unstressed syllables - for children, we recommend that you enter our category of Grammar and Linguistics.

• Rico Valdez, D. TO. (2008). Stressed syllable and stress: a cross-sectional study.
• Montolío, E. (2014). WRITING MANUAL. Barcelona: Ariel.