Word Stress and Suffixes 2

In words with the following suffixes, main stress is usually on the syllable immediately before the suffix: -ial, -ic, -ion, -ive, and -ity. 

or example:
‘editor – edi’tor-ial
‘atmosphere – atmos’pher-ic
ac’celerate – accele’rat-ion
‘instinct – in’stinct-ive
‘generous – .gene’ros-ity
di’verse – di’vers-ity

Note: In words ending -ative, stress is usually on the same syllable as in the root word.
For example:
in’vestigate – in’vestig-ative
‘speculate – ‘specul-ative

Many words with these suffixes can have stress shift.
For example:
He faces proseCUtion.   but:   He’s a PROSecution WITness.

When a word ends with one of the consonants t or s and the suffix –ion, this is how it is pronounced:

-tion is pronounced

• /tʃ ə n/ after the letter s:  suggestion, digestion

•  /ʃ ə n/ after other letters:  education, adoption

-sion is pronounced

• /ʃ ə n/ after a consonant: extension, comprehension

• /ʒ ə n/ after a vowel: decision, persuasion

-ssion is pronounced /ʃ ə n/:  admission, expression

In nouns and adjectives ending with the suffixes –ant, –ent, –ance, or –ence, stress placement depends on the spelling of the syllable before the suffix (the pre-suffix syllable).

• If the pre-suffix syllable ends with a single vowel letter (V) or a single vowel letter plus a single consonant letter (V-C), stress usually goes on the syllable before the pre-suffix syllable if there is one:

• ‘ignorant (V-C)        ‘variant (V)             ‘fraudulent (V-C)
  con’tinuance (V)     ‘reference (V-C)    ‘ambience (V)

• If the pre-suffix syllable has any other spelling, then stress is usually on the pre-suffix syllable itself:
  ap’pearance (V-V-C)  corre’spondent (V-C-C)   con’vergence (V-C-C)

• If the pre-suffix syllable ends with the letter i and the root word ends with the letter y in a stressed syllable, the stress is usually on the pre-suffix syllable:
  com’ply – com’pliance     re’ly – re’liant

Some of these words ending with the suffixes –ant, –ent, –ance or –ence have a different stress placement from the root:
ig’nore – ‘ignorant             re’fer – ‘reference

while others have the same stress placement:
con’tinue – con’tinuance          ap’pear – ap’pearance

Notice that the suffix -ment doesn’t usually change the stress pattern in the root:

a’gree – a’greement        ‘govern – ‘government

although a common exception is: ‘

advertise – ad’vertisement 

Exercises

Exercise 1
You will hear some short definitions. After each definition press ‘pause’, choose from the box and identify the word that it relates to. When you press ‘play’ again you will hear the correct answer.
Repeat it and then continue in the same way.

cooperative      prosecution      allergic      hostility
photographic    impulsive          editorial    speculation
familiarity

EXAMPLE:
Having an allergy.       __allergic__

1. __________
2. __________
3. __________
4. __________
5. __________
6. __________
7. __________
8. __________

Identify the words from the box with the correct column according to the pronunciation of -tion, -sion, or -ssion.

accommodation    celebration    combustion    comprehension
congestion    depression    digestion    erosion    exhaustion
explosion    expression    invasion    revision    suspension

Exercise 3

Identify the syllable which you think has the main stress in the following words.

resident   performance    defiant    convergence
excellence    correspondent    assistant    maintenance
coincidence    informant    acceptance   insistence
reference    applicant    significance

One of these words is an exception to the rules given above. Which is it? 

Exercise 4

Decide whether the words in exercise 3 have the same stress pattern as their root word (write S) or a different stress pattern (write D).

resident   performance    defiant    convergence

excellence    correspondent    assistant    maintenance

coincidence    informant    acceptance   insistence

reference    applicant    significance 

EXAMPLES:
resident (D) – (‘resident – re’side)
performance (S) – (per’formance – per’form)