Speaking · Unit 2: Common mistakes
S15: Word stress: PHOtograph, phoTOgraphy
Target band 6.5 to 7
In English, every word with two or more syllables has one strong syllable. It's a little louder, a little longer and a little higher. That's word stress. Bangla stress works differently, so many of us put the stress in the wrong place. Sometimes we stress every syllable equally. When stress is wrong, even a correctly pronounced word can be hard to understand.
Why this matters
The Pronunciation criterion looks at features like word stress, sentence stress and intonation, not just individual sounds. An examiner can understand a strong accent if the stress is right. But wrong stress can make a simple word confusing.
What stress sounds like
Read these out loud. The capital letters show the strong syllable.
- PHO-to-graph
- pho-TO-gra-pher
- pho-to-GRAPH-ic
See how the stress moves? This happens with many word families in English. It's one of the trickiest parts.
Common words Bangladeshi speakers often stress wrongly
| Word | Correct stress |
|---|---|
| development | de-VEL-op-ment |
| environment | en-VI-ron-ment |
| comfortable | COM-fort-a-ble |
| interesting | IN-ter-est-ing |
| economy | e-CON-o-my |
| economic | e-co-NOM-ic |
| hotel | ho-TEL |
| career | ca-REER |
| percentage | per-CEN-tage |
| technology | tech-NOL-o-gy |
| vegetable | VEG-ta-ble |
| determine | de-TER-mine |
Some helpful patterns
These patterns aren't perfect, but they help a lot.
- Words ending in -tion and -sion: stress the syllable just before. e-du-CA-tion, de-CI-sion, in-for-MA-tion
- Words ending in -ic: stress the syllable just before. e-co-NOM-ic, sci-en-TIF-ic, ter-RIF-ic
- Words ending in -ity: stress the syllable before -ity. u-ni-VER-si-ty, a-BIL-i-ty, com-MU-ni-ty
- Words ending in -ogy and -graphy: stress the syllable before. tech-NOL-o-gy, ge-OG-ra-phy
Same spelling, different stress
Some words change stress when they change from a noun to a verb.
- a RE-cord (noun) / to re-CORD (verb)
- a PRE-sent (noun) / to pre-SENT (verb)
- an IN-crease (noun) / to in-CREASE (verb)
How to check stress yourself
Use a free online dictionary that plays audio. Look for the small mark ( ˈ ) before the stressed syllable in the pronunciation guide. Listen two or three times and copy it.
Try it yourself
Mark the stressed syllable in each word. Then check with a dictionary.
- photography
- important
- computer
- population
- necessary
Show the answers
1. pho-TOG-ra-phy 2. im-POR-tant 3. com-PU-ter 4. pop-u-LA-tion 5. NEC-es-sar-y
Honest note
Nobody learns the stress of every word. Focus on the words you'll use most in the test, especially topic words like environment, technology, education and development. Get those right, and you'll sound much clearer.
Your task today
Take 10 topic words you often use. Check their stress in a dictionary. Record yourself saying each word in a sentence.