Sentence and Logical stress

Sentence and Logical stress

What is stress?

When a word or syllable is pronounced with greater force than other words in the same sentence or other syllables in the same word.

• Sentence stress is saying a word or words in a sentence louder and longer than the other words.

The basic rules of sentence stress are:

1. content words are stressed

2. structure words are unstressed

3. the time between stressed words is always the same

Content words are the key words of a sentence. They are the important words that carry the meaning or sense real content.

Structure words are not very important words. They are small, simple words that make the sentence correct grammatically.

Sentence stress examples:

• Have you seen the new film?
• What did he say to you in the garden?
• He’s had a heart attack.
• How long you going for?

Sentence stress

Normal

Logical

Emphatic

Normal stress

• Normal is used to arrange the sentence phonetically, to single a nuclear of the centre of the utterance.
• Example: I want a blue dress

Logical stress

• Gives special prominence to a new element in a sentence or an intonation group. The word which is singled out by the logical stress is the most important in the sentence.
• Example: She spoke to him yesterday

Emphatic stress

• Emphatic stress increases the effort of expression. It may strengthen the stressed word making it more prominent. Emphatic stress is a powerful expressive means. It is the highest degree of logical and emotional prominence of words in a sentence.
• Example: Tammy’s girlfriend is always stunning

Read these sentences with their stress!!!

The kids are at the park.

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Why aren’t you doing your homework?

He bought a red car for his daughter.

She does not know the answer.

We aren’t sure.

They’ll ask the teacher for help.

She is going to study tonight.

I can speak French.

I can’t speak Japanese.

The lesson is over!

Thank you for your attention