Look at the sentences in the picture. Which words are "stressed"? This means, which words do we say with higher volume, more emphasis and higher tone?

Now listen to me saying the sentences. Can you identify the words which are stressed?

The "stressed" sounds were:

name

John

work

bank

London

In English, we place stress on words which have content. These are words that really mean something, such as:

• things we can see, touch, hear or smell
• real ideas
• descriptions of things or activities

In our example:

"name" is something that identifies a person

"John" is the person's name

"work" is an activity he does

"bank" is a place

"London" is a place

These words all have real meaning, so we stress them. We give them higher volume, more emphasis, and say them with a higher tone.

Listen to the teacher talking more about these sentences now, and what it means to stress a word.

The types of words which are (generally) stressed are:

• Nouns (although not pronouns unless they are being "highlighted")
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Verbs (although not "to be" unless it is being "highlighted")
• Negative words (no, not)
• Yes/No in answers
• Wh-words in questions (Where, what)

Words which may or may not be stressed depending upon the focus of the sentence are:

• Pronouns (I, my)
• Modal verbs (could, should)
• Quantifiers (some, any)

In the next part of the lesson, there will be a video to help you practice identifying stressed words, followed by another video to help you practice saying sentences with stress correctly.

Lesson Summary

When speaking English, we emphasize certain words by stressing them. This typically involves saying these words with higher volume, more emphasis, and a raised tone. In English, we usually stress words that have content, which are words that convey meaning and significance. These include:

• Things we can see, touch, hear, or smell
• Real ideas
• Descriptions of things or activities

In a given sentence, you would stress words like "name," "John," "work," "bank," and "London" because they hold real meaning. Other types of words that are generally stressed in English are:

• Nouns
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Verbs
• Negative words (e.g., "no," "not")
• Yes/No in answers
• Wh-words in questions (e.g., "where," "what")

On the other hand, some words may or may not be stressed based on the sentence's focus:

• Pronouns
• Modal verbs
• Quantifiers

Practice is crucial for identifying and using stressed words correctly. The upcoming lessons include a video to help you identify stressed words and another video to aid in practicing how to stress words when speaking sentences.

Lesson Summary

When speaking English, we emphasize certain words by stressing them. This typically involves saying these words with higher volume, more emphasis, and a raised tone. In English, we usually stress words that have content, which are words that convey meaning and significance. These include:

• Things we can see, touch, hear, or smell
• Real ideas
• Descriptions of things or activities

In a given sentence, you would stress words like "name," "John," "work," "bank," and "London" because they hold real meaning. Other types of words that are generally stressed in English are:

• Nouns
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Verbs
• Negative words (e.g., "no," "not")
• Yes/No in answers
• Wh-words in questions (e.g., "where," "what")

On the other hand, some words may or may not be stressed based on the sentence's focus:

• Pronouns
• Modal verbs
• Quantifiers

Practice is crucial for identifying and using stressed words correctly. The upcoming lessons include a video to help you identify stressed words and another video to aid in practicing how to stress words when speaking sentences.