Understanding where to place stress in English words can be confusing, especially when words are long or have different endings. In today’s NRTC English, I’ve explained how to know where to place the stress in words that end in -able, -ment, -ism, and -ly. The good news is that the root morpheme (the main part of the word) usually tells us where the stress should fall.
1. Words Ending in -able
In most words ending in -able, the stress usually falls on the syllable before the ending. That means the stress stays on the main root word.
Examples:
- Comfortable – /ˈkʌmf.tə.bəl/ → Stress is on com (from comfort)
- Manageable – /ˈmæn.ɪ.dʒə.bəl/ → Stress is on man (from manage)
- Excitable – /ɪkˈsaɪ.tə.bəl/ → Stress is on cit (from excite)
- Understandable – /ˌʌn.dəˈstæn.də.bəl/ → stress on stand (from understand)
- Regrettable – /rɪˈɡret.ə.bəl/ → stress on gret (from regret)
- Adaptable – /əˈdæp.tə.bəl/ → stress on dapt (from adapt)
- Respectable – /rɪˈspek.tə.bəl/ → stress on spect (from respect)
- Dependable – /dɪˈpen.də.bəl/ → stress on pend (from depend)
Notice that even when we add -able, the stress remains on the root verb (like manage, excite, etc.).
2. Words Ending in -ment
For most words ending in -ment, the stress stays on the root word too. The -ment ending is usually unstressed, so we pronounce it lightly.
Examples:
- Enjoyment – /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ.mənt/ → Stress is on joy (from enjoy)
- Development – /dɪˈvel.əp.mənt/ → Stress is on vel (from develop)
- Agreement – /əˈɡriː.mənt/ → Stress is on gree (from agree)
- Argument – /ˈɑːɡ.jə.mənt/ → stress on arg (from argue)
- Embarrassment – /ɪmˈbær.əs.mənt/ → stress on bar (from embarrass)
- Punishment – /ˈpʌn.ɪʃ.mənt/ → stress on pun (from punish)
- Acknowledgement – /əkˈnɒ.lɪdʒ.mənt/ → stress on know (from acknowledge)
- Commitment – /kəˈmɪt.mənt/ → stress on mit (from commit)
So again, just like with -able, the main stress falls on the root, not the ending.
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3. Words Ending in -ism
The ending -ism is usually used to form nouns from adjectives or verbs. In most cases, the stress falls on the syllable before -ism, which is part of the root.
Examples:
- Criticism – /ˈkrɪ.tɪ.sɪ.zəm/ → Stress is on crit (from critic)
- Capitalism – /ˈkæp.ɪ.təl.ɪ.zəm/ → Stress is on cap (from capital)
- Tourism – /ˈtʊə.rɪ.zəm/ → Stress is on tour
- Imperialism – /ɪmˈpɪə.ri.ə.lɪ.zəm/ → stress on pir (from imperial)
- Individualism – /ˌɪn.dɪˈvɪdʒ.u.ə.lɪ.zəm/ → stress on vidge (from individual)
- Materialism – /məˈtɪə.ri.ə.lɪ.zəm/ → stress on tir (from material)
- Racism – /ˈreɪ.sɪ.zəm/ → stress on Race (from race)
Even if the word is long, we focus the stress on the base word, and -ism just follows smoothly.
4. Words Ending in -ly
Words ending in -ly are usually adverbs formed from adjectives. The -ly ending is never stressed. The stress stays on the original adjective or root word.
Examples:
- beautifully – /ˈbjuː.tɪ.fəl.i/ – stress on beau (from beautiful)
- comfortably – /ˈkʌm.fə.tə.bli/ – stress on com (from comfortable)
- deliberately – /dɪˈlɪb.ər.ət.li/ – stress on lib (from deliberate)
- naturally – /ˈnætʃ.ər.ə.li/ – stress on nat (from natural)
- certainly – /ˈsɜː.tən.li/ – stress on cer (from certain)
- practically – /ˈpræk.tɪ.kəl.i/ – stress on prac (from practical)
- logically – /ˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl.i/ – stress on log (from logical)
- personally – /ˈpɜː.sən.ə.li/ – stress on per (from personal)
- accidentally – /ˌæk.sɪˈden.təl.i/ – stress on den (from accidental)
- professionally – /prəˈfeʃ.ən.ə.li/ – stress on fesh (from professional)
No matter how long the word is, -ly is never stressed. The stress stays on the syllable that was stressed in the root word. If you know how to say the adjective (like beautiful, natural, accidental), just add -ly lightly at the end — your stress doesn’t need to change.
All these examples confirm that when you add -ment, -ism, or -able to a word, the stress does not fall on the suffix. It falls on the most meaningful part — the root.
