spoken English Course

1. AN ASSIGNMENT ON PHONETICS
SUBMITTED TO
PROF. DOMINIC SAVIO
SUBMITTED BY
ANIL KUMAR PUDOTA (H-545)
SOME RULES REGARDING THE ACCENT IN ENGLISH
1. Words, ending in –ics, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Phonetics, phonemics, acoustics, pragmatics, semantics
2. Words, ending in –ful, usually take accent on the antepenultimate syllable.
Examples: dutiful, plentiful, beautiful, hopeful, colourful
3 Words, ending in –ness, usually take accent on the antepenultimate syllable.
Examples: Happiness, forgiveness, loveliness, usefulness, uselessness
4. Words, ending in –or, usually take accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: collector, conductor, oppressor, repressor, compressor
5. Words (having two syllables), ending in –ter, usually take accent on the penultimate
syllable.
Examples: Laughter, chapter, carter, barter, chatter
6. Words, ending in –ment, usually take accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Achievement, contentment, involvement, segment, argument
7. Words, ending in –ly, usually take accent on the antepenultimate syllable.
Examples: Certainly, purposely, tactlessly, wantonly, usually
8. Words, beginning with the prefix –ab, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: abstract, abnormal, abdicate, abject, absolute

2. 9. Words, beginning with the prefix –ap, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: appetite, applicant, apposite, apian, apiary
10. Words, ending in –ive, usually take accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Abusive, attentive, conclusive, permissive, passive
11. Words (having more than two syllables), ending in –less, usually take accent on the
antepenultimate syllable.
Examples: Bottomless, colourless, mannerless, odourless, fatherless
12. Words, ending in –age, usually take accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Adage, bandage, bondage, garbage, image
13. Words, ending in –ance, usually take accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Appliance, annoyance, appearance, attendance, performance
14. Words, ending in –ence, usually take accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Patience, competence, conscience, absence, presence
15. Words, ending in –ic, usually take accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Apologetic, pathetic, terrific, sympathetic, electric
16. Words, ending in –ical, usually take accent on the antepenultimate syllable.
Examples: Bilogical, electrical, optical, psychological, biographical
17. Words, beginning with the prefix –de, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: debit, dedicate, deficit, definite, delegate
18. Words, beginning with the prefix –ex, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: excerpt, execute, exercise, exile, exit
19. Words, ending in –ically, usually take accent on the syllable preceding the penultimate
syllable.

3. Examples: Chemically, economically, psychologically, statistically, critically
20. Words, ending in –ious, usually take accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: atrocious, ceremonious, notorious, fallacious, precious
21. Words, ending in –acy, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Democracy, autocracy, bureaucracy, theocracy, aristocracy
22. Words, ending in –phy, usually take their primary accent on the antepenultimate
syllable.
Examples: Philosophy, biography, geography, photography, choreography
23. Words, beginning with the prefix –com, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: combat, comfort, comity, comment, commerce
24. Words, beginning with the prefix –con, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: concave, concrete, convoy, consul, comfit
25. Words, ending in –ary, usually take their primary accent on the antepenultimate
syllable.
Examples: Beggary, binary, contrary, honorary, oratory
26. Words, ending in –iant, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Brilliant, jubilant, valiant, luxuriant, consonant
27. Words, ending in –ium, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Calcium, medium, premium, symposium, auditorium
28. Words, ending in –oo, usually take their primary accent on the ultimate syllable.
Examples: Bamboo, taboo, voodoo, kangaroo, shampoo
29. Words, ending in –oon, usually take their primary accent on the ultimate syllable.
Examples: Buffoon, balloon, lampoon, tycoon, maroon
30. Words, beginning with the prefix –ob, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: obdurate, oblong, obsolete, obstacle, obverse

4. 31. Words, beginning with the prefix –per, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: percept, perfidy, perish, permanent, perquisite
32. Words, ending in –ental, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Dental, parental, accidental, mental, sentimental
33. Words, ending in –ential, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Credential, prudential, essential, existential, torrential
34. Words, ending in –escence, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate
syllable.
Examples: excrescence, pubescence, quiescence, evanescence, presence
35. Words, ending in –escent, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Crescent, adolescent, iridescent, ascent, evanescent
36. Words, ending in –iety, usually take their primary accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Piety, variety, impiety, propriety, sobriety
37. Words, ending in –meter, usually take their primary accent on the antepenultimate
syllable.
Examples: Barometer, thermometer, parameter, kilometer, lactometer
38. Words, beginning with the prefix –pre, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: precedence, percept, predicate, preface, prejudice
39. Words, beginning with the prefix –pro, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: probably, problem, process, prodigy, prominent
40. Disyllabic Verbs usually take their accent on the ultimate syllable.
Examples: induce, produce, reduce, deduce, adduce
Examples: comprehend, reprehend, recommend, commend, apprehend
Examples: repose, dispose, compose, expose, impose
41. Verbs, ending in –ise or ize, are generally accented in accordance with the following
rules.
A) Disyllabic verbs are usually accented on the ending itself.

5. Examples: baptize, capsize, revise, devise, resize
B) Verbs consisting of three or four syllables are generally accented on the third
syllable from the end.
Examples: Minimize, finalize, initialize, idealize, characterize
C) Verbs consisting of five or six syllables generally carry the primary accent on the
fourth syllable from the end.
Examples: Americanize, cosmopolitanize, legitimatize, imperialize
42. Words, ending in –ogy, usually take their accent on the antepenultimate syllable.
Example: Biology, Christology, zoology, graphology, ontology
43. Words, beginning with the prefix –sub, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: subscript, subsequent, subsidy, substance, substitute
44. Words, beginning with the prefix –tory, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: Victory, directory, contradictory, valedictory, benedictory
45. Words, beginning with the prefix –im, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: immanent, immanent, impact, impetus, impulse
46. Words, beginning with the prefix –in, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: incident, increment, index, indicate, influence
47. Words, ending in –aire, usually take their primary accent on the ultimate syllable.
Examples: Doctrinaire, questinnaire, millionaire, billionaire,
48. Words, ending in –cle, usually take their accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: Article, particle, monocle, manacle, shackle
49. Words, ending in –ience, usually take their accent on the penultimate syllable.
Examples: audience, convenience, obedience, conscience, experience
50. Words, beginning with the prefix –ad, generally take the accent on the first syllable.
Examples: adage, addict, adept, adequate, adjunct