Unit 12. Ac'celerate and Ac,cele'ration.

Suffixes and Word Stress (2)

Unit 12; Part A

In words with the following suffxes, main stress is usually on the syllable immediately before the suffix: -ial, -ic, -ion, -ive, and -ity. For example:

	'editor - edi'torial ac'celerate - ac,cele'ration 'generous - ,gene'rosity	'atmosphere - ,atmos'pheric 'instinct - in'stinctive di'verse - di'versity
Note: In words ending -ative, stress is usually on the same syllable as in the root word. For example:
	*in'vestigate - in'vestigative*	*'speculate - 'speculative*
Many words with these suffixes can have stress shift (see Unit 10). For example:
	He faces proseCUtion.	but: He's a PROSecution WITness.

When a word ends with one of the consonants t or s and the suffx -ion, this is how they are pronounced:
-tion is pronounced    /t∫∂n/ afer the letter s: suggestion, digestion
                                /∫∂n/after other letters: education, adoption
-sion is pronounced   /∫∂n/ after a consonant: extension, comprehension
                              /3∂n/after a vowel: decision, persuasion
-ssion is pronounced /∫∂n/ admission, expression

Unit 12; Part B

In nouns and adjectives ending with the suffxes -ant, -ent, -ance, or -ence, stress placement depends on the spelling of the syllable before the suffix (the pre-suffix syllable).

If the pre-suffx syllable ends with a single vowelletter (V) or a single vowel letter plus a single consonant letter(VC), stress usually goes on the syllable before the pre-suffixsyllable if there is one:
	*'ignorant (VC)* *con'tinuance (V)*	*'variant (V)* *'reference (VC)*	*'fraudulent (VC)* *'ambience (V)*
If the pre-suffx syllable has any other spelling, then stress is usually on the pre-suffx syllable itself:
	*ap'pearance (VVC)*	*,corre'spondent (VCC)*	*con'vergence (VCC)*
If the pre-suffix syllable ends with the letter i and the root word ends with the letter у in a stressed syllable, the stress is usually on the pre-suffx syllable:
	*com'ply - com'pliance*	*re'ly - re'liant*
Some of these words ending with the suffxes -ant, -ent, -ance or -ence have a different stress placement from the root:
	ig'nore - 'ignorant	re' fer - 'reference
while others have the same stress placement:
	*con'tinue - con'tinuance*	*ap'pear - ap'pearance*

Unit 12; Part C

Notice that the suffix -ment doesn't usually change the stress pattern in the root:
a'gree - a'greement 'govern - 'government

although a common exception is:
'advertise - ad'vertisement

Exercises

1 Choose and write the word that relates to each definition.

You will hear some short definitions. After each definition press'pause', choose from the box and write the word that it relates to.When you press 'play' again you will hear the correct answer. Repeat itand then continue in the same way.
Key.1 being hostile to something - hostility
2 when someone is prosecuted - prosecution
3 being willing to cooperate - cooperative
4 a newspaper article giving the editor's opinion - editorial
5 when people speculate to make a profit - speculation
6 acting on impulse - impulsive
7 being familiar with something - familiarity
8 to do with photography - photographic

cooperative ~~allergic~~ photographic editorial familiarity prosecution hostility impulsive speculation

Example: Having an allergy. alergic

1 __________________
2 __________________
3 __________________
4 __________________

5 __________________
6 __________________
7 __________________
8 __________________

One of the words in the box above is an exception to the rule given at the beginning of A opposite. Which is it?
Key.The word with a suffix which is an exception to the rule given at the beginning of A is co'operative. (It doesn't have stress on the syllable immediately before -ive.)

2 Write the words from the box in the correct column.

Write the words from the box in the correct column according to the pronunciation of -tion, -sion, or -ssion.

~~accommodation~~ celebration combustion comprehension congestion depression digestion erosion exhaustion explosion expression invasion revison suspension

/t∫∂n/ ( e.g. suggestion)

/∫∂n/ ( e.g. education)

/3∂n/ ( e.g. decision)

accomodation

Now listen and check your answers. Then say the words aloud.

3 Underline the syllable which you think has the main stress.

Underline the syllable which you think has the main stress in the following words.
Key.

resident
excellence
coincidence

performance
correspondent
informant

defiant
assistant
acceptance

convergence
maintenance
insistence

reference
applicant
signifcance

Now listen and check your answers. Then say the words aloud.

4 Decide of the pattern.

Decide whether the words in exercise 3 have the same stress pattern astheir root word (write S) or a different stress pattern (write D). Key.S: de'fiant (de'fy); con'vergence (con'verge); ,corre'spondent (,corre'spond); as'sistant (as'sist); in'formant (in'form); ac'ceptance (ac'cept); in'sistence (in'sist) (D): 'reference (re'fer); 'excellence (ex'cel); 'maintenance (main'tain); 'applicant (ap'ply); co' incidence (coin'cide); sig'nifcance ('signify) Examples: resident (D) ('resident - re'side) performance (S) (per'formance - per'form)
Now listen to the root words and check your answers.
Follow up: Next time you read a book or an article, note down words ending in -ion. Mark the stress on them, then check in a dictionary to see if you were right. You can also add words ending in -tion, -sion and -ssion to the appropriate column in the table in exercise 2.

Unit 11 Unit 12 Unit 13