English Teachers help please.

Question

Hi, 

Please can you help me with the sentences below and illustrate for me where the word stress is.

"If I don't finish work by 6pm, I won't come to the cinema"

"If it rains today, I won't go to the beach later"

"I will stay at home, unless my brother can drive me"

or you can use any example 2 clause sentence, similar o those above. I do not understand where the word stress is in longer sentences,

Thanks,

Lily

Answer 1

Syllable and word stress can be a very confusing area of study for many students. There are many rules and vocabularies associated with the topic for all languages. Word stress may also make placing emphasis on some words because of their importance in clarifying the meaning of a sentence.

Using the second sentence above as an example: all is put in italics to visually show that this word is integral in the sentence—meaning very important. If you were reading this sentence, you would emphasis its importance by speaking the word more loudly than normal. Knowing what you want to say in your sentence, or reading an author’s sentence in context is important in knowing where the stress belongs. In the sentences that you gave as examples, the stress would be placed on the word that helps to convey the meaning. "If I don't finish work by 6pm, I won't come to the cinema." If you are meaning that going to the cinema hinges on you finishing your work, then the stress would be on the word if. If you are trying to tell someone that you can’t come to the movies if your job (work) isn’t over by 6, then you’d emphasize the word work.

Wikipedia has a great example of word stress:

“I didn't take the test yesterday. (Somebody else did.)

I didn't take the test yesterday. (I did not take it.)

I didn't take the test yesterday. (I did something else with it.)

I didn't take the test yesterday. (I took one of several

As in the examples above, stress is normally transcribed as italics in printed text or underlining in handwriting.”

Answer 2

If I don't finish work by 6:00PM I will likely be too stressed to go to the Cinema.