Stress and rhythm
Strong words, weak words, and the beat of English.
12 minutes · A free lesson from Accent and connected speech
English is stress-timed: the stressed syllables come at a fairly regular beat, and the unstressed syllables between them are squeezed. Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi give syllables more equal time — so speakers often stress every word, which makes the message harder to follow.
CATS eat FISH. · The CATS will eat the FISH. · The CATS have been eating the FISH.
All three take roughly the same time to say: two strong beats.
Say it out loud (20 seconds): Read aloud with two strong beats: "The CATS have been eating the FISH." Then: "I NEED to FINISH this REPORT by FRIDAY."
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: What does “stress-timed” mean?
- Every syllable takes the same time
- Stressed syllables come at a fairly regular beat
- Every word is stressed
Show the answer
B: Stressed syllables come at a fairly regular beat — The unstressed syllables between the beats are squeezed.
Quick check: How many strong beats does “The CATS have been eating the FISH” have?
- Seven
- One
- Two
Show the answer
C: Two — It takes about as long to say as “CATS eat FISH”.
Quick check: What happens when a speaker stresses every word?
- The message becomes harder to follow
- It sounds more natural
- It sounds faster
Show the answer
A: The message becomes harder to follow — Stress only the words that carry the meaning.
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