In any phrase or sentence of more than one word, some of the words are more prominent than the others. They are heard to stand out from the others. These words that stand out are stressed; whereas the other words in the sentence are unstressed. This sentence-stress is not always the same as word-stress. A word always has a stress when pronounced alone, but it may lose the stress in a sentence:
e.g. a'bout but: 'What are you 'talking about'?
In phrases or sentences where no special meaning is given to any word, the following parts of speech are usually stressed: nouns, adjectives, adverbs, principal verbs, demonstrative and interrogative pronouns, and numerals.
We were par'ticularly 'keen on 'listening to 'one 'speaker of 'this 'kind.
'What 'languages do you 'speak?
Auxiliary and modal verbs, as well as the link-verb 'to be' are stressed in the following positions:
a) at the beginning of a sentence (general and alternative questions): 'Were you 'busy last night?
b) When they stand for a notional verb (in short answer to
general questions): 'Have you 'seen him? — 'Yes, I 'have.
c) In contracted negative forms: I 'shan't be in 'time.
d) The auxiliary verb 'to be' is stressed when it is final and preceded by the subject which is unstressed: I 'don't 'know where he 'was.
e) The auxiliary verb 'to do' is stressed in emphatic sentences of the following type: 'Do ring him 'up.
Personal pronouns are not stressed as a rule. I 'saw him 'yesterday. She 'came with her 'mother. They 'said they would 'come at 'six. We are 'leaving at 'six.
In the combination possessive pronoun plus noun, the pronoun is not stressed, if no special importance is given to it. He 'put it into his 'pocket. His 'mother is 'very ill. 'Have you your 'book with you? She 'gave us our 'papers. My 'parents 'live in 'Lviv. I 'went to their 'home 'yesterday. Their 'father is coming to'day.
However, the absolute possessive pronouns — mine, his, ours, yours, theirs — are always stressed. The 'book is 'ours. I 'knew that the 'book was 'mine.
Reflexive pronouns used as objects are unstressed. He 'hurt himself. The 'chainmaker 'asked the 'judge 'how he was to 'keep himself alive without 'work. He 'offered himself as an in'terpreter. The 'child 'picked herself 'up and went on 'playing. We 'kept ourselves 'warm by running 'up and 'down.
Reflexive pronouns used appositionally are stressed. I my'self shall 'be there to'morrow. They 'saw it them'selves. You you'self 'showed it to me. If you 'want it 'done, you’ll 'have to 'do it your'self.
It must be noted that general loudness at the end of the sentence, or sense group is a remarkable feature of English speech. Thus, in the sentence: 'Maize is what A'mericans call 'Indian 'corn, the word corn is pronounced more energetically, i.e., has a stronger stress than the words call or Indian. It must be noted further that this "strong ending" is not understood by the listener as special importance or emphasis laid on the last syllable.
Notice the "strong ending" in the following:
We de'cided to 'have our 'breakfast.
The 'boots were a 'size 'too 'small.
Prepositions are usually stressed if they consist of two or more syllables and are followed by an unstressed personal pronoun at the end of a sense-group: The 'dog 'ran 'after him.
Conjunctions are usually stressed if they stand at the beginning of a sentence and are followed by an unstressed word:
'If he 'drives, he may be 'here at any 'moment.