Sentence stress: which words to stress in English
Short answer: In an English sentence, some words are stressed and others are weak. Stress the content words, the words that carry meaning: nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs and negatives. Say the function words (a, the, to, of, can, and) quickly and weakly. This gives English its rhythm: I WANT to GO to the STORE.
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At a glance
| Word type | Stress | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| content words | stressed | nouns (store), main verbs (go), adjectives (big), adverbs (quickly), negatives (can’t) |
| function words | weak | a, the, to, of, and, can, is, was |
How to make the sound
- Find the words that carry the meaning of the sentence.
- Stress those words: make them longer, louder and higher.
- Say the other words quickly and softly, with the schwa where possible.
- Say the sentence with a steady beat on the stressed words, even if the number of weak words changes.
Examples in sentences
- I WANT to GO to the STORE.
want, go and store are stressed; I, to and the are weak. - SHE CAN’T COME toMORrow.
can’t, come and tomorrow carry the meaning. - WHAT’S your NAME?
what and name are stressed. - He BOUGHT a NEW CAR.
bought, new and car are stressed. - The DOG is UNDER the TABLE.
dog, under and table carry the meaning. - I DON’T LIKE COFfee.
don’t, like and coffee are stressed. - Can you HELP me PLEASE?
help and please are stressed. - SHE is a TEACHer.
The stress can move to show a contrast: SHE (not he) is a teacher.
Common problems
- Stressing every word: If every word has the same weight, the beat disappears and listeners must work harder.
- Weak words too strong: Words like to, of and can should be short and weak in a sentence.
- No stress on the key word: Make sure the word that carries your main message is the clearest.
For Vietnamese speakers
- Vietnamese gives each syllable a similar weight. In English, the stressed syllables are the “beats”, and weak syllables fit between them. Speed up the weak words and slow down the strong ones.
- Clap on the stressed words: I WANT to GO to the STORE.
Word stress and sentence stress
Word stress is about syllables inside one word. Sentence stress is about words inside a sentence.
| Level | Example | Strong part |
|---|---|---|
| word | beGIN | GIN |
| sentence | I WANT to beGIN. | WANT, GIN |
Check yourself
- Which words are stressed in “I want to go to the store”?
Show the answer
want, go, store They are content words.
- Is “the” stressed?
Show the answer
No. It is a function word and is weak.
- What kind of word is “can’t”?
Show the answer
A negative, which is stressed. Negatives are important to the meaning.
Questions
Can I change the stress?
Yes. You can stress a word to show a contrast: SHE is a teacher (not he).
Are function words ever stressed?
Yes, when they are at the end of a sentence or for contrast: Yes, I can.
Why does stress matter?
Listeners rely on stress to find the important words. If everything is stressed, they cannot find the key words.
More lessons in this part
Part of the 👄 Pronunciation tool: Sentence Pronunciation. See also the English pronunciation guide. Đọc bằng tiếng Việt.
Written for English learners by the English for Fun team. How we write our lessons · Last updated 2026-11-05.
Reviewed by Chinh Q. Hoang, PhD, founder, English for Fun · 2026-10-30