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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

WORD STRESS

WORD STRESS (WORD ACCENT)?

word stress (word accent) of the following compounded words:
easy-going
open-minded
even-tempered
hard-working
self-confident
strong-willed

On which part does the stress fall? and which are the rules?
  

Top answer

ea sy- go ing; o pen- mind ed; e ven- tem pered; hard- wor king; self- con fident; strong- will ed. I don't know of a "rule", but I see a pattern here. In the last three examples, with one syllable intros, the 'hard' and 'self' and 'strong' may be close to as strong as the stress on the next syllable.

  • ea sy- go ing; o pen- mind ed; e ven- tem pered; hard- wor king; self- con fident; strong- will ed.
  • I don't know of a "rule", but I see a pattern here.
  • In the last three examples, with one syllable intros, the 'hard' and 'self' and 'strong' may be close to as strong as the stress on the next syllable.
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2 Answers
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easy-going; open-minded; even-tempered; hard-working; self-confident; strong-willed. I don't know of a "rule", but I see a pattern here. In the last three examples, with one syllable intros, the 'hard' and 'self' and 'strong' may be close to as strong as the stress on the next syllable.
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AnonymousOn which part does the stress fall?
The stress falls about equally on both components of a compound adjective. When followed by a noun I suspect the stress would fall heavier on the first component of the compound adjective, but the noun would take more stress than either component of the adjective.

CJ

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