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Difficulty: HardWord and Syllable Stress

Match each of the following multisyllabic words to its correct primary stress placement schema.

  • democraticde-mo-CRAT-ic
  • certificate (noun)cer-TIF-i-cate
  • curiositycu-ri-OS-i-ty
  • biographybi-OG-ra-phy

Answer

The correct pairings match each word to its standard primary stress scheme: 'democratic' to 'de-mo-CRAT-ic', 'certificate (noun)' to 'cer-TIF-i-cate', 'curiosity' to 'cu-ri-OS-i-ty', and 'biography' to 'bi-OG-ra-phy'.
Each word is accurately paired with its phonetically correct primary stress placement according to standard oral English rules for multisyllabic words and suffix stress assignments.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Apply suffix stress rules to 'democratic' and 'curiosity'.
Suffix '-ic' stresses the penultimate syllable ('de-mo-CRAT-ic'). Suffix '-ity' stresses the antepenultimate syllable ('cu-ri-OS-i-ty').
English morphological suffixes systematically govern stress placement in multisyllabic words.
2
Determine primary stress placement for 'certificate' (noun) and 'biography'.
The noun 'certificate' stresses the second syllable ('cer-TIF-i-cate'), while '-graphy' nouns place stress on the antepenultimate syllable ('bi-OG-ra-phy').
Differentiating grammatical class and root ending patterns ensures precise syllabic prominence identification.

Key Concept

Word and Syllable Stress Rules in Polysyllabic English Words
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Topics

Word and Syllable Stress

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