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Question

Difficulty: MediumWord and Syllable Stress

Complete the statement below by writing the capitalized syllable that carries the primary stress for each given word.

Answer:In standard English pronunciation, the noun 'geology' carries its primary stress on the second syllable, which is 【OL】, whereas the adjective 'geological' shifts its primary stress to the third syllable, which is 【LOG】.

Answer

The primary stressed syllable in 'geology' is 'OL' (ge-OL-o-gy), and in 'geological' it is 'LOG' (ge-o-LOG-i-cal).
Nouns ending with the suffix '-logy' (such as 'geology') place primary stress on the antepenultimate syllable, which is 'ol'. When transformed into adjectives with the suffix '-ical' (such as 'geological'), the stress shifts to the syllable immediately preceding the suffix, which is 'log'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the primary stress placement for the noun 'geology'.
English words ending in the suffix '-logy' place primary stress on the antepenultimate (third from the end) syllable. In 'geology' (ge-ol-o-gy), this syllable is 'ol', yielding ge-OL-o-gy.
The '-logy' suffix rule consistently assigns stress to the antepenultimate syllable.
2
Determine the primary stress placement for the adjective 'geological'.
Adding the adjectival suffix '-ical' causes primary stress to fall on the syllable immediately preceding the suffix. In 'geological' (ge-o-log-i-cal), this syllable is 'log', yielding ge-o-LOG-i-cal.
Suffixes ending in '-ic' and '-ical' draw stress to the syllable directly before them.

Key Concept

Suffix-conditioned primary stress placement (-logy vs -ical)
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Topics

Word and Syllable Stress

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