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Question

Difficulty: MediumWord and Syllable Stress

Match each of the following multisyllabic English words with the option that correctly describes the location of its primary stress in standard pronunciation.

  • candidatePrimary stress falls on the first syllable
  • decisionPrimary stress falls on the second syllable
  • possibilityPrimary stress falls on the third syllable
  • qualificationPrimary stress falls on the fourth syllable

Answer

'candidate' matches 'Primary stress falls on the first syllable', 'decision' matches 'Primary stress falls on the second syllable', 'possibility' matches 'Primary stress falls on the third syllable', and 'qualification' matches 'Primary stress falls on the fourth syllable'.
In standard English pronunciation, 'candidate' places primary stress on the first syllable (CAND-i-date), 'decision' places primary stress on the second syllable (de-CI-sion), 'possibility' places primary stress on the third syllable (pos-si-BIL-i-ty), and 'qualification' places primary stress on the fourth syllable (qual-i-fi-CA-tion).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syllable structure and primary stress placement of each word
'candidate' = CAND-i-date (1st syllable); 'decision' = de-CI-sion (2nd syllable); 'possibility' = pos-si-BIL-i-ty (3rd syllable); 'qualification' = qual-i-fi-CA-tion (4th syllable).
Identifying the primary stressed syllable for each word establishes the correct mapping.
2
Pair each word with its corresponding stress location description
left_1 pairs with right_1, left_2 pairs with right_2, left_3 pairs with right_3, and left_4 pairs with right_4.
Matching each word with its precise primary stress position completes the exercise.

Key Concept

Primary word stress placement in multisyllabic English words
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Topics

Word and Syllable Stress

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