Syllable Stress

Chapter. 

A two syllable word, chapter, which syllable do you think is stressed?

'Chapter"

Can you hear that it’s louder, and that it’s higher in pitch?

Undo

I hope you can hear that here, the stress falls on the second syllable.

Can you notice it?

Absolutely. It can affect the pronunciation, it can affect the meaning of a word.

Present.

As an adjective or a noun, the stress falls on the first syllable. 

As a verb, the stress falls on the second syllable, present.

So as a noun or adjective, the first vowel is the ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’, and the second syllable, unaccented, is the schwa. In the verb form, however, present, the first vowel, in the unaccented syllable, is the ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ vowel. And the second vowel in the stressed syllable is the ‘eh’ as in ‘bed’. Present, present.