How to Stress Compound Nouns in English

One of the most common errors in English is using the incorrect stress on compound nouns and noun phrases. In the video below, I teach you why this happens and how to avoid it.

Here are some compound nouns. Practice saying these words in short phrases and sentences, making sure to stress the first syllable or first word of the noun phrase.

Compound nouns (one word, stress syllable one, secondary stress on syllable two)

baseball
hotdog
wristwatch
timetable
airport
YouTube
FaceTime



Compound Noun/noun phrases (Two words, stress the first word, secondary stress on the second word)
grocery store
hardware store
bus stop
bowling alley
meeting point
picture frame
report card


Get even more help for intonation in our SMART American Accent online course!