LESSON 10: WORD STRESS

Russian, like English and many other languages, uses word stresses. It means that one syllable in the word (the stressed one) is emphasized more than the rest. If there is only one syllable in the words, it is always stressed.

Listen to the audio and read the examples: мама, паста, салат, банан, работа 

Stress is essential for correct pronunciation and spelling, because some vowel sounds in unstressed syllables are pronounced differently (more about this in Lesson 14). 

Moreover, the misplacement of the stress may even affect the change in the word's meaning. For example, замок (lock) - замок (castle), плачу (I pay) - плачу (I cry), etc.

Russian word stress is not fixed and there are no rules for placing the stress on a particular syllable. It can fall on any syllable in the word. So, it is important to remember the stress when you learn new words.

Normally, texts in Russian are written without stress marks. But, stress marks are used in dictionaries and texts for beginning learners.

Task 1: Listen to the audio & repeat the words, paying attention to the stress. Then, read the words out loud

мама          папа            карта          рыба          паста        форма

рука          салат           банан          баланс       балкон      футбол       

работа       бутылка      капуста        банкнота