Schwa (/ə/) & Word Stress — Click the Blank to Reveal
Rule of thumb: schwa appears in unstressed syllables. Click to see IPA, stress, and schwas highlighted.
reasonable → Where is the stress & the schwa?
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/ˈriː.zə.nə.bəl/
Stress: 1st syllable (**REE**). Schwa: -za-, -na-, -ble.
accused → Where is the schwa?
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/əˈkjuːzd/
Stress: on “-CUSED”. Schwa: initial a-.
proposal → Mark stress & schwa.
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/prəˈpəʊ.zəl/
Stress: on “-PO-”. Schwa: pro- (prə), final -sal.
negotiated → Where’s the /ʃ/ and any schwa?
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/nəˈɡəʊ.ʃi.eɪ.tɪd/ (BrE) · /nəˈgoʊ.ʃi.eɪ.tɪd/ (AmE)
Stress: on “-GO-”. Schwa: initial ne- often reduces to /nə-/. /ʃ/: “-tiate” → /ʃi.eɪ/.
family → Common reduction?
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/ˈfæm.li/ or /ˈfæm.ə.li/
Stress: 1st. Many speakers compress to 2 syllables with weak final vowel (schwa-like).
support → Spot the schwa & stress.
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/səˈpɔːt/ (BrE) · /səˈpɔːrt/ (AmE)
Stress: on “-PORT”. Schwa: su-.
company → Where is the schwa?
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/ˈkʌm.pə.ni/
Stress: 1st syllable. Schwa: middle syllable “pa” → pə.
opinion → Multiple schwas?
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/əˈpɪn.jən/
Stress: on “-PIN-”. Schwa: initial “o-” → ə, final “-ion” → ən.
One-line key (schwa positions):
1 zə-nə-ble · 2 a- · 3 pro-, -sal · 4 ne- · 5 (final weak) · 6 su- · 7 -pa- → /pə/ · 8 o-, -ion.
💡 Tip: First mark the stressed syllable, then relax the others — that’s where schwa lives!
Schwa (/ə/) & Word Stress — Click the Blank to Reveal
Rule of thumb: schwa appears in unstressed syllables. Click to see IPA, stress, and schwas highlighted.
1) reasonable → Where is the stress & the schwa?
______
/ˈriː.zə.nə.bəl/
Stress: 1st syllable (**REE**). Schwa: -za-, -na-, -ble.
2) accused → Where is the schwa?
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/əˈkjuːzd/
Stress: on “-CUSED”. Schwa: initial a-.
3) proposal → Mark stress & schwa.
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/prəˈpəʊ.zəl/
Stress: on “-PO-”. Schwa: pro- (prə), final -sal. (In many accents the first vowel is clear schwa; the stressed syllable has full vowel /pəʊ/.)
4) negotiated → Where’s the /ʃ/ and any schwa?
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/nəˈɡəʊ.ʃi.eɪ.tɪd/ (BrE) · /nəˈgoʊ.ʃi.eɪ.tɪd/ (AmE)
Stress: on “-GO-”. Schwa: initial ne- often reduces to /nə-/. /ʃ/: “-tiate” → /ʃi.eɪ/.
5) family → Common reduction?
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/ˈfæm.li/ or /ˈfæm.ə.li/ (careful speech)
Stress: 1st. Many speakers compress to 2 syllables: fam-ly with a weak final vowel (often schwa-like).
6) support → Spot the schwa & stress.
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/səˈpɔːt/ (BrE) · /səˈpɔːrt/ (AmE)
Stress: on “-PORT”. Schwa: su-.
7) company → Where is the schwa?
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/ˈkʌm.pə.ni/
Stress: 1st syllable. Schwa: middle syllable “pa” → pə.
8) opinion → Multiple schwas?
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/əˈpɪn.jən/
Stress: on “-PIN-”. Schwa: initial “o-” → ə, final “-ion” → - ən.
9) banana → Classic alternating pattern
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/bəˈnɑː.nə/ (BrE)
Stress: middle “-NA-”. Schwa: first and last syllables.
10) police → Initial reduction
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/pəˈliːs/
Stress: on “-LICE”. Schwa: initial “po-” → pə.
11) chocolate → Reduction to 2 syllables
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/ˈtʃɒk.lət/ (often 2 syllables)
Stress: 1st syllable. Final vowel weakens to schwa.
12) comfortable → Heavily reduced middle
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/ˈkʌmf.tə.bəl/ (often 3 syllables)
Stress: 1st. Middle syllables reduce to schwa.
13) photography → Stress shift vs. photograph
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/fəˈtɒɡ.rə.fi/ vs /ˈfəʊ.tə.ɡrɑːf/ (photograph)
Note: Stress moves; unstressed vowels reduce to schwa in photography.
One-line key (schwa positions):
1 zə-nə-ble · 2 a- · 3 pro-, -sal · 4 ne- · 5 (final weak) · 6 su- · 7 -pa- → /pə/ · 8 o-, -ion · 9 ba-, -na · 10 po- · 11 -late → /lət/ · 12 -ta-, -ble · 13 pho-TOG-ra-phy → schwa in -gra-.
Tip: In multisyllabic words, mark the stressed syllable first. Then try reducing all other vowels toward /ə/ — that’s where schwa lives.