Many English words come from Greek and Latin. The good news? These borrowed words follow predictable stress patterns based on their endings. Learn these patterns and you'll be able to pronounce thousands of academic, scientific, and professional words correctly.
Why This Matters
Academic and professional English is full of Greek and Latin-derived words. If you're studying, working, or living in an English-speaking environment, you'll encounter these words daily. Knowing their stress patterns gives you a huge advantage.
Greek Endings
-LOGY (Study of) → Stress on syllable BEFORE -logy
All -ology words stress the syllable immediately before the ending.
-GRAPHY (Writing/Recording) → Stress on syllable BEFORE -graphy
-METER (Measurement) → Stress on syllable BEFORE -meter
-CRACY (Rule/Government) → Stress on syllable BEFORE -cracy
Latin Endings
-TION / -SION → Stress on syllable BEFORE suffix
This is one of the most common patterns in English.
-IC / -ICAL → Stress on syllable BEFORE suffix
-ITY → Stress on syllable BEFORE suffix
-IOUS / -EOUS → Stress on syllable BEFORE suffix
Quick Reference Chart
| Ending | Origin | Stress Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -logy | Greek | Before suffix | biOlogy |
| -graphy | Greek | Before suffix | phoTOgraphy |
| -meter | Greek | Before suffix | therMOmeter |
| -cracy | Greek | Before suffix | deMOcracy |
| -tion/-sion | Latin | Before suffix | eduCAtion |
| -ic/-ical | Latin | Before suffix | ecoNOmic |
| -ity | Latin | Before suffix | uniVERsity |
| -ious/-eous | Latin | Before suffix | CUrious |
The Person Pattern
Words for people often shift stress from the base word:
| Field | Study/Practice | Person |
|---|---|---|
| -logy | biOlogy | biOlogist |
| -graphy | phoTOgraphy | phoTOgrapher |
| -ics | eCOnomics | eCOnomist |
Notice: The -ist and -er suffixes are stress-neutral, so the person words keep the same stress as the base.
Common Academic Fields
Practice Exercise
Predict the stress in these words, then check:
- cardiology → cardiOlogy (study of heart)
- demographic → demoGRAphic (related to population)
- possibility → possiBIlity (chance)
- characteristic → characterIStic (typical feature)
- oceanography → oceanoGRAphy (study of oceans)
Key Takeaways
- Greek and Latin endings create predictable stress patterns
- Most endings pull stress to the syllable BEFORE them
- Learning these patterns helps you pronounce new words correctly
- Academic and professional vocabulary follows these rules
- Practice with word families to internalize the patterns