The natural flow of English

by Maria Hruschak

When a Native English Speaker speaks, only select words are stressed, while others are spoken quickly, or glided over.

Why?

English is a stressed language. Unlike Chinese, French or Italian, which devotes equal attention to each word, English stresses only the content words and glides over the 'helpers'.

Nouns, principal verbs, adjectives and adverbs are all content words.

Pronouns, articles, auxiliary verbs, prepositions, and conjunctions are the 'helper' words.

Ex: They will come on Friday.
Emphasis is placed on the bold words.

This is a tricky concept for a Native English Teacher to get across to a new student in English.

Here is a quick way to see some results:

Read any paragraph in English. Stress each and every syllable. (You will notice that the sound is almost robotic).

Next, read the same paragraph, only this time stress only the content words, and glide over the others. If you need to, underline the content words first. Don't get too caught up in which is which if you are not sure.

The point is to become familiar with the flow of English.
Using this technique will make it easier for people to understand you.