Which syllable is stressed in 'important'?

The second syllable: im-POR-tant. In most English words of two or more syllables, one syllable has the main stress.

How do you pronounce the '-ed' in 'stopped'?

Just a /t/ sound, so 'stopped' is 'stopt'. The -ed ending is only a full extra syllable after t or d, as in 'wanted'.

Are all the letters in words like 'know' and 'hour' pronounced?

No. English has many silent letters: say 'know' as 'no' and 'hour' as 'our', where the h is silent.

Skills Level A1

English Pronunciation: A Beginner's Guide

A friendly guide to English pronunciation for beginners: word stress, the schwa, tricky sounds and silent letters — why spelling lies, and how to sound clearer.

stress · the schwa · sounds vs spelling

English spelling is a poor guide to English sound — through, though and tough all look similar and sound nothing alike. The good news: you don't need perfect pronunciation, just clear pronunciation. A few big ideas — stress, the schwa, and a handful of tricky sounds — fix most of what makes learners hard to understand.

Word stress — the biggest win

In most English words of two or more syllables, one syllable has the main stress — it is stronger, longer, or clearer than the others. Putting the stress in the wrong place is one common reason learners are misunderstood, even when individual sounds are clear.

baNAna · COMputer · imPORtant · PHOtograph

Stress can even change the word: REcord (noun) vs reCORD (verb). Learn each new word with its stress.

The schwa — the lazy "uh"

The most common sound in English is a short, relaxed "uh" (the schwa, /ə/). It hides in the unstressed syllables, whatever the spelling.

banana → buh-NA-nuh · the a in "about" → uh-BOUT · the final a in "sofa" → SO-fuh

A few tricky sounds

th has two sounds: /θ/ in think and /ð/ in this, brother. In both, the tongue comes close to or between the teeth.
-ed endings — often /t/ or /d/, but a third sound /ɪd/ after t or d: walked = "walkt", played = "playd", wanted = "wan-tid".
silent letters — many letters aren't said: know, hour, listen, half, island, Wednesday.

How to practice

Pronunciation is physical — your mouth needs reps, not just rules.

Listen and repeat right after a native speaker (shadowing). · Learn each word with its stress marked. · Record yourself and compare. · Don't chase a perfect accent — aim to be clearly understood.

Common mistakes

Pronouncing every letter. Spelling lies — say know as "no", not "kuh-now".

Giving every syllable equal weight. English has strong and weak syllables; flat, even syllables are hard to follow. Lean on the stressed one.

Saying "-ed" as a full extra syllable every time. "I worked yesterday" sounds like "workt", but "wanted" has an extra /id/ sound.

Quick exercise

Where's the stress, and how do you say it?

Which syllable is stressed in "important"?
How do you pronounce the "-ed" in "stopped"?
Which letter is silent in "hour"?
What's the vowel sound in the first syllable of "about"?
How do you say "Wednesday"?

Answer key

im-POR-tant (second syllable)
just /t/ — "stopt"
the h is silent — "our"
the schwa "uh" — "uh-bout"
"WENZ-day" (the first d is silent)

Practice this in Recursio

Pronunciation gets better when you say words out loud and hear them often — not from rules alone. Recursio's Speaking practice, dictation, and Daily Mixed Review give you repeated contact with the words you are learning so they become easier to say clearly.

Practice English in Recursio → · Free to start, on iOS and Android.