Как разные ударения в словах и предложениях могут менять смысл сказанного

Неправильно выбранное ударение в английском слове или предложении может кардинально изменить смысл сказанного. В этой статье преподаватель английского языка Рейно на примере предложения из 7 слов покажет, как меняется его значение в зависимости от того, на каком слове стоит ударение.

I have had a strange week, in an interesting way, and I have had some interesting questions in my lessons. It makes my teaching so much more fun if my students interact in unexpected ways.

The topic of my article sounds like I had a stressful week however, it is about the stress of words in a sentence! I have an example here for you: I NEVER SAID HE STOLE MY CAR.

Here I have a sentence with 7 words and, depending on where I place the stress in the sentence, I have 7 different meanings... Crazy, I know. So let’s look at them.

I never said he stole my car.
Here the meaning is that I was not the person who said this, someone else made the statement.

 I never said he stole my car.
I am not the one to rat out my friends like that. 

 I never said he stole my car.
I didn’t say that he did it, I only implied that he did it.

 I never said he stole my car.
I just said someone stole my car, I didn’t say that it was him.

 I never said he stole my car.
He is taking a very long time to return my car after borrowing it.

 I never said he stole my car.
He stole a car, sure, but I still have my car.

 I never said he stole my car.
Well, I have too much money so he did steal something from me although it wasn’t my car.

As you can see, the location of the stress in the sentence changes the meaning quite dramatically. It is therefore rather important that you understand where to put the stress in a sentence.

It also makes in difference in the meaning of some words. Let me give you an example. I use the word record often to illustrate this point... If I place the stress at the end of the word (record — the sound is slightly longer here), then I am referring to a form of technology that can return an identical copy of something for me. Old fashioned video machines could record a movie for you so you could watch it later. 

Now, should I place the stress at the beginning (record) I would be referring to something like a world record in the 100 meter sprint, or the record for eating the most hotdogs in 5 minutes.

Obviously there are some variations of the word, like recording, recorded and so on. I merely used the two options as examples.

This English language sure keeps us on our toes... Happy speaking, dear readers!