In some languages, speakers say each word in a sentence with equal stress. That is true for Japanese, for example. But, as you know, that is not true for English. If you are listening to this program, you just heard me add stress to the word "not" to help make that message clear.

When we talk about stress in spoken language, we are talking about saying something louder and holding the sound a little longer. English speakers use two kinds of stress together when they speak: word stress and sentence stress.

Word stress is saying one syllable of a word louder and longer than the other syllables. The word "painting," for instance, has two syllables. The stress is on the first syllable.

Sentence stress is saying a word or words in a sentence louder and longer than the other words.

On this Everyday Grammar program, I will use a simple sentence to show you what that sounds like and how meaning can change completely when the sentence stress changes.

Everyday Grammar: Sentence Stress

Rachel Smith is an American English pronunciation expert based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her YouTube channel, Rachel's English, has become a respected tool for learning about pronunciation.

Smith notes that, in English, even when you use the same words, you can get very different meanings.

A stress exercise

Today, we will do a listening exercise to explore the connection between sentence stress and meaning.

I chose a sentence that English language teachers have been using for years. By the end of the program, you will understand its simple genius.

It goes like this:I didn't say he stole the money.

Naturally, some words carry a little more stress than others. That is just how English works. But notice that one single word doesn't grab your attention. Yet, by putting stress on one word each time, we can give the seven-word sentence seven different meanings.

So, let's get started with the exercise.

Listen to the sentence again:I didn't say he stole the money.

I think you can identify which word is being stressed. But do you know what the stress means?

The speaker stressed the word "I" more than all the other words. But what does she mean? She is trying to say that she is not the person who said the man stole the money. Somebody else said it.

Now, listen to what happens when we move the stress to the second word:

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