In Portuguese, adjectives are stressed more than nouns are. In English it’s the opposite.
typical mistake: |
should be: |
“That’s a nice car.” |
“That’s a nice car.” |
“He’s an intelligent man.” |
“He’s an intelligent man.” |
Similarly, Portuguese speakers tend to place the most stress in the first part of a phrase or sentence, whereas Americans stress the endings more. Remember to place the most emphasis on the last content word of each sentence. Review Chapter Six for more guidance on this topic.
typical mistake: |
should be: |
“I drove my car.” |
“I drove my car.” |
“I went to the bank.” |
“I went to the bank.” |
Other common word stress errors:
typical mistake: |
should be: |
“I should go.” |
“I should go.” |
“Turn it off.” |
“Turn it off.” |
“UCLA” |
“UCLA” |
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