Suffixes That Pull the Stress: -ic, -ity, -ion

Predict stress placement in academic words using a few reliable suffix rules.

Certain suffixes act like magnets, pulling stress to a predictable syllable. The suffixes -ic and -ical put stress on the syllable just before them: eCONomy becomes ecoNOMic; HIStory becomes hisTORic. The suffix -ity also stresses the syllable just before it: eLECtric becomes elecTRICity; PUBlic becomes pubLICity. Words ending in -ion stress the syllable before the suffix: EDucate becomes eduCAtion; COMpetent and comPETE lead to compeTItion. Worked example: you meet the unfamiliar word 'volcanicity' in a geology article. Ignore its length and find the suffix: -ity.

Stress goes on the syllable before it, so you say vol-ca-NI-ci-ty. Knowing these rules lets you pronounce long words you have never heard, which matters when you read aloud in class or present a lab report. Listening for the stress also helps you hear the root in spoken lectures, where you cannot see the spelling.

• 1-ic and -ical stress the syllable just before them.
• 2-ity stresses the syllable just before it.
• 3-ion stresses the syllable just before it.