Each syllable may have more than one vowel letter but only one vowel phoneme. One syllable in a two or more syllable word receives more emphasis or greater stress than the other syllables. In multisyllabic words, more than one syllable may be stressed. There will be one primary accent and one or more secondary accents. The vowel phoneme is the most prominent part of the syllable.
Vowels behave differently in accented and unaccented syllables.
Clues to Placement of Accent One syllable words have a primary accent. The place of the accent may differentiate between a noun and a verb in words that are spelled alike - 1. This is a present. Please present this to your friend. In most multisyllabic words ending in tion , the primary accent falls on the syllable preceding the tion ending.