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from Brown Corpus
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In sentences, patterns of stress are determined by complex combinations of influences that can only be suggested here.
The tendency is toward putting dominant stress at the end.
There is a parallel to this tendency in the assignment of time in long-known hymn tunes.
Thus the first lines of one of Charles Wesley's hymns are as follows.
`` A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify ''.
In the tune to which this hymn is most often sung, `` Boylston '', the syllables have and fy, ending their lines, have twice the time any other syllables have.
Dominant stress is of course more than extended duration, and normally centers on syllables that would have primary stress or phrase stress if the words or longer units they are parts of were spoken alone: a dominant stress given to glorify would normally center on its first syllable rather than its last.
But the parallel is significant.
When the answer to what's wrong now??
Is Bill's broken a chair, dominant stress will usually be on the complement a chair.
From the point of view of syntactic analysis the head word in the statement is the predicator has broken, and from the point of view of meaning it would seem that the trouble centers in the breaking ; ;
but dominant stress will be assigned to broken only in rather exceptional versions of the sentence.
In I know one thing dominant stress will usually be on the complement one thing ; ;
in one thing I know it will usually be on the predicator know.
In small-town people are very friendly dominant stress will generally be on the complement very friendly ; ;
in the double sentence the smaller the town, the friendlier the people it will generally be on the subjects the town and the people.
In what's a linguist??
dominant stress will generally be on the subject a linguist ; ;
in who's a linguist? it will generally be on the complement a linguist.
Dominant stress is on her luggage both in that's her luggage, where her luggage is the complement, and in there's her luggage, where it is the subject.
Adverbial second complements, however, are likely not to have dominant stress when they terminate sentences.
If the answer to what was that noise??
Is George put the cat out, dominant stress will ordinarily be on the first complement, the cat, not the second complement out.
Final adjuncts may or may not have dominant stress.
If the answer to what was that noise??

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