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Context is of extreme importance.

What is new in the context is likely to be made more prominent than what is not.

Thus in a context in which there has been discussion of snow but mention of local conditions is new, dominant stress will probably be on here in it rarely snows here, but in a context in which there has been discussion of local weather but no mention of snow, dominant stress will probably be on snows.

The personal pronouns and substitute one are normally unstressed because they refer to what is prominent in the immediate context.

In I'll go with George dominant stress is probably on George ; ;

but if George has just been mentioned prominently ( and the trip to be made has been under discussion ), what is said is probably I'll go with him, and dominant stress is probably on the preposition with.

When a gesture accompanies who's he??

the personal pronoun has dominant stress because `` he '' has not been mentioned previously.

If both George and a piece of information George does not have are prominent in the context, but the idea of telling George is new, then dominant stress will probably be on tell in why not tell George??

But when what is new in a particular context is also fairly obvious, there is normally only light stress or no stress at all.

Thus the unstressed it of it rarely snows here gets its significance from its use with snows: nothing can snow snow but `` it ''.

In there aren't many young people in the neighborhood the modifier young takes dominant stress away from its head people: the fact that the young creatures of interest are people seems rather obvious.

If women replaced people, it would normally have dominant stress.

In I have things to do the word things makes little real contribution to meaning and has weaker stress than do.

If work is substituted for things ( with more exact contribution to meaning ), it will have dominant stress.

In I know one thing dominant stress is likely to go to one rather than to semantically pale thing.

In I knew you when you were a child, and you were pretty then dominant stress on then implies that the young woman spoken to is still pretty.

Dominant stress on pretty would be almost insulting here.

In the written language then can be underlined or italicized to guide the reader here, but much of the time the written language simply depends on the reader's alertness, and a careless reader will have to back up and reread.