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Joey Black
What is the syllable stress in the word 'sometimes'?
I hear it in different ways. Sometimes SOMEtimes, other times - someTIMES.
Macmillan dictionary gives [ˈsʌmtaɪmz].
Is someTIMES wrong? Or is it acceptable?
UPDATE: Of course, I'm talking about songs. I didn't want to give this information from the very beginning to avoid comments like 'they do what they want in their songs' which is not true. The words in the songs are rarely misstressed while 'sometimes' is often misstressed.
Oct 7, 2018 1:38 PM
Answers · 8
1
Usually, we stress the SOME. But, depending on the situation, it would also be possible/necessary to stress the TIMES.
Eg:
* For dramatic or artistic purposes. (Listen to the song Tainted Love by Soft Cell. Specifically the first line.)
October 7, 2018
Sometimes = SOME-times has two syllables, the furst ine us the stressed syllable, the second is the weak syllable
If you look at the definition from the dictionary you will notice that in the phonological representation (the sound representation of the word) there is a small symbol that looks like an apostrophe which is placed before the stressed syllable.
I have consulted several dictionaries and have checked the phonological representation for both US and UK pronunciarion and that little apostrophe symbol is always before the beginning of the word, meaning that the stressed syllable in sometimes is SOME, not times.
I have never heard anyone pronounce this word as some-TIMES.
October 7, 2018
No, I didn't! I'm still wondering why this word is often misstressed.
October 8, 2018
Brilliant! In the end you figured it out on your own. Attaboy!
October 8, 2018
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Joey Black
Language Skills
English, Russian
Learning Language
English
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