Sorting Academic Word Families by Stress — C1 English Pronunciation Practice Test
About this practice test
Practise C1 English pronunciation by sorting academic word families by primary stress and noticing stress shifts as words change form.
What you’ll practice
Hear the difference
Recognise vowel and consonant contrasts in clear recordings.
Stress and rhythm
Identify strong syllables and emphasized words.
Listen and review
Replay each recording and learn from answer explanations.
What to expect:
8 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Sorting into categories
How to approach this practice
Read the instructions and work through the questions before opening the answers.
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Question 1 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the syllable with primary stress. Count from the start. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- Stress on the first syllable
- Stress on the second syllable
- Stress on the third syllable
Word bank
- politics
- photograph
- photography
- economic
- photographic
- photographer
Check answers and explanations
- 1. politics
- Stress on the first syllable
- 2. photograph
- Stress on the first syllable
- 3. photography
- Stress on the second syllable
- 4. economic
- Stress on the third syllable
- 5. photographic
- Stress on the third syllable
- 6. photographer
- Stress on the second syllable
Sound groups: Stress on the first syllable: photograph, politics; Stress on the second syllable: photography, photographer; Stress on the third syllable: photographic, economic. Count syllables from the start of the word; primary stress is the strongest beat.
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Question 2 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the syllable with primary stress. Count from the start. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- Stress on the first syllable
- Stress on the second syllable
- Stress on the third syllable
Word bank
- democrat
- economy
- economical
- history
- economist
- politician
Check answers and explanations
- 1. democrat
- Stress on the first syllable
- 2. economy
- Stress on the second syllable
- 3. economical
- Stress on the third syllable
- 4. history
- Stress on the first syllable
- 5. economist
- Stress on the second syllable
- 6. politician
- Stress on the third syllable
Sound groups: Stress on the first syllable: democrat, history; Stress on the second syllable: economy, economist; Stress on the third syllable: economical, politician. Count syllables from the start of the word; primary stress is the strongest beat.
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Question 3 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the syllable with primary stress. Count from the start. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- Stress on the first syllable
- Stress on the second syllable
- Stress on the third syllable
Word bank
- science
- philosophical
- scientist
- political
- philosophy
- psychological
Check answers and explanations
- 1. science
- Stress on the first syllable
- 2. philosophical
- Stress on the third syllable
- 3. scientist
- Stress on the first syllable
- 4. political
- Stress on the second syllable
- 5. philosophy
- Stress on the second syllable
- 6. psychological
- Stress on the third syllable
Sound groups: Stress on the first syllable: science, scientist; Stress on the second syllable: political, philosophy; Stress on the third syllable: philosophical, psychological. Count syllables from the start of the word; primary stress is the strongest beat.
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Question 4 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the syllable with primary stress. Count from the start. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- Stress on the first syllable
- Stress on the second syllable
- Stress on the third syllable
Word bank
- psychology
- analyze
- democratic
- geographic
- critic
- philosopher
Check answers and explanations
- 1. psychology
- Stress on the second syllable
- 2. analyze
- Stress on the first syllable
- 3. democratic
- Stress on the third syllable
- 4. geographic
- Stress on the third syllable
- 5. critic
- Stress on the first syllable
- 6. philosopher
- Stress on the second syllable
Sound groups: Stress on the first syllable: analyze, critic; Stress on the second syllable: philosopher, psychology; Stress on the third syllable: democratic, geographic. Count syllables from the start of the word; primary stress is the strongest beat.
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Question 5 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the syllable with primary stress. Count from the start. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- Stress on the first syllable
- Stress on the second syllable
- Stress on the third syllable
Word bank
- critical
- psychologist
- geological
- criticism
- geographical
- democracy
Check answers and explanations
- 1. critical
- Stress on the first syllable
- 2. psychologist
- Stress on the second syllable
- 3. geological
- Stress on the third syllable
- 4. criticism
- Stress on the first syllable
- 5. geographical
- Stress on the third syllable
- 6. democracy
- Stress on the second syllable
Sound groups: Stress on the first syllable: critical, criticism; Stress on the second syllable: psychologist, democracy; Stress on the third syllable: geographical, geological. Count syllables from the start of the word; primary stress is the strongest beat.
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Question 6 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the syllable with primary stress. Count from the start. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- Stress on the first syllable
- Stress on the second syllable
- Stress on the third syllable
Word bank
- geography
- biological
- certify
- geology
- criticize
- mathematics
Check answers and explanations
- 1. geography
- Stress on the second syllable
- 2. biological
- Stress on the third syllable
- 3. certify
- Stress on the first syllable
- 4. geology
- Stress on the second syllable
- 5. criticize
- Stress on the first syllable
- 6. mathematics
- Stress on the third syllable
Sound groups: Stress on the first syllable: criticize, certify; Stress on the second syllable: geography, geology; Stress on the third syllable: biological, mathematics. Count syllables from the start of the word; primary stress is the strongest beat.
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Question 7 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the syllable with primary stress. Count from the start. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- Stress on the first syllable
- Stress on the second syllable
- Stress on the third syllable
Word bank
- mathematical
- academic
- credible
- biology
- geologist
- certified
Check answers and explanations
- 1. mathematical
- Stress on the third syllable
- 2. academic
- Stress on the third syllable
- 3. credible
- Stress on the first syllable
- 4. biology
- Stress on the second syllable
- 5. geologist
- Stress on the second syllable
- 6. certified
- Stress on the first syllable
Sound groups: Stress on the first syllable: certified, credible; Stress on the second syllable: geologist, biology; Stress on the third syllable: mathematical, academic. Count syllables from the start of the word; primary stress is the strongest beat.
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Question 8 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the syllable with primary stress. Count from the start. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- Stress on the first syllable
- Stress on the second syllable
- Stress on the third syllable
Word bank
- analytical
- definite
- scientific
- innovate
- historic
- biologist
Check answers and explanations
- 1. analytical
- Stress on the third syllable
- 2. definite
- Stress on the first syllable
- 3. scientific
- Stress on the third syllable
- 4. innovate
- Stress on the first syllable
- 5. historic
- Stress on the second syllable
- 6. biologist
- Stress on the second syllable
Sound groups: Stress on the first syllable: definite, innovate; Stress on the second syllable: biologist, historic; Stress on the third syllable: scientific, analytical. Count syllables from the start of the word; primary stress is the strongest beat.
What to review next
Review the feedback and revisit the topics you found difficult before trying again.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.