Stress, -sure sounds and chunking

Stress changes the word. Some words are spelt the same as a noun and a verb, but stressed differently:

• the noun is stressed on the first syllable;
• the verb on the second.

PREsent (a gift) / preSENT (to show). Kurien uses the verb: 'That common good will preSENT itself to you in many forms every day.'

More pairs:

• PROduce (fruit and vegetables) / proDUCE (to make);
• CONtract (an agreement) / conTRACT (to shrink);
• PROject (a piece of work) / proJECT (to throw forward);
• CONtent (what is inside) / conTENT (satisfied);
• REfuse (rubbish) / reFUSE (to say no).

The -sure sound. It has two sounds:

• 'zhuh' (a soft buzz): treasure, pleasure, measure, leisure, enclosure, exposure, seizure, composure;
• 'shuh': pressure, reassure, ensure, fissure, unsure.

A rough guide: after a vowel it is usually 'zhuh'; after a consonant or double s, 'shuh'.

Pausing and chunking. Split what you say into smaller pieces so listeners can follow. Speech with no breaks is tiring to hear.

Mark a short pause with / and a longer one with //:

'When things go wrong,/ as they sometimes will,// when the road you're trudging/ seems all uphill,//'

Read it both ways and you will hear the difference. Chunking gives the listener time to take in each idea, and lets you stress the words that matter.