The study of the vowels and the stress pattern in a language are intimately connected. That is because the “stress,” or the emphasis that one puts on a word, normally happens on the vowel. In order to sound “native” in Portuguese, the student should learn how to put the correct amount of force or stress on the center of the correct vowel, that is, on the right syllable.

In Portuguese words are usually stressed on the next-to-last syllable, though there are also words that are stressed on the last syllable or the third-to-last syllable. Here are some examples:

TRACK 11

Word Stress

All verbs in infinitives ending in — r, such as amar (to love), have the stress on the next-to-last syllable. When a nasal diphthong ends a word, such as irmão (brother), the stress is on the last syllable.