From the words lettered A to D, choose the one that has the correct stress Expenditure

Analyze the question: You are asked to pick the option that shows the correct primary stress in the word expenditure.

Explain the concept: In English, stress placement often follows patterns tied to suffixes and syllable structure. The word expenditure comes from the verb expend, and it has four syllables: ex-pen-di-ture. Words ending in the suffix -ture (such as picture, nature, furniture) almost never take stress on the -ture syllable, because it is a weak ending, pronounced /tʃə/. The stress therefore falls earlier in the word.

Solution:

1. Break the word into syllables: ex – pen – di – ture
2. Rule out D: the final syllable -ture is weak /tʃə/, so it cannot carry the primary stress.
3. Rule out A: the prefix ex- is unstressed here, where it is pronounced /ɪk/ or /ɛk/ (as in expand and expense).
4. Choose between B and C: the base pend (from expend) keeps its stress, giving ik-SPEN-di-tʃə. The dictionary pronunciation is /ɪkˈspendɪtʃə/, with stress on the second syllable, pen.

So the stress falls on pen: ex-PEN-di-ture.

Exam tip: Words ending in -ture (capture, adventure, expenditure) never stress the -ture syllable. Also, when a word is built from a verb like expend, expand, or expect, the stress usually stays on the verb's stressed syllable (ex-PEND, so ex-PEN-diture). Keep practising and you will get these quickly!