choose the option with the correct emphatic stress indicated in capital letters from the options lettered A-D Biography

Analyze the question: The question asks where the primary (emphatic) stress falls in the word "biography". This is a question on word stress in Oral English.

Explain the concept: In English, longer words have one syllable that carries the strongest stress. Words ending in -graphy (like photography, geography, biography) typically put the stress on the syllable just before "-graphy", i.e. the second syllable. That is the -og- part.

Break the word into syllables:

• bi · OG · ra · phy (/baɪˈɒɡrəfi/)
• Syllable 1: bi
• Syllable 2: og (stressed)
• Syllable 3: ra
• Syllable 4: phy

Match with the options:

• A. bioGRAphy: stress on the 3rd syllable. Wrong.
• B. BIography: stress on the 1st syllable. Wrong.
• C. biograPHY: stress on the last syllable. Wrong.
• D. biOgraphy: stress on the 2nd syllable (the "o"). Correct.

Note: Option D writes only the "O" in capitals, but that "O" is the vowel of the stressed second syllable, so it correctly marks the stress on "-og-".

Tip: For words ending in -graphy, -logy, -metry, stress falls on the syllable just before the ending:

• phoTOGraphy
• geOGraphy
• bioLOGy
• geOMetry

Remember "the syllable before the -graphy" and you will get these right quickly in JAMB Oral English.