The stressed syllable is written in capital letters. dedication

Analyze the question: You are asked to find where the primary stress falls in the word "dedication" (de-di-ca-tion, 4 syllables).

Explain the concept: In English, words ending in -tion usually take the primary stress on the syllable just before the suffix. This is the "penultimate syllable rule" for words ending in -tion, -sion, -ic, -ical, -ity and similar endings.

Examples:

• eduCAtion
• creAtion
• celeBRAtion
• applicAtion

Solution:

1. Break the word into syllables: de - di - CA - tion
2. The suffix is -tion (pronounced /ʃn/), which is never stressed.
3. The syllable right before the suffix is ca (/keɪ/), so it takes the primary stress.
4. Pronunciation: /ˌdedɪˈkeɪʃn/, with primary stress on "ca" and a weaker secondary stress on the first syllable "de".

So the correct stress pattern is dediCAtion.

Checking the options:

• A. dedicaTION: wrong, since -tion is never stressed.
• B. DEdication: wrong, since this is the secondary stress, not the primary.
• C. deDIcation: wrong, since "di" is a weak syllable.
• D. dediCAtion: correct.

Tip: For words ending in -tion / -sion, always stress the syllable immediately before the ending (eduCAtion, inforMAtion, deciSION → deCIsion). It's a quick way to get these questions right in JAMB and WASSCE oral English.