For the question, choose the most appropriate stress pattern from the options. The stressed syllables are written in capital letters. Hospitality

Analyze the question: You are asked to choose the correct primary stress position in the word "hospitality" (hos-pi-TAL-i-ty). It has five syllables: hos | pi | tal | i | ty.

Concept: In English, words ending in -ity normally take the primary stress on the syllable just before the suffix (the antepenultimate syllable). Examples:

• abILity → a-BIL-i-ty
• acTIVity → ac-TIV-i-ty
• naTIONalITY → na-tion-AL-i-ty (stress on AL)
• pos-si-BIL-i-ty

Solution:

1. Break the word into syllables: hos-pi-tal-i-ty
2. Identify the suffix: -ity (the last two syllables are "i" and "ty")
3. Stress falls on the syllable immediately before "-ity", which is tal
4. So the pattern is: hos-pi-TAL-i-ty

Checking the options:

• A. HOSpitality: stress on the first syllable (incorrect; that is not the usual pattern for -ity words)
• B. hosPItality: stress on "pi" (incorrect)
• C. hospiTAlity: stress on "tal" (correct)
• D. hospitaLIty: stress on "li" (incorrect; the stress never sits on the -ity suffix itself)

Answer: C

Tip: For words ending in -ity, -ify, -ical, -ic, -ion, the stress usually falls on the syllable right before the suffix. Quick check: count back two syllables from the end of an -ity word, and that is where the stress goes (hospiTAL-i-ty).