Choose from the options lettered A - E the one that has a different stress pattern from the others:

Analyze the question: We need the word whose stress falls on a different syllable from the others.

Concept: In English, word stress is the syllable said with more force. Two-syllable nouns usually stress the first syllable. Longer words follow their own patterns.

Step-by-step solution:

• A. Favour /ˈfeɪ.vər/ has 2 syllables, stress on the first: FA-vour
• B. Country /ˈkʌn.tri/ has 2 syllables, stress on the first: COUN-try
• C. Mother /ˈmʌð.ər/ has 2 syllables, stress on the first: MO-ther
• D. Impartial /ɪmˈpɑː.ʃəl/ has 3 syllables, stress on the second: im-PAR-tial

Words A, B and C are all stressed on the first syllable. Only impartial is stressed on the second syllable, so it has the different stress pattern.

Answer: D (impartial)

Tip: In these questions, first mark the stress of each word. Three words will usually share a pattern, and the odd one out is your answer. Words starting with prefixes like im-, un-, de- and re- often have stress on the root syllable after the prefix (im-PAR-tial, re-LAX, de-CIDE).