In the following question, the main/primary stress is indicated by writing the sylable on which it occurs in…

Analyze the question: You are asked to find the syllable of "circumstantial" that carries the main stress.

Concept: Words ending in -tial, -tion, -sion, -cial and similar suffixes usually take the main stress on the syllable just before the suffix. Examples:

• ex-TEN-sion
• in-for-MA-tion
• po-TEN-tial
• con-fi-DEN-tial

Solution:

1. Break the word into syllables: cir-cum-stan-tial (4 syllables).
2. The ending "-tial" is a single syllable, pronounced /ʃl/.
3. The syllable just before it is "stan".
4. So the stress falls on "stan": /ˌsɜːkəmˈstænʃl/.

Checking the options:

• A. CIR-cum-stan-tial: stress is on the first syllable. This is the secondary stress, not the main one.
• B. cir-CUM-stan-tial: wrong.
• C. cir-cum-STAN-tial: correct.
• D. cir-cum-stan-TIAL: wrong, because the suffix itself is not stressed.

The correct answer is C.

Tip: For words ending in -tial, -tion, -sion, -cial or -cian, stress the syllable immediately before the ending. Examples are circumSTANtial, esSENtial, eduCAtion.