catastrophic — choose the one that has the correct stress

Analyze the question: You are asked to pick the option that shows where the main stress falls in "catastrophic".

Concept: In English, words ending in -ic usually take the primary stress on the syllable just before the suffix (the penultimate syllable). Examples: eco-NO-mic, ge-o-GRAPH-ic, pho-to-GRAPH-ic, sci-en-TI-fic.

Step by step:

1. Break the word into syllables: ca-ta-stro-phic (4 syllables).
2. The word ends in -ic (the syllable "phic").
3. Under the -ic rule, the stress falls on the syllable immediately before it, which is stro.
4. The word is therefore pronounced /ˌkætəˈstrɒfɪk/, with the main stress on "stro" (ca-ta-STRO-phic).

Checking the options:

• A. CA-ta-stro-phic: stress on the first syllable. Wrong.
• B. ca-TA-stro-phic: stress on the second syllable. Wrong.
• C. ca-ta-STRO-phic: stress on the third syllable. Correct.
• D. ca-ta-stro-PHIC: stress on the last syllable. Wrong.

Tip: For words ending in -ic, -ical, -ion, -ity, and similar suffixes, stress the syllable just before the ending. Remember "-ic: stress the one before the tick," as in dra-MA-tic, ca-ta-STRO-phic, and fan-TAS-tic.