Which term describes the stressed syllable before the tonic syllable, as in She LIVES in LONDON?

• A. Onset syllable
• B. Nucleus
• C. Coda
• D. Rhyme

Answer: (A)

This question tests how we describe the parts of a syllable and how stress patterns relate to them. In English, a syllable is made up of an onset (the initial consonant or consonant cluster), a nucleus (the vowel), and a coda (the consonants after the vowel). The rhyme combines the nucleus and the coda. When we talk about the stressed unit that comes just before the main, or tonic, beat of a phrase, the term that fits this position is the onset syllable, because it points to the leading consonantal part that begins the stressed syllable preceding the tonic. The nucleus is the vowel itself, the coda is the trailing consonants, and the rhyme is the vowel plus any following consonants—none of these designate the preceding stressed unit in relation to the tonic like the onset does.