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

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)

The key idea here is how a syllable is built from its parts: onset, nucleus, and coda, with rhyme being the nucleus plus the coda. The onset is the initial consonant(s) that come before the vowel (the nucleus) in a syllable. Since the question asks for the term describing the stressed syllable that comes before the tonic syllable, we’re pointing to the part of the syllable that sits before its vowel—the onset. That’s why the term listed for the described position is the onset syllable. The other terms don’t fit this specific description: the nucleus is the vowel itself, the coda is the consonants after the vowel, and the rhyme is the combination of the nucleus and coda.

The key idea here is how a syllable is built from its parts: onset, nucleus, and coda, with rhyme being the nucleus plus the coda. The onset is the initial consonant(s) that come before the vowel (the nucleus) in a syllable. Since the question asks for the term describing the stressed syllable that comes before the tonic syllable, we’re pointing to the part of the syllable that sits before its vowel—the onset. That’s why the term listed for the described position is the onset syllable.

The other terms don’t fit this specific description: the nucleus is the vowel itself, the coda is the consonants after the vowel, and the rhyme is the combination of the nucleus and coda.