The Stress Shift in English

[richmond12]

Hello everybody! I'd like to know if what I'm going to say could be considered a rule:

Whenever we have a standalone term at the end of a sentence that is usually stressed on the last syllable, the stress shifts to the first syllable when this term is followed by another one.

Let's examine these two examples to have a clearer picture:

What about the canteen?
[ˈwɒt əˌbaʊt ðə kænˈtiːn]

What about the canteen food?
[ˈwɒt əˌbaʊt ðə 'kæntiːn ˌfuːd]

Cheers.

 

[Skrej]

No. The word 'canteen' is stressed on the second syllable in both sentences. It doesn't change.