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Apr 22, 2022

Intonation

Statements Nice to meet ➘ you. I’ll be back in a ➘ minute. She doesn’t live here ➘ anymore. Dad wants to change his ➘ car. Here is the weather ➘ forecast. Cloudy weather is expected at the end of the ➘ week. We should work together more ➘ often I'm going for a walk in the ➘ park.

Commands Write your name ➘ here. Show me what you’ve ➘ written. Leave it on the ➘ desk. Take that picture ➘ down. Throw that ➘ out. Put your books on the ➘ table. Take your hands out of your ➘ pockets.

Wh- questions (requesting information.) (questions beginning with 'who', 'what', 'why', 'where', 'when', 'which', and 'how') What country do you come ➘ from? Where do you ➘ work? Which of them do you ➘ prefer? When does the shop ➘ open? How many books have you ➘ bought? Which coat is ➘ yours? Whose bag is ➘ this?

Questions Tags that are statements requesting confirmation rather than questions. Not all tag questions are really questions. Some of them merely ask for confirmation or invite agreement, in which case we use a falling tone at the end. He thinks he’s so clever, doesn’t ➘ he? She's such a nuisance, isn't ➘ she? He failed the test because he didn't revise, did ➘ he? It doesn't seem to bother him much, does ➘ it?

Exclamations How nice of ➘ you! That's just what I ➘ need! You don't ➘ say! What a beautiful ➘ voice! That's a ➘ surprise!

Yes/no Questions (Questions that can be answered by 'yes' or 'no'.) Do you like your new ➚ teacher? Have you finished ➚ already? May I borrow your ➚ dictionary? Do you have any ➚ magazines? Do you sell ➚ stamps?

Questions tags that show uncertainty and require an answer (real questions). We've met already, ➚ haven't we? You like fish, ➚ don't you? You're a new student ➚ aren't you? The view is beautiful, ➚ isn't it?

Choices (alternative questions.) Are you having ➚ soup or ➘ salad? Is John leaving on ➚ Thursday or ➘ Friday? Does he speak ➚ German or ➘ French? Is your name ➚ Ava or ➘ Eva?

Lists (rising, rising, rising, falling) Intonation falls on the last item to show that the list is finished. We've got ➚ apples, pears, bananas and ➘ oranges The sweater comes in ➚ blue, white pink and ➘ black I like ➚ football, tennis, basketball and ➘ volleyball. I bought ➚ a tee-shirt, a skirt and a ➘ handbag.

Unfinished thoughts (partial statements) In the responses to the following questions, the rise-fall intonation indicates reservation. The speaker hesitates to fully express his/her thoughts. Do you like my new handbag? Well the ➚ leather is ➘ nice... ( but I don't like it.) What was the meal like? Hmm, the ➚ fish was ➘ good... (but the rest wasn't great). So you both live in Los Angeles? Well ➚ Alex ➘ does ... (but I don't).

Conditional sentences (The tone rises in the first clause and falls gradually in the second clause.) If he ➚ calls, ask him to leave a ➘ message. Unless he ➚ insists, I'm not going to ➘ go. If you have any ➚ problems, just ➘ contact us.

Hesitation/reluctance: So you'd be willing to confirm that? ...Well ... I ➘sup➚pose so ... You didn't see him on Monday? I don't quite ➘re➚member ... Politeness-Doubt-Uncertainty: (You are not sure what the answer might be.) Perhaps we could ➘vis➚it the place? Should we ➘cop➚y the list? Do you think it's ➘al➚lowed?

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