Why is intonation important?
- Hear the teacher say: 'It's raining'
- What does the teacher mean when saying: 'It's raining'?
- 'What a surprise!', or 'How annoying!',or 'That's great!'.
What is intonation? 🤔
It not only helps in clarifying the message but also adds layers of meaning and emotion to our speech.
The three main patterns of intonation in English are:
- falling intonation
- rising intonation
- fall-rise intonation.
1. "I didn't say he was guilty." - This suggests that although someone else might have said he was guilty, the speaker did not.
2. "I didn't say he was guilty." - This implies that the speaker might have implied or hinted at his guilt but did not explicitly say it.
3."I didn't say he was guilty." - This implies that the speaker was talking about someone else being guilty, not necessarily him.
4."I didn't say he was guilty." - This suggests that the speaker said something else about him, but it wasn't that he was guilty.
- Wh-word questions: falling intonation
- Yes/No questions: rising
- Statements: falling
- Question-Tags: 'chat' - falling; 'check' - rising
- Lists: rising, rising, rising, falling
Rising Intonation:
"Did you enjoy the movie?" "Are you feeling better today?" "Could you repeat that, please?"
“Should I answer the telephone?”
"Do you need any help?" "Are you coming to the party?" “We must buy carrots, onions, potatoes and a bottle of wine.”
Falling Intonation:
"I'll see you tomorrow.". "She finished her homework." "The meeting starts at 9 a.m." "He's going on vacation next week."
"What time is it?" "Where are you going?" "Can you pass the salt?"
Are we going to the beach this weekend? He got a promotion at work last week. Do you want to grab a coffee after class? Are you feeling better today? She passed her driving test yesterday. Do you think it's going to rain later? The weather forecast predicts rain tomorrow. The store closed early today. Is it okay if I borrow your laptop? They're planning a trip to Europe. Could you help me with this math problem? She won the competition last year.