Scribd
Upload
115 views

Rising and Falling Intonation

The document discusses rising and falling intonation in English. It defines intonation as the rising and falling of the voice in speech, which adds attitude or emotion. There are two basic intonation patterns: rising intonation, which invites the speaker to continue and is used for yes/no questions and question tags seeking confirmation; and falling intonation, which is most common and used for statements, commands, wh-questions, confirmatory question tags, and exclamations. Examples of each type of intonation are provided.

Uploaded by

eme baldueza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
115 views

Rising and Falling Intonation

The document discusses rising and falling intonation in English. It defines intonation as the rising and falling of the voice in speech, which adds attitude or emotion. There are two basic intonation patterns: rising intonation, which invites the speaker to continue and is used for yes/no questions and question tags seeking confirmation; and falling intonation, which is most common and used for statements, commands, wh-questions, confirmatory question tags, and exclamations. Examples of each type of intonation are provided.

Uploaded by

eme baldueza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 14

RISING AND FALLING

INTONATION
What is « Intonation »

?
Intonation is the rising and falling of the voice in speech. It
is abouthowwe say things, rather whatwe
than say.
 Intonation adds attitude or emotion to the words.
 Wrong intonation causes misunderstanding!!
 It istheway the voice rises and falls when speaking, in other
words: Intonationthe
is music of the language.
 There are two basic patterns of intonation in English: (Please
remember that these are not rules but patterns)
a) Rising Intonation
b) Falling Intonation

RISING INTONATION
 The pitch of the voice rises at the end of the sentence.

 Rising intonation invites the speaker to continue talking.

 It is normally used with yes/no questions, and question tags


that are real questions.
 It is also used when we express doubt and need confirmation.
Let’s take a look at some example sentences indicating
Rising Intonation.
 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
answer
an
(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?

FALLING INTONATION
 The pitch of the voice falls at the end of the sentence.
 Falling intonation is the most common intonation pattern in
English.
 It is commonly found in statements, commands, wh-questions
(information questions), confirmatory question tags and
exclamations.
 Wh- questions (requesting information) :
(questions beginning with 'who', ‘whose‘ , 'what', 'why', 'where',
'when', 'which', and 'how')

 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?

– I failed the test because I didn't revise, did ↘I?

– 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!
Here is a practice dialogue for Rising and Falling Intonation.
Listen carefully to the following dialogue. Raise your hand if you hear a
Rising Intonation and clap your hands twice if you hear a Falling
Intonation.
Aunt : Congratulations David ! I heard that you will graduate from
elementary school this week.
David: Thank you . I am happy to finish my elementary school
education. Now, I will begin my junior high school education.
Aunt : You’re not a child anymore. You are a young adult. Your
teachers expect you to be responsible and mature.
David: I know. It’s time for me to stop being childish. I should be
serious about studying.
Aunt: If you study hard and get good grades in juniour high school,
your parents will be very proud of you.

THANK YOU
ÇİĞDEM ÜÇİN

You might also like