RISING ENTONATION

Rising  Intonation            

Raise the pitch of your voice at the end of a sentence to create “rising intonation.” Rising intonation is used in “yes/no questions.”  For example, “Did you see it?” is a  “yes/no” question. It can be answered with either a “yes” or a “no.” Compare that questions with this one:

“When did you see it? “this one cannot be answered by a simple “yes” or “no.”

Practice Sentences

 

1.    Did he work yesterday?

2.    Does he know about it?

 

3.    Can you call me at five?

4.    Is it good?

5.    Is thatit?

6.    Excuse me?

 

7.    Really?

Sentence Pairs for Practice

The following question pairs contain both rising and falling intonation, depending on whether they contain a “question word” or whether they are “yes/no” questions. The first question of the pair has rising intonation, and the second has falling intonation.

Yes/no question                                             question words

1.  Do you teach?                                          What do you teach?

2.  Did you see the movie?                              When did you see the movie?

3.  Do you know that guy?                              How do you know that guy?

4.  Did you buy the car?                                  Where did you buy the car?

5.  Do you work there?                                   Why do you work there?

Non – final  Intonation

With  “non-final intonation,”  the pitch rises and falls within the sentences or word. This type  of intonation is used in various situations which are outlined below.

Unfinished Thoughts

Non-final intonation is often used to indicate that you have not ended a thought. To indicate that you have something more to say, raise your pitch at the end of the phrase.

For example, “When I saw him… “or”  If I study hard…”

Sentence Pairs for Practice

The first sentence in each pair has falling intonation which indicates that the thought   has ended. The second sentence contains rising intonation indicating that the thought has not ended.

                                                                                   

1.    I bought the book.                      I bought the book, but I didn´t read it.

2.    I finished school.                        When I finished school, I moved to New York.

3.    I´ll study hard.                           If  I study hard, I´ll get an A.

4.    I´m going inside.                        I´m going inside, to get something to drink.

Introductory Words

Non-final intonation is also used with introductory words, such as actually or by the way.

Since these types of words indicate that a thought is not finished, the non-final intonation is appropriate.