1. Asking questions
For yes or no questions, use a rising intonation at the end of the sentence.
“Are you going to school tomorrow?”
For most other types of questions, use a falling intonation at the end of the sentence.
“Why are you going to school tomorrow? It’s Saturday!”
Hear it: In this clip the first few questions use a falling intonation, but when the speaker asks “Can I get a tour?” his intonation rises since it’s a yes or no question.
2. Making statements
Most regular statements (those which just state facts or information; not statements which clarify or emphasize anything) use a falling intonation at the end of the sentence.
“I’ve been playing the violin for seven years.”
Hear it: In this clip from “America’s Got Talent,” the young comedian Leo answers questions from the judges with this intonation. When he says how old he is and what he does, his answers are statements, and you can hear his voice lower in pitch on the last word.
Using tag questions
Use rising intonation on questions at the end of a sentence which require the clarification or opinion of your speaking partner. These are called tag questions.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Hear it: This video highlights the tag questions in the conversation, so you can see and hear exactly how they work and what they sound like.
Remember, intonation can turn a happy comment into a sarcastic one, or turn a statement into a question. Pay attention to the way you speak and you’ll be understood a lot better!
Intonation in managing conversation
Intonation is a complex system of meaning communicated through the rise and fall of a speaker's voice. English speakers use it to communicate many different types of meaning: grammatical meaning e.g. different types of questions and statements. status of information e.g. main or subordinate, finished or unfinished.
Intonation is very important in communication as
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