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C46
C47
I'm quite busy r; at the moment fi)
Fal ling and rising tones
In each speech unit (see Unit 32) there is one main movement of the voice, either up or down, starting on the last prominent word of the speech unit. Listen to this example:
II you'll arRIVE II at CENtral STAtion ffijl
when you get OH the TRAIN II turn LEFT along the PLATform ffijl
at the END of the platform II there's an EScalator ffijl go UP it II
and you'll be in the MAIN SQUARE ffijl
there's a FOUNtain f!iJI in the SQUARE II and ,'11 be WAITing for you THERE ffijl
These speech units have either a falling tone ffij or a rising tone .
A falling tone or a rising tone can extend over just one word (which may be only one syllable) or over a number of non-prominent syllables at the end of a speech unit:
II NO f!iJI |
II YES II |
II he WORKS in a SUpermarket fjJI |
II is that a CHOColate MILKshake fJ!JI |
II I've ALwavs wanted to go there fjJII |
II do you LIKE living in paris II |
C48 Choosing a falling tone indicates that the information in the speech unit adds some 'news': it is information that the hearer is not expected to know already. Choosing a rising tone indicates that the information in the speech unit is 'not news': it is information that the speaker and hearer already share. Distinguishing 'news' from 'not news' in this way can help the hearer understand what is being said.
A:Sec you on Saturday.
B:II hut ,'11 be in LONdon f!iJI at the weekEND II
the fact that I'll be in London is 'news' to A
the weekend is 'not news' - it is the time we are talking about (Saturday)
A:I'm trying to get fit, so I've decided to go on a diet.
B:II you CAN'T just eat LESS il you'll HAVE to do more EXercise fjJI
'eating less' has already |
B tells A that exercise |
been talked about (in |
is necessary, too |
'go on a diet') |
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C49 We can use a fall-rising tone instead of a rising tone to indicate that information is 'not news'.
Compare these examples:
A: Can you cOllle over now?
B: II ,'m QUITE BlISy fiJI at the M Olllent II or: B: II ,'m QUITE BUSy f!iJI at the MOment Ffi2!JI
&Note: It usually doesn't matter whether you use a rising or fall-rising tone. However, in some contexts one tone or the other is more likely. For more details, see Unit 438.
84 |
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) |
Section C Pronunciation in conversation
Exercises
9. 1 Listen to the sentences and underline the last prominent word (where the main movement of the |
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C50 voice begins). Then show whether the voice rises (put ,If in the box) or falls (,) from there. |
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(Note that each sentence is one speech unit.) |
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EXAMPLE I'm quite tired again. ISAl |
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You remember Pablo. |
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Was she really? |
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I suppose so. |
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I gave it to my son. |
3 |
I've always lived around here. |
8 |
Can we go now? |
4 |
It's broken down again. |
9 |
One moment, please. |
5 |
Shall I have a go? |
10 |
There was dust all over the place. |
Now say the phrases aloud in the same way.
Listen and decide whether the speech units in the B parts have a rising tone (put ,If in the box) or a C51 falling tone ( ,).
EXAMPLE A: Where on earth did you find that?
B: II I came across it /I in an antique shop ISAlI
1A: What time shall we leave?
B:II We could go now Oil as you're ready Oil
2 A: What time did David get back?
B: II I heard him come in Oil at about three Oil
3A: I'm not sure his plan would work very well.
B:II I thought his suggestion Oil was ridiculous Oil
4A: The hall was packed, wasn't it?
B:II I hate it Oil when it's so crowded
5A: Do you want a drink?
B:II I wouldn't mind some orange juice Oil if you've got any Oil
6 A: When did they tell you it would get here? |
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B: |
They said it would be delivered |
by yesterday Oil |
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7 A: Have you heard Trio Gitano play before? |
Oil |
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II |
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first saw them perform |
Oil |
a couple of years ago |
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B: II |
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8A: I could move that easily.
B:II well why don't you try Oil if you think you're so strong Oil
Now listen again. Press 'pause' before each B part and read it aloud. Then press 'play' again and compare your pronunciation with what follows.
Fol low up: Read again the explanation in C opposite. Use it to decide why falling and rising tones are used in the B parts in exercise 39.2.
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) |
85 |
They taste great
Tails
&1, these biscuits IlJ
C52 In informal spoken English, tails are sometimes used at the end of a sentence to emphasise or make clearer what we have just said. We often use them when we give an evaluation of something:
It's a really good PHOto 1SiI,THAT one eI. |
She's a JUDGE 1SiI,my AUNT eI. |
G |
G |
C53
C54
.:..- :,);;;;...JD- C55.
IMpOr-h:l....f-
+or lis.f-e....i'l...
C56
Tails consist of a noun or a noun phrase. They usually have a rising tone because they are referring to or expanding on something that has been said before (see Unit 39).
Some tails consist of this, that, these or those or a phrase beginning with one of these words. These tails usually emphasise what we are saying:
They're all we've got LEFT 1SiI,THOSE two eJ. They taste GREAT &I,these BIScuits eJ.
It's BEAUtiful Sl,THIS part of the COUNtry eJ.
I t says here that they're going to put u p a new town hal l . INteresting 1SiI,THAT eJ.
Other tails make clear who or what we are referring to:
He's a good COOK Sl, Nlgel eJ. (= Nigel is a good cook)
She's really STRICT 611,the headTEAcher eJ.
I can't STAND i t 611,cigarETTE smoke fi!!I=. I can't( stand cigarette smoke) That's MY hat Sl, the ONE you're WEAring fi!!I.
/-Another |
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said. It is similar to |
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tag |
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tone. |
repeats the |
subject |
+ verb in order to reinforce what we |
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type oftail. also with a rising |
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have just |
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a |
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(see |
Unit |
41), and is used |
mainly |
in |
very informal speech: |
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A:Maybe you could borrow the money from your brother?
B:No, he's incredibly MEAN Sl, HE is .
subject + verb ___ |
the subject in the tail is |
prominent and the verb |
A: Do you know those people over there? |
non-prominent |
B: Yeah, they LIVE near me &), THEY do 1l!J. |
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subject + verb |
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Some other tails usually have a falling tone; for example, a tail added to a wh- question in order to clarify who or what the question refers to:
What time's it ON &),this SHOW EiJ ?
is she EiJ,your DAUGHter E i J ?
86 |
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) |
Section C Pronunciation in conversation
Exercises
40. 1 |
Match the sentence beginnings and the tails. |
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It's so boring, |
........... this cream. |
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2 |
I think it's gone off, |
........... those two shirts. |
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3 |
I took them myself, |
.. ... . |
most of these photos. |
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4 |
That's my coat, |
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my sister. |
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They're a bit unfriendly, |
....1 ... |
tennis. |
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It's really annoying, |
........... |
that dripping tap. |
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7 |
They're quite similar, |
.. .. ... |
the one with the fur collar. |
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She was the first one in our family to go to university, |
........... |
our neighbours. |
Now listen and check your answers. Then say the full sentences aloud, making sure you use a rising tone on the tail and a falling tone before it.
EXAMPLE It's so boring a, tennis 11.
40.2 Do you think the tails in these sentences are likely to have a rising tone (put in the box) or a falling tone (,)7
EXAMPLE They're all over the kitchen, those beetles. III
1 Where's it being held, Friday's concert? ea
2 What's it like, this cheese? B
3 It can be dangerous, skiing. C
4 It's made from Thai silk, Vicky's dress. 11 S When are they coming, Frank and Gill? Cl
6 How much did you pay for them, these tickets? a 7 It's not a great day for us to meet, Sunday. B
:<::58. Now listen and check your predictions. Then say the sentences aloud.
40.3 The speakers in this conversation actually used sentences with tails instead of the parts in green. Write down what you think they said and mark the likely intonation with arrows.
A: These things are fascinating.
B: Careful, that knife's sharp.
A: Looks old, too.
B: Most of those things've been in my family for over a hundred years.
A: That's amazing.
B: My grandfather brought them back from Nepal.
A: Nepal is somewhere I'd really like to go.
B: Me, too. But I'd have to go by plane, and I hate flying.
Now listen and check your answers.
Follow up: I magine you are being shown around a house that is for sale. Using sentences with tails, think of five criticisms and five compliments you might make. For example: 'It's very small, the garden'; 'It's nicely decorated, the sitting room:
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) |
87 |
Great film fiI, wasn't it 9?
Question tags
C69 Question tags are short questions added to the end of a statement, usually to produce a response from a hearer. We use a falling tone for question tags when we expect the hearer to acknowledge that what we have just said is correct, for example, when we are giving our opinion:
They didn't PLAY very well 11, DID they Il? GREAT FILM El,WASn't it El?
We use a rising tone when we invite the hearer to say whether what we have just said is correct or not, for example, when we are not certain that something is true:
JapanESE 1 1 , ISn't it II?
NOT on a DIet again 1 1 , ARE you II?
Notice that question tags are often used after statements where the subject or subject and verb have been left out.
C61 Question tags usually have a falling tone when the statement is obviously correct:
you're not WELL El, ARE you E l ?
HOT 11,ISn't it El?
We also use a falling tone when we want the hearer to admit that something they may not have accepted before is, in fact, correct:
TOLD you I was RIGHT a, DIDn't I l l? WRONG again El,WEREN'T you lil?
Question tags can also follow exclamations, and these tags usually have a falling tone: what a riDICulous thing to SAY 11, WASn't it El?
C62 When both the statement and the question tag are positive, the question tag usually has a rising tone:
Came by CAR El, DID you a? you've FINished 11,HAVE you a?
This pattern is sometimes used to be critical or sarcastic. These sentences often begin with 'So. . . ' or 'Oh, . . . ':
So you THINK you're CLEVer El, DO you II?
Question tags (usually will you, can't you, won't you, would you, or shall we) can be added to imperative sentences. These tags usually have a rising tone and are often used to soften a request or command:
Let's get the EARlier train El, SHALL we B? TAKE care of THESE 11,WOULD you B?
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced)
·1 . 1
C63
1 .2
C64
1 .3
C65
Section C Pronunciation in conversation
Exercises
Do you think the question tags in this conversation are likely to have a rising tone (put ." in the |
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box) or a falling tone ('l? |
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A:Wonderful view from up here, isn't it? g
B:Great.
A:I said it would be worth the effort, didn't I? CJ
B:Hmm.
A:You're not tired, are you? El
B:Exhausted. Give me some water, will you? CJ
A: Not very fit, are you? El Still, not much further.
.,/1'" ,,,/
A:Just another kilometre to go. We can't turn round now, can we? El
B:Of course we can. Let's go back now, shall we? CJ Please.B: But we're at the top, aren't we.", I'!"'I
Now listen and check your predictions.
Listen and decide whether the question tags in S's responses have a rising tone (put '" in the box) or a falling tone (').
EXAMPLE A: Great race. B: She ran well, didn't she? rI
1 A: I can do that easily. B: Oh, you can, can you? El
2 A: We'll have to wait ages for the bus. B: But they come every ten minutes, don't they? CJ 3 A: What a boring lecture. B: Yes, dull, wasn't it? 0
4 A: Shame about the colour. B: What a hideous shade of purple, isn't it? El 5 A: Where do you want these boxes? B: Put them over there, would you? 0
6 A: I think there's something wrong with the printer. B: You broke it, didn't you? fa 7 A: Can I get a discount on these tickets? B: You're a student, are you? El
Now listen again. Press 'pause' before each S part and read it aloud. Then press 'play' again and compare your pronunciation with what follows.
Suggest an appropriate question tag to complete S's responses. Then read them aloud, using either a rising or falling tone on the tag as appropriate.
EXAMPLE A: Did you see the eclipse yesterday?
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B: Fantastic, .... ................. g?tI,'.±..j±.............. ......... ? |
Bill |
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A: Don't forget your gloves. |
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B: They're yours, ......................... ................................. ... ? |
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A: He could have been killed crossing the road like that. |
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B: What a stupid thing to do, . |
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...... ? |
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A: Try to come early to get a good seat. |
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B: There'll be a lot of people, |
...................................... ..... ? |
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4 A: What a terrible noise. |
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B: You're not a rock music |
fan, |
.......................... ...................................................... ? |
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A: Where shall I leave you? |
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B: Drop me in front of the |
station, ............................... |
.............. ? |
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Now listen and check your answers.
Fol low up: Many other languages have question tags, although in some a single question tag is used rather than the large number found in English. Think about the intonation of question tag(s) used in your first language. Does it follow a similar pattern to that described in this unit for English question tags?
English Pronunciation in Use (Advanced) |
89 |