C. Break the sentences below into rhythmic groups. Practise reading the sentences.

The session’s nearly over.

What’s the name of the actor?

Robert is taller than Allan.

The inflation may lead to a depression.

I can give you the answer in a minute.

I’ll repeat the suggestion as I heard it.

You can see it in a moment that he needs it.

When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

As you surely know, it’s time for lunch.

Since he seems surprised, you’d better speak.

I’ll help you with your hair when you are ready for it.

I think he would be shocked if you asked him for it.

I never would have thought you would give it to me.

Exercise 6

 

Choose a word from the box on the left which rhymes with the words on the right. Fill in the gaps in each sentences with a suitable rhyming pair. Listen and check your answers. Practise saying the sentences with the correct rhythm.

 

a. rhyme b. half c. write d. sword e. knee f. wreck g. limb h. know

i. who j. plant k. rustle l. funny m. farm n. bet o. smile p. diet

climb gnawed muscle knight money aunt through quiet

debt though laugh psalm hymn cheque quay aisle

 

a. The dragon _________ St. George’s ________.

b. I gave my __________ a lovely ____________.

c. He signed a _________ to buy the __________.

d. If you’re in _________, you shouldn’t _______.

e. The bridegroom’s ________ shone down the __________.

f. We’ll never _________ who wrote it, ___________.

g. I strained each _________ to sing the __________.

h. Please put me _________ to you-know-________.

 

Exercise 7

 

Listen to the poem and mark the stress. Note that when you read it aloud some syllables are ‘heavier’ than others. The unstressed syllables have to be ‘squashed in’ between the stressed. Listen to the first verse again and clap the rhythm with the tape, then practise reading the whole poem aloud.

 

FUTURE INTENTIONS

 

In June this year I’ll finish school,

And the summer’s getting near/

My classmates all know what they want to do,

But I haven’t got any idea.

 

Pippa’s going to ravel round the world.

Hannah’s going to stay at home.

Peter’s going to join a punk rock band.

And Richard’s going to teach in Rome.

 

 

Amanda’s going to move to Hollywood

Where she hopes to become a star.

Frank’s going to pass his driving test

And then he’s going to buy himself a car.

 

Paula’s going to study up at Cambridge.

And Roger’s going to learn how to cook.

Emma’s going to have a lot of babies,

And Sarah’s going to write a book.

 

Steven’s going to be a scientist

And try to help the human race.

Helen’s going to be in the Olympic team

And finish in the long jump in first place.

 

Ian’s going to be a millionaire.

And Anna’s going to help the poor.

But I still don’t know what I want to do,

So I’ll sit here and I’ll think some more.

 

 

Exercise 8

 

Sort out the following lines to make two separate poems: “Superman” and “Cinderella”. Listen and check your answers. Practise reading the two poems, make sure you do it rhythmically.

 

Don’t be sorry.

Here in this parcel, so

Hello there, Superman.

With my magic

Are you crying Cinderella?

I’ve got a telegram.

You will make it to the dance.

Wishing you happy Returns of the day!

Now you’re defenseless, and can’t run away

And your pumpkin

And there is some kryptonite

Here’s your chance:

Exercise 9

 

Listen to two more poems, write them down, mark the strongly stressed words. Practise reading the poems.

 

Aladdin Sir Lancelot Guinevere

 

On your own:

Prepare model reading of the following rhymes. Find more rhymes and read them aloud paying attention to the rhythm in them.

 

A. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

All good children go to heaven.

Some fly east,

Some fly west,

Some fly over the cuckoo’s nest.

 

B. Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

How I wonder what you are.

Up above you fly so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.

 

c. One, two, three, four.

Mary at the cottage door.

Five, six, seven, eight.

Eating cherries off the plate.

 

SECTION 5: INTONATION OF CERTAIN SENTENCE PARTS

 

DIRECT ADDRESS

Direct address is a word or a group of words used to address a person or a group of people.

 

e.g. How are you, Harry?

 

The intonation of a direct address depends on its position in the sentence and on the speaker’s attitude.

At the beginning of a sentence, a direct address is always stressed and forms a separate sense-group which is pronounced with the Low Fall (in formal or serious speech)or with the Fall-Rise 9in informal, lively speech.)

 

e.g. Robert, you must think carefully before re fusing the offer.

Dad, will you mend my bike?

 

In the medial or final position, a direct address is usually unstressed and does not form a separate sense-group; it continues the melody of the last stressed syllable.

 

e.g. I beg your pardon, sir, it’s not my fault.

 

In emphatic speech, however, a direct address may take the rise of the Fall-Rise.

 

e.g. Get out of the pool at once, Peter!

Practice:

A.

1. Victor, you can’t go there alone.

2. Don’t lose heart, old boy!

3. Will you give me that newspaper, Tom?

4. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Mr. King to you.

5. Will you. Bill, answer my question?

6. You know, Lorna, let’s speak about it some other time.

7. Nelly, where are you?

8. You needn’t go into so much trouble, Mrs. Bellows.

 

B.

1/ I don’t know Mr. Smith.

I don’t know, Mr. Smith.

 

2/ He doesn’t remember John.

He doesn’t remember, John.

 

3/ Have you forgotten dear old tom?

Have you forgotten, dear old Tom?

 

4/ Can you hear Helen?

Can you hear, Helen?

 

 

ADVERBIAL PHRASES

 

Adverbial phrases at the beginning of a simple sentences are normally stressed and form separate sense-groups pronounced with the Low Rise or the Mid-Level tone.

 

e.g. Yesterday I stayed in all day.

In front of the house, there is a green lawn.

In sentence final position adverbials are not stressed and don’t form separate sense-groups.

 

e.g. I stayed in all day yesterday.

There is a lawn in front of the house.

 

An adverbial at the end of the sentence can form a separate sense-group if it is an afterthought, additional comment, clarification, etc.

 

e.g. Any news from Mary? – She’s coming to Boston, this after noon.

 

Practice:

 

1. A few minutes later we heard a knock at the door.

2. I was utterly exhausted by the end of the week.

3. At the door I shook Fanny’s hand and left.

4. A few years ago, the place was quiet and desolate.

5. There was an old, creaky rocking-chair on the farthest corner of the room.

6. In September the weather here is still fine, but in October most days are quite nasty.

7. Why not drop in at his office, instead of phoning him?

8. He thought it was his good luck to have such an opportunity so early in his career.

 

 

APPOSITIONS

 

Appositions are words that restate or identify a noun or pronoun. As a rule, appositions form separate sense-groups and repeat the melody of the previous sense-group which they are closely connected with.

 

e.g. Jack has a wife, Jennifer, and two children, a son and a daughter.

Practice:

 

1. The master called loudly for Mr. Bumble, the man in charge of the workhouse.

2. He was my mother’s old friend, Mr. Davis, who once was my music teacher.

3. Kublai khan, grandson of Genghis, was the first Mongol emperor of all China.

4. Michael Jackson, the king of pop, was once married to, Elvis Presley’s daughter.

5. The Natural History Museum, which is part of the British Museum, moved to its present site in

1880.

6. The river Thames flows by two more parks, Hampton Court park and bushy Park.

 

 

ENUMERATON

 

Enumeration is represented in sentences with homogeneous members. Each enumerated word is stressed and requires a separate sense-group pronounced with the Rise, the last enumerated word is pronounced with the Fall.

 

e.g. He got up early, ate his usual breakfast, read his morning paper, and left for the city.

 

Since the falling tone carries more conviction than the rising tone, the use of the fall makes the utterance more expressive. Pronounced with the falling tone, enumeration sounds more emphatic.

 

 

Practice:

1. You are learning to speak, to understand, to read and to write English.

2. His voice was musical, soft and lulling.

3. London bridge, built of stone was a remarkable achievement. Shops, houses and a chapel were

built on the bridge.

4. The visitor was the most astonishing contrast to the tall, thin, grey-haired, neatly-dressed scientist

5. It was a dark, gloomy, forbidding house.

6. There are camps, camping sites, hostels and tourist centers for young travellers.

7. I’ll toss up a snowball, and make him look out, and then say a kind word to him.

8. Hair, clothing and jewelry all send messages to a prospective employer.

9. The university sent us catalogues, maps, housing applications and other information.

10. We used to go out, walk around the town, meet our friends and live happily.

PARENTHESES

 

A parenthesis is a word, phrase or clause which is connected with the rest of the sentences I order;

- to show the speaker’s attitude towards the idea expressed;

- to connect the sentence with another one

- to summarize or add some detail to what is said in the sentence.

 

At the beginning of a sentence a parenthesis is stressed and may form a separate sense-group if it is semantically important. This sense-group may be pronounced either with the Rise or with the Fall, or with the Fall-Rise.

 

e.g. To crown it all, we had a fantastic ball in the evening.

By the way, what time is it?

 

In the middle or at the end of the sentence parentheses are not stressed and do not form separate sense-groups. They are pronounced as the unstressed or partially stressed syllables of the intonation group

.

e.g. He’s quite am bitious, you know.

You know of course how am bitious he is.

Practice:

 

1. Besides, I’m often mixed up with my twin brother.

2. To put it mildly, he isn’t quite sane.

3. Simon isn’t particularly keen on Italian food, I suppose.

4. The house wasn’t in fact all that big.

5. Now that I know him well enough of course, I find him very pleasant.

6. In my opinion, he deserved what he got.

7. Fortunately for me, it was a translated version.

8. He’s stubborn, as far as I know.

9. You are right, though.

10. You never ask yourself, I suppose, whether I mater at all.

 

 

AUTHOR”S WORDS

 

Author’s words may introduce, interrupt or include direct speech.

The author’ words introducing direct speech form a separate sense-group normally pronounced with the falling tone.

 

e.g. And then he said, “ Perhaps you are right.”

If the author’s words follow direct speech, they continue the melody of the sense-group as its unstressed or partially stressed tail.

 

e.g. “ What is it for?” he asked.

 

If the author’s words form a fairly long sequence, they may be treated as a separate sense-group pronounced with the same intonation as the preceding sense-group or with intonation of their own.

 

e.g. “Do you think it’s fair?” she asked, looking at me with surprise.

Practice:

1. “I can’t believe you ate the whole watermelon,” she said.

2. My father began by saying, “I refuse to listen to any excuses.”

3. “You are the last person on earth I’d ask for help,” she told me with contempt.

4. “What rubbish!” he exclaimed leaving the room.

5. “Mel Gibson is one of my best customers’” the street vender bragged.

6. “He wants the money,” Charles said after a dramatic pause, “and he wants it fast.”

7. “I can’t eat anything,” he growled, putting his head in his hands.

8. “Miss bloom,” I said breathlessly, “we must go back now.”

9. Her cousin shrugged and said curtly, “I don’t care a bit.”

10. “Are you glad to see me, Bobby?” asked Aunt Ellie.