F. Practise reading the sentences below. Concentrate on the influence of rhythm on the stress pattern of compound adjectives
1. This book belongs to our absent-minded professor. Our professor is absent-minded and often leaves his books behind.
2. The upstairs room has an outside staircase. He lives upstairs.
3. Wash it with luke-warm water. The water is luke-warm.
4. She is quite good-looking. There’s a good-looking girl over there.
5. He’s having afternoon tea now. We have tea nearly every afternoon.
6. They watched the changing of the Buckingham Palace guards. It’s near Buckingham Palace.
7. The boss is unbelievably bad-tempered. How can you stand such a bad-tempered person?
8. He’s always of-hand. He gave me an off-hand answer.
9. The Budapest’s climate is of continental type. He lives in Budapest.
10. Have a piece of home-made cake. This cake’s home-made.
Exercise 4
Listen and respond to the information you hear on the tape, like this:
:There was a strike where I work that lasted ten months!
:What! A ten-month strike!
Exercise 5
A.
Put one of the multi-word verbs in the box into each of the sentences below. Repeat the sentences, paying attention to the stress.
Notice the stress patterns in multi-word verbs:
a) if they are separated, there is a stress on the adverb/postposition:
e.g. to 'put the 'meeting 'off
b) if they are not separated and followed by an object, the adverb/postposition is not normally stressed:
e.g. 'Look for the 'book.
c) When there is no object, the adverb/postposition is stressed:
e.g. The 'plane 'took 'off.
d) When there is another preposition after a multi-word verb, it is not stressed:
e.g. I ' don’t get 'on with my 'sister.
| put smb up look after smb or smth come round make smth up look at smb or smth listen to smth take after smb wait for smb or smth pull smth down put smth off look for smb or smth bring smb up take off | a. The manager has _______ the meeting ______ until tomorrow. b. _______ that man in the funny hat! c. His parents died when he was six, so really his grandmother ______him _____. d. I’m ______ the scissors, I can’t find them anywhere. e. Lynne _______ for a chat this afternoon. f. I don’t know what’s happened to Kevin. We’ve been _______ him for the last two hours and he’s not usually late. g. When she hasn’t got anyone to play with she often _______ imaginary friends. h. _______ that noise outside! i. Could you possibly ______me _______ for the night when I come down to London for my interview? j. The plane ________ but had to make an emergency landing again almost immediately. k. Both of the children ________ their mother’s side of the family. They’re not like their father at all. l. They’re going to ________ the old village church _________ you know. They say it’s a public danger. |
B.
Use the following multi-word nouns and verbs to fill the gaps I the following pairs of sentences. Remember that the noun and the verb often differ in meaning.
Repeat the sentences with the tape. What do you notice about the stress in multi-word nouns and verbs?
| break-in make-up send-off break-down fall-out takeoff drop-out comeback sell-out lookout | a. They’ve had another _______ next door. Fortunately nothing very much was stolen this time. Did they _______ through the back window then? b. Keep a _______ for a parking space, will you? _______ for pickpockets! c. She had a nervous ________ last year and had to give up her job. I hope our car doesn’t _________ again. d. I’d rather you didn’t use my _______ ! You left the top off the mascara and it’s all dried up now. Don’t let’s argue, darling. Let’s kiss and _______, shall we? e. He’s a university _____, you know. He left after only two years. She wants to ________ of the play. She says she’d had enough. f. If ever there’s a nuclear war, more people will die from radioactive ________ than from the explosion. I don’t want to ______ with you. I hate arguments. g. He does a wonderful ________ of Margaret Thatcher. He sounds just like her. Is the plane going to __________ soon? h. We gave the newlyweds a fantastic ________ - champagne, cake, tin cans tied to the car! It was perfect. the summer school in Rome looks interesting. I think I’ll ________ for a brochure. i. the Michael Jackson concert was a complete ________. There wasn’t a single ticket left. I’m sure we’ll _______ of these cards before Christmas, and we won’t be able to order any more before the New Year. j. This was the year that 1950’s heart-throb, Bart Pontoni, made his ________. Good-bye, Arthur. I’m leaving. Maybe one day I’ll _______ to you, but don’t count on it! |
RHYTHM
1. Intonation is a complex unity of speech melody (variations of pitch produced by the voice moving up or down), sentence stress (greater prominence given to some words in a sentence), voice quality (a special emotional colouring of the voice), rhythm (alteration of stressed and unstressed syllables) and tempo (the speed with which sentences or their parts are uttered).
2. Rhythm in English is based on the alteration of strongly and weakly stressed syllables. The important feature is that stressed syllables occur at fairly equal intervals. The unstressed syllables between stressed ones have to be fitted in. The more unstressed syllables there are between the stressed ones, the more weakly and rapidly they are pronounced.
e.g. The 'students are ' interested in im ' proving their 'speech 'rhythm.
Words with double stress may lose one of their stresses due to the rhythm.
e.g. ' number seven' teen
'seventeen 'students
Some notional parts of speech, which are normally stressed, may lose their stress under the influence of rhythm.
e.g. 'How 'many do you need?
'How many 'rooms do you need?
A stressed syllable together with the preceding or following unstressed syllables forms a rhythmic group; each rhythmic group takes approximately the same time to pronounce.
Do the following exercises:
Practise reading the following phrases. Each time the number of unstressed syllables between the two stressed ones will be different. Make sure you can fit the unstressed syllables in to say the phrases rhythmically.
A.
1. Try again.
Hurry up.
Where’s your hat?
I want to know.
It’s quite all right.
It doesn’t matter.
2. I wanted to know.
Send me a card.
What have you done?
I’ve finished my lunch.
It’s very unfair.
I’m glad you have come.
3. I think it’ll be fine.
I didn’t know the way.
I wanted you to write about it.
It’s not the one I borrowed.
You’re wanted on the phone.
The children are in bed.
4. Walking along the road.
Why didn’t you run away?
Multiply it by three.
What’s the name of the book?
Coming back home again?
Remember what I told you.
B.
Children love toys.
Children play with toys.
The children will play with toys.
The children will play with some toys.
The children will play with some new toys.
The children are playing with some new toys.
The children will be playing with some new toys.
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.