Intonation
Intonation is the rise and
fall of our voice as we
speak. Intonation goes
beyond stress – it
expresses our feelings and
attitudes.
with Dr. Cecilia Osyanju
Topics to be Discussed
Basic Patterns
of Intonation
Falling
Intonation
Rising
Intonation
Complex
Intonation
Patterns
Pitch, Tone,
and Meaning
“Good morning, everyone! Today, we’ll be talking about a key element of spoken English
that really brings language to life – intonation.
Now, what exactly is intonation? Intonation is the rise and fall of our voice as we speak.
It’s what gives language its ‘music.’
You may already know that when we speak English, we stress certain words, but intonation
goes beyond stress – it expresses our feelings and attitudes.
For instance, imagine saying the sentence, ‘John is here.’ With a falling intonation, it’s a
simple statement: ‘John is here.’ But if you say it with rising intonation, it becomes a
question: ‘John is here?’ See the difference? It’s the same words, but the meaning changes
based on how your voice moves.
Throughout this session, we’ll explore the two main patterns of intonation: falling and
rising, as well as how intonation changes depending on what we want to communicate.”
Intonation
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Basic Patterns of Intonation
‘She doesn’t live
here ➘anymore.’
Falling Intonation happens when your voice
starts high and ends low. It’s used in
statements, commands, and questions that
begin with 'wh-' like ‘what,’ ‘where,’ and ‘why.’
Rising Intonation is the opposite. It happens when
your voice starts low and rises towards the end.
You’ll often hear this in yes/no questions or when
the speaker wants to confirm something.
‘Do you like
your new
➚teacher?’
“Let’s start with the two basic patterns of intonation: falling and rising.
Falling Intonation happens when your voice starts high and ends low. It’s used in
statements, commands, and questions that begin with 'wh-' like ‘what,’ ‘where,’ and ‘why.’
For example: ‘She doesn’t live here ➘anymore.’ Notice how my voice drops at the end of
the sentence.
Rising Intonation is the opposite. It happens when your voice starts low and rises towards
the end. You’ll often hear this in yes/no questions or when the speaker wants to confirm
something.
For example: ‘Do you like your new ➚teacher?’ See how my voice goes up at the end?
Let’s break each one down with examples.”
Intonation
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Falling Intonation
Statements
Commands
These are just ordinary sentences where you want to give information.
‘I’ll be back in a ➘minute.’
‘We should work together more ➘often.
When you’re giving instructions, you’ll use falling intonation.
‘Write your name ➘here.’
‘Show me what you’ve ➘written.
are the questions that start with words like ‘what,’ ‘where,’ ‘when,’
Wh-questions These
and ‘how.’
‘Where do you ➘work?’
‘What country do you come ➘from?’
Exclamations
This is when you want to express surprise or strong
emotion.
‘That’s a ➘surprise!’
‘‘How nice of ➘you!’
“Let’s focus on falling intonation first. This is the most common intonation pattern in
English. You’ll hear it in many everyday situations. Here are a few examples:
1) Statements: These are just ordinary sentences where you want to give information.
Example: ‘I’ll be back in a ➘minute.’
Another one: ‘We should work together more ➘often.’
2) Commands: When you’re giving instructions, you’ll use falling intonation.
Example: ‘Write your name ➘here.’
Or: ‘Show me what you’ve ➘written.’
3) Wh-questions: These are the questions that start with words like ‘what,’ ‘where,’ ‘when,’
and ‘how.’
Example: ‘Where do you ➘work?’
Or: ‘What country do you come ➘from?’
4) Exclamations: This is when you want to express surprise or strong emotion.
Example: ‘That’s a ➘surprise!’
Or: ‘How nice of ➘you!’
Intonation
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let’s practice together
Example:
‘He thinks he’s so clever, doesn’t ➘he?’
‘Nice to meet ➘you.’
‘That’s just what I ➘need!’
Keep in mind that falling intonation often gives your sentences a sense of
certainty or finality.”
Now, let’s practice together. I’m going to say some sentences, and I’d like you to repeat
after me, making sure your voice falls at the right moment. Ready?
‘He thinks he’s so clever, doesn’t ➘he?’
‘Nice to meet ➘you.’
‘That’s just what I ➘need!’
Great!
More examples are provided in the text book
Keep in mind that falling intonation often gives your sentences a sense of certainty or
finality.”
Intonation
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Rising Intonation
Yes/No
Questions
These questions need a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
Example:
‘Do you like your new ➚teacher?’
Another one: ‘May I borrow your ➚dictionary?’
Question
Tags
Sometimes, when we want to confirm something, we add a
question tag at the end of the sentence.
Example:
‘You like fish, ➚don’t you?’
Incomplete
Sentences
When you’re not finished with your sentence or you expect
the listener to continue the conversation, your voice rises.
Example:
‘It’s 7 o’➚clock…’ (and the rest of the sentence is implied).
“Next, let’s look at rising intonation. This is the pattern we use when we want to ask a
yes/no question or when we’re not quite finished with a thought.
1) Yes/No Questions: These questions need a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
Example: ‘Do you like your new ➚teacher?’
Another one: ‘May I borrow your ➚dictionary?’
2)Question Tags: Sometimes, when we want to confirm something, we add a question tag
at the end of the sentence.
Example: ‘You like fish, ➚don’t you?’
3)Incomplete Sentences: When you’re not finished with your sentence or you expect the
listener to continue the conversation, your voice rises.
Example: ‘It’s 7 o’➚clock…’ (and the rest of the sentence is implied).
Intonation
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let’s practice together
Example:
‘Have you finished ➚already?’
‘Do you sell ➚stamps?’
‘We’ve met already, ➚haven’t we?’
As you can hear, rising intonation makes these sentences sound like questions. It
invites a response from the listener.”
Let’s practice some rising intonation sentences together. Repeat after me:
‘Have you finished ➚already?’
‘Do you sell ➚stamps?’
‘We’ve met already, ➚haven’t we?’
As you can hear, rising intonation makes these sentences sound like questions. It invites a
response from the listener.”
Intonation
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Complex Intonation Patterns
Sometimes, we combine rising and falling in the same sentence.
Rise-Fall Intonation (↗↘): This pattern starts with a
rise and ends with a fall. We use it for choices or lists.
Example:
‘Are you having ↗soup or ↘salad?’
Or:
‘We’ve got ↗apples, ↗pears, and ↘bananas.’
“Now that we’ve covered falling and rising intonation, let’s talk about more complex
patterns. Sometimes, we combine rising and falling in the same sentence.
Rise-Fall Intonation (↗↘): This pattern starts with a rise and ends with a fall. We use it for
choices or lists.
Example: ‘Are you having ↗soup or ↘salad?’
Or: ‘We’ve got ↗apples, ↗pears, and ↘bananas.’
Fall-Rise Intonation (↘↗): This one is the opposite. It starts with a fall and rises again, often
used to show hesitation or politeness.
Example: ‘I don’t quite ↘re↗member…’
Or: ‘Well, the ↘leather is ↗nice…’ (when you’re not fully committed to an answer).
Let’s practice this pattern. Repeat after me:
‘Is John leaving on ↗Thursday or ↘Friday?’
‘Well… I ↘sup↗pose so…’”
Intonation
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Complex Intonation Patterns
Fall-Rise Intonation (↘↗): This one is the opposite. It starts
with a fall and rises again, often used to show hesitation or
politeness.
Example:
‘I don’t quite ↘re↗member…’
Or:
‘Well, the ↘leather is ↗nice…’
(used when you’re not fully committed to an answer).
Fall-Rise Intonation (↘↗): This one is the opposite. It starts with a fall and rises again, often
used to show hesitation or politeness.
Example: ‘I don’t quite ↘re↗member…’
Or: ‘Well, the ↘leather is ↗nice…’
(when you’re not fully committed to an answer).
Intonation
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let’s practice together
Example:
‘Is John leaving on ↗Thursday or
↘Friday?’
‘Well… I ↘sup↗pose so…
Let’s practice this pattern. Repeat after me:
‘Is John leaving on ↗Thursday or ↘Friday?’
‘Well… I ↘sup↗pose so…
Intonation
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Pitch, Tone, and Meaning
Pitch refers to how high or low your voice is. Intonation is
really about changing pitch
The pitch of the voice is determined by the frequency of the
vibrarion of the vocal cords. That is the number of times they
open and close in a second. The patterns of variation of pitch
of the voice constitute the intonation of a language
“Before we wrap up, let’s briefly discuss pitch and tone.
Pitch refers to how high or low your voice is. Intonation is really about changing pitch.
The pitch of the voice is determined by the frequency of the vibrarion of the vocal cords.
That is the number of times they open and close in a second. The patterns of variation of
pitch of the voice constitute the intonation of a language
Intonation
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Pitch, Tone, and Meaning
Tone is the attitude behind your words. So, when we use different
tones, we change the emotional meaning of what we say.
The shape of the tone is decided by the number of important words
in a group and by the attitude wished to express.
For instance:
‘John is here.’ (falling tone = a statement)
‘John is here?’ (rising tone = a question)
As you can see, how we use our voice can totally change the meaning of a sentence.
Tone is the attitude behind your words. So, when we use different tones, we change the
emotional meaning of what we say.
Intonation
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Any questions?
Dialogue Practice:
Form pairs and practice the following
conversation, paying attention to intonation:
A: ‘Do you like the movie ➚so far?’
B: ‘It’s alright, but the ➘plot is a bit slow.’
“So, to summarize, intonation is all about how your voice rises and falls when you speak.
It’s what gives meaning, attitude, and emotion to your words.
Falling intonation gives a sense of certainty and finality.
Rising intonation is used for questions and to invite further conversation.
Complex patterns like rise-fall and fall-rise can show choices, hesitation, or politeness.
Now, before we end, I want you to practice with a partner. I’ll give you a short dialogue,
and I want you to focus on using the correct intonation patterns.”
(Final Activity)
Dialogue Practice: Form pairs and practice the following conversation, paying attention to
intonation:
A: ‘Do you like the movie ➚so far?’
B: ‘It’s alright, but the ➘plot is a bit slow.’
“Thank you, everyone! Keep practicing, and listen to how native speakers use intonation in
everyday conversation. The more you listen and practice, the better you’ll get!”
Intonation
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Thank you!
Session with Dr. Cecilia Osyanju
Intonation
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