Sentence stress

 THE FOCUS RULES

RULE # 1

The stressed syllable of a focus word is extra long, extra clear and has a pitch change.

Examples: 1. I love my dog

                    2. You look great


ACTIVITY

RULE # 2
The focus word in sentence is usually a content word.

LIST OF CONTENT WORDS 

Content Words	Examples
Nouns	John, room, answer, Selby
Adjectives	happy, new, large, grey
Main verbs	search, grow, hold, have
Adverbs	really, completely, very, also, enough
Numerals	one, thousand, first
Interjections	eh, ugh, phew, well
Yes/No answers	yes, no (as answers)
wh question words	Who, why where
Function Words	Examples
Prepositions	of, at, in, without, between
Pronouns	he, they, anybody, it, one
Determiners	the, a, that, my, more, much, either, neither
Conjunctions	and, that, when, while, although, or
Modal verbs	can, must, will, should, ought, need, used
Auxilliary verbs	be (is, am, are), have, got, do
Particles	no, not, nor, as

RULE # 3

At the beginning of a conversation, the last content word in a clause or sentence is usually the focus word. 

Examples: 1. What’s the problem?

                    2. I lost my key

                    3. I want a coffee


ACTIVITY

RULE # 4

After a conversation begins, the new thought in each sentence is the focus word.

Example: I bought a car

                  What kind of car?

                  It is a sport car

                  What color the car is?

                  It is red.

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RULE # 5

When there is a disagreement or a correction, the word that corrects the information from the previous statement is the new focus word.

Examples: 1. A: Madrid is the capital of Germany

                       B: no, it’s the capital of Spain

                   2. A: Madrid is the capital of Germany

                       B: no, Berlin is the capital of Germany




ACTIVITY

RULE # 6

When a speaker feels strongly or wants to correct something that was said before, a structure word may be emphasized.

Example: A: I think she’s either scared or excited

                  B: Maybe,   she’s sacred and excited 


ACTIVITY