General English Level 4 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV4 Unit 04 Topic 02.doc  LANGUAGE FOCUS 03 Intonation When we speak our voice rises (goes up) and falls (goes down), it does not stay the same. We call the sound of the voice rising or falling intonation. Intonation is the music of language. 1. Rising intonation Rising intonation at the end of a question or statement lets the listener know that we are not sure. Brad and Maureen say: Brad: So, were you worried? Maureen: Yes, a little … Brad asks Maureen a question. The question is a yes/no question. Listen carefully to the question. You will hear the sound of Brad's voice rise (go up) at the end of the question. So, were you worried? When we ask a question with a yes/ no answer the intonation rises. Brad and Maureen say: Brad: I see. There was a big fire here several years ago, wasn't there? Dave: Yes there was. Brad is not sure if there was a fire or not. He asks a checking question, the answer is yes or no. His intonation rises. We use rising intonation in the question tag, when we are checking. Examples Listen to the examples. Are you a student? No I'm not. Can I ask you a question? Yes, of course. Did you have a good time? Yes, it was fun. You went to the party, didn't you? Yes, I didn't see you there. She is married, isn't she? No she isn't. Have you studied question tags? Yes I have 122