Adverbials

1.Listen how the speaker on the tape reads the following sen­
tences with adverbial phrases. Concentrate on sequence of
tones. Imitate the reading. Practise reading them. Be sure to
make a separate intonation group of an adverbial phrase.

A few minutes later, we "heard a ring at the door. In the dining-room we have our meals.

2. Listen to your fellow-student reading the sentences with ad­verbial phrases at the beginning. Say what his errors in into­nation are.

3. Look through the following phrases. Make sure you under­stand how the sentences with adverbial phrases at the begin­ning of the sentence should be pronounced aloud. Read the sentences. Put the adverbial phrases at the end of the sen­tences. Concentrate on the changes in intonation.

Instead of writing to him, why not drop in at his office? By the end of the week I was utterly exhausted. Most eve­nings they watch television.

4. Read the following sentences with adverbials at the end of the
sentence expressing added comments or restrictions. Practise
reading the sentences.

I like my tea at five sharp. It's a nuisance having to wait so long for Tom.

5. Now pronounce the sentences above as one intonation group.
Observe the difference in meaning.

J66

Enumeration

1. Listen how the speaker on the tape pronounces the following
sentences with homogeneous parts. Imitate the reading. Prac­
tise them. Be sure to form separate intonation groups of ho­
mogeneous parts:

This is my family: my wife, my son, my daughter and I. You are learning to speak, to understand, to read and to write English.

2. Listen to your fellow-student reading the sentences with enu­meration. Say what his errors in intonation are.

3. Read the following situations pronouncing enumeration with: (a) the rising tone; (b) the falling tone: (c) the level tone. Ob­serve the difference in meaning.

' Now let's see what else did I want? Oh, yes, some silk stockings, shoe-polish, a pair of scissors and some safety-pins. To crown it all I had an accident the other day, hurt my right shoulder, leg and knee, and nearly broke my neck. But in those first few years at Columbia, he had been so busy with research, teaching and the studies.

4. Give examples of statements containing enumeration. Read
the final intonation group with the Low Fall and with the Low
Rise if possible. State the difference in meaning.

Disjunctive Questions

1. Listen how the speaker on the tape reads the disjunctive ques­
tions. Concentrate on their intonation. Imitate the reading.

(a) It isn't cold, is it? You'd like some tea, wouldn't you?

(b) She is quite attractive, isn't she? It looks like rain, doesn't it?

(c) This one isn't yours, is it? We needn't wait for him, need we?

(d) You didn't come in the morning, did you? You'd like to speak to him, wouldn't you?

2. Practise reading the sentences above. Be sure to pronounce
the disjunctive questions according to the patterns given on
the tape. State the difference in meaning.

Listen to your fellow-student reading the disjunctive questions above. Say what his errors in intonation of the tag-questions are. Are the mistakes phonetic or phonological? Read the following phrases according to the patterns above. Observe the difference in meaning.

You are not getting on very fast, are you? Lovely evening, wasn't it? It's John Thomson, isn't it?

Complete the following sentences making them disjunctive questions. Pronounce the sentences according to the tasks below.

(a) The statement is obviously true and the tag is merely a
polite phrase to invite the interest of your fellow-student
or to make him agree with you.

Ruth isn't going, ... ; We aren't late, ... ; John hasn't come,...

(b) You are less certain of your remark; you are asking your fellow-student's opinion and would not be very surprised if he contradicts.

(c) You sound tentative, not very sure in the first part of the phrase, while the tag shows that you are pretty confident that the listener will not contradict.

(d) It is almost a real question as you want the listener to be­lieve that you are even more uncertain than in the previ­ous case and you seek the listener's assurance that your remark is correct.

. Make up conversational situations suitable for the phrases above.

. Look for conversational situations in the books you read or the texts on the tape to illustrate all the possible intonation pat­terns disjunctive questions are pronounced with. Mark the stresses and tunes and read them aloud.

Alternative Questions

. Listen how the speaker on the tape reads the following alter­native questions. Concentrate on their intonation. Imitate the reading. Practise reading them. Be sure to pronounce the first intonation group with a rise and the second — with a fall.

¹ Do you want a pear or a plum? Would you like coffee or milk?

2. Listen to your (ellow-studerst reading the alternative questions. Say what his errors in intonation are. Are the mistakes phonetic or phonological?

3. Read the following alternative questions at normal conversa­tional speed, forming two intonation groups. Make sure to pronounce the first intonation group with the Low Rise and the second one with the Low Fall.

Is your second foreign language German or French? Do you usually have dinner at the institute or at home?

4. Change the Low Falling Tone of the final intonation group for the Low Rising Tone, if possible. State the difference in mean­ing.

5. Make up conversational situations with alternative questions.