Transcript Sentence Stress

Sentence Stress
And
Super Stress
Word Stress & Sentence Stress
 Guarantee
 However
 understand
 Can
you see?
 Is he clever?
 I’m in the band.
Notice the similarity
between word stress and
sentence stress?
Word Stress & Sentence Stress
 Guarantee
 However
 understand
 Can
you see?
 Is he clever?
 I’m in the band.
Sentences have peaks and valleys
just like words do.
Some words are longer; others are
shorter.
Just like stressed syllables, key
words have the following
features:
 Longer
 Louder
 Higher
 Clearer
Which words carry the meaning?
Circle them
Do you like the picture on your
passport?
 Did you take the test for a driver’s
license yet?
 The Students pay a lot of money for
their books.
 The painter is coming.
 He’s planning to retire next year.

Notice the pattern





Content words
Nouns
Main Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
Question words






Function words
Articles: the a an
Prepositions
The verb to be
Auxiliary verbs: can,
will, have, do
Pronouns
Conjunctions: and,
but, so
Basic Rule
Content words are stressed;
Function words are reduced.
Use a rubberband to feel the
difference
Place it between
your thumbs and
pull on the key
words
Be careful!
English is stress timed,
Not syllable timed
Stretch out content words, and
squeeze in unstressed words
 Bird





eat worms
The birds eat worms
The birds eat the worms
The birds will eat the worms
The birds will have eaten the worms.
Read all sentences in the same amount
of time.
Stretch and Squeeze
Soup and salad, please
 I’ll have soup and a salad, please.
 I’ll have a bowl of soup and the Caesar
salad, please.

Name?
 What’s your name?
 What’s your first name?

Meeting?
 When’s the meeting?
 What time is the meeting?
 What time will the meeting take place?

We need to visit the school.
 We need to visit the school’s teacher.
 We need to visit our son’s school’s
teacher tomorrow.

Tips to save energy
 Here are some tips to save energy
 Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
 Turn off your computer and monitor
when not in use.
 Lower the thermostat on your hot water
heater to 1200F.
 Look for the Energy Star label on home
appliances and products.

Practice stretching and
reducing with everyday
phrases
Also use easy reading material
to practice.
Super Stress!

To help your
listeners focus on
what you’re saying,
use Super Stress:
extra emphasis that
is even higher,
louder, clearer, and
l o n g e r than
regular stress.
When to use Super Stress:
Emphasize contrasts
The meeting is today, not tomorrow
 Transition words
However, first, moreover, therefore
 New Information
First we’ll discuss energy. Then, we’ll
look at ways to reduce energy use.

Strong emotion
I hate cold weather!
 As necessary to express agreement,
disagreement, misunderstanding,
surprise or clarification.
I agree!

Use sheet music to plot your
sentences




Level 1= end of statements
or wh/how questions
Level 2 and 3 = normal
speech
Level 3 = phrasal stress and
yes/no question endings
Level 4 = super stress
(emphasis)
Plot these sentences
 What’s
your name?
 My name is Cara Fu.
 Would you like some tea?
 Yes, thank you.
 How do you like the weather?
 I love it!
Internalize the music
And you’ll be
indistinguishable from
Americans!