Intonation
Remember that there are other ways to use your voice and pitch to change the meaning of your words. For example, the rhythm and speed of your voice, or where you place the stress in the sentence can also change the meaning. The situations below should give you a good place to start, but always be listening for other ways you can improve the way you speak English!
1. Asking questions
For yes or no questions, use a rising intonation at the end of the sentence.
“Are you going to school tomorrow?”
For most other types of questions, use a falling intonation at the end of the sentence.
“Why are you going to school tomorrow? It’s Saturday!”
2. Making statements
Most regular statements (those which just state facts or information; not statements which clarify or emphasize anything) use a falling intonation at the end of the sentence. (lower the pitch on the last word.) “I’ve been playing the violin for seven years.”
3. Listing things
Items on a list use a rising intonation until the final item, which uses a falling intonation.
“I love chocolate, strawberry, and pistachio ice cream.”
For each word in the list, your voice should rise on the last syllable if there is something after it. The last item on the list is a falling tone.
4. Expressing feelings
High-energy emotions like happiness, excitement, fright, and annoyance usually use rising intonation. The example below, for example, can be joy, excitement, or annoyance depending on the situation.
“I can’t believe he gave you a ride home!”
Boredom, sarcasm, and disinterest often use falling intonation. For example, the sentence below would sound very sarcastic if you said it in a low pitch. With the sarcastic tone, it would mean that the speaker actually isn’t excited at all.
“I am so excited for you.”
Hear it: The Disney Pixar movie “Inside Out” is all about expressing feelings and emotions, and this clip is a great example of how your voice betrays your emotions. Twelve seconds into the clip, Disgust says, “Hold on, what is that?” with a falling intonation on “that.” This shows disgust since it’s not a yes or no question, so it shouldn’t rise in pitch. Later on, at around 00:35, Anger starts talking and his voice rises about halfway through his sentences to show how angry he is.
5. Stressing the importance of something
Use rising intonation on specific words in a sentence to emphasize their importance. The first example below emphasizes the “red” and implies (suggests) there were choices in color. The second emphasizes the “scarf” and implies there were choices in items.
“I hope you got the red scarf.”
“I hope you got the red scarf.”
6. Contrasting between things
Use a rising intonation and place stress on the two things you want to contrast.
“I thought he liked dogs but he actually likes cats.”
You can also use this intonation to point out things that seem one way but are another way.
“You should exercise every day, but I know you don’t have the time.”
7. Using tag questions
Use rising intonation on questions at the end of a sentence that requires the clarification or opinion of your speaking partner. These are called tag questions.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
