>Generally. | I
come '
home ˎ
early. He is at ˎ
home on Sunday. Simple sentences with adverbial phrases at the beginning are usually divided into two
intonation - groups.
The non-final intonation-group is usually pronounced with the low – rising or mid –
level tone.
e.g. At → two o’ ˏ
clock | we shall have ˎ
dinner. At → two o’>clock | we shall have ˎ
dinner. Adverbial phrases at the end of sentences do not form separate intonation-groups, as a
rule, and often remain unstressed.
e.g. We are →
going ˎ
out tonight. Exercises 1. Change the word order in the following sentences according to the model. Pay attention
to the intonation of the adverbials.
Model: He is at the
ˎ
hospital
on Monday .
On ˏ
Monday | he is at the
ˎ
hospital.
1. We have our meals in the dining room. 2. The Browns usually have a bowl of fruit on the sideboard.
3. There’s a tall bookcase next to the piano. 4. There are two cushions on the settee. 5. We see a stand for
hats, coats and umbrellas in the hall. 6. There are three chimneys on the top of the roof. 7. There’s an
armchair on each side of the fireplace. 8. You can see a standard lamp on the right. 9. There’s a radio-set
on the extreme right. 10. We heard a ring at the door a few minutes later.
2. Read the joke. Find the most important sentence in the text. Underline the main word in
each sentence. Split up each sentence into intonation-groups, mark the stresses and tunes.
Two Americans were travelling in Spain. Once they came into a little restaurant for lunch. They didn’t
know Spanish and the waiter didn’t know English. In order to make him understand they wanted some
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milk and sandwiches they drew a cow. The waiter looked at it and ran out of the restaurant. Soon he was
back and put down in front of the two men two tickets for a bullfight.