every day. 6. I haven’t
seen her for a
long time. 7. The doctor says she must stay in bed for
two or three days. 8. Tom Brown is
the
best pupil in his class.
Sequence of Tones Alternative Questions Model:
→ Has she a ˏ
niece | or a ˎ
nephew? Alternative questions have the low-rising nuclear tone in the first intonation group and the
low-falling nuclear tone in the final intonation-group. The fall and the rise are of narrow range
here.
Disjunctive Questions Models:
You’ve ˎ
met her, | ˏ
haven’t you? You’ve ˎ
met her, | ˎ
haven’t you? Disjunctive questions consist of two intonation-groups. The sequence of tones in
disjunctive questions depends on the attitude of the speaker towards the significance of the
utterance.
The first intonation-group has generally the low-falling nuclear tone. The low – rising
nuclear tone of the final intonation-group, or tag, shows that the speaker is not certain of the
facts expressed in the first part of the question. An answer is expected.
e.g. I rang you up yesterday. You were → meeting your ˎ
wife, | ˏ
weren’t you? - Yes, I was. The low-falling nuclear tone of the tag shows that the speaker is certain of the facts
expressed in the first part of the question. No answer is expected.
e.g. I saw you at the station.
