kais
31/07/2007, 21h39
An important kind of stress in English is "contrastive focus." The situation of the conversation determines this.
"Do YOU want to go?"; "Do you WANT to go?"; "Do you want to GO?"
These have different meanings, and the stressed (also called "emphasized") word marks a contrast with something else. As examples, "I, myself, want to go. But do YOU want to go?"; "I know it is necessary that you go, but do you WANT to go?"; "We have been here a long time, do you want to GO?"
You might see, the emphasis suggests something in contrast OUTSIDE the sentence itself. "Do you like the red one?" "No, I like the BLUE one." Do you like the red one?" "No, I HATE the blue one."
If you listen to English conversations, you will see the principle of "contrastive focus" in use in numerous situations.
"Do YOU want to go?"; "Do you WANT to go?"; "Do you want to GO?"
These have different meanings, and the stressed (also called "emphasized") word marks a contrast with something else. As examples, "I, myself, want to go. But do YOU want to go?"; "I know it is necessary that you go, but do you WANT to go?"; "We have been here a long time, do you want to GO?"
You might see, the emphasis suggests something in contrast OUTSIDE the sentence itself. "Do you like the red one?" "No, I like the BLUE one." Do you like the red one?" "No, I HATE the blue one."
If you listen to English conversations, you will see the principle of "contrastive focus" in use in numerous situations.