INTERACTIVE ENGLISH Intonation, Adverbs of Frequency & Prepositions of Time
INTERACTIVE ENGLISH Intonation, Adverbs of Frequency & Prepositions of Time
INTERACTIVE ENGLISH Intonation, Adverbs of Frequency & Prepositions of Time
Intonation describes how the voice rises and falls in speech. The three main patterns of intonation in English are: falling
intonation, rising intonation and fall-rise intonation.
Falling intonation
Falling intonation describes how the voice falls on the final stressed syllable of a phrase or a group of words. A falling
intonation is very common in wh-questions.
We also use falling intonation when we say something definite, or when we want to be very clear about something:
Rising intonation
Rising intonation describes how the voice rises at the end of a sentence. Rising intonation is common in yes-no
questions:
I hear the Health Centre is expanding. So, is that the new doctor?
Fall-rise intonation
Fall-rise intonation describes how the voice falls and then rises. We use fall-rise intonation at the end of statements
when we want to say that we are not sure, or when we may have more to add:
I don’t support any football team at the moment. (but I may change my mind in future).
It rained every day in the first week. (but things improved after that).
We use fall-rise intonation with questions, especially when we request information or invite somebody to do or to have
something. The intonation pattern makes the questions sound more polite:
You probably see a difference between a) and b) above. With words like daily we know exactly how often. The words in
a) describe definite frequency. On the other hand, words like often give us an idea about frequency but they don't tell us
exactly. The words in b) describe indefinite frequency.
We separate them into two groups because they normally go in different positions in the sentence.
Examples:
Adverbs of definite frequency, like all adverbs of definite time, typically go in END position. Look at these examples:
Sometimes, usually for reasons of emphasis or style, some adverbs of definite frequency may go at the FRONT, for
example:
Every day, more than five thousand people die on our roads.
usually, normally
frequently, regularly
often
50% sometimes
occasionally
rarely, infrequently
seldom
hardly ever
0% never
Adverbs of indefinite frequency mainly go in MID position in the sentence. They go before the main verb (except the
main verb "to be"):
Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence:
Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):
at in on
PRECISE TIME MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS DAYS and DATES
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
Expression Example
*Note that in some varieties of English people say "on the weekend" and "on Christmas".
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
in on
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
References:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/intonation
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adverbs-frequency.htm
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-at-in-on-time.htm