domingo, 27 de octubre de 2013

SENTENCE FOCUS: EMPHASIZING CONTENT WORD


SENTENCE FOCUS: EMPHASIZING CONTENT WORD


 English speakers use contrast to emphasize the words they want their hearer to notice.

 v  Be understood better.
 v  Hear better.

Sentence Focus:

In each short sentence or clause there is a focus word. The focus word is the most important word. English speakers help listeners notice the focus word by giving in the most emphasis.




"It rule have been taken of Pronunciation, Practice Activities, A resource book for teaching English pronunciation. Martin Hewings pág 45, unit 6".


Focus and content words:

Content words are words that carry the most information in a sentence. Nous, main verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and questions words are content words.

The function words are used in a sentence, but It doesn't have the focus, only the focus word is usually a content word. 

Example: 










v  My cat eats fish.  (Noun)
v  He loves it.   (Main verb)
v  But only fresh fish.  (Adjective)
v  He eats slowly.  (Adverb)
v  I don’t know why he eats that way.  (Question word)


"It rule have been taken of Pronunciation, Practice Activities, A resource book for teaching English pronunciation. Martin Hewings pág 46, 47unit 6".




FOCUS AT THE BEGINNING OF A CONVERSATION


The following rule will help you to decide which word to emphasize when beginning a conversation. 





Example:

  v  The dog chased a rabbit.

  v  We’re waiting for you.

  v  What are you doing?

"It rule have been taken of Pronunciation, Practice Activities, A resource book for teaching English pronunciation. Martin Hewings pág 59, unit 8".



FOCUS AFTER THE BEGINNING OF A CONVERSATION


After a conversation begins, the focus changes because the speakers want to call attention to the new thought introduced in each new sentence. The focus word of the sentence that came before is now an old thought. It is already understood and doesn’t need emphasis.





  v  I lost my hat.
  v  What kind of hat?
  v  It was a rain hat. 









No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario