Click on the  to hear an example.

What are the patterns?

By raising the tone even more, making the stressed syllable even longer, and increasing the volume, we can show strong emotion with emphasis.

-- How'd you like the art exhibit? -- I LOVED it!

We can change the meaning with emphasis by comparing the emphasized word with it's opposite (either within the sentence or not there).

I'm going to the store.  (Regular stress on the last content word of the phrase/sentence)
I'M going to the store.  (Not YOU, but ME!)
I AM going to the store.  (-You're not going to the store.  -I AM!)
I'm GOING to the store.  (-Have you GONE to the store? -No, I'm GOING to the store.)
I'm going TO the store.  (not coming FROM it)
I'm going to THE store.  (THE store=favorite or only store, known to both speaker and listener.)
I'm going to the STORE.  (not the mall)
 

I'd like a SMALL drink, not a LARGE one.

We also use emphasis to change the focus of the conversation so old information is not emphasized.  (Regular stress is underlined, and emphasis is marked in CAPITALS.)  Notice how none of the repeated words are emphasized unless they're part of a compound that makes a different word.

  Andy:  I'm going to the store.
  Kris:  What are you going to BUY?
  Andy:  A book.
  Kris:  Oh.  So you're going to the BOOKstore.
  Andy:  Yeah.
  Kris:  What KIND of book are you getting?
  Andy:  A COOKbook.
  Kris:  What do you want to cook?
  Andy:  I'm going to cook a pot roast.
  Kris:  Do you HAVE a pot roast?
  Andy:  No, I'll have to go to the store to GET one.

When you ask a question using emphasis on only one part of the question phrase, such as "What KIND of book?", think about what answer you want when you choose which word to emphasize.

Another example is "-- How MANY books? -- THREE books."  (By the way, if you say "HOW many books?" this is after you've heard the answer and didn't believe it so you want to hear it again.)
 

With emphasis:	As a statement alone, you would hear:
-- Do you want pizza or spaghetti?  -- I want pizza AND spaghetti!	I want pizza and spaghetti.
-- You don't know how to swim, do you?  -- I DO know how to swim.	I know how to swim.
-- THAT was a good movie.  -- That WAS a good movie!	That was a good movie.

Listen and Practice

• Listen to this presentation and focus on the words he is emphasizing for important information.  Listen also for phrasing/thought groups.

• Dave Sperling -- The power of the internet in ESL teaching -- An actual presentation from the webauthor of the popular site, Dave's ESL Cafe.  California accent.

 

Related Topics

• Thought Groups
• Phrasal Stress
• Intonation
• Word Stress

More Practice and Information

• Intonation and Emphasis from American Accent.

• English Channel  Listening and information about telephoning and presentations.  British and American accents.  The listening section about complaints on the telephone is quite useful for hearing emphasis.

• Focus - POW

• Suprasegmentals - Williams  Click on Emphasis.
  

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