Notice the differences between the following sentences. The underlined words are stressed and the implication of the stress is indicated afterwards. Listen to the audio and repeat the sentences.
I like eating chocolate cake I like eating chocolate cake
( = neutral statement)
( →implies that it’s just the speaker – not the listener – who likes eating chocolate cake)
I like eating chocolate cake I like eating chocolate cake
( →possibly implies that the speaker likes it but doesn’t love it)
( →possibly implies that the speaker likes eating and not making chocolate cake)
I like eating chocolate cake
( →implies that the speaker likes chocolate cake, but not, for example, fruit cake)
I like eating chocolate cake
( →implies that the speaker likes chocolate cake, but not, for example, chocolate ice cream)
Task: create a similar sentence and write down all the possible meanings.
DE-STRESSING isn’t distressing! If we’ve already stressed something, then we don’t usually stress it again – we de-stress it.
Today I’m going to give a talk on history. Specifically American rather than British history.
The speaker doesn’t stress history in the second sentence because it’s not new information. American and British are new information, so these are stressed.
Task: Listen to “A Perfect Match” and find the words that the speaker stresses. Practise reading it with the number 8 movement. Afterwards go to the next page for more information.
