NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 2 Say the Right Thing — Let us speak
Book page 84 to 86 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
Speak the given declarative sentence aloud. I saw Mrs. Cotter this afternoon. • Use falling intonation towards end of the sentence as declarative sentences usually have falling intonation. • Stress the words ‘Mrs. Cotter'.
Answer
How to say it
I saw MRS. COTTER this afternoon. ↘
Stress the two syllables of ‘Mrs. Cotter' — say them with more emphasis, holding them slightly longer and on a slightly higher note.
Fall on the last part of the sentence. Let your voice drop on ‘afternoon', the way it drops at the end of every ordinary statement.
Keep ‘I', ‘saw' and ‘this' light and quick — they are the unstressed words that carry the sentence along.
Remember (from the book): Stress does not mean saying the word louder than the others. It means saying it with more emphasis than the others. Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs — book, run, beautiful, quickly) are usually stressed; function words (she, in, is, the) usually are not.
What intonation is: the rise and fall of the pitch of your voice while speaking. A falling tone at the end signals “I am telling you something”; a rising tone signals “I am asking you something”.
Q2.
Speak the following declarative sentences with falling intonation and stress the highlighted words. 1. The room looks cleaner now. 2. You always talk too much. 3. You leave your clothes all over the house.
Answer
No.
Sentence (stressed words in capitals)
What the stress conveys
1
THE room LOOKS cleaner NOW. ↘
The change is recent and noticeable — now, as against a moment ago
2
YOU always TALK too much. ↘
Points the finger at Mary, and at the talking in particular
3
YOU leave YOUR clothes ALL over the HOUSE. ↘
Stresses whose clothes they are and how far they are scattered
Practise like this: Say each sentence three times — first flat, then with the stresses marked, then with the stresses and the falling tone at the end. Record yourself on a phone and listen; the difference is easy to hear.
Why the stress falls where it does: Notice that the stressed words in all three sentences are the ones that carry Mrs. Shaw's complaint — now, talk, all, house, you, your. Stress follows meaning, not grammar.
Q3.
Work in pairs and speak the following sentences 1–5 aloud, as Mary. Apply stress and falling intonation. Match each of the sentences to the meaning they convey in (i)–(v). Sentences: 1. I didn't hurt anyone today. 2. I didn't hurt anyone today. 3. I didn't hurt anyone today. 4. I didn't hurt anyone today. 5. I didn't hurt anyone today. — Meaning conveyed: (i) I might have done other things but did not hurt anyone. (ii) I might cause hurt usually, but not anyone on this day. (iii) The action of hurting anyone did not occur. (iv) I, specifically, did not hurt anyone, possibly implying someone else might have. (v) I may have spoken a lot many things but not a single person was hurt.
Answer
In the book, a different word is highlighted in each of the five sentences. The stressed word decides the meaning.
No.
Sentence — stressed word in capitals
Meaning
Why
1
I didn't hurt anyone today.
(iv)
Stressing I separates the speaker from others — someone else may have
2
I DIDN'T hurt anyone today.
(iii)
Stressing the negative denies the action itself — it simply did not happen
3
I didn't HURT anyone today.
(i)
Stressing the verb contrasts hurting with other things she may well have done
4
I didn't hurt ANYONE today.
(v)
Stressing ‘anyone' insists that not a single person was hurt, whatever was said
5
I didn't hurt anyone TODAY.
(ii)
Stressing the time singles out this one day — other days may be different
The big idea: The words never change — only the emphasis does — and yet the sentence means five different things. That is why the book warns: the way we use stress and intonation can change the meaning of what we wish to say if we are not careful. It is Mary's whole problem in one exercise.
Q4.
Now, speak the given declarative sentence with rising intonation towards the end of sentence and stress the highlighted words. I saw Mrs. Cotter this afternoon.
Answer
I saw MRS. COTTER this afternoon? ↗
With the voice rising at the end, the same words stop being a statement and turn into a question.
As the book explains: “The rising intonation makes it sound like a question. It asks whether I was the person who actually saw Mrs. Cotter: Did I see Mrs. Cotter this afternoon?”
Intonation
How it sounds
What it means
Falling ↘
Voice drops on ‘afternoon'
A statement — “I am telling you: I met her.”
Rising ↗
Voice lifts on ‘afternoon'
A question or doubt — “Did I really see her? Are you sure?”
Remember: The way we use stress and intonation in a sentence can change the meaning of what we wish to say if we are not careful. Try the same trick on “You're coming with us.” ↘ (telling) and “You're coming with us?” ↗ (asking).