Q1.
I. The way in which a word is stressed in a sentence can change its meaning. Read the following examples.
1. Look there, friends. (look, not go or do some other action)
2. Look there, friends. (look there, not here or somewhere else)
3. Look there, friends. (is addressing the friends and not anybody else around)
Now, work in pairs. Take turns to say the following sentences aloud by stressing on the highlighted words. Share the meanings of the sentences with each other and teacher.
• I take my dog for a walk in the evening.
• I take my dog for a walk in the evening.
• I take my dog for a walk in the evening.
• I take my dog for a walk in the evening.
• I take my dog for a walk in the evening.
Answer
| Word stressed | What the sentence now means | The unspoken contrast |
|---|---|---|
| I take my dog for a walk in the evening. | It is I who take him — nobody else does. | …not my brother, not the servant |
| I take my dog for a walk in the evening. | I take him myself; I do not merely send him out. | …I do not just let him loose |
| I take my dog for a walk in the evening. | The dog is mine — I do not walk anybody else’s. | …not the neighbour’s dog |
| I take my dog for a walk in the evening. | A walk is what we go for. | …not a run, not a bath, not to the vet |
| I take my dog for a walk in the evening. | Evening is the time we go. | …not in the morning or at noon |
Why one stressed word can carry so much: Stressing a word tells the listener that this is the part being contrasted with something else. English marks contrast with the voice where some languages would need an extra word. It is the reason a written sentence can be read five ways and a spoken one only ever means one thing — the speaker has already chosen.
Try This: Say “I never said she took the money” with the stress on each of the seven words in turn. You will get seven different meanings, and two of them are accusations of quite different people. This is exactly the ambiguity the merchant falls into when he hears the four men describe his camel.