Unit 57. We're Closed Tomorrow.
Tones in New and Old Information
Unit 57; Part A
Important for listening!
In conversation, we often refer back to something we said before.This is 'old' information, and the voice normally goes up at the end.We also tell the listener things we haven't mentioned before. This is'new' information, and the voice normally goes down at the end. Listen.In conversation 1 below, the voice goes up at the end, becausethe last word 'tomorrow' has already been mentioned. In conversation 2,the voice goes down, because the last word 'tomorrow' not beenmentioned. | |
1 A: I'll come in tomorrow. B: We're dosed tomorrow. 2 A: When are you closed? B: We're dosed tomorrow. | |
Listen to this example. They are talking about buying a television.Notice how the voice goes up on the words in black. This is becausethese are words which have been mentioned before, so they are oldinformation. |
Unit 57; Part B
Important for listening!
When we are referring to something before in the conversation, we don'thave to repeat exactly the same words. In this conversation, the voicegoes up on 'from there' because in this context it means 'Cairo', so itis something which has been mentioned before.
A: I'm from Cairo.
B: Really? My wife's from there.
When we are referring to something before in the conversation, we don'thave to repeat exactly the same words. In this conversation, the voicegoes up on 'from there' because in this context it means 'Cairo', so itis something which has been mentioned before.
A: I'm from Cairo.
B: Really? My wife's from there.
Exercises
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