Unit 50. She Just Forgot, Presumably?

Attitude Words and Phrases (2)

Unit 50; Part A

The words and phrases in this unit usually have a fall-rising tone at the beginning of a sentence (or after and or but) and a rising tone at the end of a sentence.

A number of one-word adverbs can be used to show your opinion of what you are talking about:
I was hoping to go to Italy this week, but unFORtunately↓↑, I couldn't get a flight.
A: Can you record DVDs on your computer? B: No, I can't, unFORtunately ↑.

Other adverbs like this include: amazingly,astonishingly, curiously, fo rtunately, fu nnily, interestingly,luckily, oddly, regrettably, remarkably, sadly, strangely,surprisingly, unbelievably.

Note:Many of these adverbs are also used to describe adjectives, verbs orother adverbs, when they may have diferent intonation patterns:
      His cooking is surPRISingly GOOD ↓.

Some of the adverbs listed above (in particular, curiously, funnily, interestingly, luckily, oddly, strangely and surrisingly) are used with enough in a phrase showing opinion:
             He went out without his wallet. LUCKily eNOUGH ↓↑ he had some change in his jacket pocket.
             I use this bit of wire as a TV aerial, and it works, STRANGEly eNOUGH ↑.

Unit 50; Part B

We can use actually at the beginning or end of a sentence to soundmore polite, particularly if we are correcting what someone has said,giving a different opinion, or refusing a request or offer:
A: I thought the concert was a bit dull. B: ACtually ↓↑, I quite enjoyed it.
A: Do you want a coffee? B: I've got one, ACtually ↓↑.

Unit 50; Part C

The words apparently, presumably and supposedly show that we are not completely sure what we are saying is true, perhaps because someone else has told us (see also Unit 48):
ApPARently ↓↑, you can now fly from Bristol to Paris.
She just forgot presumably↑?
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Unit 50; Part D

Some attitude words and phrases are used to show that what we aresaying is only an approximate statement: that we are referring only tothe main features of something, or that we know that there areexceptions. These include 'basically, by and 'large, as a 'rule, 'generally, on the 'whole, es'sentially and in 'general (note that the main stressed syllable is marked with '):
A: What will you do after college? B: BAsically ↓↑ I want to do some travelling.
I only see my brother at Christmas, as a RULE ↑.

Exercises

1 Choose one word or phrase to complete each pair of sentences.

Choose one word or phrase from the box to complete each pair ofsentences. Do you think each word or phrase is more likely to have arising tone (write ↑) or a fall-rising tone (↓↑)?

frankly strangely enough ~~interestingly~~ luckily sadly

Example: a I heard from Dan's mother that he'd given up his course. He didn't tell me himself, interestingly ↑.
              b We thought we'd find a difference in reading preferences between boys and girls but   interestingly ↓↑, they like the same books.
1   a Mona had a heart operation last week _____________, it wasn't successful.
      b I'll be leaving Australia at the end of the year, _____________.
2   a The kitchen ceiling completely collapsed. _____________, I'd just gone out of the room.
      b The 5 o'clock train was delayed by snow. We'd caught the earlier one, _____________.
3   a Peter's lost his job and I don't care, _____________.
      b The business isn't doing well and _____________, it's beginning to worry me.
4   a I hadn't seen Adam for years but then I bumped into him twice last week, _____________.
      b Sophia has got two sisters but _____________, she never mentions the older one.

Now listen and check your answers. Then say the sentences aloud using the same tones in the words and phrases you have written.

2 Do the words and phrases have a rising or a fall-rising tone?

Are the words and phrases in bold more likely to have a rising tone (put ↑ in the box) or a fall-rising tone (↓↑)? Key.1 A: Basically ↓↑ B: essentially ↑ 2 A: Apparently ↓↑ B: on the whole ↑ 3 A: apparently ↑ B: Actually ↓↑ 4 A: Presumably ↓↑ B: actually ↑ Example: A: They'll post the tickets to us, presumably ↑? B: Supposedly ↓↑, they've sent them already. 1 A: Basically ___, you made the whole story up, didn't you? B: No, it was true, essentially ___. 2 A: Apparently ___, the car will be ready by tomorrow. B: Yes, the garage is quite effcient, on the whole ___. 3 A: Theresa phoned this morning, apparently ___. B: Actually ___, it was her sister. 4 A: Presumably ___, you've been to Canada recently? B: Not for many years, actually ___.
Now listen and check your answers. Then say each line aloud, using arising or fall-rising tone on the words and phrases in bold asappropriate.
Follow up:Write three things that are not true about a relative or friend ofyours. Now imagine that someone says these things about them. How mightyou correct them using actually either at the beginning or end of your correction? For example, 'Paul's 40 next year.' 'Actually ↓↑, he's 45': (If possible, you could do this activity with another student.)

Unit 49 Unit 50 Unit 51