Lesson 3: Emphatic Stress and Contrast

🟦 Introduction

Have you ever said something like, “I didn’t take your book—I said Sarah did!” Notice how some words get said louder and with more force? That’s emphatic stress at work. Emphatic stress is used when we want to correct someone, highlight a contrast, or strongly express a feeling.

In this lesson, you’ll learn:

• What emphatic stress is and when to use it

• How it changes meaning and tone in a sentence

• How it appears in spoken English and WASSCE listening exams

• How to identify or apply emphatic stress in real-life situations

🟩 Key Concepts and Explanations

1. What is Emphatic Stress?

Emphatic stress is the special emphasis placed on a particular word to highlight its importance or to correct/contrast something.

This is usually done by:

• Saying the word louder or slightly higher in pitch

• Pausing before or after the word

• Using a falling tone on the stressed word

2. Uses of Emphatic Stress

We use emphatic stress in speech to:

• Correct a misunderstanding

  “She borrowed my book.” (Not stole it)

• Contrast one idea with another

  “I gave it to him, not you.”

• Emphasize the truth or certainty

  “I did see the thief!”

3. Examples of Emphatic Stress and Meaning Shift

Notice how stressing a different word changes what you’re trying to say—this is what WASSCE might test for in oral comprehension.

4. How to Recognize Emphatic Stress in Listening

In WASSCE listening comprehension, emphatic stress may be:

• Tested through tone changes in short sentences

• Followed by multiple-choice questions like:

  “Who borrowed the newspaper?”
  (A) She did (B) He did (C) I did (D) We did

If you hear: “He borrowed my newspaper.”, the correct answer is (B) because the speaker is stressing he, not someone else.

🧭 Sample Walkthrough

Sentence: “She gave the book to ME.”

Let’s look at different meanings depending on stress:

• She gave the book to me → not someone else did

• She GAVE the book to me → didn’t lend or steal

• She gave the BOOK to me → not a pen or phone

• She gave the book to ME → not to you or anyone else

Practice saying the sentence five times, each time stressing a different word. You’ll see how the sentence meaning changes!

🟨 Practice Exercises

Exercise A: Match the Stress with the Implied Meaning

Choose the word being emphasized based on the meaning.

1. “I didn’t eat the cake.” → I’m denying the action.

2. “I didn’t eat the cake.” → Someone else ate it.

3. “I didn’t eat the cake.” → I may have thrown it away or smelled it.

4. “I didn’t eat the cake.” → It might’ve been the cookies I ate.

✅ Answers:

1. didn’t

2. I

3. eat

4. cake

Exercise B: Listening Practice Tip (if using audio)

Listen to a sentence with contrast, like:
“He BORROWED my newspaper.”

Question:
What is being emphasized?
(A) He didn’t steal it
(B) He didn’t borrow it
(C) It wasn’t a newspaper
(D) It wasn’t mine

✅ Answer: (A) He didn’t steal it — the stress is on borrowed

Exercise C: Your Turn – Speak It!

Say each of the following aloud, placing stress on the bold word. Then write what the implied meaning is.

1. I told him to go.

2. I told him to go.

3. I told him to go.

4. I told him to go.

✍️ Your Possible Answers:

1. Not someone else

2. I said it directly (didn’t suggest or hint)

3. Not someone else

4. Not to stay or return

🔁 Recap

In this lesson, you’ve learned:

• Emphatic stress helps us show contrast, correction, or strong feeling.

• Changing stress in a sentence changes meaning and tone.

• This skill is tested in WASSCE listening through both speech tone and comprehension questions.

• Practicing with the same sentence using different emphatic words improves your listening and speaking accuracy.

🪞 Reflection Prompt

Think of a time when you needed to strongly emphasize a point in an argument or conversation. What word did you stress? How did it change the way the other person understood your sentence?