Lesson 4: Intonation Patterns (Falling and Rising)

🟦 Introduction

When you ask a question or give an order, does your voice rise or fall at the end? In English, intonation—the rise and fall of your voice—carries meaning. It helps us show feelings, ask questions, or signal when we’re finished speaking. Understanding intonation patterns will make your speech clearer and your listening sharper, especially in WASSCE oral tests.

In this lesson, you’ll learn:

• What intonation is and why it matters

• The two main patterns: falling and rising

• How intonation shows emotion and sentence type

• How it is tested in WASSCE listening tasks

🟩 Key Concepts and Explanations

1. What is Intonation?

Intonation is the variation of pitch while speaking. In English, this pitch movement helps express:

• Meaning (statement vs. question)

• Attitude (confident, uncertain, surprised)

• Structure (is the speaker finished or continuing?)

2. Two Main Intonation Patterns

3. Falling Intonation (↘)

Used to show completeness, certainty, or finality.

🗣 Examples:

• “I’m going to the market.” ↘

• “What is your name?” ↘

• “Come here!” ↘

These sound firm, complete, or final.

4. Rising Intonation (↗)

Used to show doubt, uncertainty, politeness, or continuation.

🗣 Examples:

• “Are you okay?” ↗

• “Can I help you?” ↗

• “When the train arrived…” ↗ (incomplete thought)

These sound open-ended or unsure.

5. Combined Intonation Patterns

Longer sentences may mix both rising and falling tones.

Example:

• “When the train arrived, the passengers were on the platform.”

Rising on “arrived,” falling on “platform.”

6. Tag Questions and Intonation

A tag question is a statement + mini-question. Intonation changes its meaning:

7. Intonation in WASSCE Listening

In WASSCE:

• You’ll hear short dialogues or questions

• A sentence’s rising/falling tone helps answer correctly

• You may hear:
  “He’s coming today?” ↗ → Question
  “He’s coming today.” ↘ → Statement

🧭 Sample Walkthrough

Compare these two:

1. “Did you call the teacher?” ↗ (yes/no question)

2. “Why did you call the teacher?” ↘ (WH-question)

Even though both are questions, intonation shows what kind they are.

Now try saying aloud:

• “It’s raining.” (with a falling tone)

• “It’s raining?” (with a rising tone)

The change in tone creates statement vs. question.

🟨 Practice Exercises

Exercise A: Identify the Intonation Pattern

Say the sentence out loud and decide if the pitch goes up ↗ or down ↘.

1. “Where do you live?”

2. “Are you ready?”

3. “Sit down.”

4. “He left yesterday.”

5. “When I arrived at school…”

✅ Answers:

1. Falling ↘

2. Rising ↗

3. Falling ↘

4. Falling ↘

5. Rising ↗ (incomplete thought)

Exercise B: Rewrite with Intonation Markers

Add arrows to show likely pitch movement.

✅ Suggested Answers:

• Did you see the car? ↗

• Where are you going? ↘

• She bought a new phone. ↘

• Are you sure? ↗

Exercise C: Create Your Own

Write 2 questions and 2 statements. Mark the rising or falling tone on each. Then, say them aloud to a friend or record yourself. Do the tones match your meaning?

🔁 Recap

You’ve now learned that:

• Intonation is how your pitch rises and falls while speaking.

• Falling tone ↘ = certainty, completion

• Rising tone ↗ = questions, doubt, or continuation

• Understanding intonation helps in WASSCE listening comprehension and makes your English sound natural.

🪞 Reflection Prompt

Think of how tone affects meaning in your local language. Are there situations where a rising or falling pitch completely changes what someone means? How does this compare with English intonation?