Intonation describes how the voice rises and falls in speech. The three main patterns of intonation in English are: falling intonation, rising intonation and fall-rise intonation.
Falling intonation
Falling intonation describes how the voice falls on the final stressed syllable of a phrase or a group of words. A falling intonation is very common in wh-questions.
Where’s the nearest p↘ost-office?
What time does the film f↘inish?
We also use falling intonation when we say something definite, or when we want to be very clear about something:
I think we are completely l↘ost.
OK, here’s the magaz↘ine you wanted.
See also:
Questions: wh-questions
Rising intonation
Rising intonation describes how the voice rises at the end of a sentence. Rising intonation is common in yes-no questions:
I hear the Health Centre is expanding. So, is that the new d↗octor?
Are you th↗irsty?
Fall-rise intonation
Fall-rise intonation describes how the voice falls and then rises. We use fall-rise intonation at the end of statements when we want to say that we are not sure, or when we may have more to add:
I do↘n’t support any football team at the m↘om↗ent. (but I may change my mind in future).
It rained every day in the firs↘t w↗eek. (but things improved after that).
We use fall-rise intonation with questions, especially when we request information or invite somebody to do or to have something. The intonation pattern makes the questions sound more polite:
Is this your cam↘er↗a?
Would you like another co↘ff↗ee?
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