Sentence Intonation & Stress Patterns

Content words, pronouns, and the rhythm of spoken English

Bold word = stressed syllable / content word
/ = stress-group boundary
↗ = rising intonation on verb
____ = write a, b, or c in practice exercises
A
SVO and SVC sentences that begin/end with Content words
SVO
  1. Mike / likes bikes.
  2. Elsa / wants a book.
  3. Adam / plays pool.
  4. Music / soothes the soul.
  5. Bobby / needs some money.
  6. Susie / combs her hair.
  7. Clouds / make rain.
  8. Nelly / teaches French.
  9. Ben / writes articles.
  10. Keys / open locks.
  11. Jerry / makes music.
  12. Carol / paints the car.
  13. The boys / need some help.
SVC
  1. Joey / is at school.
  2. Mary / is sick.
  3. Bananas / are healthy.
  4. The book / is lost.
  5. The cat / is scared.
  6. The dog / is barking.
  7. The fish / are swimming.
  8. Mary / is a nurse.
  9. Pete / is the winner.
  10. Singing / is fun.
  11. Jogging / is exercise.
  12. Traveling / is expensive.
B
SVO sentences that begin/end with Pronouns Verb gets the stress ↗
  1. It sees her. ↗
  2. She knows him. ↗
  3. They call them. ↗
  4. She sells some. ↗
  5. It finds one. ↗
  6. We fix them. ↗
  7. He hears us. ↗
  8. They eat them. ↗
  1. They have one. ↗
  2. They like it. ↗
  3. They need something. ↗
  4. She should call someone. ↗
  5. He killed it. ↗
  6. They bought some. ↗
  7. She forgot something. ↗
  8. She lost it. ↗
C
SVC — begin with Pronouns, end with Content words
  1. She was tired. ↗
  2. He's a policeman. ↗
  3. They were excited. ↗
  4. We are scared. ↗
  5. She was leaving. ↗
  6. We are students. ↗
  7. It was raining. ↗
  8. She is a lawyer. ↗
  1. They are soldiers. ↗
  2. He is my friend. ↗
  3. They are lost. ↗
  4. You are wrong. ↗
  5. It is ugly. ↗
  6. They are gone. ↗
  7. It was amazing. ↗
D
Practice — identify the stress pattern
a Mike / likes bikes. b She knows him. ↗ c She was tired. ↗
1.Sam sees Bill.
2.He sees him.
3.It was snowing.
4.She wants one.
5.She was ill.
6.Mary wants a car.
7.Betty likes English.
8.She likes it.
9.He is angry.
10.They play them.
11.They eat some.
12.They were upset.
13.Children play games.
14.We are going.
15.We call you.
16.She is a baker.
17.Bill read the news.
18.You read it.
19.It was funny.
20.It tells one.
21.The news tells a story.
22.You were right.
23.He lived there.
E
SVO — begin with Pronouns, end with Content words
  1. He plays / the violin.
  2. She bakes / pies.
  3. They swim / very fast.
  4. We drive / to London.
  5. She cooks / the chicken.
  6. We ate / the cake.
  7. He parked / over there.
  8. We walked / to school.
  9. We sang / at KTV.
  10. They worked / overtime.
  11. He caught / the ball.
  1. They flew / a kite.
  2. It attacked / the lady.
  3. She slept / on the couch.
  4. It crawled / over the fence.
  5. She walked / the dog.
  6. She is walking / the dog.
  7. She has been baking / all morning.
  8. He had been playing / the violin.
  9. We will be driving / to London.
  10. We can catch / the ball.
F
SVO — begin with Content words, end with Pronouns
  1. Mark / likes it.
  2. Mary / sees him.
  3. John / will meet them.
  4. Harry / hates us.
  5. Mark / calls her.
  6. Martha / will find us.
  7. The goat / will eat them.
  8. The machine / is making it.
  1. Mark / forgot it.
  2. Jane / sings it.
  3. Martin / sells some.
  4. Tabatha / finds one.
  5. The company / fires them.
  6. Kelly / hears her.
  7. Caroline / should call someone.
G
SVO — begin with Pronouns, object is pronoun + adverb/phrase
  1. He saw her / at the mall.
  2. She knew him / from college.
  3. They call them / on weekends.
  4. He sells them / at the market.
  5. We fix them / at the shop.
  6. He hears us / at night.
  7. They eat them / at the diner.
  8. We have one / in the back.
  1. They like it / with chocolate.
  2. They need some / today.
  3. She should call someone / now.
  4. He killed a man / over there.
  5. They bought some / after work.
  6. She forgot something / again.
  7. She lost it / yesterday.
H
Practice — identify the stress pattern
a He plays / the violin b Mark / likes it. c He saw her / at the mall.
1.She expected him last night.
2.The machine twists it.
3.He shipped it to the company.
4.Larry wastes it.
5.Mark carries it.
6.She delivered it to the bank.
7.They encouraged her to go.
8.We joined the group.
9.The feather tickles her.
10.It scratched her on the cheek.
11.He requested a menu.
12.She noticed the flowers.
13.Fred embarrasses them.
14.The magician tricks him.
15.We employed them for a year.
16.The child touches it.
17.Susie tastes some.
18.They followed the path.
19.He explained the plan.
20.They spared the child.
21.She trusted them with her life.
22.He crushed the can.
23.They arrested the criminal.
24.We arranged it yesterday.
I
SVO — begin with Content words, object is pronoun + adverb/phrase
  1. Tommy / saw her / at the mall.
  2. Jane / knew him / from college.
  3. Their parents / call them / on weekends.
  4. The company / sells them / at the market.
  5. The repairman / fixes them / at the shop.
  6. The cat / can hear us / at night.
  7. The Smith's / eat them / at the diner.
  8. Grandma / has one / in the back.
  1. The girls / like it / with chocolate.
  2. Our club / needs some / today.
  3. Martin / should call someone / quickly.
  4. The criminal / killed him / over there.
  5. The ladies / bought some / after work.
  6. Tammy / forgot something / again.
  7. Joe / lost it / yesterday.
J
SVO — begin with Content words, object is noun + adverb/phrase
  1. Tommy / saw Martha / at the mall.
  2. Jane / knew Benjamin / from college.
  3. The parents / call the children / on weekends.
  4. The company / sells their products / at the market.
  5. The repairman / fixes radios / at the shop.
  6. The cat / hears his owners / at night.
  7. The Smith's / eat spaghetti / at the diner.
  8. Grandma / has some bananas / in the back.
  1. The girls / like the cake / with chocolate.
  2. Our club / needs the tables / today.
  3. Martin / should call 911 / quickly.
  4. The criminal / killed Gretel / over there.
  5. The ladies / bought coffee / after work.
  6. Tammy / forgot her purse / again.
  7. Joe / lost the card / yesterday.
K
Practice — identify the stress pattern
a Tommy / saw her / at the mall b Tommy / saw Martha / at the mall
1.The tailor measured it from the bottom.
2.The news channel shocked them with their report.
3.The weatherman observed the storm in the east.
4.Martha smelled them at the florist.
5.Jerry milked the cow in the barn.
6.Yolanda completed the assignment in one day.
7.The factory produces parts for computers.
8.Sherry practiced it for three hours.
9.The police prevented the crime from happening.
10.Tony borrowed money from the bank.
11.The monkey snatched the purse from the woman.
12.The gentleman rescued her from the tiger.
13.Her mother permitted her to go.
14.Hank teased her all night.
15.Her parents surprised her with a visit.
16.The driver stopped the taxi in the street.
17.Susan listens to music at night.
18.The alligators surrounded the old man in the lake.
19.The company supplied them with the parts.
20.Tabatha memorized the vocabulary in one week.
L
SV + adverb/phrase (intransitive verbs — no objects)
Note: phrasal verbs are different from prepositional phrases.
Mark / ran / over the mountain. (prep. phrase — where he ran)
Mark / ran over / the cat. (phrasal verb — he hit the cat with his car)

The lion / roared / at the mouse.

It roared / at the mouse.

The lion / roared at it.

It roared at it.

Joan / swims / in the river.

She swims / in the river.

Joan / swims in it.

She swims in it.

Mother / looked / for her shoes.

She looked / for her shoes.

Mother / looked for them.

She looked for them.

Rebecca / hunted / for her belt.

She hunted / for her belt.

Rebecca / hunted for it.

She hunted for it.

Jim / sat / beside the tree.

He sat / beside the tree.

Jim / sat beside it.

He sat beside it.

Jonathan / calls / every morning.

He calls / every morning.

M
Practice — mark the sentences e.g. Joan swims in the river.
1.The parade began on time.
2.The children hid under the table.
3.The two of them met in the park.
4.This winter lasted for too long.
5.The beach was used by everyone.
6.It began on time.
7.He waited despite the rain.
8.Samantha rode by the river.
9.Kimberly slept near the fire.
10.John jumped over the log.
N
S + be verb + PP (adverb/phrase)

Bill / was under / the bridge.

He was under / the bridge.

The radio / was on / the shelf.

It was on / the shelf.

The tiger / is beside / the tree.

It is beside / the tree.

The criminal / was about to run.

He was about / to run.

The police / were about / to shoot.

They were about / to shoot.

The chicken / was across / the road.

It was across / the road.

O
Practice — mark the sentences (S + be verb + PP)
1.The lady was among strangers.
2.The gift was inside the box.
3.It was among the stars.
4.It was inside the box.
5.The kids were behind the sofa.
6.It was during rehearsal.
7.They were behind the sofa.
8.The rainbow was in the east.
9.The children were without food.
10.The shovel was against the fence.
11.The exit was towards the front.
12.Flowers were along the path.
P
SV IO DO — subject + verb + indirect object + direct object
The verb always groups with the IO unless the subject is a pronoun.
If the IO is a pronoun, the verb gets the stress.
*Words like "medical bill" and "birthday cake" are specific and are pronounced like compound nouns — different from general words like "exciting story," "her ring," or "some stock."
  1. John / read his nephew / an exciting story.
  2. Our father / built the family / a picnic table.
  3. The doctor / sent me / a medical bill. (IO is a pronoun)
  4. We gave / my mother / a birthday cake. (S is pronoun)
  5. Terri / showed them / her ring. (IO is a pronoun)
  6. The new highway / saved the travelers / several miles.
  7. I bought / Amanda / two pieces of cake. (S is pronoun)
  8. The new manager / offered Jay / a higher position.
  9. Carl / told us / his plans. (IO is a pronoun)
  10. Many companies / don't pay their employees / much money.
  11. Mr. Blower / read the children / some interesting stories.
  12. Mr. Smith / sold my parents / some stock / yesterday.
Q
Practice — mark stress in SV IO DO sentences
  1. I asked my mother an important question.
  2. Grandpa read the grandchildren the nursery rhymes.
  3. She bought herself a new dress.
  4. He did the whole town a great favor.
  5. The artist showed the viewers his most famous painting.
  6. Pam bought her children two new toys at the mall.
  7. You should send your friend a thank you card tomorrow.
  8. The veteran pitcher threw the rookie hitter a fast-breaking curve ball.
  9. The public defender gave her client her best advice.
  10. Eric showed his math teacher a problem with the question.
  11. The car dealer gave Jim a low price for his old car.
  12. Will wanted a job at the ranger station.
  13. My neighbors brought me some candy and a basket of fruit for my birthday.
  14. We gave the man the name of a lodge near Trial Lake.
  15. An unknown donor gave the hospital a million dollars for research.
  16. The frightening experience taught the child some important lessons.
R
SVC + adverb phrase

Martha / was sick / on Friday.

She was sick / on Friday.

The weather / was warm / in November.

It was warm / in November.

S
Extended objects and extended verbs
Extended objects and extended verbs change the rhythm of spoken patterns.
object = bikes  →  extended object = big blue bikes
verb = likes  →  extended verb = really likes
Mike likes bikes.
Mike likes big blue bikes.
Mike really likes bikes.
Mike really likes big blue bikes.