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| Statements | Special question | General question | Imperatives | Exclamations |
| The Low Fall | complete, final, definite, firm, categoric, weighty, serious, the speaker’s concern and personal involvement, cool detached, reserved, disapproving, indignation, resentment, exasperation | cool, phlegmatic, possibly grim, unsympathetic, hostile | hostile, skeptical | calm, rather cold, controlled | calm, reserved, self-possessed |
| The High Fall | light, airy, personal concern, involvement, conveying contrast or contradiction, protesting | brisk, businesslike, considerate, protesting, unpleasantly surprised or displeased | skeptical about the result, mild surprise, very insistent, businesslike, protesting, impatient | lively, critical surprise | giving order, critical and unpleasant, convey affronted surprise |
| The Low Rise | not categoric, encourage further conversation, non-categorical, doubt, uncertainty, hesitation, casual attitude, lack of interest, detachment, soothing, reassuring, questioning | wondering, mildly puzzled, a request to repeat a previously made statement, friendly interest, a mild reproach, a friendly interest and sympathy, puzzled, disapproval | disapproving, skeptical, a friendly interest, the speaker’s interest | encourage further conversation, requests, soothing, encouraging, calmly patronizing | calmly warning, soothing, encouraging friendly, exhortative, calm, casual acknowledgment, airy, encourage further conversation |
| The Fall-Rise | friendly, correction of the previous statement | astonished, to continue the conversation | interested, concerned, surprised | very polite, urgently warning, concern | refusal |
| The High Rise | questioning, casual, tentative | calling for repetition | echoing the listener’s question, light, casual | questioning | questioning, querying |
| The Rise-Fall | impressed | mocking, sarcastic, ironical, antagonistic, reproachful | mocking, sarcastic, ironical, antagonistic | challenging, teasing | enthusiasm, surprise, astonishment, anger, admiration |
| The High Fall-Low Rise | appealing to the listener to continue with the topic of conversation, gladness, regret, surprise | very emotive, expressing plaintiveness, despair, gushing warmth | pleading, persuading | intensely encouraging, protesting |
| The Level tone | non-finality, imply continuation without any special attitude, calling out to someone as if at a distance |
Nuclear tone groups
The falling tone is used at the end of statements (It's \nice.), special questions (What \happened?), commands (\Call him.), exclamatory sentences (How \nice!), in the first part of tag questions (He \works, \doesn't he?), and in the last part of alternative questions (Do you /study or \work?). The falling tone expresses finality, completeness, confidence. The falling tone begins on the last stressed syllable of the sentence and goes down (much deeper than in Russian), ending near the bottom of the normal speaking range.
The fall takes place within the last stressed syllable: Tom is my \friend. If there are unstressed syllables after the final stressed syllable, they are pronounced on the same low level where the fall ends: Tom is a \journalist. In many cases you can use the normal falling tone instead of the high fall and low fall.
The rising tone is used at the end of general questions (Is she /here?), in requests (Could you /help me?), at the end of introductory phrases beginning the sentence (As /usual, he was \late.), in the first part of alternative questions (Is it /short or \long?), in the second part of tag questions (Nice \weather, /isn't it?), in direct address (/Mike, where \are you?), and in enumerations (I bought /milk, /cheese, and \fruit.). Depending on the context, the rising tone may express interest, politeness, surprise, doubt, incompleteness, and so on.
The rising tone begins on the last stressed syllable of the sentence and first goes down just a little and then continues going up. The English rising tone does not go up as high as the Russian rising tone does.
If the sentence ends on the last stressed syllable, the rise takes place within the last stressed syllable: Do you have a /pen? If there are unstressed syllables after the final stressed syllable, the rise goes down a little on the stressed syllable and then continues going up on the unstressed syllables: Do you have a /pencil? In many cases you can use the normal rising tone instead of the fall-rise, high rise, mid-level rise, low rise.
The fall-rise may be used instead of the rising tone in various cases, for example in introductory phrases and in subordinate clauses at the beginning of the sentence. Examples: If you don't hurry \ /up, you'll be \late. Despite her \ /warning, he opened the \door.
The fall-rise expresses nonfinality, signals continuation of the utterance, emphasizes the word on which it is used, and may express polite warning, suggestion, correction, contrast, and so on. The voice falls down and goes up within one word.
The high fall is an emphatic variation of the falling tone. It may be used in informal situations to show lively interest and friendliness, usually in exclamatory sentences. Examples: OH \HI! How \NICE! What a sur\PRISE!
The high fall begins much higher than the falling tone and goes down into the lower part of the normal speaking range, but not always as low as the falling tone. The stressed syllable on which the high fall takes place is pronounced more loudly, and the stress on it is stronger.
Though this tone is rather common in everyday speech, language learners should use it with caution and not too often because it is emphatic and rather expressive and, depending on the situation, may express various strong feelings ranging from admiration and delight to disgust and horror.
Lowering the pitch into the lower part of the normal speaking range and using the low fall as the final tone in the sentence may indicate, depending on the situation, such feelings as disappointment, sadness, hopelessness, sympathy, sincerity, responsibility, fear, threat. When strong emotions are expressed, the low fall may be emphatic.
The low fall begins much lower than the falling tone, and the speaker usually pronounces the words less loudly, in a soft voice, and sometimes even close to whisper.
The unemphatic low fall may be used at the end of the sentence in a group of words added as an afterthought after the final fall, or in the author's words at the end of the sentence (if they are important). For example: I think I saw your cell phone in the \kitchen, on the \windowsill. "\Stop it!" a woman's voice behind them said \angrily.
If the speaker wants to mark the end of his whole utterance (after he has been speaking for some time), the whole final sentence may be pronounced on a lower level with low-falling intonation and with the low fall at the end.
The high rise is an emphatic rising tone that may be used for expressing strong surprise or disbelief, mostly in surprised echo questions. Examples: /What? You lost my /money?
The high rise begins higher than the normal rising tone, goes into the higher part of the normal speaking range, and ends much higher than the normal rising tone. Depending on the emotion expressed, the high rise may even go beyond the upper boundary of the normal speaking range.
Depending on the situation, the high rise may also indicate astonishment, indignation, anger, and so on. Because the high rise is emphatic, very expressive and may indicate various emotions, it is advisable for language learners to limit the use of this tone in speech.
The mid-level rise is used mostly in informal American speech, for example, in direct address, in introductory phrases, in subordinate clauses at the beginning of the sentence.
The mid-level rise begins at mid level (or a little higher) and immediately goes up (not too high) – without first going down a little as the ordinary rising tone does. Example: Mrs. /Smith, this is \Annie, my \niece.
The low rise may be used in a group of words added (as direct address, as a suggestion, for politeness, etc.) at the end of the sentence after the final fall. The low rise begins and ends lower than the ordinary rising tone.
The low rise generally signals the speaker's polite interest and his readiness to continue the conversation. Examples: Good to \see you, /Alan. You can stay \here, if you /like.
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