When to Use Rising and Falling Intonation in English (Asking or Judging?)

Описание: In this lesson, I explain when to use rising and falling intonation in English and how pitch changes meaning in real spoken English. You’ll see how the same sentence can sound like a question, a comment, or a criticism — depending only on intonation.

Many English learners struggle with communication not because of grammar or vocabulary, but because their intonation doesn’t match their intention. Native speakers use pitch movement to signal whether they are asking, checking, commenting, judging, or finishing a thought. Understanding English intonation helps you sound clearer, more confident, and more natural in everyday English.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:07 Question tags 1: asking or judging
00:26 English pitch range
00:43 Question tags 2: asking or judging
01:38 Intonation in lists
02:33 Intonation in questions: checking, requests, information
03:20 Intonation in commands
03:48 Intonation and emotion
04:25 Holding attention with intonation

In this video, you will learn:
what intonation is in English
when to use rising intonation
when to use falling intonation
how rising and falling intonation change meaning
how intonation works in questions, statements, lists, and emotion
why English uses a wider pitch range than many other languages

Once you understand rising and falling intonation, spoken English becomes clearer and misunderstandings caused by tone are greatly reduced.

I am a CELTA-qualified English teacher with a degree in Modern Languages, specialising in spoken English, English intonation, pronunciation, listening skills, and real everyday English.

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