Speak the given declarative sentence aloud. 'I saw Mrs. Cotter this afternoon.' Use falling intonation towards end of the sentence as declarative sentences usually have falling intonation. Stress the words 'Mrs. Cotter'.
When speaking the declarative sentence 'I saw Mrs. Cotter this afternoon,' the pitch should fall towards the end of the sentence.
The words 'Mrs. Cotter' should be emphasized with more stress than other words, meaning they are spoken with slightly more force and clarity, not necessarily louder.
The falling intonation indicates that this is a statement of fact, not a question.
Explanation
This speaking exercise teaches students about sentence stress and intonation in declarative sentences. Content words like names (Mrs. Cotter) are typically stressed, and declarative sentences have falling intonation to indicate they are statements.
Solution Steps
Declarative sentences have falling intonation towards the end
Content words like names (Mrs. Cotter) should be stressed with more force and clarity
Falling intonation signals a statement of fact rather than a question