Work in pairs and speak the following sentences 1-5 aloud, as Mary. Apply stress and falling intonation. Match each of the sentences to the meaning they convey in (i)-(v). Sentences: 1. I didn't hurt anyone today. 2. I didn't hurt anyone today. 3. I didn't hurt anyone today. 4. I didn't hurt anyone today. 5. I didn't hurt anyone today. Meanings: (i) I might have done other things but did not hurt anyone. (ii) I might cause hurt usually, but not anyone on this day. (iii) The action of hurting anyone did not occur. (iv) I, specifically, did not hurt anyone, possibly implying someone else might have. (v) I may have spoken a lot many things but not a single person was hurt.
1 (stress on 'I') matches (iv) - I, specifically, did not hurt anyone, possibly implying someone else might have. 2 (stress on 'didn't') matches (iii) - The action of hurting anyone did not occur. 3 (stress on 'hurt') matches (i) - I might have done other things but did not hurt anyone. 4 (stress on 'anyone') matches (v) - I may have spoken a lot many things but not a single person was hurt. 5 (stress on 'today') matches (ii) - I might cause hurt usually, but not anyone on this day.
Explanation
This exercise demonstrates how sentence stress changes meaning. Stressing different words in the same sentence can completely change what the speaker is emphasizing: 'I' emphasizes the speaker, 'didn't' emphasizes negation, 'hurt' emphasizes the action, 'anyone' emphasizes no person was affected, and 'today' emphasizes the specific time.