tones of both intonation-groups:
1. Are the bedrooms on the ground floor or on the first floor? 2. Is the
furniture in his house modern or old? 3. Do the members of Dr. White's family
read the Times or The Worker? 4. Is it a large house or a small one? 5. Do you
prefer tea or coffee? 6. Is your wife a housewife or does she work? 7. Shall I go
on or stop here? 8. Does the dress fit you or do you want a larger one? 9. Have
you a son or a daughter? 10. Do you study French or English?
6. Listen to the same sentences and repeat them in the intervals. Follow the intonation
line of the model exactly.
7. In order to fix the intonation of alternative questions in your mind, ear and speech
habits repeat the sentences yourself until they sound perfectly natural to you. Listen to your
fellow-student reading the alternative questions. Tell him what his errors in the intonation are.
6. Complete the following sentences using the words in brackets:
1. Do you usually have dinner at home ...? (at the canteen) 2. Do you get up
at six ...? (at seven o'clock) 3. Will you have clear soup ...? (cabbage soup) 4.
How do you like your tea strong ...? (weak) 5. Do you do your morning exercises
in the room ...? (the garden) 6. Does she study French ...? (English) 7. Do you
usually have breakfast at eight ...? (nine) 8. Do you , usually sit up late ...? (go to
bed early) 9. Did it take you half an hour ...? (a quarter of an hour to get there)
10. Did you lay the table for 6 ...? (for 12 persons) 11. Did you take your exam in
English on the 15th ...? (on the 17th of January) 12. Will you
lave black ...? (white coffee).
9. Make up alternative questions using the following sentences.
VI о d e 1: She is twenty. She is twenty-five.
-* Is she /twenty | or 'twenty-xfive?
1. He lives in a new house. He lives in an old house. 2. Your :hildren have
milk in the morning. Your children have coffee in ;he morning. 3. He will have
black coffee. He will have white :offee. 4. They spend Sundays in town. They
spend Sundays in he country. 5. It is warm today. It is cold today. 6. She will go
to :he Caucasus next summer. She will go to the Crimea next summer. 7. Your
friend speaks English. Your friend speaks Spanish. 8. Her nephew lives in
Moscow. Her nephew lives in St.Petersburg.
10. Translate the following sentences:
1. Ваш друг живет в общежитии или с родителями? 2. Он уехал 5 Санкт-
Петербург или в Киев? 3. Он занимается в гимнастическом зале или ходит
на стадион? 4. Вы делали доклад в понедельник зли во вторник? 5. Вы
обедаете в столовой или дома? 6. Вы готовите свои домашние задания дома
или в библиотеке? 7. Вы принимаете ванну вечером или утром? 8. Вы
предпочитаете теплый или холодный душ? 9. Вы вчера ходили в театр или в
кино? 10. У вас (Осодит полчаса или четверть часа на то, чтобы добраться
до института? 11. Какой предмет вы больше любите, физику или
математику? 12. Вы будете пить чай или кофе, миссис Браун? 13. Вы будете
гить черный кофе или кофе с молоком?
11. Make up a dialogue using alternative questions. See that your
Russian pronnnciation habits do not interfere.
Disjunctive Questions
M o d e l s : You've vmet her, | ,haven't you?
You've xmet her, | xhaven4 you?
Disjunctive questions consist of two intonation-groups. The Sequence of
tones in disjunctive questions depends on the atti-:ude of the speaker towards the
significance of the utterance.
The first intonation-group has generally the low-falling nuclear tone. The
low-rising nuclear tone of the final intonation-group, or tag, shows that the
speaker is not certain of the facts expressed in the first part of the question. An
answer is expected.
е. д. I rang you up yesterday. You were -> meeting your vwife, j ,weren4
you? — Yes, I was.
The low-falling nuclear tone of the tag shows that the speaker is certain of the
facts expressed in the first part of the question. No answer is expected.
е. д. I saw you at the station. You were -> meeting your xwife, I ^weren't
you? She looked so young and happy.
EXERCISES
>
12. a) Listen carefully to the following conversational situations. Concentrate your
attention on the intonation of the replies:
Verbal Context
What a very nice house!
I rather like Mary.
James has quite a lot of talent.
And how do you like our weather?
You've broken the nail on this
finger rather badly.
You mustn't rely on this clock. We told him about your success. Arthur's
coming home today. But they only got blue or green. Peggy wants to stay at
home.
Drill
Yes, isn't it?
Very pleasant, isn't she? Yes, hasn't he? It's very changeable, isn't it? Yes, I
have, haven't I? Be careful with my right thumb, it's a bit painful. It gains,
doesn't it? He was surprised, wasn't he? He's due here at ten, isn't he? Blue's all
right, isn't it? That doesn't matter, does it?
b) Listen to the replies and repeat them in the intervals.
13.
Listen to the verbal context and reply in the intervals.
14. In order to fix the intonation of disjunctive questions in your mind,
ear and speech habits repeat the replies yourself until they sound perfectly
natural to you.
15. Listen to a fellow-student reading the replies. Tell him what his pors in intonation
are. I 16. Read the drill sentences according to the given models. Observe the pfference
in meaning.
M o d e l s : The -»text is xeasy, | /isn't it?
The -»text is veasy, j visn4 it?
1. She is better today, isn't she? 2. There is a lawn in front of pur house, isn't
there? 3. There are many new houses in your street, aren't there? 4. The New
Year is the most favourite holiday in our country, isn't it? 5. Great Britain is an
island, isn't it? 6. The Alps are higl>^r than the Urals, aren't they? 7. The
Mississippi is the longest river in the world, isn't it? 8. You don't speak
Hungarian, do you? 9. You don't take beer, do you? 10. You can't speak German
yet, can you? 11. You have learned this poem by heart, haven't you? 12. You are
fond of skating, aren't you? 1 3 . We must pay right now, mustn't we? 1 4 . They
shouldn't be late, should they? 15. She can understand nearly everything, can't
she? 16. It's my turn, isn't it?
17. Read the following conversational situations according to the models, suggested for
replies. Concentrate your attention on the intonation of the replies. Say what meaning is
rendered by them.
M o d e l 1: It's vhorrid, | visn't it?
Verbal Context
If only the day had been warmer. The work will never be ready in time.
Where could we get the book? It's a seat in the gallery.
Mary's broken the ski-jumping record.
It looks like rain.
What a delightful family the
jSmiths are!
Where did you meet him then?
Drill
Very cold, wasn't it? Never, will it?
It's very difficult, isn't it? She won't be able to see, will she?
Marvellous ski-jumper, isn't she?
It does, doesn't it?
They're so friendly, aren't
they?
In High Street, didn't we, John?
