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- 'I never said she stole my money'
'I never said she stole my money'
How intonation changes the meaning of a sentence
The meaning of a sentence can change depending on which word the speaker puts stress on. To stress, or to emphasis, a word means to make a word stand out by putting extra focus on it.
To show you how it works let’s use this sentence:
I never said she stole my money
Without any stress on a particular word, this sentence just means that someone is saying that they have not accused a particular person (she) of taking there money.
However, this sentence has 7 different meanings depending on which of the 7 words is stressed. Watch this video to see how each pronunciation sounds.
1) I never said she stole my money (but someone else said so)
2) I never said she stole my money (I am not saying or implying that she stole my money)
3) I never said she stole my money (I suggested/implied it)
4) I never said she stole my money (She didn’t steal my money, someone else did)
5) I never said she stole my money (She did not steal it, she took/robbed it)
6) I never said she stole my money (She stole someone else’s money)
7) I never said she stole my money (She didn’t steal money, she stole something else)
🤦Avoid saying this
‘I lost the bus’
This does make sense, but it means that you no longer know where the bus is.
If you are late for a bus so are unable to get on it, would say:
‘I missed the bus’
✅Sound like a native
🚩Red flags
If something is a red flag, it means it’s a sign of a bigger problem.
‘He was always really jealous. For me that was a red flag’.
See you on Saturday!