Grammar for Everyone - Barbara Dykes 2007
22 Emphasis
Introduction
Part II The parts of speech
Definition: The word emphasis comes via Latin from the Greek verb emphainein meaning ’to show’, and in rhetoric ’to stress or lay significance’.
Using emphasis is, again, something which native English speakers do naturally; but understanding how we do this is an integral part of language education.
Languages convey meaning in different ways. English has developed a variety of techniques in the ways that we use our voices. Oral practice in using these techniques in vocal expression helps to develop listening and speech skills and to build self-confidence.
In English we convey emphasis by:
1. Changing the tone, pitch, stress and even rhythm in our voices.
We often speak the word or words that we wish to emphasise more loudly or deliberately than the rest.
For example:
He actually shot the man!
Most of us have been subject to a parental command - Come here - right now!
2. Another way we emphasise is by stressing an added part of the auxiliary verb ’to do’.
For example:
They did have a good time.
I do like your dress.
3. We can also convey emphasis in the future tense by reversing the auxiliary forms ’will’ and ’shall’. This emphasises the usefulness of using ’shall’ for the first person, and ’will’ for second and third in the indicative (or statement) mood.
So, ’I shall do it’ when emphatic becomes ’I will do it’ and ’I will be done’ when emphatic becomes ’It shall be done.’
22.1 Activities: emphasis
1. a. Students each write a given number of sentences each containing some form of emphasis and underline the stressed word or words.
b. Students each, in turn, read out one of their sentences using their voices to convey the emphasis, for example:
We were so sick on that boat.
2. The sentence ’Did you really do that?’ is written on the board and students read it, emphasising each word in turn, for example:
Did you really do that?
Did you really do that? etc.