Ready to learn how to use rising intonation?
In this video, we're going to talk about how to use rising intonation
in order to ask questions in English.
You'll also learn the many other reasons that you may hear native speakers use rising intonation
when speaking English.
Welcome back to the English with Kim YouTube channel, where we talk about what to say,
how to say it, and why it matters.
If you're interested in learning how to use intonation in order to sound more like a native
English speaker, be sure to hit subscribe.
If you're new to intonation, be sure to check out the resources I've listed in the description
below the video.
I have a lot of videos on intonation and a lot more coming, so don't miss out.
In my last video, I talked about how we use falling intonation.
Falling intonation is the most common intonation pattern in American English, but today we're
going to talk about rising intonation.
Rising intonation is equally important, and you want to understand the different ways
we use rising intonation in order to communicate more effectively in English.
First things first: what do we mean by rising intonation?
Rising intonation describes when our pitch rises from the last content word of the sentence
and continues to climb.
Depending on the context and the emotion or attitude you're trying to convey with your
tone, rising intonation may start earlier in the sentence and then climb all the way
to the end.
Rising intonation is versatile.
It's used to communicate a wide variety of emotions depending on the context and depending
on the way the tone changes throughout the sentence.
As I mentioned, rising intonation is when our pitch rises from the stressed syllable
on the last content word of the sentence.
This type of intonation signals that we need clarification or confirmation from the person
who's listening to us.
Here's why we use rising intonation.
Rising intonation is more commonly used on what we call yes/no questions.
Yes/no questions are questions we can answer with a simple yes or no.
Similarly, we use rising intonation on a statement in order to signal that we're asking the statement
as a question and we'd like to check or confirm something.
This rising intonation signals uncertainty or doubt.
When we use rising intonation mid-sentence, it signals to the other person that we haven't
completed our thought or idea, and suggests that they shouldn't interrupt us.
They should give us a moment to finish what we're saying.
In American culture, we often use rising intonation to sound more friendly or approachable.
At the end of the video, I'll give more details on this and other uses of rising intonation
that communicate a certain feeling or attitude towards the person you're speaking with.
Rather than simply discuss rising intonation, let's practice.
First, let's start looking at a number of yes/no questions.
Listen to how my tone rises from the last content word to the end of the question.
Are you ready to go?
As you can hear, my pitch is rising towards the end of the question, especially on the
last content word, "go."
Are you ready to go?
By using rising intonation, I'm checking with the other person to see if they're ready.
Are you ready to go?
With this type of question, rqising intonation signals that I'm genuinely curious to hear
if they're ready to go.
If I use a different type of intonation, it may sound like I'm annoyed at the other person.
This is why learning to master rising intonation is so important if you're asking yes/no questions.
Let's look at another example.
Do you have any time to meet this afternoon?
As you can hear, there's a rise, especially from the word "afternoon," the last content
word of the sentence.
This is signaling that I want to know if the person has any time to meet.
Do you have any time to meet this afternoon?
That steep rise at the end shows my genuine interest in hearing yes or no.
Do you have any time to meet this afternoon?
Here's another example.
Have you seen it?
If you're asking someone if they've seen a certain TV show or movie, you're going to
rise from "seen" and up to "it."
Have you seen it?
"Seen" is the last content word in that question.
You're asking the other person in order to see if they've seen it or not.
You're genuinely interested in them giving you a response to that question.
Have you seen it?
Here's another example.
Wouldn't he have told us?
In this example, we're climbing from the word "told" up to "us" and finishing the question:
Wouldn't he have told us?
This use of rising intonation signals that I'm genuinely curious.
Wouldn't he have told us?
Yes or no?
I assume, yes.
Wouldn't he have told us?
Here's another example.
Do you want to have lunch now?
As you can hear, my tone is climbing from lunch up through now.
Do you want to have lunch now?
"Lunch" is the most important word in this question, so my tone is going to climb to the end.
Do you want to have lunch now?
My tone is signaling that I would like an answer to the question.
In all of those questions, if I used falling intonation, it would signal that I'm not really
looking for a response.
Do you want to have lunch now?
As I mentioned earlier in the video, we can also ask statements as questions simply by
using rising intonation.
When we turn a statement into a question with this type of intonation, it signals that we'd
like to check or confirm our understanding with the other person.
We're looking for them to say "yes" or "no" in order to confirm whether or not we've got it right.
You're from Boston?
When I use rising intonation on that statement, I may not be sure, or I would like the other
person to confirm something that I think is true.
You're from Boston?
Here's another example.
You went to the gym?
When I turn this type of statement into a question, I'm signaling that I'm not entirely
sure, maybe I misheard a certain word, or it surprises me.
You went to the gym?
Let's try another one.
You moved here three years ago?
As you can hear, I'm rising from the word "years" in order to question the information
that I think is true.
You moved here three years ago?
That rising intonation suggests that I would like to know whether or not I'm right about
the information I think I understand.
Here's another one.
You haven't seen it?
Instead of asking, "Have you seen it?" as in the previous example, I'm asking, "You
haven't seen it?" because perhaps I find that a little surprising, or I'm not sure, I can't
quite remember, so I'd like the other person to give a little more information.
You haven't seen it?
One more example: You're not hungry?
I'm asking this statement as a question because I find it a little bit surprising or I'm not
sure I understood.
You're not hungry?
That rise at the end of the question signals that I'm genuinely interested in hearing whether
or not the other person is hungry or not.
We also use rising intonation when asking tag questions.
The rising intonation suggests that we're not sure, and we'd like a response from the
other person.
As I mentioned in my video on falling intonation, falling intonation signals that you're just
making an observation.
Rising intonation suggests that you'd like them to confirm with you.
It's raining, isn't it?
Maybe you're not sure.
The forecast has been a little bit iffy all day and you want to double check.
It's raining, isn't it?
Here's another example.
You've been waiting for awhile, haven't you?
Maybe you think you've heard the person mention that they've been waiting for a response for
a long time, so you're checking and confirming that.
You've been waiting for a while, haven't you?
I'm not entirely sure, so I'm using rising intonation in order to check and confirm.
As I mentioned earlier, we use rising intonation in order to check and confirm with the other person.
You'll often hear rising intonation on short words or phrases that we use in order to check
and confirm what the other person said.
You'll commonly hear this in natural speech when the other person's using these little
filler phrases or filler words in order to keep the flow of the conversation going.
If you watch any of my live videos, you'll notice I often throw in a couple of these
phrases in order to check and confirm with my audience that they follow what I'm saying.
Here are a couple of examples.
Right?
It's super common to use rising intonation with the word "right" in order to check and
confirm that the other person is following.
Right?
Similarly, if we want the other person to say that they understand, we may say, "You
know?"
You know?
We're using "you know?" with this rising intonation in this abbreviated statement in order to
signal that we would like the other person to confirm they understand what we feel.
You know?
Okay?
We're using that checking and confirming intonation on the word "okay" in order to check and confirm
that things are okay.
Okay?
If you notice native English speakers using these short little words and phrases with
rising intonation, they're probably looking for some sort of signal from you in order
for them to keep going because they trust that you understand what they said, or that
you relate to what they said.
This is an example of what we call active listening.
It's when we signal to the other person that we follow what they're saying or we understand
how they feel.
Be sure to watch my video on five ways to show active listening in English for more examples.
The link will be in the cards and also in the description below the video.
Now that you understand how we use rising intonation with yes/no questions, with statements
that we turn into questions, with tag questions, and also with these little expressions that
we use to check and confirm, be sure to practice with your own examples.
Write three to five questions and sentences and try saying them with rising intonation.
Remember, your intonation should rise from the last content word in that question or
in that statement.
Which word is the last content word will depend on the information that you're trying to check
and confirm, or the way that you're asking the question.
Be sure to leave a comment and let me know how you did with the exercise.
Now let's talk about how rising intonation can signal certain attitudes in American English.
As I mentioned earlier, rising intonation is often used in order to sound more friendly
and approachable.
Depending on the person and the way that they speak, you may hear rising intonation throughout
their sentences.
There's also a tendency in American culture to end your statements with rising intonation.
You'll notice this characteristic among younger people in various English speaking cultures.
Because this use of rising intonation is so cultural, I'm going to talk about it in more
depth in another video.
Most importantly, I want you to observe whether you notice rising intonation at the end of
statements in natural speech.
If you do notice rising intonation at the end of statements, I want you to think about
the context.
Do you think the person's trying to sound friendly or approachable?
Do they sound uncertain?
Are they younger, and are they sounding a little more happy?
There's a lot of reasons that someone may end their statements with rising intonation.
Different levels of rising intonation can be used in order to express a variety of emotions
and attitudes in English.
Rising intonation can show curiosity, surprise, or excitement.
Rising intonation may be used to show disbelief.
You're checking and confirming because you don't believe what the other person said.
The steepness of the rise throughout the entire statement or question is going to signal what
emotion the other person's expressing.
You'll also need to observe different cues, like their facial expressions or their body
language, the way they use intonation throughout the sentences, the context.
Is it something they'd be excited about?
Is it something that's surprising?
If you'd like more guidance on how to use these intonation patterns, be sure to check
out my playlist on intonation patterns in American English.
You'll be able to hear the difference on how we change intonation on certain words and
phrases in order to express different emotions.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the video, rising intonation mid-sentence may signal
that you haven't completed a thought yet.
This is why sometimes people will end sentences with rising intonation as well, because they're
not done with the full idea.
They may have finished a particular statement, but they'd like you to not interrupt them
until they finish completing their thoughts.
There are a few reasons people may use rising intonation in order to signal they're not
done talking.
They may be used to being interrupted.
Unfortunately, this is fairly common for women in the workplace, where they're often interrupted,
so they'll use rising intonation in order to encourage the other person to wait until
they finish their idea.
You may also hear rising intonation mid-thought in order to sound a little more interesting,
to keep the other person listening, to keep them waiting to hear what's going to come next.
When you're hearing rising intonation in these situations, pay attention to the context.
Pay attention to how it helps you follow the other person's thoughts.
Does it signal that they're not quite done talking, and they're not ready for someone
to respond?
Lastly, there may be a negative use of rising intonation at the end of the sentence.
If someone doesn't believe that you understand them or that you follow their idea, they may
use a little bit of rising intonation at the end of all of their sentences in order to
see if you understand what they're saying.
This is why some people avoid using rising intonation at the end of their statements
because it can sound like you don't trust the other person to follow what you're saying.
In this case, rising intonation can sound condescending, like you don't think the other
person understands exactly what it is you're trying to express.
As you continue to advance your understanding of intonation, you'll start to notice that
people have a lot of perspectives on whether or not you should use rising intonation in
your speech.
For the most part, people think that women sound less authoritative when they use more
rising intonation.
They should use more falling intonation in order to show they're in charge.
However, a lot of women use rising intonation when interacting with other women because
it sounds more friendly and approachable.
On the other hand, men may sound a little more friendly and approachable if they use
more rising intonation.
You will hear men use rising intonation at the end of their statements as much as women.
Unfortunately, we tend to notice women's voices because the pitch is a little bit higher and
it's more noticeable, but as I've really focused my attention on intonation, I notice how often
men use rising intonation with their statements as well.
In this case, I encourage you to become an observer.
Pay attention to how people use rising intonation in order to communicate in different situations.
This is where context is really key to understanding why the person's using rising intonation and
what it may signal.
Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you've noticed about rising intonation
when listening to people speaking English.
As you can see, rising intonation has a lot of uses in American English, but it's important
to use it well.
Be sure to master how we use rising intonation to check and confirm with other people.
From there, continue to focus on the different uses of rising intonation in order to communicate
emotions and attitudes.
The more observant you can be about the way we use intonation, the better you'll be able
to use it like a native English speaker.
Be sure to watch my other videos on stress and intonation so that you can start mastering
intonation patterns in American English.
If you have any questions, please be sure to leave a comment below the video.
I'll definitely be making more videos on intonation soon.
Once again, I'm Kim from englishwithkim.com.
I'm your guide to the essential conversation skills you need to sound more natural in English.
If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up and share it with a friend.
Have a good one.
Goodbye.