English Pronunciation: Intonation Patterns

Level B1 · Lesson 3

Language Focus: Rising and Falling Intonation

Intonation is the way your voice's pitch rises and falls across a sentence. It's not just about which word is stressed — it's the melody of the whole utterance, and it changes meaning.

PatternUsed forExamples
Falling ↘Statements, commands, Wh- questions, the last item in a listWhat time is it? ↘
Close the door. ↘
Rising ↗Yes/No questions, non-final items in a list, checking or showing interestAre you ready? ↗
Is this seat free? ↗
Rule of thumb: If a question can be answered with "yes" or "no", your voice usually rises at the end. If the question starts with a Wh- word (what, where, who, why, how), your voice usually falls.

Hear the difference

What's your name? (Wh- question — falling)

Are you hungry? (Yes/No question — rising)

Try saying both sentences yourself, letting your pitch fall on the first and rise on the second — the meaning is clear even without any words changing.

Listen and Practise

Click the speaker to listen to each sentence. Then click whether it uses rising or falling intonation.

Exercise 1: True or False

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Exercise 3: Matching

Click the speaker to listen to each sentence. Then click the sentence, and click the box with its correct intonation pattern.

Exercise 4: Word Sort

Drag each sentence into the correct box: Falling or Rising.

Falling ↘

Rising ↗

Exercise 5: Gap Fill

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