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This sentence is seriously stressing me out...
5年前Here's the sentence:
I never said she stole my money.
In English, we can stress different words in a sentence. Why would we do that? To subtly change the meaning or focus of the sentence. (To stress a word is to say it a bit louder and longer than the other words in the sentence.)
Let's look at this sentence 7 times, each time stressing a different word (altogether, the sentence has 7 words, so we'll stress every word) to see how stress can alter meaning.
I never said she stole my money.
When we stress I, the meaning of the sentence is about WHO said she stole my money.
I might use this stress when I want to communicate that I didn't say she stole my money... and to imply that someone else did or might have.
I never said she stole my money.
When we stress never, the meaning of the sentence shifts to HOW OFTEN I said she stole my money.
I might use this stress when I want to communicate that AT NO TIME did I say she stole my money, even though I might have said something similar about her (such as saying she seems like the type of person who would steal).
I never said she stole my money.
When we stress said, the meaning of the sentence shifts to HOW I communicated my ideas about her.
I might use this stress when I want to make it clear that I didn't SAY she stole my money, even though I might have DONE something else (like guarding my wallet when I'm around her) that would imply that she stole my money.
I never said she stole my money.
When we stress she, the meaning of the sentence shifts to WHO I was talking about.
I might use this stress when I want to make it clear that SHE, in particular, was not the person who stole the money. I didn't identify a specific person (even though I might have come very close to identifying some specific person).
I never said she stole my money.
When we stress stole, the meaning of the sentence shifts to WHAT exactly she did.
I might use this stress when I want to clarify the action and, at the same time, imply that she did something SIMILAR with my money... such as grabbing my money, hiding my money, or losing my money.
I never said she stole my money.
When we stress my, the meaning of the sentence shifts to WHOSE money was stolen.
I might use this stress when I want to clarify whose money was stolen. In this example, I want to communicate that she didn't steal MY money... implying that she stole someone else's money.
I never said she stole my money.
When I put the stress on money the focus of my sentence shifts to WHAT was stolen.
I might use this stress when I want to clarify exactly what was stolen... and to imply that she stole something else (for example, a car, a backpack, my paperwork, etc).
So, there you have it! Pretty interesting, right? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments or if you have noticed this with any other English sentences... or sentences in your own language!
Dixie😄🌞✨
