ESL Pronunciation Tip: Rising and Falling Intonation in WH- and Yes/No Questions

A question mark is placed at the end of a sentence that asks a question. Questions end in both rising and falling intonation. If the sentence ends in falling intonation, the voice tone goes down at the end of the sentence, much like musical notes on a piano. If a sentence ends in rising intonation, the voice tone goes up at the end of the sentence.
 

Falling Intonation 

Questions that begin with who, what, when, where, why, which, and how (often referred to as “wh-questions”) usually end in falling intonation.

Examples: 

What time is it?
Who is she?
When is he coming?
 

Also, commands and statements end in falling intonation. Commands and statements end in a period.
Examples: 

Commands
Shut the door. 

Write your name.

Statements

The color is blue.
It is raining.
 

Rising Intonation 

Questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no” answer (often referred to as “yes/no questions”)
usually end in rising intonation. The voice tone goes up at the end of the sentence.
Examples: 

Is it five o’clock yet?
Is that Mrs. Smith?
Is he coming?
 

In addition, wh-questions that ask for clarification or restating end in rising intonation.
Examples: 

What did you just say?
What did you say your name was? 

For additional ESL teaching tips:

Click here to read about the pronunciation of -ed.

Click here to read about pronouncing plurals.

Click here to read about voiced and voiceless sounds.

Click here to read about syllable stress and the schwa.
Click here to read about adding the suffixes -ing, -ed, -er, and -est.
Click here to read about teaching common suffixes. 
Click here to read about teaching common prefixes. 
Click here to read about decoding multi-syllabic words. 
Click here to read about spelling words that end in S, F, and Z.