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Difficulty: EasyEmphatic Stress

In the statement below, the word printed in CAPITAL LETTERS carries emphatic stress:

The talented BAKER prepared a delicious birthday cake this morning.

Which of the following questions is the statement above the correct response to?

  1. Did the talented tailor prepare a delicious birthday cake this morning?Answer
  2. B
    Did the talented baker prepare a stale birthday cake this morning?
  3. C
    Did the talented baker prepare a delicious wedding dress this morning?
  4. D
    Did the talented baker prepare a delicious birthday cake last night?

Answer

The correct question is: 'Did the talented tailor prepare a delicious birthday cake this morning?'
The word 'BAKER' is printed in full capital letters to show emphatic stress. This means the speaker is emphasizing that it was a baker—and not someone of another profession, such as a tailor—who prepared the cake. The question asking whether a 'tailor' prepared the cake provides the exact contrastive context that prompts the given response.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the word bearing emphatic stress in the given sentence.
The word 'BAKER' is capitalized, indicating it receives primary contrastive stress.
Emphatic stress is used to highlight or place focus on a specific piece of information, contrasting it with an alternative.
2
Determine which component of the sentence is being emphasized.
The noun subject ('BAKER') is being emphasized.
Stress on the subject implies that the speaker is correcting or clarifying who performed the action, while all other details remain unchanged.
3
Select the question that introduces a contradiction specifically for the emphasized word.
The question asking if the 'tailor' prepared the cake directly conflicts with 'BAKER', while keeping the rest of the sentence identical.
The correct contrastive question must only disagree with the capitalized element.

Key Concept

Emphatic Stress
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Topics

Emphatic Stress

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