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Question

Difficulty: HardEmphatic Stress

Study the sentence below where emphatic stress is placed on the capitalized word:

'The experienced NAVIGATOR skillfully steered the vessel through the stormy strait.'

To elicit this statement, the contrastive question must contradict only the stressed word while keeping all other elements unchanged. Complete the appropriate contrastive question below.

Answer:Did the experienced 【captain】 skillfully steer the vessel through the stormy strait?

Answer

Any contrasting noun referring to a different ship crew member or officer (such as 'captain', 'pilot', 'engineer', or 'helmsman') that replaces the stressed word 'NAVIGATOR'.
In English phonology and JAMB Oral English examinations, emphatic stress places contrastive focus on a specific word in a sentence. A statement with emphatic stress on 'NAVIGATOR' is an answer to a question that explicitly questions or contradicts that specific subject noun. Therefore, inserting a contrasting role such as 'captain' into the question ensures that only the stressed element is queried.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the word carrying emphatic stress in the statement.
The word 'NAVIGATOR' is printed in full capital letters, indicating emphatic stress (contrastive focus).
Emphatic stress highlights the specific information being asserted or corrected in speech.
2
Determine the rule for eliciting sentences with emphatic stress.
The question that elicits an emphatic stress statement must ask about or contradict only the stressed word while leaving all other parts of the statement identical.
Contradicting the stressed element forces the speaker to emphasize that specific word in response.
3
Complete the contrastive question by replacing the stressed word with a plausible contrasting role.
Replacing 'NAVIGATOR' with a contrasting role like 'captain' yields: 'Did the experienced captain skillfully steer the vessel through the stormy strait?'
This question directly targets the subject noun 'NAVIGATOR', prompting the emphatic reply: 'No, the experienced NAVIGATOR skillfully steered...'

Key Concept

Emphatic Stress and Contrastive Question Matching
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Emphatic Stress

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