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Difficulty: MediumEmphatic Stress

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

The treasurer PROMPTLY submitted the financial report to the board.

Which of the following questions is the statement an appropriate response to?

  1. A
    Did the secretary promptly submit the financial report to the board?
  2. Did the treasurer reluctantly submit the financial report to the board?Answer
  3. C
    Did the treasurer promptly present the financial report to the board?
  4. D
    Did the treasurer promptly submit the audit summary to the board?

Answer

Did the treasurer reluctantly submit the financial report to the board?
The correct answer is the question asking whether the treasurer reluctantly submitted the financial report to the board. Because 'PROMPTLY' is the only capitalized word in the statement, the statement is designed to correct or emphasize the manner of action against a contrasting term such as 'reluctantly'. All other parts of the sentence remain unchanged.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the capitalized word carrying emphatic stress in the statement.
The stressed word is 'PROMPTLY', which indicates the manner of submission.
Emphatic stress highlights a single word to emphasize or correct that specific element in contrast to an alternative.
2
Determine which element of the sentence must be questioned or contradicted.
The correct question must question or contradict only 'PROMPTLY' (e.g., asking if it was done 'reluctantly').
A sentence with emphatic stress provides a direct correction or emphasis exclusively on the capitalized word while holding all other elements constant.
3
Evaluate the options to find the question that contrasts only the stressed word.
The question asking whether the treasurer reluctantly submitted the report contrasts 'reluctantly' with 'PROMPTLY' while keeping the subject, verb, object, and prepositional phrase identical.
This makes the given statement the appropriate contrastive answer.

Key Concept

Emphatic stress highlights a specific word in a sentence to contradict or contrast that specific piece of information while leaving all other details unchanged.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Emphatic Stress

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