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Question

Difficulty: Very hardEmphatic Stress

The senior diplomat PRAGMATICALLY negotiated the complex peace treaty in Geneva last month.

Which of the following questions is the appropriate question for the statement above?

  1. A
    Did the principal mediator pragmatically negotiate the complex peace treaty in Geneva last month?
  2. B
    Did the senior diplomat pragmatically draft the complex peace treaty in Geneva last month?
  3. Did the senior diplomat dogmatically negotiate the complex peace treaty in Geneva last month?Answer
  4. D
    Did the senior diplomat pragmatically negotiate the complex peace treaty in Vienna last month?

Answer

Did the senior diplomat dogmatically negotiate the complex peace treaty in Geneva last month?
The correct response is the question asking if the diplomat negotiated 'dogmatically', because 'PRAGMATICALLY' is the only word carrying emphatic stress. In Oral English, emphatic stress indicates contrastive focus; therefore, the question prompting this utterance must ask about a contrasting word in the exact position of the stressed adverb while keeping all other information in the sentence identical.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the word bearing emphatic stress in the given sentence stem.
The word printed in capital letters is 'PRAGMATICALLY', which functions as a manner adverb describing how the negotiation was conducted.
Emphatic stress highlights a specific word to provide contrastive focus against alternative possibilities for that exact position.
2
Determine the required contrastive feature for the corresponding question.
The correct question must replace ONLY 'PRAGMATICALLY' with a contrasting adverb (e.g., 'dogmatically' or 'idealistically'), while preserving every other element of the original statement verbatim.
When a speaker responds with an emphatically stressed word, they are correcting or emphasizing the specific piece of information raised in the prompt question.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the question that isolates contrast to the manner adverb.
The question querying whether the negotiation was done 'dogmatically' correctly targets the manner adverb slot, making the statement 'The senior diplomat PRAGMATICALLY negotiated...' the proper contrastive response.
All other options change different sentence components such as the subject noun phrase, the action verb, or the location adjunct.

Key Concept

Emphatic Stress and Contrastive Focus
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Emphatic Stress

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