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Question

Difficulty: EasyEmphatic Stress

Which of the following questions is the appropriate query to which the statement below, with emphatic stress on the word in CAPITAL LETTERS, serves as the direct answer?

The diligent surgeon CAREFULLY performed the complex operation yesterday.

  1. Did the diligent surgeon carelessly perform the complex operation yesterday?Answer
  2. B
    Did the lazy surgeon carefully perform the complex operation yesterday?
  3. C
    Did the diligent surgeon carefully perform the simple operation yesterday?
  4. D
    Did the diligent surgeon carefully perform the complex operation last week?

Answer

The question asking if the surgeon performed the operation carelessly is the correct response because emphatic stress on 'CAREFULLY' indicates that the manner of performance is being emphasized and contrasted.
In Oral English, emphatic stress highlights a specific word in a sentence to convey contrastive focus. Because 'CAREFULLY' is capitalized, the speaker is emphasizing the manner in which the action was completed. The appropriate question must dispute ONLY this manner (asking if it was done 'carelessly') while preserving every other detail of the sentence intact.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the word bearing emphatic stress in the sentence.
The word 'CAREFULLY' is written in capital letters, indicating emphatic stress.
Emphatic stress is used to highlight or place contrastive focus on a specific piece of information in a statement.
2
Determine the function of the emphasized word and find its direct contradiction.
'CAREFULLY' is an adverb of manner; its contradiction is 'carelessly'.
The correct contrastive question must disagree ONLY with the stressed word, keeping all other elements of the sentence intact.
3
Select the option that questions only the manner of performance.
The question asking if the operation was done carelessly matches the required contrastive focus.
All other options challenge uncapitalized parts of the sentence (the subject's adjective, the object's adjective, or the time adverbial).

Key Concept

Emphatic Stress and Contrastive Focus
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Topics

Emphatic Stress

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