How does stress change the meaning of a sentence?

Adam: Hi. I'm Adam. Welcome back to www.engvid.com. Today, the lesson is

going to be a little bit different than what you're used to. It's not so much

about grammar or vocabulary; it's about English meaning. Now, I understand that

all of you are studying very hard — you're reading, you're looking at the

dictionary, you're writing, you're speaking to as many people in English as

you can — but sometimes you get a little bit confused. You're watching a movie

from Hollywood, you're watching some English TV show, and you know that you

understand the words, you understand the sentence, the grammar is no problem —

yet, you're not sure exactly why, but you're missing something. Now, I'll tell

you what you're missing: Intonation. You need to understand: A lot of what is

spoken in English — and I'm sure in your language as well; not only English — a

lot of what is meant in English is meant in how the words are spoken; not the

words themselves. Okay? So, we're going to look at intonation and accent — that

stress — in English, and how it can change meaning.

Now, look at this sentence: "I didn't say he stole the money." Very simple

sentence; seven words. No problem, right? But I can say this sentence seven

different ways and have seven different meanings to this one sentence. Let's

look at it. If I put the stress, I'm gonna... this means stress. If I put the

stress on the first word: "I", it changes the meaning of the sentence.

Okay? "I didn't say he stole the money. I didn't say it" means — I'm suggesting

— somebody else said it; not me. Okay, no problem. "I didn't say he stole the

money. You made a mistake. You think I said it, but I didn't say it." Right?

I'm stressing this word, so that's where the focus is; that's where the meaning

is. Good. "I didn't say he stole the money." What am I implying now? Maybe I

hinted it. Right? I said... I pointed, right? And you thought: "Oh, you said he

stole the money." I didn't say it; I just hinted it. Okay. "I didn't say he

stole the money." What does that mean? Somebody else stole the money. So, don't

confuse it with this person. "I didn't say he stole the money." You know...

maybe he borrowed it and forgot to bring it back, or maybe he misplaced it. "I

didn't say he stole it." Right? "I didn't say he stole the money." I'm

not... we're not talking about this money; we're talking about other money.

He stole that money; not this money. "I didn't say he stole the money." Right?

I'm stressing "money" — means he stole something else; he stole the watch.

Somebody else stole the money; wasn't me, but somebody else stole the money.

So, you see, one sentence, I stretch... stress each word — I change the meaning

completely.

Now, for another very good example. I know you all love this word: "really".

It's a... it's a really interesting word. Well, of course, there's the

everyday meaning, which means very. But native-English speakers use this word in

many, many situations to give many different meanings. Okay? Now, bear with

me; I'm not a very good actor, but I'll do my best. Your friend comes to you and

says: "Guess what? I won the lottery. I won 50 million dollars." I'm in shock:

"Really?" means shocked. I don't know what you're talking about. "Really?"

Another situation might... your friend has two tickets to your favourite band's

concert, and he says: -"I have an extra ticket. Do you want to go?" -"Really?"

means you're very excited; you're very happy. This "Really" has a very

different meaning. You call your boss, you say: "Oh, I'm really sick. I can't

come to work today." And your boss, he doesn't trust you; he says: "Really?"

That "Really" means: "I think you're lying; I don't believe you." Okay?

Another situation. Do you know what "flirting" is? A girl comes to you, and

says: "Oh, I like your shirt." And you go: "Really?" like that, right? You're

flirting. You're trying to play with her; trying to get a date out of her,

maybe. All from one word. You see? All these different meanings from one word.

Let's think of another... another situation. Oh, okay. Your friend says:

-"Oh, guess what? The boss is not coming to work today." -"Really?" means you're

thinking; you're going to do something bad; something evil. You're planning.

So, these are just a few examples. There are others; I can use this word "really"

in many different situations; each time, a little bit different meaning. But all

of this goes to show: Don't worry if you hear something, if you watch a movie or

even a song, and you're not exactly sure you got the meaning — that's because

it's not about the words; it's about the way they're said. The only way to fix

this; to improve, is: Keep listening, keep listening, watch movies, watch TV

shows, speak to as many native speakers as you can; and eventually, you'll start

picking these up. Okay? If you like this lesson, please come to www.engvid.com.

And if you like it on YouTube, please subscribe to my channel. I'll be happy

to give you other lessons. I'm hoping that I can help you a lot with your

English; and together, we'll both improve and learn new things. Thank you

very much for watching. I'll see you soon.