Word Stress and Lists: American English Pronunciation

In this American English pronunciation video, we're going to go over word stress and intonation

in lists.

The rule for stress and intonation in lists is easy. Each item goes up in pitch until

the final item, which goes down in pitch. Let's look at an example. I'm driving you,

Dan, and Cindy to the party. So here, we're listing three things, three people: you, up

in pitch; Dan, up in pitch; and Cindy, down in pitch. Up, up, down. I'm driving you, Dan,

and Cindy to the party.

It's easy, right? Let's look at a few more examples. You can have cereal, pancakes, or

oatmeal. Cereal, pancakes, or oatmeal. Up, up, down. You can have cereal, pancakes, or oatmeal.

My mom, dad, little sister, and grandma are visiting next week. My mom, dad, little sister,

and grandma are visiting next week. Up, up, up, down.

I dusted, vacuumed, and straightened the living room. Dusted, vacuumed and straightened. Up,

up, down.

She just got back from a trip to Spain, Portugal, and France. Spain, Portugal, and France. Up,

up, down.

Now, that's not hard, is it? Intoning lists this way, along with leaving a small pause

for the commas, will make you easier to understand.

That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.

Don't stop there. Have fun with my real-life English videos. Or get more comfortable with

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