Did you know that grammar can improve your English intonation?
In today’s episode, Lindsay and Aubrey share grammar that can help you draw interest.
We’ll teach you three grammar structures for complex sentences that boost intonation.
Listen in and learn how you can do this properly to make life-changing connections.
Grammar and intonation
It may be a new idea to you that grammar and intonation are related.
It is not often taught by teachers or in textbooks that there is a relationship between the two.
The grammar you use can help you make your intonation better when you are speaking English.
Related to today’s topic, Aubrey asks Lindsay something she wanted to do in Boston before moving to Colorado.
Lindsay answers that before moving to Colorado, she wanted to spend time in the Esplanade.
She wanted to run there and see the beautiful scenery and sunset.
Today’s question
The episode today was inspired by a question from a Livestream.
The listener asked if it’s acceptable to just use simple sentences.
This is not recommended because simple sentences tend to have a boring or monotone intonation.
There isn’t enough room in the sentence to make the intonation interesting!
There isn’t enough vocabulary!
You need to use more complex sentences to make the conversation interesting.
Additionally, this can help you add variety to your intonation.
Sentence structures with interesting intonation
Lindsay and Aubrey dive into how you can make conversations interesting and more captivating using vibrant intonation.
They teach three sentence structures that level up your conversation skills.
Structure #1: Adverb clause with ‘before’
Lindsay’s answer about what she wanted to do before moving is an example.
Before moving to Colorado, I wanted to…
She did not use simple sentences.
If so, it would’ve looked like this:
I moved to Colorado. I wanted to run before I moved. It was fun.
Why simple sentences are boring
If Lindsay answered Aubrey’s question this way, it would sound choppy and monotonous.
Instead, she shared more details and was able to use interesting intonation.
This was because her sentence was complex with an adverb clause starting with ‘before.’
Using adverb clauses is an excellent way to clarify when something happened.
- adverb clause: a group of words that form a dependent clause and acts as an adverb in a sentence
Here is another example:
Before moving to the city, I lived in a super small town for most of my life.
Structure #2: Relative clause with ‘who’
Here is another sentence structure you can use to make a good complex sentence.
You can use a relative clause with ‘who.’
- relative clause: a dependent clause with a subject and verb that can’t stand alone as a sentence
This is sometimes called an ‘adjective clause’ because it functions like an adjective.
With this structure, you can give more information about a noun or any topic you’re talking about.
Here are some examples:
My dad, who is always watching cooking shows, actually is not a very good cook.
I’m extremely proud of my daughter, who worked very hard to earn excellent grades.
Structure #3: first conditional with ‘will’
The third sentence structure shared by Lindsay and Aubrey is very high level!
It is using the first conditional in simple present tense with ‘will.’
The structure looks like this:
If + (PRESENT SIMPLE) + will / won’t + (VERB)
This is the perfect sentence structure to use to show confidence.
The intonation will automatically make you sound more confident.
Here are examples of this sentence structure:
If people are mindful of each other, the world will be a better place.
If you listen to this podcast, your English will improve.
Roleplay
Lindsay and Aubrey share a roleplay to help you better understand how to use today’s lesson in a conversation.
In this scenario, Lindsay and Aubrey are auditioning for a Broadway musical.
Lindsay: Is this your first audition?
Aubrey: No, actually, it’s not even my first today! Before coming here, I had another audition down the street.
Lindsay: My friend, who actually told me about this audition, may have been there too.
Aubrey: There were a lot of people there! If I get the part, it will be a miracle.
Takeaway
You need to use interesting intonation when you speak English.
Grammar can help you with this!
Using complex sentences makes it much easier to use interesting intonation when speaking.
Avoid using simple sentences all the time.
Bring your conversation to the next level by using today’s 3 sentence structures.
This will help you have native, natural intonation in English.
What sentence structure did you like best?
Share it in the comments below with your thoughts on today’s episode.
