Theoretical phonetics. Study guide for second year students. Борискина О.О - 62 стр.

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     The marked version of the statement is used to counter the false assumption
that Betty cooked dinner; the correction is made by emphasizing the name of the
person who actually did cook dinner: John.

YES/No Questions
     When asking yes/no questions, the intonation can rise on whichever
constituent is in focus, and this intonation pattern often has two or three possible
contours depending on the syntactic complexity and length of the question.
     However, it is also possible with this same syntactic option for the speaker
to use a rising-falling intonation pattern. This pattern conveys either expectation
of an affirmative answer (if normal stress and intonation are used) or
impatience, simultaneously implying an additional query (i.e., Are you going to
answer my question, or aren't you?) if more exaggerated stress and intonation
occur. Again, two contours are possible depending on which constituent is being
emphasized: John or dinner.

WH-Questions
     Wh-questions follow the same rising-falling intonation as statements when
they are unmarked, with the rise corresponding to the most prominent element in
the utterance:
     HOW are you DO ing? WHY is she CRY ing? WHAT can I DO for YOU?
     Such rising-falling intonation often surprises nonnative speakers, who
sometimes assume that all questions in English - regardless of type - should be
spoken with rising intonation. In fact, this is often true. However, when WH-
QUESTIONS are spoken with rising intonation, the rise often signals “Repeat
or clarify some of your information. I didn't hear everything you said”: WHAT did
ANN BRING? or surprise or disbelief: ANN BROUGHT WHAT?
     Question words in English generally do not receive prominence; (they may
be given prominence for special emphasis "But WHY are you going?). This may
differ from the stress pattern in learners' first language.

TAG Questions
     Tag questions follow statements, which have rising-falling intonation.
When tags are used in their most frequent function - that is, seeking
confirmation or making a point - they also have rising-falling intonation:
     PEQPle are WQRried about the eCOnomy, AREN'T they?
     Tag questions have rising intonation only when they are used much like
yes/no questions normally are: to elicit a yes or no answer from the addressee or
to seek further clarification: You didn’t finnish the CANdy, DID you? /
     Note that in these latter two examples the statement preceding the tag tends
not to fall as low as it does in the former examples because of the general
tentativeness the speaker is expressing and anticipation of the upcoming
terminal rise in the tag. The rising-falling pattern is definitely the more frequent
contour for tag questions in English. However, the same tag question can have
different intonation and different meaning depending on the context.