[Grammar] Position of a pitch in a question

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sky3120

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"Have you ever been to London, which is the capital of England?"

In the sentence, where should I raise a pitch in spoken English? At the end of the sentence or right behind London?

Thank you so much as usual and have a good day.
 

Tdol

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I would raise for London, but others may do things differently.
 

sky3120

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Thank you, and are there other choices than raising a pitch for London? Can I also write,"Have you ever been to London? Which is the capital of England." then ?
 

5jj

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sky3120;939321 Can I also write said:
"Have you ever been to London? Which is the capital of England." then ?[/COLOR]
No
 

BobK

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Thank you, and are there other choices than raising a pitch for London? Can I also write,"Have you ever been to London? Which is the capital of England." then ?
No. The second clause is not a sentence.

On the original question, I'd raise the pitch twice, but with the first clause taking primary stress.

Intonation gets particularly interesting in report of direct speech. In 'Where are you going?' the normal pitch falls until the verb and then rises. In "'Where you going?' he asked" the intonation doesn't rise to its highest point until the second verb, so that the report of the question follows the same down-up trajectory as the original question. In other words, the new sentence spreads out the change in tone, 'misrepresenting' the orinal intonation.

But that's not what you were asking about... :oops:

b
 

Chicken Sandwich

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Here's how I would say it with an England - British accent. Listen here or click here for a direct download link (or click on London.mp3 below). This not the way, but a way to say it. As others have said, there are many ways you can go with this question.

As an aside, I probably wouldn't say "Have you ever been to London, which is the capital of England?"

If my goal was to specify which "London" I was referring to, I'd say:

Have you even been to London, England?
Have you ever been to London, Ontario?

Having said that, most people would assume that by "London" you are referring to the capital of England. (No disrespect to the inhabitants of London, Ontario!) At least, that is my experience.

Hope it helps!
 

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