Intonation refers to the use of melody and the rise and fall of the voice when speaking. Each language uses rising and falling pitches differently and has its own distinctive melody and intonation patterns.

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Phrases ending with a falling pitch are declarative sentences ("Maria is my sister.") or questions that require more than a yes/no response ("Where is my book?").

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Phrases ending with a rising pitch are questions that ask for a yes/no response ("Do you like school?") and statements that express doubt or uncertainty ("I don't think he's coming.").

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Possible pronunciation problems

Your voice might rise when it should fall and this would make you sound doubtful or annoyed, or it could change a declarative sentence into a question. For example:

• "That's Pedro's car." would sound like "That's Pedro's car?"