Hello, everyone! Today, we will talk about how to improve English speaking skills by pausing correctly. Pausing while speaking is inevitable to breathe, but you shouldn't pause just because you ran out of breath or need to gather thoughts. When you pause incorrectly, the meaning becomes obscure. For example, consider this:
"Thank you! Your donation just helped someone. Get a job."
The sentence is confusing as thanking someone for a donation while at the same time commanding the person to get a job does not cohere well. The speech was confusing because of an incorrect pause. When paused in the following way, the meaning is clear:
"Thank you! Your donation just helped someone get a job."
Now, the English language has its own pausing rules, which might be quite different from the pausing rules of your own language. As I often observe, some students who work on their TOEFL speaking do not obey the English pausing rules, making it difficult for the rater to understand what they were trying to say. By just learning how to pause, you can improve the clarity of your speech tremendously, and that's what we will work on today.
Of course, pausing rules are not written in stone. Some natives sometimes violate the pausing rules for a dramatic purpose. For example, normally, we should say "I am Nanhee" without any pause, but Iron Man said, "I am | Iron Man." He did it for emphasis since pausing makes the words that come after important. Actors like Christopher Walken are famous for pausing in unexpected places for character portrayal. Also, natives who don't pause much in informal speech situations pause more often in formal speaking situations to help listener comprehension. This is why TED speeches are far easier to understand than conversations occurring in movies. Granting these varieties, let's learn the pausing rules.
The fundamental principle for pausing is words that make one idea must be spoken without a pause.pauses are based on the number of ideas, not by words. We call a group of words that convey one idea a thought group. In speech, words are chunked into thought groups and speak like one long word without a pause. Now , you might wonder how to say all the words in a thought grouplike one long word. Yes, English has many rules on how to do that. You first need to know how to connect all the words in a thought group like one word, called connected speech, and then learn how to stress the most important word in the thought group. In linguistics, this way of stressing a thought group is called the tonic stress, contrasted with word stress. fluency, rhythm and intonation all arise by stressing through groups correctly.. You can learn how to deliver a thought group using correct tonic stress in Dr. Bynes' book on English prosody, its rhythm, and melody.
Today, our goal is to divide sentences into thought groups to pause correctly. We can think of two cases for making a thought group: when not to pause and when to pause. Let us first teach you when not to pause.
Do not pause
Words that express one idea in grammar are called a phrase, so it might be clearer if you think of a thought group like a phrase in grammar, such as a prepositional phrase, noun phrase, verb phrase, and participle phrase. You don't pause within a phrase.
Short sentences, like "I am Nanhee" or "I had dinner," are treated as phrases, so you do not pause. However, in a long sentence with a long subject that is modified, you can pause between the subject and the verb. These are examples:
"The man who is wearing a hat | is my uncle."
"Some of the male students in my class | have very progressive ideas."
"Individuals who did not show up for the contest | will not get the permit."
Do not pause in a verb phrase. A verb phrase, such as a group of auxiliary verbs, a main verb, and its complement (like objects and object complements), is spoken as one thought group without a pause. For example:
"should have been me"
"must be raining"
"am not eating junk food"
"I ate the cake."
"I saw her running."
"I definitely prefer to go out."
Do not pause in a noun phrase, which is often made of a noun and all other words that modify the noun, like determiners and adjectives. There should be no pause in a noun phrase. For example, there is no pause in any of the following examples:
"a story," "a boring story," "my stupidly boring story," "one of my most stupidly boring stories," "one of the most boring stories I've ever heard of."
Do not pause in a prepositional phrase, a group of words headed by a preposition, as it is viewed as one thought group. So, there is no pause between a preposition and its object. For example:
"at the table," "in the room," "with the math homework."
Do not pause between an adverb and the word it modifies: There should be no pause between an adverb and the verb, adjective, or another adverb it modifies. For example, in
"She quickly ran to the store"
there is no pause between "quickly" and "ran. In writing, the sentence "Those who sold quickly made profit" is ambiguous because the adverb "quickly" can modify either the verb "sold" or the verb phrase "made profit" The adverb "quickly" is squinting, as it's unclear whether it modifies the verb "sold" or the verb phrase "made profit."
However, in speaking, the meaning becomes clear depending on where you pause:
If "quickly" modifies "sold":
"Those who sold quickly / made profit."If "quickly" modifies "made profit":
"Those who sold / quickly made profit."
Proper pausing resolves the squinting modifier ambiguity in speech.
Do not pause before a subordinate clause that follows the main clause. for example,
"He left because he was late"
I like to make soup when it’s cold outside.
I will play outside after I finish my homework
The subordinate courses are spoken without pauses since they convey one idea like prepositional phrases, so it should be spoken smoothly without a pause for clarity.
Subordinate clauses often provide essential details that are closely linked to the main idea of the sentence. Pausing within or before a subordinate clause can disrupt the flow and make the sentence harder to understand.: By speaking a subordinate clause smoothly and without unnecessary pauses, you maintain the natural flow of the sentence, making it easier for listeners to follow and comprehend.
Example: "He left because he was late."
Incorrect Pausing: "He left, because he was late."
Correct Pausing: "He left because he was late."
Explanation: The clause "because he was late" explains why he left. It’s closely connected to the main action ("He left") and should be spoken smoothly as one continuous idea.
Example: "I will call you when I get home."
Incorrect Pausing: "I will call you, when I get home."
Correct Pausing: "I will call you when I get home."
The subordinate clause "when I get home" specifies the timing of the action ("I will call you"). Pausing before it can disrupt the flow and make the sentence feel disjointed.
Do not pause in a phrasal verb. Phrasal verbs combine a verb with a preposition or adverb to create a new meaning. They are spoken as one unit (e.g., "look up," "run out," "turn off"). Also, within a verb phrase, there should be no pause between the verb and its object. Here are some example sentences:
She turned off the lights before leaving.
I will look up the address in the directory.
You should not give up on your dreams so easily.
Sometimes, it can be unclear whether a phrase is a prepositional phrase or a phrasal verb. Consider this sentence:
"We laughed at the party."
The sentence can mean either we had fun at the party (prepositional phrase) or we ridiculed the party (phrasal verb). By pausing in the following way, its meaning can be clear:
"We laughed | at the party." (= had fun)
"We laughed at | the party." (= ridiculed)
These rules should cover most of the cases of when not to pause. Next, we'll discuss when you must pause.
Do pause
Many English sentences can be ambiguous due to its overly simplified morphology. Consider this sentence in its written form: "I shot an elephant in my pajamas." The sentence can mean either that I shot an elephant that was wearing my pajamas, or I was wearing pajamas when I shot an elephant. By pausing, we know which is which.
Without a pause: an elephant was wearing my pajamas.
With a pause before the preposition phrase “in my pajamas”: I was wearing my pajamas.
Consider another sentence: Woman without her man is nothing.
The sentence is ambiguous since ‘woman’ can be interpreted as being used as the vocative case or as the subject of the sentence. If the word is used as the vocative case, this is how we should pause:
Woman, | without her, | man is nothing.
The sentence means that man is nothing. But if the word is used as the subject of the sentence, we should pause after the subject phrase as follows:
Woman without her man | is nothing.
The sentence means that a woman is nothing.
Keeping this in mind, there are four cases where you must pause.
1. Introductory Phrases
Introductory phrases are word groups that precede the main clause of a sentence. They provide additional context or information before the main idea is expressed. When you encounter an introductory phrase, you should pause after it to separate it from the main clause. This pause helps the listener understand the structure of the sentence and prepare for the main idea.
Example: "A few minutes later, / we heard a knock at the door."
Fortunately, she was on time
2. Independent Clauses
Independent clauses are groups of words that can stand alone as complete sentences. When two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), you should pause before the coordinating conjunction. This pause helps to separate the two independent clauses and makes the sentence flow more naturally.
Examples:
"I wanted to go, / but it was raining."
"I went to the park, / and she went to the library."
"Do you live here, / or out of town?"
3. Lists
When you have a list of alternatives or items, you should pause between each item in the list. These pauses help to distinguish each item clearly and make the list easier to follow for the listener.
Examples:
"I need to buy milk, / eggs, / and bread."
To make mashed potatoes, / wash the potatoes, / peel the potatoes, / boil the potatoes, / and crush the boiled potatoes.
4. Non-Restrictive Modifiers
There are two types of modifiers: restrictive and non-restrictive. Restrictive modifiers provide necessary information, also called identifiers. This is an example:
"The man who is wearing the white shoes is the suspect."
Without the modifier "who is wearing the white shirt," you cannot know which man. This identifying modifier cannot be separated from the noun it modifies. On the other hand, non-restrictive modifiers provide extra information, additional, non-essential information about a noun or noun phrase. You should pause before and after the non-restrictive modifier to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
Example: "My brother, / who lives in London, / got married."
The same is true with appositives that are noun phrases that identify or provide additional information about a noun. If they are identifiers, they are restrictive, and so there is no pause. This is an example:
"CEO Elon Musk was the surprise guest."
When they provide extra information, the appositives are separated by commas.
"Elon Musk" identifies which CEO, so it is a restrictive appositive. They provide essential information for identifying the noun, so there is no pause. On the other hand, consider this sentence:
"Mark Zuckerberg, / Facebook CEO, / was the featured speaker."
It is common knowledge that Zuckerberg is the Facebook CEO, so it is extra information. Therefore, there is a pause.
Okay, that's all we have for today. When you listen to native speech, pay attention to when they pause and check whether they observe the pausing rules.