I am WRIting a let ter to him P= Pre-head H= Head N= Nucleus T= Tail Following are the possible structures of an intonation unit Structures of an intonation unit P HN T We are learning a foreign language PH N I am afraid we can,'t go N T We hope so It was at nigh H N t When are they coming? H N Peter has N T Look at him help! In conclusion a nucleus o is the last fully stressed word in an intonation unit o has the biggest pitch change in the unit o can be longer and louder than the other stresses in the unit o carries a lot of weight in convey ing the message can be on any word or phrase in the unit he following same short sentence can have the nucleus on different words conveying different message They flew to London They flew to London They flew to London They flew to London They flew to London The nucleus is on the last stressed syllable of the intonation unit, which is the normal way of the sentence spoken as in English. the last information word is usually the last stressed word which has the nucleus They flew to London The nucleus is on the preposition: to, which is not usually stressed. The speaker wants to highlight direction: They flew to London not from London They flew to London The nucleus is on the verb: flew. The speaker wants to highlight how they travelled: They flew to London instead of driving to LondonI am WRIting a LET ter to him. P H N T P = Pre-head H = Head N = Nucleus T = Tail Following are the possible structures of an intonation unit: Structures of an intonation unit P H N T: We are learning a foreign language. P H N : I am afraid we can't go. P N T: We hope so. P N : It was at night. H N T: When are they coming? H N : Peter has arrived. N T: Look at him. N : Help! In conclusion, a nucleus ◎ is the last fully stressed word in an intonation unit ◎ has the biggest pitch change in the unit ◎ can be longer and louder than the other stresses in the unit ◎ carries a lot of weight in conveying the message ◎ can be on any word or phrase in the unit The following same short sentence can have the nucleus on different words conveying different message: They flew to London. They flew to London. They flew to London. They flew to London. They flew to London. The nucleus is on the last stressed syllable of the intonation unit, which is the normal way of the sentence spoken as in English. the last information word is usually the last stressed word which has the nucleus. They flew to London. The nucleus is on the preposition: to, which is not usually stressed. The speaker wants to highlight direction: They flew to London not from London. They flew to London. The nucleus is on the verb: flew. The speaker wants to highlight how they travelled: They flew to London instead of driving to London