Intonation in Questions

Rising for yes/no; falling for wh-.

Examples

• Are you OK? ↗

Key rules

• Yes/no questions usually rise at the end: Are you OK?
• Wh- questions usually fall at the end: Where do you live?
• The rise or fall signals the type of question

Common mistakes

• Are you OK? with a falling tone → Are you OK? with a rising tone
• Where are you? with a rising tone → Where are you? with a falling tone

Use cases

• Speaking in conversations
• Asking questions in interviews
• Listening exercises