Focus in questions
A yes/no question can have a focus too. The word you are really asking about stands out with a high peak. After it the voice runs on flat, and the question signal at the end stays in place. This shows which part of the question surprises you or makes you unsure.
One question, three doubts
¿TÚ lo dijiste?
YOU said that?
Doubting the person – I thought it was someone else.
¿Tú lo DIjiste?
You actually SAID that?
Doubting the action – I thought you only thought it.
¿Lo dijiste aYER?
Did you say it yesterday?
Neutral, or doubting the day – here focus and sentence end coincide.
Focus is especially clear in echo questions introduced by que. You repeat what you have just heard and highlight the word you can hardly believe.
¿Que se va a caSAR?
Hang on, he's getting MARRIED?
¿Que TÚ has aprobado?
YOU passed?
solo, también, incluso
Words like solo, también and incluso relate to one particular word in the sentence. Which one is often shown only by the stress, just as with English only and also. In writing the sentence is identical; spoken, it says two different things.
Solo trabajo los LUnes.
I only work on MONDAYS.
On the other days I don't work.
Solo traBAjo los lunes.
On Mondays I only WORK.
On Mondays I do nothing but work.
MARta también habla francés.
MARTA speaks French too.
Not just the others.
Marta también habla franCÉS.
Marta speaks FRENCH too.
Not just other languages.
Stress or word order
Spanish has two ways of putting a word in focus. Which one fits depends on whether you are giving new information or correcting something.
New information - to the end
When you answer a question, the answer moves to the end. There it carries the normal sentence stress, with no special peak.
¿Quién ha llamado? – Ha llamado tu herMAna.
Who called? – Your sister called.
Correction - stress where it stands
When you contradict an assumption, the word stays where it is and gets the high peak. The rest falls away.
Tu herMAna ha llamado, no tu madre.
Your SISTER called, not your mother.
English answers Who called? with Your SISTER called, stress up front and the rest flat. In Spanish that same pattern sounds like a correction, so the word order does the work instead.
For strong contrast you can also move the focused word to the front. It is not picked up by an object pronoun, it carries the highest peak, and the verb follows straight away: Agua te pedí, no vino. It sounds emphatic and suits lively conversation.
English lets repeated words sink into the background: I don't want the red shirt, I want the BLUE shirt. Spanish deaccents much less and prefers to drop the repeated word: No quiero la camisa roja, quiero la aZUL.
