The word in capital letters has the emphatic stress. Choose the option to which the given sentence relates. My bag is made of LEATHER?

Analyze the question: This is an emphatic stress question. The capitalized word shows what the speaker is focusing on, and the sentence "My bag is made of LEATHER" must be the answer to a question that focuses on that same word.

Concept: Emphatic stress falls on the new or contrasting information. The sentence is a reply to a question about that information. If LEATHER is stressed, the question must be about the material the bag is made of, and the material asked about should be the thing that gets contrasted or confirmed.

Solution:

• A. "Whose bag is made of leather?" The focus would be on WHOSE, so the stress would fall on MY. Not a match.
• B. "Is my bag made of polythene?" The question is about the material, with polythene as the alternative. The reply "My bag is made of LEATHER" corrects it by putting stress on the material. This matches.
• C. "Abu's bag made of leather?" The focus would be on the owner, so the stress would fall on MY. Not a match.
• D. "Is my bag made of leather?" The focus here is on whether the statement is true, so the answer would be a plain "yes", or stress would fall on IS. The stress on LEATHER does not respond to this.

Option B is the only one where the material is the point of contrast, which is exactly what stressing LEATHER signals.

Answer: B

Tip: In emphatic stress questions, ask yourself, "What is the stressed word correcting or replacing?" The correct option is the question that offers a different item in that same slot (here, polythene instead of leather). The stress on LEATHER says "not polythene, but LEATHER."