Answer the following question below , the word in capital letters has the emphatic stress. Choose the option…

Step 1: Analyze the question This is an emphatic stress question. The capitalized word, ACCOUNTANT, carries the emphasis. The stressed word shows what is being corrected, contrasted, or questioned. So the sentence is the answer to a question that is about who paid, with the emphasis on the person, and it often implies "not someone else."

Step 2: Explain the concept Emphatic stress highlights the new or contrasting information in a sentence. To find the matching option, ask: "What question would make this stressed word the answer?"

• The ACCOUNTANT paid the workers' July salary in September.
• This implies: It was the accountant, not someone else (e.g. the cashier), who paid.

Step 3: Test the options

• A. When were the workers paid? This would put stress on "SEPTEMBER," not on ACCOUNTANT. ✗
• B. Did the cashier pay the workers' salary in September? This asks about who paid (the cashier). The stress on ACCOUNTANT answers it: "No, the ACCOUNTANT paid." ✓
• C. Workers received their July salary in September. This is a statement about the workers or the timing, and it does not question the payer. ✗
• D. The September salary was paid in July? This is about the months, so the stress would fall on "JULY" or "SEPTEMBER." ✗

Step 4: Answer Option B is the only one that concerns the person who paid, which is the point of emphasis on ACCOUNTANT.

Tip: In emphatic stress questions, find the capitalized word and look for the option that asks about, or contrasts, that same element (person, place, time, action). Here the stressed word is a person, so pick the option that questions who. If the stressed word were SEPTEMBER, the answer would be about time (option A).