The word in capital letter has the emphatic stress. choose the option in which the given sentence relates. My mother bought a BICYCLE yesterday.

Analyze the question The word BICYCLE carries the emphatic stress. Emphatic stress highlights the new or important information in a sentence. The question asks which question the sentence answers, so we look for the question whose answer is "a bicycle".

Explain the concept Emphatic (contrastive) stress falls on the word that answers the question being asked. For example:

• "My mother bought a bicycle YESTERDAY" answers When?
• "MY mother bought a bicycle yesterday" answers Whose mother?
• "My mother BOUGHT a bicycle yesterday" answers Did she buy or steal it?
• "My mother bought a BICYCLE yesterday" answers What did she buy?

Step-by-step solution

1. The stressed word is BICYCLE, which is the object (the thing bought).
2. The question that asks for this missing information is "What did my mother buy yesterday?"
3. Checking the other options: • A asks about time, so the stress would fall on "yesterday". • C asks about the owner, so the stress would fall on "My". • D asks about buying versus stealing, so the stress would fall on "bought".

Answer: B. What did my mother buy yesterday?

Tip: In these questions, ask yourself, "What information does the stressed word supply?" Then choose the question that asks for exactly that information. The stressed word is always the answer to the question.