In the following sentence, the word that receives the emphatic stress is written in capital letter. From the…

Analyze the question

This is an emphatic stress question. The word in capitals (THIS) carries the stress. That word shows the new or contrasting information in the answer. The question that fits is the one where "this year" is the point being contrasted.

Concept

Emphatic stress marks the part of the sentence that corrects or answers something specific in the question. For example:

• "WOOD is cheap..." answers a question about the item (e.g., "Is cassava cheap?").
• "...in the SOUTH..." answers a question about the place.
• "...THIS year" answers a question about the time.

Solution

The stressed word is THIS, so the question must be about the time, and it should contrast "this year" with another time period.

• A. "Is cassava cheap in the south?" The contrast is the item (cassava vs wood). The stress would fall on WOOD. ✗
• B. "Is wood expensive in the south this year?" The contrast is cheap vs expensive. The stress would fall on CHEAP. ✗
• C. "Is wood cheap in the north this year?" The contrast is the place (north vs south). The stress would fall on SOUTH. ✗
• D. "Is wood cheap in the south every year?" The contrast is "every year" vs "this year". The answer stresses THIS, as in "No, wood is cheap in the south THIS year (not every year)." ✓

Tip

Find the capitalised word, then look for the option that differs from the sentence in exactly that part. The option that changes only that element is the answer.