TONE

Tone is how you use grammar and vocabulary for different purposes, in different situations and with different people.

Your tone depends on if the situation is urgent or elective, if you are talking to a colleague or a layman, and if you are giving good or bad news.

Besides questions, requests and statements, other language functions include:

Informing (about facts)

• “Your tests have ruled out TB.”

Instructing

• “Use your Salbutamol inhaler when you start to wheeze or cough.”

Suggesting or recommending

• “You could join a support group to help you stop smoking.”

Advising (stronger than suggesting)

• “You really should stop smoking. Your blood pressure and circulation are now affected.”

Warning

• “If you continue to smoke 40 cigarettes a day, your chances of developing lung cancer will definitely increase.”

Restating or explaining

• “You have pneumonitis, that’s to say, a chronic allergic lung reaction.”

We will review each of these.