Sometimes you just have to blow your top.

However, this can be a bit tricky in a foreign language. If we don’t have the skills to add emphasis to what we’re saying, we may end up getting red in the face, while still not communicating the true scale of our frustrations.

However, there are methods we can learn that make this a lot easier. This article is going to look at various ways of adding emphasis to the English language so you can lose your cool like a native speaker.

Conversation one

Let’s take a look at a heated conversation between two colleagues, Tom and Rebecca, as they let off some steam about the boss’ son.

Tom: I’m sick of Steve! He always takes credit for other people’s hard work. How does he sleep at night?

Rebecca: I know what you mean. It’s unfair how he’s always rewarded just because he’s the boss’ son. I closed the Armstrong deal last week, but he ended up getting the bonus.

Tom: I’m tempted to speak to the boss about this. It’s gone on too long.

Rebecca: We should write a letter to the head office that everyone has signed. It’s frustrating.

Tom: I think you’re right, but perhaps it would be better to speak to the boss first and see if the situation changes.

Rebecca: To be honest, I’ll be amazed if that works.

Both of these people are obviously very angry at the situation, but it doesn’t really come across in the language they use. It’s not that their sentences are incorrect, rather that they do not add emphasis to the points they’re making.

Conversation two

Now, let’s take a look at the same conversation, with added emphasis in bold/italics:

Tom: I’m absolutely sick of Steve! He always takes credit for other people’s hard work. How on earth does he sleep at night?

Rebecca: I know what you mean. It’s so unfair how he’s always rewarded just because he’s the boss’ son. It was me who closed the Armstrong deal last week but it was him who ended up getting the bonus.

Tom: I’m really tempted to speak to the boss about this. It’s gone on too long.

Rebecca: What we should do is write a letter to the head office that everyone has signed. It’s so frustrating.

Tom: I do think you’re right, but perhaps it would be better to speak to the boss first and see if the situation changes?

Rebecca: To be honest, I’ll be absolutely amazed if that works.

This second conversation is much more realistic and much more effective at conveying the emotion in the statements. It uses various techniques, which we’re going to break down below.

Intensifiers

Like the name suggests, these are a way of making adjectives more intense. Some of the most common are absolutely, really, completely and so. Absolutely and completely are normally used with non-gradable (extreme) adjectives.

Examples:

so angry, really happy, absolutely boiling, completely furious

Cleft sentences

These can be a bit difficult to form, but are really useful for adding emphasis. We use them to emphasise the person involved in the action.

We can see examples of cleft sentences in the statements “It was me who closed…” and “…it was him who ended up getting…”.

Firstly, let’s look at the typical structure of a sentence:

(subject) + (verb) + (object)

Examples:

“I closed the Armstrong deal…”
“…he ended up getting the bonus.”

However, cleft sentences have a markedly different structure:

(it) + (to be) + (object) + (who)

Examples:

“It was me who closed the Armstrong deal…”
“It was him who ended up getting the bonus.”

Let’s look at some more examples, comparing the form of traditional sentence structures with cleft sentences:

Examples:

I did all the washing up yesterday - It was me who did all the washing up yesterday.
She turned up late - It was her who turned up late.
They told me to do it - It was them who told me to do it.

In the first conversation, we also see the sentence “We should write a letter to the head office.” In conversation two, this changes to “What we should do is write a letter to the head office.” This is another example of a cleft sentence, with a slightly different structure.

(what) + (subject) + (form of “do”) + (to be) + (verb)

Examples:

I came in early two weeks running - What I did was come in early two weeks running.
She may look for another job - What she may do is look for another job.
He’s been working on the project - What he’s been doing is working on the project.

Auxiliary verbs

In the second conversation, Tom says “I do think you’re right.” We can see here that he has added an auxiliary verb to a sentence that doesn’t normally require one. This is yet another technique for adding emphasis. Let’s look at some more examples:

She does want the job.
He did arrive on time.
They do work hard.

Using “on earth” for questions

The final technique we’re going to look at for adding emphasis is the use of “on earth” for questions. This can be added to all types of “w-questions” (what, where, who, when, why and how) to express various emotions, including shock, surprise, anger and indignation.

What on earth does she see in him?
Where on earth have you been?
Who on earth do you think you are?
When on earth did she buy it?
Why on earth would he say that?
How on earth am I supposed to do that?

Practice

So, we’ve now learnt five different techniques for adding emphasis to our language. Let’s put them into practice. Below, we’ve got another conversation. This time Tom is making a verbal complaint to his boss about the favourable treatment Steve receives.

Tom: We all think Steve gets treated better than us, just because he’s your son.

The boss: That’s untrue! Who do you think you are making such an accusation!

Tom: Last week he was given a bonus for closing the Armstrong deal when Rebecca did the majority of the work.

The boss: Steve was given the bonus because he had brought that client on board in the first place. Anyone can get a contract signed.

Tom: Well, it’s not just that. He also takes credit for other people’s work. We’re all sick of it.

The boss: He works harder than anyone else in this office. It’s unbelievable that you’re all so ungrateful for the work he puts in.

Tom: We’ve decided to write a letter to the head office unless the situation changes.

Now it’s your turn. Change the words highlighted in bold/italics to add emphasis. There are different ways you could do this, but one possible solution is below:

Possible answers

Tom: We all think Steve gets treated better than us, just because he’s your son.

The boss: That’s absolutely untrue! Who on earth do you think you are making such an accusation!

Tom: Last week he was given a bonus for closing the Armstrong deal when it was Rebecca who did the majority of the work.

The boss: It was Steve who was given the bonus because he had brought that client on board in the first place. Anyone can get a contract signed.

Tom: Well, it’s not just that. He also takes credit for other people’s work. We’re all absolutely sick of it.

The boss: He works harder than anyone else in this office. It’s really unbelievable that you’re all so ungrateful for the work he puts in.

Tom: What we’ve decided to do is write a letter to the head office unless the situation changes.