North American English speakers speak in phrases. In pronunciation and accent reduction classes you will hear these phrases referred to as thought groups or intonation groups.

Thought groups are sequences of words that have one prominent word. This is called a content word or a focus word.

Thought groups are set off by short pauses (this gives you time to breathe). Each thought group has an intonation pattern. A sentence can be made up of two, three, or even four thought groups.

It’s said that good public speakers use lots of thought groups when they speak.

If you are someone who speaks English too quickly, you should try to use more thought groups as you learn to control your pace. Once you begin to slow down your rate of speech you can use fewer thought groups.

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