Consider the sentence “Mary had a little lamb” and think about all the meanings this could have based on where you put the emphasis on the sentence:

• Mary had a little lamb - it was Mary's lamb, not John's
• Mary had a little lamb - she doesn't have it any longer
• Mary had a little lamb - she only had one lamb; other people had more
• Mary had a little lamb - it really was surprisingly small
• Mary had a little lamb - she didn't have the curried chicken like everyone else

More words will often add to the problem, not make it simpler.