Discourse analysis

Lesson 26 Heads (pre-posed elements of clauses)

Activity1. Work in groups. Look at these extracts from conversations. In each case the third line of each exchange sounds particularly informal.

• 
  Rewrite each of the third lines in these extracts so that it is more formal and grammatical
  

1. 
   A: Did you get back early?
   

B: Yes, I did. Someone was attacked last night on the underground.
C: A city like London, it's not very safe at night.

2. 
   A: Where are you going all together?
   

B: Probably just Southern Ireland.
C: Most places in Ireland, they're really quite cheap

3. 
   A: How was the first day?
   

B: Fine, thanks. The teachers seem nice.
C: The teacher with glasses, he seems very nice.

4. 
   A: The film was a bit sentimental.
   

B: Was it?
C: Yes, the people in the audience, they all started crying when the dog died.
Activity 2 . The following exchanges all involve questions and answers. They are all informal conversational exchanges. Rewrite the questions so that they sound more formal.

1. 
   A: That house on the corner, do they live there?
   

B: Yes.
A: It looks very nice.

2. 
   A: The girl who drives the Ford, is she his sister?
   

B: No. She's a cousin
A: Really

3. 
   A: That black jacket, is it yours?
   

B: No, it's not.
A: It must belong to somebody.

4. 
   A: The shop by the traffic lights that's open until nine, did you say it's gone out of business? B: Yes, they've sold to a garage.
   

A: Pity. I wanted to get some wine

• 
  When we discussed TAILS we see how items in a clause can be repeated at the end of the clause and that these help speakers show their attitude to something.
  
• 
  While doing task in this lesson we’ve seen how speakers manipulate clause structure at the opening of clauses. These items are called 'pre-posed' items, or HEADS. They are an example of a special kind of fronting device. For example:
  

'A city like London, it's not safe at night.'
Activity3. Which grammatical structures can function as 'heads'?
Look at the following extracts from conversations. The fronted items are in bold.
What kind of grammatical items are fronted? How do they relate to the next part of the sentences?
What is the effect of fronting?
[Conversation in a changing room before taking a swim]

1. 
   Andy: Ancient Chinese proverb, if you're warm enough when you start, you'll be
   

too hot when you've finished.