ABSTRACT
In this brief chapter, I would like to summarize the theory proposed above and also
indicate some areas for future research. The analysis which I have presented reveals that
preposing performs two simultaneous functions in discourse. First, the referent of the
preposed constituent marks the backward looking center of an utterance, which can be
preposing constructions are 'presuppositional' in that they mark an open proposition as
focus. The open proposition contains one or more unbound variables which are instan-
tiated with the focus of the utterance. The focus (or foci) of an open proposition is
representable as a value on some scale, and is realized prosodically with an accented
syllable.
