ABSTRACT
Module 28: Theme: the point of departure of the message 222
28.1 Theme and Rheme 223 28.2 Unmarked Theme and marked Theme in declarative clauses 224 28.3 Theme in non-declarative clauses 224 28.4 Topic, Theme and Subject 225 28.5 Cognitive features of the Topic 226 28.6 Topic and Subject as Theme 226 28.7 Introducing new potential Topics into the discourse 228 28.8 Circumstantial Adjuncts as Themes 228 28.9 Objects and Complements as Themes 229 28.10 Less common thematisations in the declarative clause 230
28.10.1 Negative adverbs 230 28.10.2 Negative Objects 231 28.10.3 Adverbs followed by verbs of motion 231 28.10.4 Detached predicatives 231
28.11 Detached Themes: Absolute Theme, Dislocations and Double Themes 232
28.11.1 Absolute Theme 232 28.11.2 Dislocations 232 28.11.3 Double detached Themes 233
28.12 Non-experiential Themes 234 28.13 Clauses as Themes 235
Module 29: The distribution and focus of information 238
29.1 The information unit 238 29.2 Given and New information 240 29.3 Unmarked Focus and marked Focus 241 29.4 Event utterances 242 29.5 Ellipsis 243
29.5.1 Textual ellipsis 243 29.5.2 Situational ellipsis 244
29.6 Substitution 244
30.1 Thematic progression 246
30.1.1 Simple linear progression 247 30.1.2 Continuous progression (constant Theme) 247 30.1.3 Derived Themes 248
30.2 Clefting: it-clefts and wh-clefts 249
30.2.1 Discourse functions of the it-cleft 250 30.2.2 Discourse functions of the wh-cleft 250 30.2.3 Variants of the wh-cleft 251
30.3 The active-passive alternative 252
30.3.1 Promoting one participant, demoting another 253 30.3.2 Choosing to be informative 254 30.3.3 Passives without an Agent 254 30.3.4 Making smooth transitions 255 30.3.5 The get-passive 256
30.4 The presentative function of existential clauses 257
30.4.1 Derived existentials 258 30.4.2 Short existentials 258 30.4.3 Extended existentials 259 30.4.4 There-structures as states of affairs 259
30.5 Extraposition of clauses 260
30.5.1 Raised elements as new Themes 261
30.6 Postponement 262
30.6.1 Postponement with ditransitive verbs 262
Further reading 263 Exercises 263
SUMMARY
1 Theme is an element of the thematic structure of a clause, of which the other element is Rheme. It is therefore a different category from the syntactic Subject and from the discourse category of Topic – what the message is about – although these three often coincide in one wording.
