Transcript fronted structures - Professor Flavia Cunha

ORGANIZING
INFORMATION:
 EMPHATIC STRUCTURES
1) LEXICAL EMPHASIS
2) FRONTING
3) CLEFT SENTENCES
FRONTING
What’s FRONTING?
 moving part of a sentence (the topic) from its
usual position to the beginning of the sentence:
e.g.:
 the
Next to the window was a vase.
Strange people are they.
topic moved to the front may be: the
object, the complement, or an adverb.
What are the reasons for FRONTING?
• to emphasize information:
e.g. In the evenings she writes. It is a time when the house is
quiet and peaceful.
• to point out contrast:
e.g. In the evenings she writes. The mornings are devoted to
reading and the afternoons to helping her kids.
• to emphasize a subject that contains new or
unexpected information by moving it to the end of
the sentence:
e.g. More important than anything to me is my family.
FRONTED STRUCTURES
 WITHOUT INVERSION, WHEN THE TOPIC IS:
1. The subject complement (Cs) after a linking verb:
seem, appear, look, sound, smell, feel, become, get,
keep, grow, etc.)
e.g. The baby smells good. Good the baby smells.
She has become a nurse. A nurse she has become.
2. The Object (O) or the Object Complement(Co):
e.g. I hate writing. - Writing I hate.
She called me a fool. - A fool she called me.
3. An adverbial:
Type of adverbial: (postverbal)
TIME
During the evenings she works on her paper.
MANNER Slowly she walked into the kitchen.
PURPOSE In order to win her heart, he showered her gifts.
REASON Because I was annoyed, I slept all the afternoon.
CONDITION If it doesn’t rain, we can have a picnic this
weekend.
FREQUENCY Every night the group would meet in the
living room of the old mansion.
* preverbal adverbials (often, always, usually, etc) are NOT
fronted.
• OPTIONAL INVERSION WHEN THE TOPIC IS:
1. Adverbial of position ( after verbs of position: stand,
lie, sit, stay, sleep, etc.)
e.g.. On the park bench an old woman sits.
On the park bench sits an old woman.
2. Adverbial of direction/motion (after verbs of motion:
come, go, run, fly, leave, walk, etc.)
e.g. Into the house John ran.
Into the house ran John.
NOTE:
a) NO Subj./Verb inversion takes place if the subject is a
personal pronoun (end-focus);
b) Linking verb BE is not grammatical in final position.
Therefore, subj./verb inversion must occur.
• REQUIRED INVERSION , WHEN THE TOPIC IS:
1. Negative expressions: never, rarely, seldom, barely,
scarcely, hardly, neither, nor, on no condition, under no
circumstances, no sooner, little, less, only, etc.
I have never seen such generosity.
Never have I seen such generosity.
Max would not leave Sue for anything.
Not for anything would Max leave Sue.
James had discovered the nest only by chance.
Only by chance had James discovered the nest.
2. Present Participle construction:
e.g. Our missing cat was sitting at the kitchen table.
Sitting at the kitchen table was our missing cat.
3. Past Participle construction:
e.g. Several barrels of wine were hidden in the garage.
Hidden in the garage were several barrels of wine.
4. Comparative structures:
e.g. John’s younger brother was even more jealous.
Even more jealous was John’s younger brother.
5. Adverbial of degree or extent (so+ adj/adv+ that or such + be
...+that)
e.g. His manner was so absurd that everyone laughed at him.
So absurd was his manner that everyone laughed at him.
e.g. The play is so popular that the theater is full every night.
Such is the popularity of the show that the theater was full every
night.
6. Conditional Clauses (with ellipted if)
e.g. If you should need more information, please contact our main
office.
 Should you need more information, please...

If Alex had asked, I would have been able to help.
Had Alex asked, I would have been able to help.