ACHIEVING UNEQUIVOCAL EMPHASIS IN ENGLISH BY PSEUDO-CLEFTING
Description
This paper focuses on pseudo-clefting, a syntactic transformation rule (T-rule) frequently used in
English to give focal and thematic prominence (cf. Lăcătușu, 2005: 77) to various structural
constituents, be them phrases or clauses. As its name suggests, it is related to clefting, another T-rule
we elaborated on in our paper “Clefting: A Stereotypical but Resourceful and Handy Transformation
of the English Simple Sentence” issued in the Messages, Sages and Ages Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2 / 2019,
pp. 31-37.
Although the purpose of both these transformations is quite similar semantically speaking (i.e. laying
unequivocal emphasis on one constituent or another in a particular sentence), there are also significant
differences which are to be found at the level of the syntax of the sentence so transformed, differences
detailed on in the present paper.
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References
- Akmajian, A. 1970a. Aspects of the Grammar of Focus in English. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, M.I.T., cited by Higgins F.R., 1973. Akmajian, A. 1970b. "On Deriving Cleft Sentences from Pseudo-cleft Sentences" in Linguistic Inquiry 1. 149-168, cited by Higgins F.R., 1973.*** Cleft Sentences - Adding Emphasis: (https://www.test-english.com/grammar-points/b2/cleftsentences/3/) Close, R. A. 1979. A Reference Grammar for Students of English. Longman Group Limited. Collins, P. C. 2002. Cleft and Pseudo-cleft Constructions in English (https://epdf.pub/cleft-andpseudo-cleft-constructions-in-english-theoretical-linguistics.html, retrieved on November 20 th 2019). Cornilescu, A.1982. English Syntax, vol. II. București: Tipografia Universității București. Curelariu, V. 2019. "Clefting: A Stereotypical but Resourceful and Handy Transformation of the English Simple Sentence". In: Messages, Sages, and Ages, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2019), pp.31-37. Higgins, F.R. 1973. The Pseudo-cleft Construction in English. (Submitted to the department of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics on June 22, 1973, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/12988 (visited on March 10th, 2019) Lăcătușu, T. 2005. Essentials of English Syntax. Complex Structures. Iași: Casa Editorială Demiurg Nordquist, R. 2019a. "Understanding the Meaning of a Cleft Sentence". In: Thought.Co https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-cleft-sentence-1689851 (visited on November 18th, 2019) Nordquist, D. 2019b. "Understanding the Wh-clause in English Grammar" in Thought.Co (https://www.thoughtco.com/wh-clause-grammar-1692498) (visited on November 18th, 2019) Quirk, R. et al. 1985. A Grammar of Contemporary English. London: Longman. Vince, M.; Sunderland, P. 2003. Advanced Language Practice with Key. English Grammar and Vocabulary. Oxford: MacMillan.