Tuesday 29 January 2019

Finite As Focus Of New Information

(1) //4 While this / notion / does make //4 sense on the / surface //

(2) //4 While this / notion makes / sense on the / surface //

The use of tone 4 expresses reservation in both dependent concessive clauses.  However, while the second instance only highlights this reservation once, on the comment Adjunct on the surface, the first instance, in separating the Finite from the Predicator, highlights the reservation twice, on both the comment Adjunct and the positive polarity of the Finite does.  The contrastive aspect of this New information primes the reader for the opposite polarity (does not) after the concession.


While
this notion
does
make
sense
on the surface

Subject
Finite
Predicator
Complement
comment Adjunct
Given

New: contrastive
Given

New: contrastive