Anglistik 3 | Department of English Language and Linguistics

Discourse Analysis

Quiz

Mark those statements below which are correct:
1. The book I was given yesterday is an example of the passive voice.
2. Reading is what I really enjoy is an example of left-dislocation.
3. Reading, I really enjoy that is an example of an inversion.
4. What I really enjoy is reading is an example of a wh-cleft.
5. It’s reading (that) I really enjoy is an example of an it-cleft.
Mark those answers which apply to the following sentence.
When I opened the door, I saw a woman wearing a beautiful dress. She was the wife of my new boss.
1. a woman: new, indefinite, referential
2. she: given, indefinite, non-referential
3. the wife of my new boss: new, definite, referential
4. the door: given, definite, non-referential
5. a beautiful dress: new, indefinite, referential
Which of the following statements are true?
1. Sentence topic is equivalent to discourse topic.
2. New information is always short and referential.
3. The typical focal position of declarative sentences in English is sentence-final.
4. Pronouns often encode given information.
5. Sentences in English only have topics that are new.