Definition
Focus is a term that refers to information, in a sentence, that
- is new
- is of high communicative interest
- is marked by stress
- typically occurs late in the sentence, and
- complements the presupposed information typically presented early in the sentence.
Examples
(English)
Here are some examples of focused elements:
- Your books are on the shelf.
- It was math that gave him trouble.
Sources 4
- Crystal 1980, 148, 283, 397
- Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985, 86, 1361–1363
- Talmy 1985, 79–80
- Hartmann and Stork 1972, 237