Daniel Kies Department of English College of DuPage
Modern English Grammar English 2126		Contact Form

Introduction:
The Grammatical Foundations of Style

Earlier, we saw that each constituent serves a multiplicity of roles in every human language. The noun phrase, remember, has multiple roles. We have seen noun phrases work as subjects, objects, adverbials, and complements of both the clause and the prepositional phrase.

(31) The council voted to defeat the amendment. [noun phrase as subject] (32) Citizens then petitioned their representatives. [noun phrase as object] (33) The citizens are the taxpayers after all. [noun phrase as complement of the clause] (34) The council capitulated to the wishes of the voters. [noun phrase as complement of preposition] (35) The next day, the council reversed itself. [noun phrase as adverbial] However, it is not just elements at the word or phrase rank that must serve many functions in different contexts. So too each clause serves many different functions simultaneously. Grammar identifies four major, overarching functions in language — called the 'metafunctions.' METAFUNCTION Each metafunction is realized — is the result of — different clause systems that work continuously and simultaneously, creating four distinct types of meaning. The four metafunctions are called experiential, interpersonal, textual, and logical. See, for example, the table below.		Current work:   Days remaining this term: Notes: Add Note |  Log in? | Privacy | Change Name & Email Mail this page to a friend
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Each CLAUSE is part of	many CLAUSE SYSTEMS	that realize TYPES OF MEANING	creating TYPES OF GRAMMATICAL INFORMATION
each Clause	Transitivity	Experiential	Actor, Process, Goal, (etc)
	Mood	Interpersonal	Sentence types Subject, Verb, Object, (etc.) Modality
	Theme	Textual	Theme/Rheme Given/New
	Taxis	Logical	Coordination Subordination

We have outlined many of the major concepts in the Mood and Taxis systems in the previous section already, first, when we studied clause and sentence types, second, when we examined the grammatical functions of subject, verb, object, complement, and adverbial, and, finally, when we outlined some of the differences between para- and hypotaxis — coordination and subordination.

Furthermore, we have even skimmed some of the processes of Transitivity and Theme systems. In our earlier review of the verb phrase, for instance, we discussed the differences between major subcategories of verbs — transitive and intransitive being two.

The transitivity system helps us recognize and encode our experiences of the world. In the world we understand that some things function as 'actors,' making things happen. We also understand that actors are usually humans. We understand that actors will do different kinds acts on different goals. Those acts — or 'processes' — could be material (such as "get a book") or mental (such as "consider the possibilities"). Likewise, the goals could vary from intangible abstractions (such as the possibilities) to concrete realities (such as the book). It is the function of the transitivity system to make these distinctions of meaning (Halliday 1967 and 1985).

Consider the sentences below, in which we deliberately alter the Mood and Transitivity systems of a clause to illustrate the differences in meaning created by each clause system. Given the Transitivity system, we always recognize the door as the Goal of the Process, no matter what the Mood system function of the noun phrase might be — an object as in (1) or a subject as in (2). Because of the Transitivity system, we always recognize the key as an Instrument, no matter what the Mood system function of the noun phrase might be — part of an adverbial as in (1) or a subject as in (3).

(1) A basic example showing a typical pairing of Mood system grammatical information with Transitivity system grammatical information
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	Bob	opened	the door	with a key.
Mood	Subject	Verb	Object	Adverbial
Transitivity	Actor	Process	Goal	Instrument

(2) One example to illustrate the Mood system working independently of the Transitivity system
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	The door	was opened	with a key.
Mood	Subject	Verb	Adverbial
Transitivity	Goal	Process	Instrument

(3) Another example to illustrate the Mood system working independently of the Transitivity system
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	The key	opened	the door.
Mood	Subject	Verb	Object
Transitivity	Instrument	Process	Goal

Similarly, we have already touched upon the Theme system when we discussed 'voice' in the verb phrase section above. The different voices of the verb phrase, remember, allow speakers to choose different points of view by placing one constituent or another in clause-initial position. The active voice verb phrase of (4) places the word Liz in clause-initial position, while the passive voice verb phrase of (5) allows us to place the word Emily in clause-initial position:

(4) An example of active voice verb phrase employing Liz as theme
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	Liz	encourages	Emily.
Mood	Subject	Verb	Object
Theme	Theme	Rheme

(5) An example of a passive voice verb phrase employing Emily as theme
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	Emily	was encouraged	by Liz.
Mood	Subject	Verb	Adverbial
Theme	Theme	Rheme

Clause-initial position is significant in language because it helps to define the "point of view" the speaker/writer takes in looking at the world (Fries 1983). In (4), we are looking at the world from Liz's point of view, while (5) presents things from Emily's. Clause-initial position is where we find the theme of the clause.

Theme systems also indicate which part of the clause is "old" information, so to speak, and which part of the clause is "new" information for the audience. The "old" information is realized by the 'Given' constituent of the clause and the "new" information realizes the 'New' constituent of the clause. So to use the examples above again, we see that Liz realizes the Given constituent in the first example, but Emily realizes that constituent in the second example.

Now we are ready to see how thematic systems encode information so that each sentence is slightly different in its use. In a real context, speakers would use these two different arrangements of thematic constituents for different purposes: the first example is most appropriate in a context in which the speaker has been discussing Liz and her helpfulness, while the second example would work best in a situation in which the speaker has been discussing Emily and what happened to her. Look at the examples in the contexts below.

Liz is a wonderful sister. She is protective and kind toward her younger sister, Emily. But she does even more. Liz encourages Emily.

How Theme encodes Information
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	Liz	encourages	Emily.
Mood	Subject	Verb	Object
Theme	Theme	Rheme
	Given	New

Emily, being the youngest, is also the most timid. She would rarely try anything that was different or new. She has matured quite a bit, though, thanks to her sister. Emily was encouraged by Liz.

How Theme encodes Information
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	Emily	was encouraged	by Liz.
Mood	Subject	Verb	Adverbial
Theme	Theme	Rheme
	Given	New

Theme systems, like all the systems, are very complex in themselves, with wonderfully fine distinctions to help us highlight the important parts of our message (van Dijk 1977 and Dillon 1981). In its most basic form, the theme system divides the clause into two functional constituents, a theme (or what the clause is about) and a rheme (or what is said about it).

When a clause begins with a constituent we expect (such as a subject in an indicative clause or a base form of a verb in an imperative clause), we then say that clause has an 'unmarked' theme. The themes of (4), (5), and (6) are all examples of unmarked themes.

(6) An example of a clause with an unmarked theme
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	I	haven't seen	John Smith	in ages.
Mood	Subject	Verb	Object	Adverbial
Theme	Theme	Rheme

However, should the clause begin with an unexpected constituent, we then say that the clause has a 'marked' theme, as in (7) (Kies 1986).

(7) An example of a clause with a marked theme
SYSTEM	EXAMPLE
	John Smith	I	haven't seen	in ages.
Mood	Object	Subject	Verb	Adverbial
Theme	Theme	Rheme

To get a real sense of what Theme systems contribute to meaning, we need to examine a longer piece of text. The following passage is from The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell: 1872-1914 (pp. 3-4). [I have added letters to the beginning of each sentence to aid our discussion.]

(a) Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. (b) These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.

(c) I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy — ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. (d) I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness — that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. (e) I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. (f) This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what — at last — I have found.

(g) With equal passion I have sought knowledge. (h) I have wished to understand the hearts of men. (i) I have wished to know why the stars shine .... (j) A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.

(k) Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. (l) But always pity brought me back to earth. (m) Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. (n) Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. (o) I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.

(p) This has been my life. (q) I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.

In the first three paragraphs, notice how Russell directs our attention through his consistent use of theme in each paragraph, usually either Three/These passions or I. That technique allows us to attend especially carefully to the rheme in each sentence, where his new information is (Eiler 1986).

In the fourth paragraph, notice the dramatic shift in Russell's use of thematic structure. Gone are the sentences with I as their themes. Here instead Russell wants us to focus on a different set of ideas, ideas that are much more important than he himself. So he puts those ideas in thematic position at the beginning of sentence (l), (m), and especially (n). By shifting theme in those sentences, Russell can direct our attention to the ideas that he most wants to express, namely that some issues (like human suffering) transcend the needs of the individual.

As we can see from these few examples, Theme systems can create a "texture" in the fabric of conversation or written language; they guide our point of view as we perceive and interpret the flow of information in the discourse. Theme systems help us follow the "thread of discourse" and in so doing provide cohesion within language (Halliday and Hasan 1976).

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