The document discusses the organization of clauses, sentences, and text. It defines a clause as a subject and predicate, a sentence as containing more than one clause, and a text as a body of written or spoken language. It notes that the organization of text must meet certain demands, such as signaling the topic, introducing new entities with full noun phrases, and referring to given entities with pronouns if they are mentioned nearby. It also discusses using cleft sentences to highlight important information and including a theme and end-focus in any text.

1. Syntax and Teaching Grammar
Lesson Five
Dr. Rosario María Burneo

2. Unit 13: Clauses, sentences and
text
Clause
It is a string of words formed by a subject (NP)
and a predicate (VP) conveying a
statement, question, exclamation, or command.
Sentence
It is a set of words typically containing more
than one clause,

3. Text
It is a body of language; it could consist of a
single word or phrase like „stop' or „do not enter”
to a paragraph, essay or complete book; it can
be either written or spoken.
It refers to “any instance of spoken or written
language that could be considered in isolation as
a self-sufficient entity“

4. Organization of text
The organization of clauses and sentences into a
text has to meet some demands:
- To signal the topic of a text; What is your
proposal about?
- To introduce new entities (new topic of
conversation); new entities are introduced with
full noun phrases: lexical noun+ adjective
There is a new play on stage
Someone is at the door
The tall guy at the door is sad

5. - To refer to given entities;
The new play is very good
It is very good
The use of pronouns for a given entity applies
only if the first and second mentions are not far
from each other.
- To highlight information that speakers or
writers consider important.
Clefts signal it
What you are doing is to cause trouble
It was very late when they arrived

6. New entity:
A wild onion = first mention, treated as
new, indefinite noun phrase.
Given entity:
It is a given, already mentioned, definite
noun phrase
Mike is a student, He is very smart (use of
pronoun in second mention

7. Theme
Any text must have a theme and an
end-focus.
The theme is what the message refers
to. It is the starting point of any piece
of discourse
My friends are working here
The end-focus is the closing point of a
message
The lawyer came down carrying his case

8. God Bless you
Thank you