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Cleft Sentences — Frasi Scisse·Cleft Sentences — Pragmatics and Information Structure
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Rule reminder

Cleft sentences manipulate information structure by dividing a sentence into TOPIC (given/known information) and FOCUS (new/emphasized information). In a cleft 'È Marco che ha vinto', the presupposition is 'someone won' (given) and the focus/assertion is 'it was Marco'. Pseudo-clefts work similarly: 'Quello che voglio è riposo' presupposes 'I want something' and focuses on 'riposo'. Understanding this helps learners use clefts appropriately in discourse.

Cleft Sentences — Pragmatics and Information Structure1 / 10

What information-structural problem does the following create? Context: We have been discussing Marco for several sentences. Then: 'È Marco che ha telefonato.'

More in this section

→ Cleft Sentences — Mixed Advanced Practice II→ Cleft Sentences — Complex Texts and Discourse Analysis→ Cleft Sentences — Mastery Review and Production→ Cleft Sentences — Identifying the Focus
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