CLAUSES AS THEMES
Time and place are not the only types of circumstance that can be thematized: other types of situational frame can be established.
Coordinated clauses joined by ‘and’ reflect the chronological order of the events described. The first clause is therefore the natural temporal and factual starting-point of the sequence. For this reason not all coordinate clauses are coherently reversible:
The lone rider got on his horse and rode into the sunset.
*The lone rider rode into the sunset and got on his horse.
Even when the clauses are reversible, the resultant meanings are likely to be different;
for, as well as chronological sequence, other meanings such as cause and effect are
implied:
He bought an oil-tanker and made a fortune. (i.e. his fortune resulted from his buying the tanker)
He made a fortune and bought an oil-tanker. (i.e.it is implied that he bought the tanker after making a fortune)
Subordinate clauses impose no obligation to maintain chronological sequencing. However, an initial subordinate clause takes as starting-point the meaning it encodes, such as reason 1, simultaneity 2 and condition 3:
1 As you weren’t at home, I left a message on your answer-phone.
2 As she stepped off the kerb, a cyclist crashed into her.
3 If you don’t like it, you can probably change it for something else.
Such initial clauses also set up expectations, which obviously does not happen when the subordinate clause is final. For instance, compare examples 4 and 5. Each contains a non-finite to-infinitive clause of purpose in either initial or final position, respectively:
4 To cure stress, try a Jacuzzi whirlpool bath.
5 He braked hard to avoid hitting the cyclist.
The initial purpose clause in 4 not only sets up a purpose frame, but also names the goal to be achieved. For this reason, the to-infinitive clause here emphasizes a sense of premeditated purpose, which is much less explicit in 5, where the purpose clause is in final position.
The two remaining types of non-finite clause, the participial -ing clause and the en clause, are closely tied to the main participant in the discourse. The -ing clause 6 is active in meaning and expresses an action or state dependent upon the main situation. The -en clause 7 is passive in meaning and is retrospective, summing up a previous situation:
6 Taking advantage of his present popularity, the Prime Minister called an election.
7 Thwarted in the west, Stalin turned east. (H.G. Wells, A Short History of the
World).
It is useful to remember that speakers adjust their choice of Theme to the context, ‘attending first to the most urgent task’. When the tourist guide starts with ‘Ladies and gentlemen’, for instance, s/he is doing just that: attracting the hearers’ attention before giving them the information they need. Context is understood here to include potentially:
• the context of culture and the situational context in which the participants interact, including the place, the time and the participants themselves;
• the textual context, or ‘co-text’, which covers the previous spoken or written discourse; and
• cognitive features such as the participants’ knowledge, beliefs and assumptions, in so far as these are relevant at any particular point in the discourse.
