The giving of goods-and-services is labelled an offer, usually realised by Finite^Subject signalling an

interrogative, but can also be non-linguistic (/ present you biscuits). A command demanding goods-and-
services takes the imperative, where the Mood is non-existent, although the assumed Subject 'you'
appears in a marked imperative (see below). Goods-and-services are tangible commodities or activities,
and responses to proposals (offers and commands) can be nonlinguistic and limited to either accepting
or refusing. Language merely facilitates the success of the exchange.

The exchange of information involves an intangible, verbal commodity and language is the end in itself.
The giving of information often takes the form of a statement, a declarative denoted by Subject^Finite.
The demanding of information is expressed by a question realised by an interrogative. Statements and
questions (propositions) can be argued with, denied, adjusted, etc ., and the response is varied and has
to be linguistic, unlike proposals.

O The position and existence of both Subject and Finite therefore indicates whether a clause is
declarative (statement), interrogative (question, offer) or imperative (command)

However, declaratives and interrogatives could also be polite requests for goods-and-services since basic
commands might be considered Face Threatening Acts, and thus highly impolite (Brown and Levinson,
1987).

Halliday (1994: 179) points out that there is realization of three metafunctional components of meaning,
i.e. ideational, interpersonal and textual, throughout the grammar of a language.

The three metafunctions are realized simultaneously.

The structure of a clause, for example, integrates its functions at the same time in its MOOD system
(interpersonal), its

TRANSITIVITY system (ideational) and its THEME system (textual).

The system provides systemic options in wording and its grammatical feature has a function in
construing systemic options in meaning.

The two important roles played by the lexico-grammar: to allow us to meananything we like, and to
allow us to make more thanone meaning at a time.

Semantic of interaction

Halliday (1984, 1985a) approaches the grammar of interaction from a semantic perspective. He points
out that whenever we use language to interact, one of the things we are doing with it is establishing a
relationship between us: between the person speaking now and the person who will probably speak
next.

To establish this relationship we take turns at speaking, we take on different roles in the exchange. The
basic speech roles we can take on are: giving and demanding. We also choose "commodity". The choice
is between exchanging information, goods or services. The 4 basic move types of statement, question,
offer and command are speech functions. (Halliday).

Speech function pairs (initiations and responses)

Initiating speech function

Responding speech function

Offer

Supporting
Confronting

Acceptance

rejection

Command

Compliance

Refusal

Statement

acknowledgeme nt

Contradiction

Question

Answer
Disclaimer

     Speech functions and typical moodof cause

Constituents of the Mood

Two essential functional constituents of the MOOD component of the clause: the Subject and the Finite

Subject: it realizes the thing by reference to which the proposition can be affirmed or denied. It provides
the person or thing in whom is vested the success or failure of the proposition, what is "held
responsible".

Finite: Halliday (1985a) defines the Finite in terms of its function in the clause to make the proposition
definite, to anchor the proposition in a way that we can argue about it.

Temporal Finite Verbal operators: these words anchor the proposition by reference to time. They give
tense to the Finite-either past, present or future. E.g. I learnt English language from thisguy.

Finite Modal Operators: these words anchor the proposition not by reference to time but by reference
to Modality. E.g. Henry James could write. The Finite, then, carries either tense or modality to make the
proposition arguable. The Finite also consists of the semantic feature of polarity. E.g.

Henry James was writing "Bostanian" ---- positive polarity vs. Henry James was not writing "The
Bostania" ---- negative polarity.

I'm reading Henry James .--- a finite clause

Reading Henry James --- non-finite clause

To read Henry James --- non-finite (infinitive)

Constituents of RESIDUE

Predicator: is the lexical or content part of the verbal group.

Complement: is defined as a non-essential participant in the clause, a participant somehow effected by

the main argument of the proposition.

Adjuncts: clause elements which contribute some additional information to the clause. They can be
identified as elements which do not have the potential to become Subject-i.e. they are not nominal
elements, but are adverbial, or prepositional.

Circumstantial adjuncts (adding experiential meaning) Modal adjuncts (adding interpersonal meaning)
--- mood adjunct & polarity adjuncts(yes or no), & comment adjuncts, vocative adjuncts

Textual Adjuncts (adding textual meaning)

Conjunctive adjuncts & continuity adjuncts

Interrogatives

English offers two main structures for asking questions:

Polar interrogatives (yes/no questions) or wh- interrogatives.

Polar interrogatives (yes/no questions) E.g. Are you the man?

Finite subject complement

Mood Residue

Wh-interrogative

WH element is structure.

E.g. Who wrote "Bostonians"?

Wh-subject finite predicator complement

Mood Residue

Exclamatives

They are used to express emotions such as surprise, disgust, worry, etc. are a blend of interrogative and
declarative patterns.

E.g. What a great writer Henry James was! WH/complement subject finite

Proposition: is something that can be argued, but argued in a particular way. When we exchange
information we are arguing about whether something is or is not. Information is something that can be
affirmed or denied. In between these two extremes are a number of choices of degree of certainty, or of
usuality: sometimes is perhaps, something isn't for sure .. Something is sometimes or something isn't
always. These intermediate positions are what we refer to as modalization.

Modalization: When modality is used to argue about the probability of frequency of propositions, it is
referred to modalization. It involves the expression of two kinds of meanings: probability (likelihood)
and usuality (the frequency). Modalization is the expression of the speaker's attitude towards what
s/he's saying. It is the way the speaker gets into the text: expressing a judgement about the certainty,
likelihood, or frequency of something happening or being. Both modal operators and mood adjuncts can
be classified according to the degree of certainty or usuality they express: i.e. low (night, possibly,
sometimes), median (may, probably, usually), high (must, certainly, always).

Modulation: when modality is used to argue about the obligation or inclination of proposals, it is
referred to as modulation.