EXCEPTIONS TO THE LAST LEXICAL RULE (MARKED TONICITY)

CONTRASTIVE I have been asking for ages  contrast in affirmative/ negative

FOCUS polarity
(FUNCTIONAL (=It’s not that I haven’t been asking)
WORDS)
I have been asking for ages  contrast in tense
(=It’s not that I’m now beginning to ask)

It’s not what I think | but what you think  contrast between
pronouns

Think of what you can put into it | not what you get out of it 
contrast between prepositions

*ADJUNCTS OF I had an unexpected letter yesterday

TIME AND PLACE (The adjunct of time is focus minus even though it is the last lexical
(They just add item)
circumstantial
information) I don’t want to go there

It’s four o’clock in the afternoon

What did you do all day?

There was nothing to do in town

What did you do today?

EVENT SENTENCES The phone’s ringing

(The verb or adjective in an event sentence is predictable from the
context, so does not need to be in focus.)

The kettle’s boiling

The road’s blocked

Is the window open?

Your zip’s undone

REPORTING How are you doing? He asked

CLAUSES (Reporting clauses, when uttered at the end of the sentence, are focus
minus, i.e. they are not in focus)

COMPOUNDS Road works

(Noun + noun compound)

Running shoes
(Gerundial compound)
SHARED OR This train | terminates at Edgware
COMMON (You, the hearer, know you are in a train. Hence, “train” is not new
KNOWLEDGE information: it is shared knowledge)

The next station | is Oval

CLEFT SENTENCES It was Veronica that I chose

PRONOMINALIZE Put it on
D PHRASAL VERBS (In this case, the last lexical is the verb “put”, which by nature is never
in focus. Typically, the main stress falls on either the noun or the
adverbial particle)
SYNONYMOUS A: Shall we wash the clothes?
PHRASING B: Oh, I hate doing the laundry

HYPERNYMS Malaria | and other tropical diseases

(There is no need to accentuate “tropical diseases” because Malaria is
already a tropical disease = shared or common knowledge)
FOSSILIZED OR Onions make my eyes water
IDIOMATIC
EXPRESSIONS You’re going to get your fingers burnt

Keep your fingers crossed

They got on like a house on fire

What’s that supposed to mean? (=when very angry)

There’s a good girl!

LEXICALIZED OR Look at the dress she’s wearing

NOMINALIZED Look at what she’s wearing
ITEMS
Which color do you prefer?
Which do you prefer?

Keep the engine running

Keep it running