In linguistics, information packaging (structure), or information flow, describes the way we package information within a sentence.
How We Present Information When We Communicate
We Apply Stress & Intonation to the Sentence ►
When we communicate, we are typically torn between wanting to say something quickly and wanting to say it fully: We want to get to the point as fast as possible without sacrificing the legibility. So, we internally negotiate between what to say first and what to say later.
We also use variations in our voice intonation, called pitch, to indicate our emotions and attitudes. We use intonation to stress the main point we want to make or to signal whether we are trying to convey a question or a statement, a request or a command, an ironic remark, or a rhetoric question to which we are not seeking an answer.
So, when we communicate about an event or situation, we can organize the information in different ways, depending on the meaning we try to convey. In the spoken forms of the English language, we communicate our messages by breaking them down into individual units of information, which we express using intonation and stress.
We also arrange our messages in a specific word order. With intonation, we indicate which unit of information we want to stress or emphasize. In other words, we try to match the units of information we want to communicate with the units of intonation.
Variation in the word order, together with the stress positions, determine the meaning of a sentence.
We Change the Word Order of the Sentence ►
When we start conversing, in our opening sentences, the subject is likely to be a character or a thing we are already familiar with, or an idea that has already been under discussion. More precisely, the most common subject in our sentences is … us!
Therefore, the subject is often marked with anaphoric (backward-, context-linking) elements such as personal pronouns (me, us, to him) and possessive pronouns (my, our).
Here are a few examples of opening sentences:
A: How’s Steve?
B: Oh, he got married.
A: Married to whom?
B: He found a lovely girl.
[A̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶g̶i̶r̶l̶ ̶f̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶.̶]
A: I can’t find my keys.
B: Your keys are under my papers.
[M̶y̶ ̶p̶a̶p̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶o̶p̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶k̶e̶y̶s̶.̶]
A: My father was bitten by a dog last week.
[A̶ ̶d̶o̶g̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶f̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶e̶k̶.̶]
A: Our dog bit the postman this morning, can you believe that?
[T̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶s̶t̶m̶a̶n̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶d̶o̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶;̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶b̶e̶l̶i̶e̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶?̶]
The organization of a message into information units often reflects a division between the information that is already known or assumed to be known to the hearer (old information) and the information that is new or important (new information).
In English, the major emphasis tends to fall on the predicate complement (object) or whatever word or structure happens to occur at the end of the sentence. This gives added weight to what tends to be the most important information or the real news of the sentence.
The old information is often referred to as ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄ, and it is often the subject of the sentence. Roughly speaking, the ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄ (subject) often tells us what the clause is about, whereas the ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ (predicate) generally makes a comment about the ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄ.
We Choose What to Say First (Topic) and What to Save for Later as the Main Point (Focus) ►
Dividing the message into old information (ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄ) and the new information (ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ) constitutes the foundation of the so-called principles of information packaging, signaled by a special sequence of elements (word order) in the sentence.
In simple sentences, the ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄ and the ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ are usually single words or short phrases. In complex sentences, with a main clause and a dependent clause, For example, we organize the main and dependent clauses according to the main point we want to convey:
Alan failed the test because he did not study.
If the main point (focus) is to provide the reason of Alan’s failing the test.
Because Alan did not study, he failed the test.
If the main point (focus) is to provide the result of Alan’s not studying.
Since in writing, we cannot use intonation for emphasizing, we have to rely on specific word orders, coordination and subordination strategies, use of pronouns, articles (definite, indefinite, and zero), and punctuation.
Grammar allows us to present—or package—the information in a variety of ways. Of these ways, the syntactically most basic way is what linguists call the canonical (unmarked, default, neutral, constituent) word order.
Cross-linguistically, word order variations—e.g., as a declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamative clause as well as the so-called inverted sentence—is one of the main syntactic devices used to convey specific information messages.
Canonical (Unmarked, Default) Word Order in English▾
To distinguish between different word orders, we first need to define the word order that is regarded the basic (default, regular, normal, or neutral) one, the word order from which other word orders are deemed different.
Linguists call such a word order canonical. In English, the canonical sentence is a declarative sentence with the word order Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), or more precisely:
My son | gave | his report | to the teacher. |
Subject | Verb | [Direct Object | Indirect Object] |
SUBJECT | PREDICATE | |
All the elements in the canonical sentence, except the subject, constitute the sentence's predicate. Therefore, the canonical word order can also be written as Subject-Predicate.
The S-V-O formula defines the ᴄᴏʀᴇ of an English sentence, and, for the sentence to make sense, all the ᴄᴏʀᴇ elements (the subject, verb, and object) must be present and cannot be removed. Nor should they be interrupted by any punctuation or broken in any other way. In fact, English has one of the strictest word order systems.
The only optional element in an English sentence is an adverbial, which syntactically can be removed without affecting the ᴄᴏʀᴇ of the sentence. However, if the adverbial is either topicalized or focused, its pragmatic role renders it essential. In any case, canonically, the adverbial should follow the object and come in the end of the sentence: S-V-O-[A].
My son | gave | his report | to the teacher | yesterday. |
Subject | Verb | Direct Object | Indirect Object | Temporal Adverbial |
The adverbial element typically expresses either manner, or temporal (time), or locative (place) circumstances of the what is described in the sentence. If a sentence has all these kinds of adverbials, canonical order of the adverbials is manner + time + place:
My son | gave | his report | to the teacher | belatedly | yesterday | in the stadium. |
Subject | Verb | Direct Object | Indirect Object | Manner Adverbial | Temporal Adverbial | Place Adverbial |
If we read a canonical sentence in English without a specific context, we would, by default, place a light stress on the subject (ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄ) and a slightly stronger stress on the last word (ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ) in the sentence:
His WIFE | will call you TOMORROW. |
TOPIC | FOCUS |
A canonical word order is thus defined by its neutral stressing contour. Most opening sentences in essays, academic papers, reports, other public documents would have a neutrally stressed structure.
So, in the English canonical sentence, the main canonical positions are:
The subject precedes the verb (predicate).
The verb precedes the direct or indirect object.
The direct object precedes the indirect object.
The temporal or place adverbial follows all these elements and comes in the end of the sentence.
Other Canonical Structures in English▾
Canonical positions also apply to other parts of speech:
In canonical complex sentences, a main clause precedes the related subordinate (dependent) clause [functioning as an adverbial]: e.g., an adverbial clause, a complement that-clause or wh-clause, an infinitival to-clause, a reduced adverbial clause:
I’ll call you tomorrow | if I am free. |
MAIN CLAUSE | ADVERBIAL (CONDITIONAL) CLAUSE [ADVERBIAL] |
I think | that I am free tomorrow. |
MAIN CLAUSE | COMPLEMENT THAT-CLAUSE [DIRECT OBJECT] |
I don't know | whether I am free tomorrow. |
MAIN CLAUSE | COMPLEMENT WH-CLAUSE [DIRECT OBJECT] |
I’ll call you tomorrow | to discuss your work. |
MAIN CLAUSE | INFINITIVAL TO-CLAUSE [ADVERBIAL] |
I’ll call you tomorrow | if possible. |
MAIN CLAUSE | REDUCED ADVERBIAL (CONDITIONAL) CLAUSE [ADVERBIAL] |
In noun phrases, a noun precedes the related relative clause or reduced relative clause (such as an -ed participial clause or an -ing participial clause) [functioning as a postmodifier]:
the book | that/which your teacher has assigned to you |
NOUN | RELATIVE CLAUSE [POSTMODIFIER] |
a book | assigned to you by your teacher |
NOUN | REDUCED RELATIVE (-ED PARTICIPIAL) CLAUSE [POSTMODIFIER] |
books | providing all the necessary facts |
NOUN | REDUCED RELATIVE (-ING PARTICIPIAL) CLAUSE [POSTMODIFIER] |
In prepositional phrases, a preposition precedes the related noun or a noun phrase, or another preposition or prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases often function as adverbials in sentences:
in | years |
PREPOSITION | NOUN |
for | ten years |
PREPOSITION | NOUN PHRASE |
as | students of this school |
PREPOSITION | NOUN PHRASE |
out | of the participants |
PREPOSITION | PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE |
In verb phrases, a verb precedes the related determiner or determiner phrase (functioning as a direct or indirect object), preposition or prepositional phrase (functioning as a place/ temporal [modifier] adverbial), adverb or adverb phrase (functioning as a manner [degree] adverbial), or adverb phrase (functioning as a complement adverbial):
told | this |
VERB | DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN [DIRECT OBJECT] |
will tell | to everyone |
VERB | PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE [INDIRECT OBJECT] |
are living | for ten years |
VERB | PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE [TEMPORAL [MODIFIER] ADVERBIAL] |
will have moved | rather slowly |
VERB | ADVERB PHRASE [DEGREE [MANNER] ADVERBIAL] |
should treat | similarly to everyone else |
VERB | ADVERB PHRASE [COMPLEMENT ADVERBIAL] |
In verb phrases, a verb may also follow the related adverb or adverb phrase (functioning as a manner [degree] adverbial), in which their pragmatic meaning changes (adverbs positioned post-verbally receive more emphasis):
slowly moved moved slowly
clearly speaking speaking clearly
In noun phrases, a noun or noun phrase follows an article or possessive/ demonstrative/ quantifying pronoun (sometimes referred to as determiner), numeral, or noun/ noun phrase showing a possessor (in a genitive constructions):
this | story |
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN | NOUN / NOUN PHRASE |
today's | topic |
POSSESSIVE NOUN | POSSESSED NOUN / NOUN PHRASE |
ten | stories |
NUMERAL | NOUN / NOUN PHRASE |
In noun phrases, a noun or noun phrase follows the related adjective that modifies it. Preceding or pre-modifying adjectives are referred to as attributive:
skillful | student |
ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVE | NOUN / NOUN PHRASE |
Most post-modifying adjectives are referred to predicative. Predicative adjectives function as subject complements:
the student | wasn't | skillful |
NOUN / NOUN PHRASE | LINKING VERB (COPULA) | PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVE |
Some adjectives can be postmodifying but not predicative, called postpositive. Postpositive adjectives often constitute idiomatic or archaic expressions. Regular adjectives, when used postpositively, can have somewhat different meanings:
the best room available the worst choice imaginable Frank senior
somewhere nice attorney general Frank junior
In adjective phrases, an adjective follows the related adverb that modifies it:
very happy rather good outrageously fast
In adverb phrases, an adverb follows the related adverb that modifies it:
very happily rather well outrageously fast
Complements▾
As shown above, the canonical formula of the English language is Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Indirect Object, and all of these elements constitute the ᴄᴏʀᴇ of an English sentence.
There is, however, one more element that is often neglected: a complement, which is required to complete the meaning of certain predicates.
For example:
The objects are, in fact, verb complements.
The predicative adjectives are subject complements because they complete the linking verb to be (to seem, to appear, to feel, to sound, to look).
Subject complements can be any word used predicatively: pronouns, nouns, numerals, gerunds, or participles, or complement clauses used nominally:
Today's topic is Why We Keep Watching Stupid Movies?
The subject complement is a wh-clause.
This is theirs; give it back to them.
The subject complement is a possessive pronoun.
The theater looked old, but the play was charming.
The subject complements are an adjective and -ing participle.
The idea was that we start climbing as early as possible.
The subject complement is a that-clause.
Our office is across the street.
The subject complement is a prepositional phrase.
You seem tired.
The subject complement is an -ed participle.
There are also object complements, which complete certain verbs in English:
We find them very pleasant. We painted the house red.
The object complement is an adjective phrase. The object complement is an adjective.
We chose my father as our group leader. He thinks him a friend.
The object complement is a prepositional phrase. The object complement is a noun phrase.
We consider the director a fool. My father was named the winner.
The object complement is a noun phrase. The object complement is a noun.
She found the toddler walking in the kitchen.
The object complement is an -ing participial phrase.
And there are prepositional complements:
I'm interested in learning how to fly.
The prepositional complement is a -ing participial clause.
I feel angry with what the they have done.
The prepositional complement is a wh-clause.
Therefore, the more extended formula of the canonical English sentence is:
Subject + Verb + Object + Complement + [Adverbial]
We | named | our baby girl | Masha | like her grandma. |
Subject | Verb | Object | Complement | Adverbial |
Canonical Phrase/Clause: Head + Dependents▾
Apart from representing the ordering of words, all these constructions also represent certain dependency relations: one of these elements, the head (the modified), governs the rest of them, the dependents (or modifiers).
The canonical structures in which heads precede their dependents are called head-initial. The canonical structures with the heads following their dependents are called head-final. Other canonical structures have their heads in the middle, surrounding with their dependents, and they are called head-medial.
Some languages are strictly head-final (for example, Turkish). English, however, is mostly head-initial.
Generally speaking, English is considered a head-initial language, meaning that in most English canonical structures, the dependent elements follow the element they depend on, or the head comes before the elements it governs, the dependents.
As shown above (the heads are in bold), most structures in English are head-initial, except most noun phrases, adjective phrases and adverb phrases.
SVO vs. OSV Word Orders▾
The canonical word order is also considered unmarked, as it conveys the most neutral message, with the stress (ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ) naturally falling on the last lexical item of the sentence. This would be a sentence with which we start a conversation or an essay. Basically, this is the most common pattern of an opening sentence.
In writing, the canonical word order is presented as having no punctuation between the ᴄᴏʀᴇ elements:
Grammar | rules even kings.
T F
Molière
On the other hand, the far less typical word order Object + Subject + Verb (OSV) is defined as noncanonical and, as such, is marked, as the disrupted word order causes the stress (ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ) to shift, which, in writing, is often signaled by a comma:
Even kings, | grammar rules.
F1 T1 (F2)
In most cases, we place ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ in the end of a sentence (ᴇɴᴅ-ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ). However, sometimes, we may choose to shift the ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ to the beginning of the sentence to give it prominence (ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀꜱᴛɪᴠᴇ ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ) or to establish a connection with the previous sentence (ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄᴀʟɪᴢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ).
Fronting: Focus Fronting & Topicalization▾
In English, shifting an element to the beginning of a sentence makes it stand out—the processes called ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ ꜰʀᴏɴᴛɪɴɢ or ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄᴀʟɪᴢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ. Generally speaking, ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ ꜰʀᴏɴᴛɪɴɢ refers to the initial placement of any ᴄᴏʀᴇ element that is normally found in post-verbal position (objects, complements, adverbials).
In other words, fronting is one of the ways to break a canonical sentence, and it can only be done if pragmatically required (by the context).
Sentences with fronted elements thus become noncanonical or marked. In English, with its strict word order, fronting rarely touches the ᴄᴏʀᴇ of the sentence. It has to be pragmatically warranted to do that.
The elements that are often fronted are, therefore, adverbials:
In one bedroom, the Suites des Seigneurs de Balzac, mermaids wave palm fronds and monkeys playfully gaze into looking glasses. In another, the large Salon aux Bouquets, a mural creates the conceit of a columned terrace with a view of the flower-speckled countryside and in the dining room the striped fabric is by Preile of Lyons. Between the several doorways, with their painted, broken pediments, chubby putti hold back green curtains from panels set on a Pompeian red ground.
Even physically, Europe’s neighborhoods are drawing closer, with road and rail lines bridging the Baltic countries, and a new waterway joining the North Sea with the Black Sea.
Other elements that get fronted are objects and complements:
This argument, I simply do not accept.
The difficult, we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer.
The slogan of the US Army Corps of Engineers
A comma placed after a fronted element—known as an introductory comma—helps identify the fronting, signaling the disruption in the canonical word order.
How and When to Use Fronting▾
Speakers and writers often use ꜰʀᴏɴᴛɪɴɢ to:
Emphasize an element:
Why he chose to do it that way, we will probably never know.
For ten years, we’ve lived here.
Without my glasses, I can’t see a thing.
Emphasize a contrast (ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀꜱᴛɪᴠᴇ ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ):
Pretty they aren't, but affordable they are.
Introduce the topic of an article:
Racked by drug scandals, rider departures, team withdrawals, and fighting among the leaders of the sport, the 94th Tour de France ended Sunday as one of the most tumultuous races in the event's history.
Introduce a topic shift (ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄᴀʟɪᴢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ) while providing a bridge to old information (as at the start of a new paragraph):
Theories of global warming have been challenged by a small group of scientists. They claim that the warming occurs at various times and then slacks off for even longer periods of time. To test this theory, two scientists have mapped average climate temperature over several centuries.
ꜰʀᴏɴᴛɪɴɢ may be applied to object noun phrases, various complements, prepositional phrases, reduced relative clauses:
This, I don’t understand. Skillful, he wasn't.
fronted object fronted subject complement
Across the plains, they galloped. That he knows the answer, I don’t doubt.
fronted prepositional phrase fronted complement that-clause
When adverbials of negative meaning (never, not once, rarely, seldom) are fronted for emphasis, they are followed by subject-verb inversion:
Not once did she thank me. No longer are they staying with us.
Seldom had we witnessed such bad behaviors. Never will I make that mistake again.
Not a word would he say. Under no circumstances will she return here.
Not a moment did she waste. Not until yesterday did he change his mind.
Not one bottle did we leave behind. To no one will they admit their guilt.
Subject-verb inversion may be triggered by other elements (time/place adverbials, demonstrative pronouns, prepositional phrases) as well:
Down flew the jets. Ahead sat an old man.
Away goes my chance of winning! Below is a restaurant.
Ah, here comes somebody—at last! In the doorway stood my brother.
Along the road rolled the wagons. On the very top of the hill lives a hermit.
Over the bridge marched the soldiers.
📍 Notice that in cases of subject-verb inversion, no introductory comma should interrupt the ᴄᴏʀᴇ linking between the subject and the verb of the sentence.
Introductory Comma▾
An introductory comma in marked sentences signals the broken canonical word order and guides towards the ᴄᴏʀᴇ of the clause, specifically, its subject.
 | Placed immediately before the subject, an introductory comma functions as both a subject-marker and a topic-marker in an English sentence. |
Unless it is very short, any introductory element in an English sentence, whether it’s a single word, a phrase, or an adverbial clause, is typically separated by a comma.
Here are a few examples, with the subjects being underlined:
That story, I will tell you another time.
fronted direct object
Out of fourteen women, ten were highly critical of the proposal.
fronted prepositional phrase
In London, he did not commit any offence.
introductory place adverbial
To please her mother, Alan cleaned the table.
introductory infinitival clause
Because she wasn't tired, Ellen skipped on her nap.
introductory adverbial (reason) clause
It’s a good idea, I think.
fronted complement that-clause
