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Spoken sentence structure

Spacing out information: a course with three levels, it’s carefully put together​

In writing, information is often packed tightly into complex structures (see Introduction to Written text). In speech, information is generally separated out and given piece by piece, to make it easier to take in. One can read at one’s own speed, backtracking as necessary, but one cannot listen at one’s own speed.

  • formal writing: a carefully constructed progressive three-level course incorporating built-in oral and written revision tests
  • informal speech: a course with three levels, it’s carefully put together, progressive, it’s got revision tests, they’re oral and written

Fronting and topicalisation: Your friend Alex, now he speaks German​

Spoken sentences may be built up quite differently from written sentences, not necessarily with the order subject-verb-object. Fronting (see here) is common in speech: objects, adverbials or other elements may be moved to the front to give them more importance.

  • People like that I just can’t stand.
  • Only this morning she was saying she had a problem.
  • What I’m going to do next I really don’t know.

Often, a word or group of words may be moved right out of the sentence structure and announced at the beginning as the topic, with a more or less complete sentence following. These topicalisation structures are common in both speech and writing in many languages; in English they are unusual in writing.

  • Your friend Alex, now he speaks German, maybe he can help us. (topicalised subject)
  • Your mother, can I see her if she’s in? (topicalised object)
  • The people next door, we don’t need to send them a card, do we? (topicalised indirect object)
  • That meeting, I thought I was going to scream. (topicalised adverbial)
  • What they did, they invited everybody and then forgot the date. (topicalised verb phrase)
  • Lovely, the way she talks about her mother. (topicalised complement)

Topicalised subjects and objects are repeated by pronouns in these structures (Your friend Alex … he; Your mother … her). But note that English does not normally allow these ‘resumptive’ pronouns inside relative clauses, even in speech.

  • Those people that we met in Greece, let’s send them a card. (but not Those people that we met them in Greece, …)

Tags: They work very hard, most of them.​

We can space out information by putting some of it in a complete sentence and then adding more details at the end. The extra words at the end are called a ‘tag’ or ‘tail’.

  • Those kids work very hard, most of them.
  • That’s the doorbell, I think.
  • I don’t mind, to be honest.

It is possible to ‘announce’ the subject with a pronoun, and put the full subject in a tag. These structures are more common in British than American English.

  • He hasn’t a chance, Fred.
  • He likes his beer, Jack.
  • They’re very polite, your children.

In sentences like these, we often drop the pronoun at the beginning. We can also drop unstressed forms of be. (For more detailed information about ‘ellipsis’ of this kind, (see here).)

  • Hasn’t a chance, Fred.
  • Likes his beer, Jack.
  • Very polite, your children.
  • Living in the clouds, you lot.
  • Crazy, that driver.

The tag can repeat the verb by using an auxiliary.

  • (He) hasn’t a chance, Fred hasn’t.
  • (He) likes his beer, Jack does.
  • (She) really got on my nerves, Sylvia did.

Emphasising tags: You’ve gone mad, you have.​

Sometimes a tag gives no new information, but simply repeats and emphasises the subject and verb.

  • You’ve gone mad, you have.
  • I’m getting fed up, I am.
  • He likes his beer, he does.

Pronouns are not usually used alone in tags, except for reflexives.

  • (I) don’t think much of the party, myself.
note

For more about dropping words (‘ellipsis’) at the beginning of a sentence, (see here).

For other uses of tags and similar structures, (see here) (question tags), (see here) (reply questions) and (see here) (short answers).