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It is easily seen from the given examples that the reversed order of the actual division, i.e. the positioning
of the rheme at the beginning of the sentence, is connected with emphatic speech.
Among constructions with introducers, the there-pattern provides for the rhematic identification of the
subject without emotive connotations. Cf.:
Tall birches surrounded the lake. >There were tall birches surrounding the lake. A loud hoot came from
the railroad. >There came a loud hoot from the railroad.
Emphatic discrimination of the rheme expressed by various parts of the sentence is achieved by
constructions with the anticipatory it. Cf.:
Grandma gave them a moments deep consideration. >It was a moment's deep consideration that Grandma
gave them. She had just escaped something simply awful. >It was something simply awful that she had just
escaped. At that moment Laura joined them. >It was Laura who joined them at that moment.
Syntactic patterns of contrastive complexes are used to expose the rheme of the utterance in cases when
special accuracy of distinction is needed. This is explained by the fact that the actual division as such is always
based on some sort of antithesis or "contraposition" (see further), which in an ordinary speech remains implicit.
Thus, a syntactic contrastive complex is employed to make explicative the inner contrast inherent in the actual
division by virtue of its functional nature. This can be shown on pairs of nominatively cognate examples of
antithetic constructions where each member-construction will expose its own contrastively presented element.
Cf:.
The costume is meant not for your cousin, but for you. - - The costume, not the frock, is meant for you, my
dear. The strain told not so much on my visitor as on myself. - - The strain of the situation, not the relaxation of
it, was what surprised me.
Determiners, among them the articles, used as means of forming certain patterns of actual division, divide
their functions so that the definite determiners serve as identifiers of the theme while the indefinite determiners
serve as identifiers of the rheme. Cf:.
The man walked up and down the platform. - - A man walked up and down the platform. The whole book
was devoted to the description of a tiny island on the Pacific. - - A whole book is needed to describe that tiny
island on the Pacific. I'm sure Nora's knitting needles will suit you. - - I'm sure any knitting needles will suit
you.
Intensifying particles identify the rheme, commonly imparting emotional colouring to the whole of the
utterance. Cf:.
Mr. Stores had a part in the general debate. >Even Mr. Stores had a part in the general debate. Then he sat
down in one of the armchairs. >Only then did he sit down in one of the armchairs. We were impressed by what
we heard and saw.
>
We were so impressed by what we heard and saw.
As for intonation as a means of realizing the actual division, it might appear that its sphere is relatively
limited, being confined to oral speech only. On closer consideration, however, this view of rheme-identifying
role of intonation proves inadequate. To appreciate the true status of intonation in the actual division of the
sentence, one should abstract oneself from "paper syntax" (description of written texts) and remember that it is
phonetical speech, i.e. articulately pronounced utterances that form the basis of human language as a whole. As
soon as the phonetical nature of language is duly taken account of, intonation with its accent-patterns presents
itself not as a limited, but as a universal and indisputable means of expressing the actual division in all types
and varieties of lingual contexts. This universal rheme-identifying function of intonation has been described in
treatises on logic, as well as in traditional philological literature, in terms of "logical accent". The "logical
accent", which amounts linguistically to the "rhematic accent", is inseparable from the other rheme-identifying
means described above, especially from the word-order patterns. Moreover, all such means in written texts in
fact represent the logical accent, i.e. they indicate its position either directly or indirectly. This can be seen on
all the examples hitherto cited in the present chapter.
§ 5. While recognizing the logical accent as a means of effecting the actual division, we must strictly
distinguish between the elements immediately placed under the phonetical, "technical" stress, and the sentence
segments which are identified as the informative centre of communication in the true sense of the term.
Technically, not only notional, but functional units as well can be phrasally stressed in an utterance, which
in modern printed texts is shown by special graphical ways of identification, such as italics, bold type, etc.
Cf.: