According to Halliday (2004), the element which is typically chosen as Theme in the clause depends on the choice of mood (section 3.4.5). There is a strong tendency for speakers to choose the unmarked form corresponding to the choice of mood. Hence elements in initial position other than the ones identified in Table 3.2 (section 3.4.5) represent marked choices of Theme. In a polarity interrogative mood, the unmarked Theme is the finite operator (can, has, do or be) plus the nominal group functioning as the Subject (section 3.4.5). When other elements come first in a polarity interrogative clause, they constitute a marked choice of Theme, as shown in the following examples76:
3.39. On the right is it?
3.40. “The barge she sat in”, do you remember that passage in the Waste Land?
The adverbial phrase, “on the right”, in example 3.39, functions as a marked Theme in the polarity interrogative clause, whereas the finite operator, “is”, and the Subject, “it”, function as the Rheme. In example 3.40, the nominal phrase, “the barge she sat in”, functions as a marked Theme in the polarity interrogative clause, whereas the finite operator, “do”, the Subject, “you” and the Complement “that passage in the Waste Land” function as the Rheme. In a wh-interrogative mood, the unmarked Theme is the nominal, adverbial or prepositional phrase functioning as the interrogative (wh-) element (section 3.4.5). Hence other elements in Theme position are considered marked, as illustrated in the following example77:
3.41. Aesthetically, in terms of the vision in your head, what is the relationship between the fiction and the non-fiction?
The adverbial phrase, “aesthetically, in terms of the vision in your head”, functions as a marked Theme in the wh-interrogative clause (example 3.41). The Rheme, in example 3.41, consists of the wh-element, “what”, the verb, “is” and the Complement “the relationship between the fiction and the non-fiction”.
76
Examples are from Halliday (2004: 77). 77
In the imperative mood, the unmarked choice of Theme is the verbal group functioning as the Predicator78. However, when the Subject is made explicit in an imperative clause, it functions as the Theme and is clearly a marked choice. Halliday (2004: 77) uses the following example:
3.42. You take the office.
In example 3.42, Halliday considers the verb, “take” and the Complement, “the office”, as the Rheme, whereas the explicit Subject of the imperative clause, “you”, as the marked Theme. Another example of a marked Theme is the use of an explicit “you” with negative imperatives, as shown in example 3.43:
3.43. Don‟t you argue with me.79
The negation element, “don‟t”, and the explicit Subject, “you”, in example 3.43, function as the marked Theme, whereas the verb, “argue”, functions as part of the Rheme in the imperative clause above.
The third mood is the declarative clause which typically has a Subject in initial position and thus functions as unmarked Theme. According to Halliday (2004), marked Themes in English declarative clauses are signalled by elements other than the Subject in Theme position. Marked Themes in declarative clauses are of three main types80: fronted Themes, predicated Themes and identifying Themes (Halliday 2004 and Baker 1992). These three types are presented below in respect of the degree of markedness each type has, i.e. starting from the least marked, the fronted Theme, towards the most marked, the identifying Theme.
3.4.6.1 Fronted Theme
The least marked type of marked Theme in English declarative clauses is the fronted Theme. According to Greenbaum and Quirk (1990), the fronting process involves moving elements, which do not usually occur initially in the sentence, into Theme
78
The terms verb and verb phrase can be ambiguous, meaning either the functional constituent (verb, Complement, Subject, Adjunct) or the formal category (verb, noun, adjective, adverb). Therefore, some linguists, like Halliday, use the term predicator to refer to verb in its functional relation to the clause. 79
This example is from Halliday (2004: 77). 80
See Young (1980) for the discussion of other types of marked Themes in informal English such as “preposed Theme” and “postposed Theme”.
position in order to achieve a marked thematic structure81. These elements include circumstantial Adjuncts82, Complements and Predicators (verbs). The degree of markedness expressed by the fronted element is measured according to the mobility of that element in the clause, i.e. the more mobile an element is, the less marked it will be in Theme position (Halliday 2004, Baker 1992). In this sense, fronted Complements are much more marked than fronted Adjuncts because the position of Complements in the sentence is rather more restricted. Moreover, fronted Predicators, or verbs, are the most marked of all thematic choices in English, as they are very rare to find, e.g. the verb “publicize” in the following example:
3.44. They promised to publicize the book in China, and publicize it they did83.
Categories of fronted Themes in English are listed in Table 3.3, starting from the least marked toward the most marked, along with relevant examples.
Marked Thematic Structure Type of Fronted Theme
Today, he arrived Adjunct: Adverb of time
Everywhere we looked Adjunct: Adverb of place
Often, they go to the cinema Adjunct: Adverb of frequency
Quickly, she went off Adjunct: Adverb of manner
In the corner, she waited Adjunct: prepositional phrase
You I blame Complement
and publicize it they did Predicator
Table 3.3 Fronted Themes in English84
According to Halliday (2004), when Adjuncts or Complements occur initially, i.e. in Theme position, they either express some kind of setting, such as adverbs of place or time, or express contrast, like verb Complements. Complements or Adjuncts, which would have been part of the Rheme in the unmarked structure, become part of the Theme of the marked choice. For instance, the Subject I which was the Theme of the unmarked structure in example 3.45 becomes part of the Rheme in the marked structure in example 3.46:
81
Note that since conjunctions are Thematic by default, i.e. they do not involve a fronting process, conjunctions are always unmarked Themes (see section 3.4.4).
82
Circumstantial Adjuncts are those representing part of the experiential meaning of the clause and are referred to in this study as Adjuncts.
83
Baker (1992: 134). 84
3.45. I blame you. (Subject as unmarked Theme)