Introducing Functional

Grammar
Second Edition

Geoff Thompson
University of Liverpool

A member of the Hodder Headline Group

LONDON
Distributed in the United States of America by
Oxford University Press Inc., New York

Contents

Foreword

ix

Acknowledgements

xi

The purposes of linguistic analysis

1.1
Starting points
1.1.1 Going in through form
1.1.2 Going in through meaning
1.2
Language, context and function: a preliminary exploration
Exercise

1
1
2
6
10
12

Recognizing clauses and clause constituents

2.1
Breaking up the sentence - and labelling the parts
2.1.1 Recognizing constituents
2.1.2 Structural and functional labels
2.2
Ranks
Exercises

14
14
15
18
21
26

An overview of functional grammar

3.1
Three kinds of meaning
3.1.1 The three metafunctions
3.1.2 Three kinds of function in the clause
3.1.3 Three kinds of structure in the clause
3.1.4 Showing the options: systems networks
3.1.5 A fourth metafunction
3.2
Register and genre
3.2.1 Register (and the corpus)
3.2.2 Genre
Exercise

28
28
30
32
34
35
38
39
40
42
44

Interacting: the interpersonal metafunction

4.1
Introduction
4.2
Roles of addressers and audience
4.3
Mood
4.3.1 The structure of the Mood
4.3.2 Identifying Subject and Finite
4.3.3 Meanings of Subject and Finite
4.3.4 Mood in non-declarative clauses

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VI

CONTENTS

4.4

4.5
4.6
4.7

4.3.5 Mood in text

4.3.6 The Residue
4.3.7 Modal Adj uncts
Modality
4.4.1 Modality and polarity
4.4.2 Types of modality
4.4.3 Modal commitment
4.4.4 Modal responsibility
4.4.5 Modality in text
Appraisal
Interaction and negotiation
Interaction through text
Exercises

Representing the world: the experiential metafunction

5.1
Introduction
5.2
Transitivity: processes and participants

5.3

5.4
5.5

5.2.1 Material processes

5.2.2 Mental processes
5.2.3 Relational processes
5.2.4 Verbal processes
5.2.5 Other types of process
5.2.6 Other participant roles
5.2.7 Circumstances
5.2.8 Transitivity in text
More complex aspects of transitivity
5.3.1 More on material processes
5.3.2 More on mental processes
5.3.3 More on relational processes
5.3.4 Processes in verbal group complexes
5.3.5 Participants in causation
Transitivity patterns in text
Ergativity
Exercises

Organizing the message: the textual metafunction - Theme

6.1
Introduction
6.2
Theme
6.3
Identifying Theme

6.3.1
6.3.2

Theme in declarative clauses

Theme in non-declarative clauses

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CONTENTS

6.4

6.5
6.6

6.7

6.8
6.9

7
!

Organizing the message: the textual metafunction - cohesion

7.1
Cohesion and coherence
7.2
Reference and ellipsis

7.3
7.4

Special thematic structures

6.4.1 Thematic equatives
6.4.2 Predicated Theme
6.4.3 Thematized comment
6.4.4 Preposed Theme
6.4.5 Passive clauses and Theme
Theme in clause complexes
Multiple Theme
6.6.1 Conj unctions in Theme
6.6.2 Conjunctive and modal Adjuncts in Theme
6.6.3 Textual, interpersonal and experiential
elements in Theme
6.6.4 Interrogatives as multiple Themes
Some problems in Theme analysis
6.7.1 Existential'there'in Theme
6.7.2 Theme in reported clauses
6.7.3 Interpolations in Theme
6.7.4 Preposed attributives
Theme in text
A final note on identifying Theme
Exercises

7.2.1 Reference
7.2.2 Ellipsis
Conjunction
Cohesion in text
Exercise

Clauses in combination
8.1
Introduction
8.2
Units of analysis
8.3
Types of relations between clauses

8.4

8.3.1 Logical dependency relations

8.3.2 Logico-semantic relations
Expansion
8.4.1 Elaborating
8.4.2 Extending
8.4.3 Enhancing

Vll

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Vlll

CONTENTS

8.5

Projection
8.5.1 Quotes and reports
8.5.2 Facts
8.5.3 Proj ection in text
Exercises

209
210
213
215
216

Grammatical metaphor
9.1
Introduction
9.2
Grammatical metaphor
9.3
Experiential and logical metaphors
9.4
Interpersonal metaphors
9.5
Textual metaphor
9.6
A cautionary note
Exercises

219
219
220
224
231
235
236
237

10

Implications and applications of functional grammar

10.1 Three-dimensional analysis of texts
10.2 A summary review of functional grammar
10.3 Using functional grammar
10.4 Closing

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251

Answers to exercises
Further reading
References

253
283
288

Index

293