4 - Structures clivées (EC)

Question 1

Ordre particulier

Answer 1

La plupart des énoncés sont caractérisés par un ordre classique, canonique :

SVO en anglais > Tom likes chocolate
ou SAVC en français > Tom must have been waiting for you

**
1) Ordre syntaxique canonique : Thème - Rhème, OLD - NEW**
What we talk about > what we want to say about it
I’ve just met Ted and Sue. Ted (OI, thème) is going ot buy a car (NI,rhème)

**2) L’information importante est placée au départ (position initiale)
**
Sheer madness I call it.
It was a fox that Tom saw in the garden yesterday.

Question 2

Inversion auxiliaire – sujet

Answer 2

• Avec les adverbes négatifs (no sooner), restrictifs (only), intensifs (well) :
  *No sooner had he closed the door than the light went out.
  Only then did he realise that he had lost his way
  Well do I remember that he said to me on that occasion
  Never will his brother agree
  Hardly/Scarcely had he closed the door when the light went out
  Often did I warn you about the possible consequences
  Such was his surprise that he dropped the dish
  Not until he got home did he feel tired
  *

Proposition subordonnée de condition :

Had he stayed… = If he had stayed…

• **Registre élevé **
• Avec auxiliaires tels que were, had, should
• -ED = hypothétique (-ED contrefactuel par rapport aux faits)
• **L’hypothèse est proche de l’interrogation : glose **= ‘Est-il fatigué ? Il se met aussitôt en congé’.
  *
  Were he to change jobs, he would probably lose some of his advantages
  Had the manager let her know about his plans, she would have acted differently
  Should there be any difficulty, please call this number *

Question 3

Inversion verbe – sujet

Answer 3

Topicalisation (fronting) de certains éléments dans l’énoncé. Emplois divers :

• ** BE + verbes intransitifs dénotant une position ou un mouvement **
  Here is the book you are looking for
  Here comes the postman
  Up went the balloon, higher and higher
• **BE + verbes copules
• **Among the dead were two Iraqi soldiers
  More and more elusive grew his prospects
• **SAY, ASK, READ + discours rapporté, bruit rapporté
• **‘What did they find?’ asked the girl.
  ‘No thoroughfare’ read the sign
  Tap-tap went her high heeled boots as she tottered away

Question 4

Structures clivées

Answer 4

Le but de la clivée est de mettre l’accent sur un élément de l’énoncé (SACA)
“Clivé”, cleft en anglais vient de klieven (Dutch word) = cut in two, split

Il existe **deux types de structures clivées : **
* Structure clivée en IT
* Structure clivée en WH-

**L’élément accentué est mis en avant grâce au pronom IT + verbe copule, puis le pronom relatif (THAT, WHO) est ajouté :
**IT + BE + élément mis en avant + REL PR + suite de la prédication
It was Tom who gave Rose a present for her graduation
+ Variations

Une **stucture clivée entraine un point de vue contrastif :
It was X , (not Y)…
**
Si l’on efface IT, BE, THAT, on observe la présence d’une seule S/P = il n’y a qu’une seule S/P avec la clivée

Question 5

Exemples structures clivées

Answer 5

Sue gave Ken a scarf yesterday (construction neutre)
It was a scarf that Sue gave Ken yesterday (construction clivée)

It was Sue that gave ken a scarf yesterday
It was Ken that Sue gave a scarf to yesterday
It was a scarf that Sue gave Ken yesterday
It was yesterday that Sue gave Ken a scarf

*It was give a scarf to Ken that Sue did

Question 6

Opérateurs

Answer 6

• BE = forte assertion de l’existence d’un élément séparé
• IT = forme vide (dummy subject) qui joue le rôle de sujet de BE
• THAT = anaphorique, délivre une information thématique
• It is X (rhème) THAT/WHO + prédication (thème)

Question 7

Structure pseudo-clivée

Answer 7

Une structure pseudo-clivée correspond à une structure en WH- :
WHAT I need is a vacation
WHO she called was her brother
WHERE she went was to Paris

La structure clivée en WHAT est différente de la proposition argumentale (complétive) en WHAT
Effacement possible d’éléments vs. effacement impossible d’éléments
1 S/P vs. 2 S/P

Structure** pseudo-clivée inversée :**
A vacation is what I need

Exemples :
L’élément topicalisé (topic = important) peut être soit en position initiale soit en position finale :
His lack of experience worries me
What worries me is his lack of experience
His lack of experience is what worries me.