New information tools

Constructions for introducing or packaging new information

Construction	Example	What is introduced?	Typical discourse function	Rhetorical effect on the reader
Existential construction	There is a problem.	New entity or situation	Presentation	Signals that a new discourse referent is entering the conversation.
Existential construction (lexical verb)	There appeared a stranger at the door.	New entity/event	Presentation	Creates a sense of emergence, arrival, or discovery.
Indefinite NP in canonical clause	A stranger entered the room.	New entity	Introduction	Directly introduces a participant into the narrative.
Locative inversion	Into the room came a stranger.	New entity	Presentation	Builds suspense by presenting the setting before the participant.
Passive (short passive)	The proposal was rejected.	Event; agent omitted	Topic maintenance	Keeps attention on the patient and backgrounds or suppresses the agent.
Passive (long passive)	The proposal was rejected by the committee.	Often the agent (the committee)	Topic maintenance + delayed focus	Maintains the current topic while postponing potentially important information until the end.
It-cleft	It was Ben who ate the cheese.	New identification	Focus	Highlights one element as the crucial piece of information.
Pseudo-cleft	What happened was that Ben ate the cheese.	New proposition	Packaging and focus	Builds expectation and then delivers the key information.
Reverse pseudo-cleft	What Ben ate was the cheese.	New identification	Focus	Places special emphasis on the complement.
Extraposition	It is surprising that Ben left.	New proposition	Packaging and evaluation	Frames the proposition through an evaluation.
Finite content clause	I heard that Ben left.	New proposition	Reporting	Introduces information while attributing it to a source.
Infinitival clause	To resign now would be a mistake.	Action/proposition	Conceptualization	Presents an action as an abstract topic for consideration.
Gerund-participial clause	Ben’s leaving surprised us.	Event/situation	Nominalization	Turns an event into a discussable object.
The fact is that…	The fact is that Ben left.	New proposition	Assertion	Gives the proposition authority and weight.
Reporting construction	She claimed that Ben left.	New proposition	Attribution	Highlights the source of the information.

Non-finite Clauses as Vehicles for New Information

Non-finite clause type	Example	What new information is introduced?	How is it presented?	Reader effect
Infinitival subject	To resign now would be a mistake.	The action of resigning now	As an abstract proposition for evaluation	Encourages the reader to contemplate a possible action rather than accept a fact.
Infinitival complement	The best solution is to wait.	The proposed solution	As an identified course of action	Presents the new information as an answer or recommendation.
Infinitival extraposition	It would be foolish to resign now.	The action of resigning now	Through prior evaluation	The evaluation is processed first; the action arrives as the content.
Gerund-participial subject	Ben’s leaving early surprised us.	The event of Ben leaving early	As a nominalized event	Introduces the event as a discourse object rather than as a direct assertion.
Gerund-participial subject	Swimming every day improves fitness.	The activity of swimming every day	As a general concept	Introduces a topic for discussion rather than a specific occurrence.
Gerund-participial complement	I regret leaving early.	The event of leaving early	As the object of an attitude	Introduces the event indirectly through the speaker’s evaluation.
Supplementary gerund-participial clause	Leaving early, she avoided the traffic.	The prior event of leaving early	As background information	Introduces information while keeping the main focus elsewhere.
Supplementary past-participial clause	Defeated by the storm, the expedition returned home.	The defeat	As contextual background	Introduces the event without making it the main assertion.
Bare infinitival perception complement	We saw him leave.	The event of his departure	As perceived fact	Presents the event as directly witnessed.
Gerund-participial perception complement	We saw him leaving.	The ongoing departure	As unfolding perception	Presents the event from within, as a process.