Key Concepts - Chapter 8 How to make the most of this section Here, you'll be asked questions on key concepts you need to learn in each chapter. A brief answer follows each question. Remember these are only the most basic points out of the textbook. You might want go back to the textbook for more details. Of course, corresponding page numbers are provided.
Discourse is spoken or written language used in particular social situations.
Given information is the information that was already introduced into a discourse and therefore presumed to be at the forefront of a hearer's mind. It's also called old information. New information is the converse. Comment is the opposite notion to topic, the element of the sentence that says something about the topic. A noun phrase is definite when the speaker assumes that the listener can identify its referent.