F01
booster
Information structure
Focus
Spotlight / Focus
What is the most important new information?
intermediate
Focus
Emphasis
Cleft
Contrastive focus
Meaning
The part of the message that carries the main emphasis, contrast, correction, or answer to the current question.
How to spot it
Ask which part would be stressed or corrected in context.
Examples
Words
only|even|it was|not X but Y
Phrases
it was Anna who|ANNA did it|only Peter
Sentence
Anna bought the book, not Peter.
Visual guide
Basic shape
Message = background + focus Who bought the book? background: bought the book FOCUS: Anna Anna bought the book. = Anna, not Peter
Compare shape
Same focus, many shapes Stress: ANNA did it Cleft: it was Anna who... Particle: only Peter Contrast: not X but Y Word order/focus slot may mark it Task: find the spotlight
Language View
In your native language
English
Presence
strong
Importance
English uses stress, cleft sentences, fronting, and context to mark focus.
It was John who called.
John = focused information
In your learning language
Spanish
Presence
strong
Difficulty
Focus can be shown through stress, word order, clefting, and focus expressions.
Fue Ana quien llamó.
It was Ana who called.
Typical learner issue
Learners may miss that changing position or stress changes what is emphasized.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.