F01
booster
Information structure
Focus
Spotlight / Focus
What is the most important new information?
intermediate
Focus
Emphasis
Cleft
Contrastive focus
Reikšmė
The part of the message that carries the main emphasis, contrast, correction, or answer to the current question.
Kaip atpažinti
Ask which part would be stressed or corrected in context.
Pavyzdžiai
Žodžiai
only|even|it was|not X but Y
Frazės
it was Anna who|ANNA did it|only Peter
Sakinys
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
Kalbos rodinys
Jūsų gimtojoje kalboje
Anglų
Raiška
strong
Svarba
English uses stress, cleft sentences, fronting, and context to mark focus.
It was John who called.
John = focused information
Kalboje, kurios mokotės
Ispanų
Raiška
strong
Sudėtingumas
Focus can be shown through stress, word order, clefting, and focus expressions.
Fue Ana quien llamó.
It was Ana who called.
Tipinis besimokančiųjų iššūkis
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.