Clause as Message
&
Constituency, Tree, and Rules
Group 3 TBI 4C
I.
In linguistic analysis, a clause is not only a grammatical unit consisting of a subject and a predicate
but also a unit of communication that conveys meaning in discourse. The concept of Clause as
Message in Functional Grammar, developed by Halliday & Matthiessen (2004), The key aspect of
organizing a clause as a message is its thematic structure, which consists of two main elements:
Theme and Rheme
Theme
Theme is the element that serves as the starting point of the message. It provides orientation for the
listener or reader by linking the clause to its broader context. In English, the Theme is always
placed at the beginning of the clause.
Rheme
The Rheme is the part of the clause that develops or expands upon the Theme. It usually contains
new information that the speaker or writer wants to convey.
Example; 1. The cat is sleeping on the sofa.
Theme: The cat (the starting point of the message)
Rheme: is sleeping on the sofa (the additional information)
2. On the sofa, the cat is sleeping.
Theme: On the sofa (placing emphasis on location)
Rheme: the cat is sleeping (the rest of the message)
II. Constituency
Constituency is is a part of a sentence that has the correct structure and can be separated into
smaller phrases. Examples of constituents in English are the phrases "red book" (noun phrase) and
"read by me" (verb phrase). Constituents help us understand how words and phrases relate to each
other in sentences.
III. Sentence Tree
A sentence tree is a visual depiction of sentence structure, showing how words and phrases
relate to each other. Sentence trees have roots, which are usually verbs or sign words, and terminals,
which are usually nouns. Sentence trees help us understand how words and phrases work together in
sentences. An example of a sentence tree for the sentence “The mouse ate cheese” is:
IV. Rules
Rules is used to generate a tree. If we draw a tree, we need a rule to generate that tree. The
rules we are going to consider in this chapter is called Phrase Structure Rules (PSRs) because they
generate the phrase structure tree of s sentence. Here is a table of Phrase Structure Rules;
Phrase Structure Rules TP/S - NP (Noun Phrase) VP (Verb Phrase)
Noun Phrase Verb Phrase
NP - N VP - V
NP - D N VP - V (AdvP)
NP - (D) N VP - (AdvP+) V (AdvP+)
NP - (D) (AdjP) N VP - (AdvP+) V (NP) (AdvP+)
NP - (D) (AdjP+) N (PP) VP - (AdvP+) V (NP) (NP) (AdvP)
NP : Noun Phrase
VP : Verb Phrase
N : Noun
V : Verb
D : Determiner
AdjP : Adjective Phrase
AdvP : Adverb Phrase
PP : Prepositional Phrase
Sources: Carnie, Andrew. Syntax : A Generative Introduction Third Edition. Chichester:
Blackwell Publishing, 2013.
Halliday, M.A.K, and Matthiessen, Christian. An Introduction To Functional Grammar. London:
Hodder Headline Group, 2004.
Bloor, Thomas, and Bloor, Meriel. The Functional Analysis of English Second Edition. London:
Routledge, 2013.
Eggins, Suzanne. An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistic Second Edition. London:
Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004.
Laura, Ratu Kemala. “Analisis Sintaksis Dan Tree Diagram Syntax” ratukemalalaura.blogspot.com.
Diakses pada kamis 6 Maret 2025.
https://ratukemalalaura.blogspot.com/2021/12/analisis-sintaksis-dan-treediagram.html?m=1
PRE TEST
Name :
NIM :
No. :
1.Dari teks berita yang diberikan, temukan satu contoh Theme dan Rheme, Jelaskan mana
bagian Theme dan mana bagian Rheme!
2.Pilih satu kalimat dari teks berita, lalu pecah kalimat tersebut menjadi Constituent (bagian-
bagian kecil seperti NP atau VP)!
3.Gambarkan Sentence Tree sederhana untuk satu kalimat dari teks berita yang terdiri dari
Subjek, Predikat, dan Objek!
4.Ambil satu Noun Phrase (NP) dari teks berita. Sebutkan dan analisis strukturnya
berdasarkan Phrase Structure Rules (misal: NP → (D) (AdjP) N (PP))!
5.Cari satu kalimat pendek dari teks berita. Tentukan struktur kalimat itu: Apakah sudah
sesuai dengan aturan TP/S → NP VP? Jelaskan!
No. Question Analyze
1. What graphological
features are used in your
paragraph? Analyze
them!
2. Find and identify the
stressed syllables in the
first line of your
paragraph!
3. Analyze your paragraph
and explain the sentence
is correct or incorrect!
4. What is the basic
structure of the main
sentence in your
paragraph?
5. How does
Transformation
Grammar explain the
change from the deep
structure to the surface
structure in one of the
sentence?
