oxford_guide_to_english_grammar

PAGE 52
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Information and emphasis
46 Summary
Word order and information • 47
In a statement the subject usually makes a link with the situation or with the
previous sentence.
I hate supermarkets. They're so crowded. And they're expensive. The prices
horrify me.
Each of these sentences begins with something known, old information. I is the
speaker; they refers back to supermarkets; the prices makes a link with expensive.
The new information normally comes later in the sentence. For example, in the
second sentence so crowded is new, mentioned for the first time.
The subject • 48
When we decide how to express an idea, we usually choose a subject that relates to
the previous sentence.
There are twelve of us in the group. Twelve people will fit in the minibus.
We can either go in three cars or in the minibus. The minibus holds twelve people.
Front position • 49
Some elements can come before the subject. This is to give them emphasis or to
contrast them with another phrase.
They spent the morning sightseeing. In the afternoon, they resumed their
journey south.
I've read the book. The film I haven't yet seen.
Sometimes there is inversion of subject and verb.
At the end of the garden was a swimming-pool.