DA Module 04 Theme, Rheme, and the Flow of Information
DA Module 6_Positioning the Writer and Reader

Discourse Analysis Module 5: Time, Viewpoint, and Narrative Movement

⚡ Understanding the discourse functions of tense and aspect beyond sentence-level accuracy

Module Overview

Tense and aspect are often taught as sentence-level forms: past versus present, simple versus progressive, perfect versus non-perfect.

In extended discourse, however, these choices organize viewpoint. They establish a temporal frame, distinguish background from foreground, connect earlier and later events, create immediacy or distance, and guide the reader through shifts in narrative or explanation.

A change in tense may be an error, but it may also signal a purposeful movement into commentary, remembered experience, generalization, or vivid retelling.

This week examines tense and aspect as discourse resources. You will track patterns across authentic narratives and expository texts, diagram shifts, and explain how grammatical choices affect emphasis and interpretation.

The goal is to replace isolated correction with a contextual analysis of what the text is doing over time.

Essential Understandings

• How do tense and aspect organize time, perspective, and prominence across extended discourse?
• When is a tense shift a meaningful discourse choice rather than a grammatical mistake?

Guiding Questions

• How does a text establish and maintain a temporal reference point?
• How do simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect-progressive forms construe events differently?
• What grammatical patterns distinguish foregrounded events from background information?
• How can teachers respond to tense choices at the discourse level?

Learning Outcomes

• Trace tense and aspect patterns across a narrative or expository passage.
• Explain how grammatical choices establish temporal frames and reader viewpoint.
• Identify foregrounding, backgrounding, sequencing, retrospection, and shifts into commentary or generalization.
• Distinguish motivated shifts from shifts that create unintended confusion.
• Design feedback or instruction that connects form, meaning, and discourse purpose.

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Key Concepts and Vocabulary

Term	Working definition
Tense	A grammatical resource for locating a situation in relation to a temporal reference point.
Aspect	A resource for construing the internal temporal shape or perspective of a situation.
Simple aspect	A view of a situation as a whole, habitual pattern, state, or bounded event, depending on context.
Progressive aspect	A view of a situation as ongoing, temporary, developing, or internally unfolding.
Perfect aspect	A retrospective relationship connecting an earlier situation to a later reference point.
Temporal frame	The time orientation established for interpreting a stretch of discourse.
Foreground	Events or information presented as central to discourse progression.
Background	Circumstances, descriptions, states, or supporting information against which foregrounded events are interpreted.
Narrative present	Present-tense narration used to create immediacy or reenact an event.
Reference time	The temporal vantage point relative to which events are located and related.

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Tuesday

Review Focus

1. Review anaphoric, cataphoric, and exophoric referencing.
2. Review how deixis relates to referencing.

Text Review 1

Quick reference

• Anaphoric = backward

• Cataphoric = forward

• Exophoric = outside the text

• Deixis = meaning depends on the speaker’s context

Sample Text

When she entered the science lab, everyone stopped talking. Professor Rivera had come to observe the group experiment. The students had prepared carefully for her visit, and they wanted everything to go smoothly. One team had designed an experiment about water filtration. It required several containers, filters, and measuring cups.

Before the experiment began, Professor Rivera pointed toward a table near the door and said, “Please move those over here.” The students looked at the materials on the table and quickly realized that those referred to the empty containers and here meant the space beside Professor Rivera.

A few minutes later, another problem appeared. This was what the group had feared most: one of the filters began to leak. The students replaced it immediately, and the new filter worked much better. After that, the team continued their demonstration and explained the results to the class.

What Is Happening?

Example	Type	Why?
she → Professor Rivera	Cataphoric	She appears before the reader is told who the person is. The referent is identified later.
her → Professor Rivera	Anaphoric	Her points backward to Professor Rivera, who has already been introduced.
they → the students	Anaphoric	They refers backward to the students.
it → the experiment	Anaphoric	It refers backward to the experiment about water filtration.
those → the empty containers	Exophoric	The students must use the physical situation—and Professor Rivera’s pointing—to know what those refers to.
here → beside Professor Rivera	Exophoric / deictic	Here can only be interpreted by knowing the speaker’s physical location.
This → one of the filters began to leak	Cataphoric	This points forward to the problem that is explained after the colon.
it → the leaking filter	Anaphoric	It points backward to one of the filters.
the new filter → the replacement filter	Anaphoric	The noun phrase refers back to the filter that the students replaced.
their → the team	Anaphoric	Their refers backward to the student team.

The Three Types

The easiest way to distinguish them is to ask where the reader or listener must look for the referent:

• Anaphoric reference = look backward
  • The students prepared an experiment. They tested it twice.
  • They → the students
• Cataphoric reference = look forward
  • Although she was observing quietly, Professor Rivera took several notes.
  • She → Professor Rivera
• Exophoric reference = look outside the text
  • Move those over here.
  • The listener must use the physical situation to understand those and here.

How This Connects to Deixis

The exophoric expressions in the text are also deictic:

“Please move those over here.”

• those = demonstrative deixis
• here = spatial deixis

Their meaning depends on the immediate communicative context rather than on the words of the text alone.

Text Review 2

Sample Text

Although he had practiced for several days, Andrés still felt nervous before the debate. His classmates were already waiting near the front of the room, and they encouraged him to relax. The debate focused on the use of artificial intelligence in education. Andrés had prepared several arguments about the topic, and he had written them carefully in his notebook.

Just before the debate began, the instructor pointed toward the back of the classroom and said, “Please bring those over here.” Two students turned around and saw several chairs beside the wall. They carried them toward the instructor and placed them near the discussion area.

Then the instructor made an announcement: “This is what you need to remember: you must support every claim with evidence.” Andrés looked again at his notes and underlined the examples he planned to use. When his turn finally came, he stood up and began speaking.

What Is Happening?

Example	Type	Why?
he → Andrés	Cataphoric	He appears before the reader is told that the person is Andrés. The referent is identified later.
they → his classmates	Anaphoric	They points backward to his classmates.
the topic → the use of AI in education	Anaphoric	The topic refers back to the debate topic already introduced.
he → Andrés	Anaphoric	Once Andrés has been introduced, later uses of he refer backward to him.
those → the chairs	Exophoric	The meaning of those depends on the instructor pointing toward objects in the classroom.
here → near the instructor	Exophoric / deictic	Here depends on the physical location of the speaker.
them → the chairs	Anaphoric	Them refers backward to several chairs.
This → you must support every claim with evidence	Cataphoric	This points forward to the information that follows.
his notes → Andrés’s notebook/arguments	Anaphoric	The phrase refers back to material Andrés had already prepared.
he → Andrés	Anaphoric	The pronoun points backward to Andrés.

Reference and Deixis: Learner Shorthand

• Anaphoric = backward
• Cataphoric = forward
• Exophoric = outside the text
• Deixis = meaning depends on the speaker’s context

In “Please bring those over here,” those is demonstrative deixis and here is spatial deixis. They are also exophoric because their referents are not found in the surrounding text; the listener must look to the classroom situation to interpret them.

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Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — Review of Last Friday's Analysis

Quick Review

Anaphoric reference = look backward

Andrés prepared carefully. He felt nervous.
He → Andrés

Cataphoric reference = look forward

Although he was nervous, Andrés began speaking.
He → Andrés

Exophoric reference = look outside the text

Bring those over here.

The listener must use the physical situation to know what those and here mean.

Analysis Text

Before the class began, the students arranged their chairs in a circle near the front of the room.
The students were preparing for a collaborative discussion about study habits. They first compared
the strategies they normally used before exams. They then discussed which habits were effective
and which were not. Although she had originally planned to work alone, Mariana decided to
join a group after she saw several classmates exchanging ideas. The group needed an extra marker,
so Luis offered them one. Some students preferred studying early in the morning; others, late
at night. At one point, the instructor held up two worksheets and said, “Please put those over
there,” while pointing toward a table beside the door.

The group then created a list of common study problems. The list included procrastination,
distractions, and poor time management. These problems led the students to discuss possible
solutions. The solutions included using a weekly planner and turning off phone notifications.
Those strategies encouraged the students to think more carefully about their daily routines.
Their routines, in turn, revealed another difficulty: several students were not sleeping enough
before important exams.

Three kinds of support appeared repeatedly during the discussion: peer support, organizational
support, and teacher support. Peer support helped students compare strategies and realize that many
classmates had similar difficulties. Organizational support gave them practical tools such as
calendars, checklists, and study schedules. Teacher support helped the groups clarify ideas that
they could not resolve independently. By the end of the class, these three forms of support
had helped the students develop more realistic study plans. This was the instructor’s final
message: effective study habits usually develop when learners combine personal responsibility
with appropriate support.

Learner Analysis Task

Analyze the three paragraphs and find examples of:

1. Anaphoric reference
2. Cataphoric reference
3. Exophoric reference
4. Ellipsis
5. Substitution
6. Marked Themes
7. Unmarked Themes
8. Constant thematic progression
9. Linear thematic progression
10. Derived thematic progression

For each example, identify the exact word or phrase and explain what it refers to or how it functions.

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Thursday, September 10, 2026

Review Activity

Complete the final review of referencing, cohesion, and thematic progressions from Wednesday.

Use the Microsoft Form provided in class.

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Friday, September 11, 2026

Discourse Analysis Quiz: Weeks 2–5

Complete the Discourse Analysis Quiz: Weeks 2–5 in class.

Final Review

1. Complete the final review of referencing, cohesion, and thematic progressions from Thursday.
2. Review Discourse_Analysis_Weeks_2-5_One_Page_Study_Guide.pdf for the comprehensive review.