A Study on the Positional Distribution of Although- and Though-clauses in English

This study examines the positional distribution of although-clauses and though-clauses in relation to their main clauses. Following Chafe (1984), concessive clauses are classified into four types based on their position and boundness. A total of 100 although-clauses and 100 though-clauses were analyzed using Times Magazine Corpus. The results showed that 66% of the although-clauses and 60% of the though-clauses were used in type C(preposed free) and that 33% of the although-clauses and 40% of the though-clauses occurred in Type D(postposed free). There was only one clause of Type B(postposed bound) and no bound clause of Type A(preposed bound). Type C clauses are shown to connect to the preceding discourse and guide the interpretive direction of the main clause. In contrast, Type D clauses were found to convey information that is newer than that of the main clause. The high frequency of Type D is interpreted with reference to semantic distance between the main clause and the concessive clause. This study suggests that the positioning of concessive clauses are determined by the interaction of the semantic force and the discourse-pragmatic force.