Lecture (4)

Grammatical
Cohesion
Definition of Cohesion

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Cohesion is a fundamental aspect of discourse analysis,
serving as a linguistic mechanism that establishes
connectedness within a text or sentence. It encompasses
lexical, grammatical, and semantic ties that allow
readers to link ideas meaningfully. One key type is lexical
cohesion, which focuses on how meaning is shaped by
vocabulary choice. It plays a vital role in comprehension
by facilitating connections through synonymy, antonymy,
hyponymy, and collocation—features widely employed in
both spoken and written communication. Lexical
cohesion is generally divided into reiteration and
collocation, with reiteration including repetition,
synonymy, hyponymy. Ultimately, lexical cohesion links
words, phrases, and concepts throughout a text, thereby
enhancing its clarity and coherence. 3
Halliday and Hasan (1976) contend that the key factor
determining whether a set of sentences forms a text
lies in the cohesive relations that bind them together,
thereby creating texture. Cohesion, in their definition,
refers to the semantic relations within a text that give
it unity. Halliday and Hasan (1976) introduced the
concept of cohesion to explain the semantic relations
between textual elements that allow a text to “hang
together” as a unified whole. These text-forming ties
provide what they call texture (Halliday & Hasan,
1985; Martin, 2001). In the absence of such relations,
texts often become unintelligible despite the reader’s
or listener’s effort, whereas cohesive texts are
typically perceived as clear, effective, and impactful
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Based on this, Halliday and Hasan (1976) maintain that
cohesion constitutes both a necessary and sufficient
condition for textual unity. To illustrate, they provide
examples such as:
• Wash and core six cooking apples. Put them into a
fireproof dish.
Example (1) illustrates how grammatical cohesion
functions to connect sentences. In this case, the
pronoun them in the second sentence refers back
anaphorically to the nominal group six cooking apples
in the first sentence. The presupposition introduced by
them is therefore resolved by its antecedent, six
cooking apples. Halliday and Hasan (1976) identify this
type of cohesive relation as Reference. 5
In contrast, example (2) highlights the role of
lexical cohesion. Two cohesive ties can be
identified: boy–girl and wriggle–wriggle. The
relation between boy and girl is one of
antonymy, while the recurrence of wriggle
represents repetition, a form of reiteration.
Together, these lexical ties create semantic
links that strengthen the connection between
the sentences. Thus, both examples
demonstrate cohesion, though achieved
through different but complementary
linguistic resources. 6
HALLIDAY AND HASAN’S (1976) MODEL OF
COHESION

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 HALLIDAY AND HASAN’S (1976) MODEL OF
COHESION
Halliday and Hasan (1976) identify five
cohesive devices: reference, substitution,
ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical cohesion. The
first four are grammatical, while the last is
lexical.
Grammatical cohesion is created through
grammatical structures that link different
components of a text together. Halliday and
Hasan (1976) classify grammatical cohesion
into four major categories: reference,
substitution, ellipsis, and conjunction. 8
Lexical cohesion occurs when semantically related
words appear across a text, thereby linking its
parts more tightly in meaning. Lexical cohesion
can be achieved through reiteration and
collocation. Reiteration is divided into full and
partial repetition. Full repetition occurs when two
lexical items are identical in both form and
meaning. Partial repetition, by contrast, involves
lexical items that differ in form but share semantic
features, such as synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy,
meronymy, and the use of general nouns.
Collocation refers to the tendency of certain lexical
items to co-occur, forming predictable patterns of9
Reference

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Reference occurs when an item in a text
depends on another element for its
interpretation. Reference is the relationship
between a linguistic item and the element it
refers to. The words that serve this function
are called deictic expressions (deixis), while
the elements they point to are known as
antecedents.

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  Endophoric and exophoric reference
Reference can be of two types: exophoric, when it
refers to something outside the discourse (in the
situational context), and endophoric, when it refers
to something within the discourse itself. Some items
in a language do not carry meaning fully on their
own but instead point to something else for their
interpretation. These items in English are usually
pronouns, demonstratives, and comparatives. In
grammar, reference is a type of coherence in which
one linguistic element points to another. If it refers
to something outside the text, it is considered
exophoric. Consider the following example:
• That must have cost a lot of money. 12
We cannot immediately tell whether the word
‘that’ is anaphoric (referring back to something
already mentioned) or exophoric (pointing to
something outside the text). The previous
speaker might have said, “I’ve just been on
holiday in Tahiti,” or the participants could be
admiring their host’s antique silver collection.
What is crucial in every instance of reference—
whether endophoric (textual) or exophoric
(situational)—is the assumption that the
reference must be recognizable. In other
words, the thing being referred to must be 13
Consider another example:
(in a fitting room)
- Daughter: Mom, what do you think about this
dress?
- Mom: Oh dear, I think that’s too short for you.
Would you try this? (showing another dress she is
holding).
The word “that” refers to the dress the daughter is
trying on, making it an example of an endophoric
reference since it appears within the text. In
contrast, “this” points to another dress that the
mother is holding, which is not mentioned in the
text, and therefore serves as an exophoric reference.
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Endophoric references are further divided according to their
direction. Endophora is divided into two types: anaphora and
cataphora. Anaphora refers to a presupposed element that has
already been mentioned earlier in the text, whereas cataphora
refers to an element that is introduced later in the discourse.
Anaphoric reference occurs when a linguistic unit refers back
to an earlier one (the antecedent on the left). It is a form of
grammatical cohesion where a word or phrase points to
information already mentioned or described previously.
Consider the following example:
- The man is living alone. His wife left him for 9 years.
In this sentence, “his” and “him” are examples of anaphoric
reference, since they point back to “the man.” Without the
presupposed clause “the man is living alone,” it would be
unclear what “his” and “him” refer to. Because their meaning
relies on looking back at the preceding sentence, they are 15
Cataphoric reference occurs when a linguistic unit
refers forward to another that comes later in the
text (the antecedent on the right). It represents
grammatical cohesion where a word or phrase
anticipates information that will be introduced
afterwards. Consider the following example:
-He’s a superstar, he’s the best in his era. Let’s
welcome.. Justin Bieber.
In this sentence, “he” functions as a cataphoric
reference to the presupposed subject “Justin
Bieber.” To identify what “he” refers to, we must
look ahead to the following sentence. 16
17
SUBSTITUTION

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Substitution is the process of replacing one word with
another. Substitution is a type of grammatical cohesion
where specific linguistic units are replaced by other
units within a discourse. Halliday and Hasan (1976,
p.88) explain the main difference between substitution
and reference, that is, substitution concerns the
wording itself, while reference relates more to
meaning. Since substitution deals with grammar, it is a
relation in wording rather than in meaning. Therefore,
the various types of substitution are identified on
grammatical grounds instead of semantic ones. In
English, a substitute can take the role of a noun, a
verb, or a clause, which correspond to the three types
of substitution: nominal, verbal, and clausal. 19
  Nominal substitution
Nominal substitution is a grammatical process where a
noun or a noun phrase is replaced by a substitute word,
usually to avoid repetition in a sentence. The most
common substitutes are “one,” “ones,” and “same.”
The substitute one/ones always functions as the Head of
a nominal group and can only replace an item that itself
serves as the Head of a nominal group. For instance:
- I shoot the hippopotamus with bullets made of
platinum because if I use leaden ones his hide is sure to
flatten 'em.
In this example, ‘bullets’ is the Head of the nominal
group ‘bullets made of platinum’, while ‘ones’ is the
Head of the nominal group ‘leaden ones’. 20
The substitute may also vary in number from
the presupposed item. For example, in the
following, the presupposed word is the
singular cherry, while the substitute is plural:
- Cherry ripe, cherry ripe, ripe I cry.
- Full and fair ones - come and buy.

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The presupposed noun is always a count noun,
since there is no substitute form for mass nouns.
Compare [a and b]:
- A- These biscuits are stale. – Get some fresh
ones.
- B- This bread’s stale. – Get some fresh.
In example (b), the only available substitution is
by zero, which is referred to as ellipsis. From a
semantic perspective, ellipsis and substitution are
closely related; ellipsis may be understood as
substitution without an explicit substitute.
Grammatically, however, the two processes are 22
  Verbal substitution
The process of replacing a linguistic unit
classified as a verb with another verb is
called verbal substitution. Verbal
substitution refers to the replacement of
verbs with the forms do, did, or other
auxiliary verbs.
In English, the verbal substitute is do. It
functions as the Head of a verbal group,
taking the place normally filled by the lexical
verb, and it always appears in the final
position within the group. 23
Consider these two examples; in both cases, the
substitute is the word do (not did or don’t):
- A- the words did not come the same as they used
to do.
- B- ‘I don’t know the meaning of half those long
words, and, what’s more, I don’t believe you do
either!’
In example (a), do substitutes for come, while in (b),
it replaces know the meaning of half those long
words. In these two examples, the presupposed items
appear in the same sentence, so substitution alone
does not create cohesion. However, verbal
substitution often operates across sentence
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Consider these two examples; in both cases, the
substitute is the word do (not did or don’t):
- A- the words did not come the same as they
used to do.
- B- ‘I don’t know the meaning of half those
long words, and, what’s more, I don’t believe
you do either!’
In example (a), do substitutes for come, while in
(b), it replaces know the meaning of half those
long words. In these two examples, the
presupposed items appear in the same sentence,
so substitution alone does not create cohesion.
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  Clausal substitution
There is another kind of substitution in which what is
replaced is not just an element inside the clause but the
entire clause itself. The substitutes used in this case
are so and nor. Clausal substitution is the process of
replacing a clause with so or not. This type of
substitution is used to prevent the exact repetition of
words in subsequent sentences or clauses.
In clausal substitution, the entire clause is
presupposed, and the contrasting element lies outside
of it. For example:
- Is there going to be an earthquake? – It says so.
Here, ‘so’ substitutes for the whole clause there’s going
to be an earthquake, while the contrasting context 26is
ELLIPSIS

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Ellipsis is the process in which an element in a
text or discourse is omitted and replaced by
nothing. It takes place when something that is
structurally required is left unspoken because
it is already understood from the context.
Ellipsis refers to what is left unspoken in
discourse. Although not explicitly
communicated, it can still be understood, with
meaning recovered from the surrounding
context, particularly the textual context. In
general, ellipsis occurs when an element that is
structurally expected is absent. As a result, the
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A good starting point for discussing ellipsis is the
familiar idea that it is “something left unsaid.”
This does not mean that the unspoken part is not
understood; in fact, “unsaid” implies
“understood nonetheless.” Ellipsis can therefore
also be described as something understood, with
“understood” here meaning “taken for granted”.
Ellipsis refers specifically to cases where the
structure of a sentence, clause, or phrase
presupposes the existence of a prior element,
which then provides the missing information. An
elliptical form, in effect, leaves open structural
slots that must be filled from elsewhere. 29
This is directly parallel to substitution. In substitution,
however, an explicit “counter” such as ‘one’ or ‘do’ is
placed in the slot to represent what is presupposed, while
in ellipsis nothing is inserted. For this reason, ellipsis can
be seen as substitution by zero. For example:
- Joan brought some carnations, and Catherine some
sweet peas.
In the second clause, the structure is made up of a Subject
and a Complement. This type of structure normally appears
only when one element—the Predicator—is presupposed
and supplied from the earlier clause. In this case, no other
reading is possible: the second clause must mean
Catherine brought some sweet peas. The two clauses are
therefore structurally connected, with the second clause
acting as a branched extension. Now consider: 30
- Would you like to hear another verse? I know twelve
more.
Here, the two sentences are not structurally related.
The second contains the nominal group twelve more,
which consists only of a Numerative. The Head noun
verses must be inferred from the first sentence. A
nominal group containing only a Numerative, but no
Head typically occurs only in contexts of
presupposition.
A slightly more complex example is:
- “And how many hours a day did you do lessons?”
said Alice, in a hurry to change the subject.
“Ten hours the first day,” said the Mock Turtle: “nine
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Here, Halliday and Hasan explain that the
nominal group nine presupposes nine hours,
while the next presupposes the next day.
Likewise, the clauses nine the next and ten
hours the first day both presuppose fuller
forms such as we did lessons nine hours the
next day or we did lessons ten hours the first
day. In each case, the clauses and nominal
groups clearly signal presupposition.

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  Nominal ellipsis
Nominal ellipsis is ellipsis that takes place
within the nominal group. As discussed
before, the logical structure of a nominal
group consists of a Head, which may be
accompanied by optional modifiers. These
modifiers can occur before the Head
(Premodifiers) or after it (Postmodifiers). For
instance, in ‘those two fast electric trains
with pantographs’, the Head is ‘trains’, the
Premodifier is ‘those two fast electric’, and
the Postmodifier is ‘with pantographs’. 33
Halliday and Hasan indicate that the Modifier interacts with
a structure comprising the following elements: Deictic (d),
Numerative (n), Epithet (e), Classifier (c), and Qualifier (q).
In the example above, these are realized as those (d), two
(n), fast (e), electrics (c), and with pantographs (q).
The Head of a nominal group, which is always present, is
typically realized by a common noun, proper noun, or
pronoun that expresses the Thing. Proper nouns denote
specific individuals and therefore cannot be further
specified. Common nouns, on the other hand, represent
classes of entities and are often further specified through
elements such as the Deictic, Numerative, Epithet, or
Classifier. Under certain conditions, however, the common
noun may be omitted, and one of these other elements can
take over the function of Head. This is what is meant 34by
In a full (non-elliptical) nominal group,
Halliday and Hasan (1976) maintain that the
Head represents the Thing—the noun that
names the individual or class being referred
to. This may include a person, object (animate
or inanimate), abstraction, institution,
process, quality, state, or relation. In an
elliptical nominal group, by contrast, this
element is omitted, and another element
(Deictic, Numerative, Epithet, or Classifier)
serves as the Head.
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Thus, nominal ellipsis involves the promotion of a
Modifier—Deictic, Numerative, Epithet, or Classifier
—so that it takes on the role of Head. For example:
- Four other Oysters followed them, / and yet
another four. Here, four, usually a Numerative and
therefore a Modifier, functions instead as Head.
- - Which last longer, the curved rods or the
straight rods? – The straight are less likely to
break.
Here, straight functions as an Epithet (Modifier) in
the first clause but as Head in the reply. Both
‘another four’ and ‘the straight’ are instances of
elliptical nominal groups. 36
  Verbal ellipsis
According to Halliday and Hasan (1976), verbal ellipsis
refers to cases where elements are omitted within a
verbal group. For example:
- a- Have you been swimming? – Yes, I have.
- b- What have you been doing? – Swimming.
In these answers, have (in “Yes, I have”) in (a) and
swimming in (b) are both examples of verbal ellipsis. In
each case, the omitted part can only be understood as
‘have’ been swimming; no alternative completion is
possible. For instance, in (b), ‘swimming’ cannot be
interpreted as I will be swimming or they are swimming.
It can only mean I have been swimming. Moreover, as
with all ellipsis, the elliptical form (swimming) could be
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Thank you

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