leftdislocation

Left dislocation is a syntactic phenomenon in which a constituent, typically a noun phrase or a full clause, is moved from its canonical position to the left edge of the sentence. The moved element functions as a topic or focus target, and a pronoun or demonstrative in the main clause refers back to it, linking the two parts.

In English, left-dislocated material is usually a definite NP, a noun clause, or a long prepositional phrase. The remainder of the sentence provides a standard clause with a resumptive element that may be optional and is often a pronoun such as it or that. Intonation also marks the dislocated phrase, with a noticeable pause before the main clause. Typical surface forms include both with and without a resumptive pronoun, as in “That movie, I didn’t see it,” or “That movie, I didn’t see.” More compact examples are “This book, I bought yesterday.”

The function of left dislocation is primarily to topicalize or foreground the dislocated material while allowing the main clause to supply commentary, evaluation, or new information about it. It is common in spoken English and other languages, and it can convey contrast, emphasis, or shared context between speaker and listener. Left dislocation is related to, but distinct from, related constructions such as topicalization and clefting, and it is often discussed together with right dislocation as variations on how long and short elements are placed at clause boundaries.