Detachment

In syntax, a detachment construction is a construction in which a referential constituent occurs in a special peripheral position, generally separated by an intonation break and by commas in writing. A widely discussed subtype of detachment is dislocation.

Example

English: As for novels, Mary only likes those by Tolstoy.

Comment

In dislocation, there has to be a resumptive pronoun referring to the dislocated constituent, but this is not necessary in other detachment constructions, such as the English "as for" construction.

Subtypes

• left-detachment

Related terms

• hanging topic

Other languages

French détachement

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