Gapping is when a verb is removed from one sentence but understood due to its presence in another. It is important to ensure only one verb is used to maintain clarity. The gap occurs in SVO languages at the end of a sentence and in SOV languages in the first clause. The gap reveals how language is assembled and used in communication.
In gapping, a verb is removed from one sentence due to its presence in another, although the meaning remains clear. A simple example of this is in a sentence like “Bob plays piano, Lisa plays guitar,” where the word “play” was omitted in the second sentence. The reader of this sentence is able to understand what is meant and infer the verb in the second sentence, although it is completely removed. The gap occurs in end-use in languages that are constructed as Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), but is often found in the first clause in languages that are Subject-Object-Verb (SOV).
The importance of the language gap is that it clearly indicates that important elements of a clause can be missing without inherently destroying the meaning. This removal must be done carefully, however, or else the meaning may be obfuscated or otherwise interfered with a sentence. For the gap to be done correctly, there should be only one verb in use, to ensure that the meaning remains clear even with a gap. For example, “I read one book last week, but my sister – two!” it is clear in terms of meaning because there is only one verb.
In the example above, punctuation was used to indicate where the gap exists, but this is not always required in the gap. Using two or more verbs in adjacent clauses typically makes a sentence grammatically flawed for gap use, as the meaning can be too easily obscured. For example, in a statement like “Bob has learned that his sister runs fast, his brother runs slowly,” there is too much scope for confusion. There is a gap in the final sentence, but there are two potential verbs that can go there: either “learned” or “runs”. While the gap can be assumed to be “runs,” this is a grammatically flawed sentence.
The gap reveals a lot about how language is assembled and how speakers and listeners are able to use it in communication. The structure of the gap at the end of a sentence, such as is found in English, exists in languages constructed as Subject-Verb-Object or SVO. English sentences typically begin with a subject, then a verb indicating the action, and finally the object upon which it is performed. Other languages, such as Japanese and Korean, are constructed as subject-object-verb or SOV sentences. In SOV languages, the gap is done in the first clause and the one that follows indicates the missing verb.
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