Topicalization (fronting)

Topicalization involves moving the test sequence to the front of the sentence. It is a
simple movement operation:[4]
He is going to attend another course to improve his English.
To improve his English, he is going to attend another course.

Clefting

Clefting involves placing a sequence of words X within the structure beginning with It
is/was: It was X that...[5]
She bought a pair of gloves with silk embroidery.
It was a pair of gloves with silk embroidery that she bought.

Pseudocleftin

Pseudoclefting (also preposing) is similar to clefting in that it puts emphasis on a

certain phrase in a sentence. It involves inserting a sequence of words before is/are
what oris/are who:[6]
She bought a pair of gloves with silk embroidery.
A pair of gloves with silk embroidery is what she bought.

Pro-form substitution (replacement)

Pro-form substitution, or replacement, involves replacing the test constituent with the
appropriate pro-form (e.g. pronoun). Substitution normally involves using a definite
pro-form like it, he, there, here, etc. in place of a phrase or a clause. If such a change
yields a grammatical sentence where the general structure has not been altered,
then the test sequence is a constituent:[7]
I don't know the man who is sleeping in the car.
*I don't know him who is sleeping in the car. (ungrammatical)
I don't know him.
The ungrammaticality of the first changed version and the grammaticality of the
second one demonstrates that the whole sequence, the man who is sleeping in the
car, and not just the man is a constituent functioning as a unit.

Answer ellipsis (answer fragments, question test)[edit]

The answer ellipsis test refers to the ability of a sequence of words to stand alone as
a reply to a question. It is often used to test the constituency of a verbal phrase but
can also be applied to other phrases:[8]
What did you do yesterday? - Worked on my new project.
What did you do yesterday? - *Worked on. (unacceptable, so worked on is not a
constituent).
Linguists do not agree whether passing the answer ellipsis test is sufficient, though at
a minimum they agree that it can help confirm the results of another constituency
test.

Passivization
Passivization involves changing an active sentence to a passive sentence, or vice
versa. The object of the active sentence is changed to the subject of the
corresponding passive sentence:[9]
A car driving too fast nearly hit the little dog.
The little dog was nearly hit by a car driving too fast.
In case passivization results in a grammatical sentence, the phrases that have been
moved can be regarded as constituents.

Omission (deletion)

Omission checks whether a sequence of words can be omitted without influencing

the grammaticality of the sentence in most cases, local or temporal adverbials can
be safely omitted and thus qualify as constituents.[10]
Fred relaxes at night on his couch.
Fred relaxes on his couch.
Fred relaxes at night.

Since they can be omitted, the prepositional phrases at night and on his couch are
constituents.

Coordination

The coordination test assumes that only constituents can be coordinated, i.e., joined
by means of a coordinator such as and:[11]
He enjoys [writing sentences] and [reading them].
[He enjoys writing] and [she enjoys reading] sentences.
[He enjoys] but [she hates] writing sentences.