"shifting"的定义和意义

What is "shifting"?

Shifting is a linguistic phenomenon where the focus or perspective in a sentence changes, often involving the movement of a subject or an object to indicate a different viewpoint or context. This can occur in various forms, such as changing the subject from one noun to another or altering the grammatical structure to reflect a new emphasis. For example, in the sentence "The cake was eaten by the children," shifting could change to "The children ate the cake," where the focus shifts from the cake to the children as the subjects. Shifting helps clarify or highlight different aspects of a sentence, enhancing the understanding of who or what is involved in the action.