In discourse, what describes a sequence of two related utterances by different speakers where the second depends on the first?

• A. Adjacency pairs
• B. Turn-taking
• C. Collocations
• D. Speech acts

Answer: (A)

This item is about two-part exchanges in conversation where the second speaker responds to the first. In discourse analysis, an adjacency pair is a sequence of two related turns spoken by different people, with the second turn depending on the first. The first utterance invites or necessitates a response, such as a question prompting an answer, a greeting prompting a reply, or an offer prompting acceptance or refusal. The two parts occur in immediate succession and are socially linked, forming a natural pair.

For example, one person asks a question and the other provides the answer. That direct, back-to-back relationship is what defines an adjacency pair.

Turn-taking is a broader concept about how speakers manage who talks and when, not about the content link between two turns. Collocations are about word partnerships and not about conversational structure. Speech acts focus on the function of an utterance (request, promise, etc.), but not specifically on the paired, dependent sequence that adjacency pairs describe.