What is the term for the tendency to place new information at the end of a clause or sentence?

• A. End-weight
• B. Nominalization
• C. Cleft sentences
• D. Script

Answer: (A)

End-weight is the tendency to place new or more complex information toward the end of a clause or sentence. In natural English, speakers often start with the familiar or subject information and reserve the heavier, more informative material for the tail of the clause. This ordering helps listeners process the sentence more easily and gives the main point a clearer, more natural flow. For example, in a sentence like “The committee approved the proposal after a lengthy deliberation,” the simpler opening comes first, while the longer, more detailed information at the end—the deliberation—is heavy and thus placed at the end. This is precisely what end-weight describes. Nominalization would involve turning actions into nouns, which isn’t about ordering by information weight. Cleft sentences are a method to emphasize a part of the sentence by splitting it, not about information placement by weight. A script refers to conventional sequences of events, not a principle of sentence structure.