Starting with the small words

This paper proposes a concept of ‘semantic sequences’, that is, series of meaning elements that can be demonstrated to occur regularly either in a general corpus or in one comprising specific types of text. Semantic sequences may be identified by examining the co-text of a lexical item such as make sure, but are also recognisable if grammatical words such as prepositions are treated as the object of investigation. It is argued that semantic sequences are useful for characterising discourses of particular kinds.