This article investigates the use of syntactically incomplete turns (henceforth, SITs) to deliver two types of delicate actions, namely negatively assessing non-present third parties and teasing co-participants, in everyday interaction. Based on an examination of approximately 16 h of Mandarin face-to-face conversations, this study identifies the specific sequential environments that house these types of SITs and make the action(s) that these SITs accomplish become recognizable by recipients. Analysis also reveals that by abandoning the turns where the derogatory remarks or comments are due, t...
