this term is applied to referring phrases – pronouns and articles combined with nouns – that are associated with the top end of the information status continuum, where the identity of the referent is already known to both speaker and hearer. This includes active, semi-active, inactive, and inferrable referents. Example: the glass bowl is an example of a definite referring phrase, used in a context where the individual glass bowl in question is identifiable by both speaker and hearer (Table 3.4, Section 3.3.1)