Conversation Analysis (CA), also known as the study of talk-in-interaction, originated from the work of Sacks (1964–1972) and was later developed by Schegloff. It focuses on the analysis of recorded, naturally occurring talk in everyday interactions. According to Sidnell (2010), CA aims to describe and understand talk as a fundamental component of social life. Hutchby and Wooffitt (2008) further emphasize that CA examines how participants interpret and respond to one another turn by turn, with particular attention to the organization of action sequences in conversation.

From a pragmatic perspective, CA is used to investigate natural conversations in order to reveal their linguistic characteristics and functions in daily life (Prabowo, 2013). It mainly addresses three aspects: turn-taking mechanisms, the sequential organization of utterances (e.g., adjacency pairs, presequences, and insertion sequences), and the social functions of conversation such as role establishment and politeness. The present study focuses on adjacency pairs, specifically presequences and insertion sequences.

1. Adjacency Pairs

Schegloff and Sacks (1973) describe adjacency pairs as a basic unit of conversation consisting of two sequentially related utterances produced by different speakers. The first pair part makes a particular second pair part conditionally relevant. Typical adjacency pairs include greeting–greeting, question–answer, invitation–acceptance or refusal, and request–grant (Sacks et al., 1974).

2. Presequences

A presequence is an initiatory action that occurs before the main adjacency pair and serves to prepare for it (Packer, 2011). Presequences often function to check the availability or willingness of the interlocutor before a request, invitation, or offer is made. Common types include pre-requests, pre-invitations, and pre-offers (Schegloff, 2007).

3. Insertion Sequences

An insertion sequence refers to a sequence of turns that occurs between the first and second parts of a main adjacency pair (Packer, 2011). It temporarily delays the completion of the main pair in order to clarify or obtain additional information.

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