Speech Acts: What is a Speech Act? An action performed in saying something

the performance of an act in saying something (vs. the general act of saying something).
The illocutionary force is the speaker's intent. A true 'speech act'.
e.g. informing, ordering, warning, undertaking.
Example:”I promise to pay you back”- is an illocutionary act (it intends to communicate).
3. Perlocutionary acts: Speech acts that have an effect on the feelings, thoughts or actions of either the speaker or the listener. In other words, they seek to change minds!
such as persuading, convincing, scaring, enlightening, inspiring, or otherwise getting someone to do or realize something•
Example
Oh! - is an utterance (note that communication is not intended - it is just a sound caused by surprise).
The black cat - is a propositional act (something is referenced, but no communication may be intended)
The black cat is stupid - is an assertive illocutionary act (it intends to communicate).
Please find the black cat - is a directive perlocutionary act (it seeks to change behaviour).
when examining perlocutionary acts, the effect on the hearer or reader is emphasized
Example: “Please find the black cat ”- is a directive perlocutionary act (it seeks to change behaviour).
As an example, consider the following utterance:
"By the way, I have a CD of Debussy; would you like to borrow it?" Its illocutionary function is an offer, while its intended perlocutionary effect might be to impress the listener, or to show a friendly attitude, or to encourage an interest in a particular type of music.
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Direct speech acts
When the semantic meaning of a sentence is the same as what the speaker intended to convey , it is described as a direct speech act. For example, when a speaker doesn't know something and asks the hearer to provide the information, he or she will typically produce a direct speech act of the following type: Can you ride a bicycle ?
Did he come to class yesterday? Structures Functions
Did you eat the pizza?................... Interrogative Question
Eat the pizza (please)! ………..Imperative Command (Request)
You ate the pizza. ……………. Declarative Statement