Pragmatics is the study of the meaning of language and the meaning of language can often be dependent on the context or the situation. The same words, phrases, or sentences may have different meanings when said at home or in a store or in a courtroom or in other settings.
Conversations are based on the premise that participants are cooperating with each other with quality, quantity, clarity, and relevance of utterances.
Important observations about pragmatics:
Pragmatics is systematic.
Sentences can imply information that is not actually stated.
We can do things as well as say things by uttering sentences.
The participants in a conversation determine the effect of what is said. (e.g. a police officer saying put your hands up has a different effect than a parent dressing a small child)
A correct answer to a question may not be the appropriate response. (e.g. Do you know what time it is? A correct but inappropriate answer is Yes.)