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Once you have understood the above illustration of the hierarchic nature of functional tonality and its application to tonal structures, you can proceed to read chapter 21 on small forms to see additional examples.
(Notice that the expansion sub-units take into account the melodic phrase structure, hence the antecedent phrase's tonic expansion ends with D and not cross over to the opening T of the consequent phrase.)
Consider then Ex. 18.23. This is a short simple binary piece, each section is no more than a simple sentence structure (2+2+4). The differences with Ex. 17.18 in terms of specific details of harmonic-functional expansion aside, it similarly illustrates the hierarchical expansion of the overall tonic.
Whilst this website is focused on harmony, it is useful to put it in the larger context of form. In a nutshell, if we can understand how a harmonic phrase unit is an expansion of the tonic function and that the various functional components can each be further expanded, we can appreciate that ultimately a whole piece of music can be heard as an expansion of the tonic. In effect, this is one way to explain what we mean by a piece being in a particular key.
Let's demonstrate this concept step by step.
Take Ex. 17.18 for example. It is a simple period. The antecedent phrase expands the opening tonic and ends with a dominant which is tonicized. The consequent phrase in contrast is a complete harmonic phrase unit expanding both the predominant and dominant.
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