- •Теоретическая грамматика английского языка
- •Introduction
- •§ 381. Within a sentence, the word or combination of words that contains the meanings of predicativity may be called the predication.
- •§ 384. The main parts of the sentence are those whose function it is to make the predication. They are the subject and the predicate of the sentence.
- •§ 389. In the sentence Birds fly, as we have seen, the syntactical and the lexical meanings of the subject and the predicate go together. But English has a system of devices to separate them.
- •§391. Let us now consider the grammatical word-morphemes do, does, did in sentences like Does she ever smile? We do not know him, etc.
- •§393. Every predication can be either positive or negative.
- •§ 396. As defined (§ 3), when studying the structure of a unit, we find out its components, mostly units of the next lower level, their arrangement and their functions as parts of the unit.
- •§ 399. Some analogy can be drawn between the structure of a word and the structure of a sentence.
- •§ 401. Depending on their relation to the members of the predication the words of a sentence usually fall into two groups — the group of the subject and the group of the predicate 1.
- •§ 403. Sentences with only one predication are called simple sentences. Those with more than one predication have usually no general name 1. We shall call them composite sentences.
- •§ 409. Not all interrogative sentences are syntactical opposites of declarative sentences.
- •§ 411. The sentences below form opposemes of some syntactical category.
- •§ 415. Let us compare the following pairs of sentences:
- •I'll see him I shall see him
- •It's raining It is raining
- •§ 418. We find no predication in the second sentence of the following dialogue.
- •§ 419. The sentence-words yes and no are regularly used as adjuncts of some head-sentences.
- •§ 421. The traditional classification of the parts of the sentence is open to criticism from the point of view of consistency.
- •§ 425. The subject of a simple sentence can be a word, a syntactical word-morpheme or a complex.
- •§ 426. We may speak of a secondary subject within a complex. In the following sentence it is the noun head.
- •§ 429. If we compare the subject in English with that of Russian we shall find a considerable difference between them.
- •§ 430. The predicate is the member of a predication containing the mood and tense (or only mood) components of predicativity.
- •§ 431. The predicate can be a word or a syntactical word-morpheme. When it is a notional word, it "is not only the structural but the notional predicate as well.
- •Objective Complements (Objects)
- •§ 448. Like other parts of a simple sentence (clause), objective complements may be expressed by complexes and are then called complex objects.
- •Adverbial Complements (Adverbials)
- •§ 454. Below are some specimens of quantitative adverbial complements.
- •§455. Circumstantial adverbials, or as a. I. Smirnitsky calls them, adverbials of situation, comprise:
- •§ 457. As follows from the string of examples given above, in simple sentences adverbial complements are usually adverbs, nouns (mostly with prepositions), verbids and verbid complexes.
- •§458. Comparing English adverbials with those in Russian one can see that despite some common features (meaning, types), they are in a number of points different.
- •§ 459. Attributes are secondary parts of the sentence serving to modify nouns or noun-equivalents in whatever functions they are used in the sentence.
- •§ 460. Attributes are formally indicated only by the position they occupy, save the demonstrative pronouns this, these, that, those which, besides, agree in number with the word they modify.
- •§469. Connectives are linking-words considered as a secondary part of the sentence. They are mostly prepositions and conjunctions.
- •§ 472. The articles resemble particles in being semi-notional and in functioning as specifiers. But they specify only one part of speech, nouns. In this they resemble attributes.
- •§ 473. Parenthetical elements are peculiar parts of the sentence.
- •§ 474. In accordance with their meanings parenthetical elements fall into four major groups:
- •§ 475. In a simple sentence parenthetical elements may be expressed by individual words (modal words, adverbs, nouns) and word-combinations of different nature.
- •§ 476. In most cases parenthetical elements are connected in sense with the sentence as a whole, that is why they have no fixed position in the sentence.
- •I. The Position of the Subject and the Predicate in the Sentence
- •§ 477. We have already dwelt upon the fact that in Modern English syntactical relations of words in the sentence are very often indicated by the position the words occupy in the sentence.
- •II. The Position of the Object
- •§ 479. The direct object is usually placed after the verb unless the indirect object precedes it.
- •§ 480. Sometimes the object is pushed to the front of the sentence. It occurs:
- •§ 482. The indirect object cannot be used in the sentence without the direct object. The indirect object is regularly put before the direct object as in That gave me a new idea.
- •§ 483. In most cases they follow the direct object, though for stylistic purposes, I. E. For emphasis and expressiveness, they may be placed at the head of the sentence.
- •§ 487. The position of an attribute depends both on the head-word and on the attribute. If the head-word is a pronoun, the attribute is, as a rule, postpositive.
- •§ 488. In postposition attributes often acquire what we might call a 'semi-predicative' connotation.
- •§ 489. If there are two or more prepositive attributes to one and the same noun their order is dependent upon a number of factors which appear to be semantic and stylistic rather than grammatical.
- •§ 491. As to the position of the other parts of the sentence, see the combinability of the corresponding parts of speech.
- •§ 497. The compound sentence usually describes events in their natural order, reflecting the march of events spoken of in the sequence of clauses.2
- •§ 498. The principal clauses of complex sentences are usually not classified, though their meanings are not neutral with regard to the meanings of the subordinate clauses.
- •§ 502. Subordinate clauses are connected with the principal clause by conjunctions, conjunctive and relative pronouns or asyndetically.
- •§ 506. The mood of the predicate verb of a subordinate clause depends on the principal clause to a greater extent than its tense.
- •§ 507. The subject clause is the only one used in the function of a primary part of the sentence.
- •§ 519. A variety of attributive clauses is the appositive clause, which formally differs from an attributive clause in being introduced by a conjunction (that, if, whether).
- •§ 520. Extension clauses are postpositive adjuncts of adjectives, adverbs and adlinks.
- •§ 521. Most authors who do not regard parenthetical elements as parts of the sentence treat It is past ten, 1 think as a simple sentence. We do not find this view convincing.
- •§ 522. In most cases parenthetical clauses are introduced asyndetically, though now and again the conjunctions as, if, etc. Are used.
- •§ 523. Sometimes subordination and coordination may be combined within one sentence, in which case we may have compound-complex and complex-compound sentences.
- •§ 524. Among the composite sentences of English and other languages we find a peculiar type differing from the rest.
- •§ 525. There is no agreement as to the syntactical nature of a sentence like He said, "I love you".
- •§ 526. Let us compare the two sentences:
- •§ 527. The introductory part of direct speech may precede the quotation, follow it, or be inserted in it.
- •§ 528. The so-called 'indirect speech' does not differ grammatically from the conventional types of sentences.
- •§ 529. The "rules for changing from direct into indirect speech" found in most English grammars are rules for reducing two predicative centres to one — that of the author.
- •Conclusion
- •§ 535. The syntactical system of a language is, as a rule, closely connected with its morphological system. The structure of the sentence and the structure of the word are interdependent.
- •§ 537. The role of grammatical word-morphemes is even greater in English syntax than in morphology.
- •§ 539. It is owing to most of the features described above that Modern English is spoken of as an analytical language.
§ 457. As follows from the string of examples given above, in simple sentences adverbial complements are usually adverbs, nouns (mostly with prepositions), verbids and verbid complexes.
Adverbials may also be nouns preceded by conjunctions actually functioning as prepositions.
When a child, he was well looked after.
Conjunctions may also precede participles functioning as adverbials.
While working, he never stopped to rest.
§458. Comparing English adverbials with those in Russian one can see that despite some common features (meaning, types), they are in a number of points different.
1) In Modern English there exist complex adverbial complements not found in Russian.
E. g. Then he looked for something to eat, and finally, his hunger gone, sat down in his comfortable rocking-chair. (Dreiser).
2) In Modern English there is a peculiar type of adverbials expressed by nouns, adjectives, participles preceded by a conjunction (if, when, while), which does not occur in Russian.
When a boy, he was fond of fishing.
While reading she never smiled.
3) In Modern English adverbials expressed by nouns without prepositions are not numerous, whereas in Russian they are quite common.
Cf. Мы шли лугами.
Одним зимним утром пришлось мне...
Они будут работать весь день.
Он сидит, свернувшись к а л а ч и к о м, etc.
Attributes
§ 459. Attributes are secondary parts of the sentence serving to modify nouns or noun-equivalents in whatever functions they are used in the sentence.
In simple sentences attributes can be words or groups of words, including complexes. Diverse classes of words are used as attributes: adjectives, nouns, pronouns, articles, numerals, verbids, some adverbs.
E.g. Every morning for twenty-four years Samuel had taken the same train, except of course on Sundays and during his fortnight's holiday at the seaside. (Maugham).
Jan looked at them with frightened, unbelieving eyes. (Cusack).
This is something for you to think about. (Aldington).
They were just group pictures. (Dreiser).
§ 460. Attributes are formally indicated only by the position they occupy, save the demonstrative pronouns this, these, that, those which, besides, agree in number with the word they modify.
§ 461. In English the attribute and the head-noun are united structurally. If the noun is not mentioned for some reason (for instance, to avoid repetition which might make it emphatic), its place is taken by a substituting word to preserve the structural unity of an attributive word-combination, as in She is a nice girl and a clever one.
§ 462. Semantically attributes may express various shades of relations with the nouns they modify. They may be qualitative (deep sea), quantitative (many children), circumstantial (the house on t h e h i l l), etc. Here we shall dwell only on three peculiar semantical groups: the subjective, objective and appositive attributes.
N ouns of verbal nature may have subjective or objective attributes. Subjective attributes are mostly possessive pronouns or nouns in the possessive case, as in h i s arrival, John's confession. These combinations may be conveniently considered to derive from predications: He arrived his arrival; John confessed John's confession.
S imilarly, nouns of adjectival nature may take subjective attributes. Mary is happy Mary's happiness. His father is ill his father's illness.
O bjective attributes are mostly prepositional phrases attached to nouns of verbal nature: depend on others dependence on others; remind of the war reminder оf the war.
As to combinations of the type hеr daughter's loss, Martin's arrest, see §§ 93—94.
§ 463. A variety of the attribute is the so-called 'apposition' ('appositive' attribute). It is mostly a noun placed by the side of another noun (or noun-equivalent) to characterize the person, thing or idea the head-noun denotes by indicating the class or group to which this person (thing or idea) belongs. Aunt Mary, Sergeant Smith, Professor Brown.
There is much vacillation in the treatment of word-combinations like Aunt Mary. Some linguists take the common noun for an apposition, others — the proper name. We think it more in keeping with the language facts to support the former view.
The most typical formal signs of the English attribute (and appositions are but a variety of attributes) are its place before the head-noun (cf. a kind aunt), or its left-hand connections with a preposition (cf. the arrival of Mary]. Hence we distinguish prepositionless and prepositional appositions as in С a p t a i n Gray and the city of Moscow.
Commenting on prepositional appositions, M. Mincoff writes: "The reason for the establishment of this foreign construction is fairly obvious. Apposition of the simple type (cf. город Москва) is not encouraged in English because when two substantives are coupled together, the first is felt to be more like an adjective than a substantive,* the city London would inevitably suggest a contrast with some village London." Here also belong such groups as a flower of a g i r l, a brute of a husband, etc.
§ 464. Within the subclass of prepositionless appositions (appositive attributes) we distinguish those which are associated with the syntactical word-morphemes it and there, and represent the notional subject (see § 390).
It is stimulating to do something real. (Aldington).
The peculiarity of this apposition is that it carries the whole lexical weight of the combination it... to do.
§ 465. There exists no hard and fast demarcation line between appositive attributes and all other attributes. In this connection we may compare two similar word-combinations, child psychology and woman doctor. In the latter, woman may be regarded as an apposition to doctor; in the former, child is not an apposition to psychology. Cf. Brown (that is a) professor Professor Brown; Mary (that is an) aunt Aunt Mary; A doctor (that is a) woman a woman doctor, but not * psychology (that is a) child.
§ 466. We do not dwell here on the so-called loose appositions because the latter (as well as other loose (detached) parts of the sentence) are discussed in detail elsewhere. 2
Extensions
§ 467. Extensions are adjuncts of adjectives, adverbs and adlinks in a sentence. They differ from complements and attributes in being usually modifiers of modifiers, or tertiaries, in the terminology of O. Jespersen.
In a simple sentence extensions may be single words or combinations of words, including complexes.
Doreen's voice sounded too brisk and too loud. (Cusack).
Her little resolute face under its copper crown was suspiciously eager and aglow. (Galsworthy).
The creature's eyes were alight with a somber frenzy. (London).
Then he became aware of Abbey standing before the big open fire in the hall. (Cronin).
§ 468. W. Francis distinguishes between such 'adjective qualifiers' as very, quite, rather, pretty, mighty, somewhat, a bit, a little, so, too, more, most, less, least, enough, indeed, on the one hand, and such as exceedingly, enormously, etc., on the other, since the latter "are marked as adverbs by the adverb suffix -ly and can appear in positions regularly occupied by adverbs." 1
We do not think this distinction relevant when analysing extensions as a part of the sentence which covers different morphological classes of words. Besides, most of the 'adjective qualifiers' are connected with more than one part of speech, as W. Francis himself admits: "Since qualifiers also appear with adverbs, they are not exclusively adjective determiners" 2.
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1 The Structure of American English.
2 Ib.
Connectives