The Complex Sentences with mutually subordinated clauses.

In complex sentences of this type it is impossible to differentiate which of the clauses is the principal one and which is subordinate. Thus we have here mutual subordination. These sentences express a proportional relationship –– proportionality or equivalence; the more intensive is the action or quality described in one clause, the more intensive becomes the other, described in the following clause. Clauses of proportionate agreement are joined by the conjunction as, adverbs so… so in both clauses or particles the… the, followed by the comparative degree of adverbs or adjectives.

The more he reflected on the idea, the more he liked it.

As time went on, so their hopes began to wane.

So fast as depression sets in upon me, so surely did the dog's little ears drop down and his head hang lower.

Parenthetical Clauses interrupt another sentences with which they are either not connected syntactically or are only loosely connected with separate parts of the sentences. Parenthetical clauses are often called comment clauses, because they do not simply add to the information given in the sentence but comment on its truth, the manner of saying it, or express the attitude of the speaker toward it.

He waited (which was his normal occupation) and thought of the cost of living.

She cooked –– and she was a good cook –– and marketed and chatted with the delivery boys.

Parenthetical clauses may occur in the front or end position as well.

Her singing is something quite exceptional, I think.

As you put it, it sounds convincing.

Parenthetical clauses may be patterned like different communicative types of sentences –– statements, questions, imperative or exclamatory sentences or clauses.

It was –– why hadn't he noticed it before? –– beginning to be an effort for her to hold her back straight.

I felt –– such curious shapes egoism takes! –– that they had come because of me.

Parts of the sentence

In a sentence we distinguish the principal parts, secondary parts and independent elements. The principal parts of a sentence are the subject and the predicate. The secondary parts are the attribute, the object, and the adverbial modifier.

The principal parts of the sentence

The subject.

The subject is the principal part of a two-member sentence, which is grammatically independent on the other parts of the sentence and on which the second principal part (the predicate) is grammatically dependent, i.e. in most cases it agrees with the subject in number and person.

The subject can be expressed by a single word or a group of words. Thus it can be expressed by:

1. A noun in the common case.

The steamer has arrived.

The meeting is over.

2. A pronoun –– personal, demonstrative, defining, indefinite, negative, possessive, interrogative.

He works at a factory.

Everyone was silent for a minute.

Nothing was said.

That made me feel embarrassed.

Who tore their book?

The subject is often expressed by the indefinite pronoun one or the personal pronouns they, you, we, which refer not to any particular person or persons but to people in general. These sentences are rendered into Russian by impersonal sentences.

One wants to live forever. –– Хочется жить вечно.

They say he’s clever. –– Говорят, что он умный.

We should be careful when crossing the road. –– Нужно быть осторожным при переходе через улицу.

3. A substantivized adjective or participle.

The rich also cry.

The wounded were taken good care of.

4. A numeral (cardinal or ordinal).

Three were absent from the lecture.

The first and the fourth stood beside him.

5. An infinitive or an infinitive phrase.

To err is human.

For him to come was impossible.

6. A gerund or a gerundial phrase.

Smoking is not allowed here.

Anne’s being absent might upset him a little.

7. Any part of speech used in the meaning of a noun.

“Had” is the Past Tense of the verb “to have”.

“No” is his usual reply to any request.

8. A group of words which is one part of the sentence, i.e. a syntactically indivisible group.

The needle and tread is lost.

There’s a lot of truth in that, of course.

It as a subject of a sentence.

When it doesn’t represent any living being or thing and performs a purely grammatical function, then it is a formal subject. Here we must distinguish: (1) the impersonal it, (2) the introductory it, (3) the emphatic it.

1. The impersonal it is used to denote time, atmospheric conditions and distance.

It’s ten o’clock sharp.

It’s getting dark.

It’s not very far to Brest.

2. The introductory it introduces the real subject, expressed by the Infinitive, Gerund or subordinate clause:

It’s no use telling him about it.

It was difficult to find a suitable house.

It was clear that he would not come.

3. The emphatic it is used for emphasis.

It was his sister whom I met in the park. or It was in the part where I met his sister.