43451 (English Theoretical Grammar), страница 8

(b) Simple sentences are divided into two-member and one-member sentences.

A two-member sentence has two members – a subject and a predicate. If one of them is missing it can be easily understood from the context.

A one-member sentence is a sentence having only one member which is neither the subject nor the predicate. This does not mean, however, that the other member is missing, for the one member makes the sense complete.

One-member sentences are generally used in descriptions and in emotional speech.

If the main part of a one-member sentence is expressed by a noun, the sentence is called nominal. The noun may be modified by attributes.

E.g. Dusk – of a summer night. (Dreiser)

Freedom! Bells ringing out, flowers, kisses, wine. (Heym)

The main part of a one-member sentence is often expressed by an infinitive.

E.g. To die out there – lonely, wanting them, wanting home! (Galsworthy)

Simple sentences, both two-member and one-member, can be unextended and extended. A sentence consisting only of the primary or principal parts is called an unextended sentence.

An extended sentence is a sentence consisting of the subject, the predicate and one or more secondary parts (objects, attributes, or adverbial modifiers).

(c) The composite sentence, as different from the simple sentence, is formed by two or more predicative lines. Being a polypredicative construction, it expresses a complicated act of thought, i.e. an act of mental activity which falls into two or more intellectual efforts closely combined with one another. In terms of situations and events this means that the composite sentence reflects two or more elementary situational events viewed as making up a unity; the constitutive connections of the events are expressed by the constitutive connections of the predicative lines of the sentence, i.e. by the sentential polypredication.

Each predicative unit in a composite sentence makes up a clause in it, so that a clause as part of a composite sentence corresponds to a separate sentence as part of a contextual sequence.

According to the traditional view, all composite sentences are to be classified into compound sentences (coordinating their clauses) and complex sentences (subordinating their clauses), syndetic or asyndetic types of clause connection being specifically displayed with both classes.

(d) A two-member sentence may be complete or incomplete. It is complete when it has a subject and a predicate.

It is incomplete when one of the principal parts or both of them are missing, but can be easily understood from the context. Such sentences are called elliptical and are mostly used in colloquial speech and especially in dialogue.

Theme 8. THE SENTENCE (continued).

(e) The general definition of nominalizing transformations in English reads as follows: the nominalizing transformations are such transformations as ‘nominalize a sentence, i.e. change to a form that can appear in one of the N-phrases positions of another sentence’.

E .g. The seagull shrieked the shriek(ing) of the seagull

H e loves pictures his love for pictures

T he man has a son the man’s son

The N-transforms show that the relations of the sentences from which they are derived are preserved in the N-phrases: in the first sentence these were the relations of ‘actor – action’, in the second ‘actor – action – thing acted upon’, and in the third – the relations of possession. These relations constitute the meaning of the N-transforms.

Thus we must conclude that the definition of nominalization given above is not exhaustive, and we must add to it the following: ‘…and keep the same relations between their form classes that characterize the sentences from which they are derived’.

We may distinguish three degrees of nominalization.

(1) The slightest degree when the only trait of nominalization is the capability of standing in the NP position (N-clauses).

E.g. What he brought is here.

(2) The lower degree when transforms capable of standing in the NP position still have a V, but it is non-finite (semiclauses).

E.g. His managing the bank was a success.

(3) The higher degree of nominalization, N structures without V.

E.g. Their love for children was genuine.

Theme 9. COMPOSITE SENTENCES.

Point 1. Grammatical organization, structure and semantics of the compound sentence.

A compound sentence is a sentence which consists of two or more clauses coordinated with each other. A clause is part of a sentence which has a subject and a predicate of its own.

In a compound sentence the clauses may be connected:

(a) syndetically, i.e. by means of coordinating conjunctions (and, or, else, but, etc.) or conjunctive adverbs (otherwise, however, nevertheless, yet, etc.);

(b) asyndetically, i.e. without a conjunction or conjunctive adverb.

We can distinguish the following types of coordination:

1. Copulative coordination, expressed by the conjunctions ‘and, nor, neither…nor, not only…but (also)’. With the help of these conjunctions the statement expressed in the clause is simply added to that expressed in another.

2. Disjunctive coordination, expressed by the conjunctions ‘or, else, or else, either…or’, and the conjunctive adverb ‘otherwise’. By these a choice is offered between the statements expressed in two clauses.

3. Adversative coordination, expressed by the conjunctions ‘but, while, whereas’ and the conjunctive adverbs ‘nevertheless, still, yet’. These are conjunctions and adverbs connecting two clauses contrasted in meaning.

4. Causative-consecutive coordination, expressed by the conjunctions ‘for, so’ and the conjunctive adverbs ‘therefore, accordingly, consequently, hence’. ‘For’ introduces coordinate clauses explaining the preceding statement. ‘Therefore, so, consequently, hence, accordingly’ introduce coordinate clauses denoting cause, consequence and result.

Point 2. Classification of complex sentences. Functional transpositions of subordinate clauses.

(a) A complex sentence consists of a principal clause and one or more subordinate clauses. This definition is true, however, only in a general sense. In an exact sense there is often no principal clause; this is the case with complex sentences containing a subject clause or a predicative clause.

Clauses in a complex sentence may be linked in two ways:

1. Syndetically, i.e. by means of subordinating conjunctions or connectives. There is a difference between a conjunction and a connective. A conjunction only serves as a formal element connecting separate clauses, whereas a connective serves as a connecting link and has at the same time a syntactic function in the subordinate clause it introduces.

2. Asyndetically, i.e. without a conjunction or connective.

A subordinate clause may follow, precede, or interrupt the principal clause.

A complex sentence may contain two or more homogeneous clauses coordinated with each other.

A subordinate clause may be subordinated to the principal clause or to another subordinate clause. Accordingly we distinguish subordinate clauses of the first, second, third, etc. degree of subordination.

According to their grammatical function subordinate clauses are divided into subject, predicative, attributive, object, and adverbial clauses.

Subject clauses perform the function of subject to the predicate of the sentence.

Predicative clauses perform the function of a predicative.

Object clauses perform the function of an object to the predicate-verb of the principal clause. An object clause may also refer to a non-finite form of the verb, to an adjective, or to a word belonging to the part of speech expressing state.

Attributive clauses serve as an attribute to a noun (pronoun) in the principal clause. This noun or pronoun is called the antecedent of the clause. According to their meaning and the way they are connected with the principal clause attributive clauses are divided into relative and appositive ones.

Attributive relative clauses qualify the antecedent, whereas attributive appositive clauses disclose its meaning.

Attributive relative clauses can be restrictive and non-restrictive or descriptive.

1. An attributive relative restrictive clause restricts the meaning of the antecedent. It cannot be removed without destroying the meaning of the sentence.

2. An attributive relative non-restrictive clause does not restrict the meaning of the antecedent; it gives some additional information about it.

A variant of the attributive non-restrictive clause is the continuative clause, whose antecedent is not one word but a whole clause.

E.g. He hasn’t helped her, which is a shame.

Attributive appositive clauses disclose the meaning of the antecedent, which is expressed by an abstract noun.

An adverbial clause performs the function of an adverbial modifier. It can modify a verb, an adjective or an adverb in the principal clause.

According to their meaning we distinguish the following kinds of adverbial clauses: adverbial clauses of time, place, cause (reason), purpose, condition, concession, result, manner, and comparison.

(b) Subordinate clauses may be substituted by various syntactic structures, both complex and simple, while retaining the semantic and modal features of the kernel structures. The transforms, therefore, may be represented by word combinations, participial, gerundial, and infinitival constructions.

Point 3. Neutralization of the opposition “hypotaxis::parataxis”.

There are cases when the difference between coordinate and subordinate clauses is so small that it is rather hard to discriminate between them with respect to both semantics and structure.

For example, cause, consequence and result may be expressed by either coordinate or subordinate clauses:

There was something wrong with him, for he looked grave and ill. (coordinate)

He is suspicious and jealous for fear anyone might oust him. (subordinate)

The phenomenon of neutralization of this kind of opposition is especially evident in attributive continuative clauses, e.g.

Drive-in cinemas are very popular in the USA, which is not the case with Ukraine.

Point 4. Problems of implicit nominalization.

Implicit nominalization refers to the structures where nominalization is implied but is not evident. It is disclosed only after respective transformations, e.g.

What he intends to do is very reasonable. – His intention is very reasonable.

Their fault was that they failed to report it. – Their fault was their failure to report it.

Theme 10. THE SUPRAPHRASAL UNITY AND THE TEXT

Point 1. The notion of the text

The general idea of a sequence of sentences forming a text includes two different notions. On the one hand, it presupposes a succession of spoken or written utterances irrespective of their forming or not forming a coherent semantic complex. On the other hand, it implies a strictly topical stretch of talk, i.e. a continual succession of sentences centering on a common informative purpose. It is this latter understanding of the text that is syntactically relevant. It is in this latter sense that the text can be interpreted as a lingual element with its two distinguishing features: first, semantic (topical) unity; second, semantico-syntactic cohesion.

A text may have the form of a dialogue, or a monologue, or both, but the two forms have a common feature: a communicative direction.

Point 2. The main categories of the text.

As a result of comparing the sentence with the supersentential constituents (or supraphrasal unities) of the text, the notion of the elementary text unit called the ‘dicteme’ is developed.

The supraphrasal unity, sometimes also called the ‘cumuleme’ is an immediate accumulation of sentences of the coordinating type.

The dicteme is an elementary unit of text topicalization, which is formed by sentences. It may coincide in volume with a sentence, a supraphrasal unity, or a paragraph.

Point 3. The problem of text grammar and stylistics

The text has been recently included in the sphere of grammatical description of the most generalized aspects of its form and semantics. Grammar studies the text from the point of view of its formation by lingual means.

Text stylistics should be differentiated from the literary term in the sense that the text stylization is a combination of stylistic features which are natural and vital for any kind of speech.