Seminar 13 The sentence

1. Basic properties of the sentence. Predicativity and modality.

Иванова, Бурлакова, Почепцов:

Sentence is a syntactic(al) construction.

Syntactic(al) construction is a group of words.

Sentence is the smallest unit of communication.

Sentence is a correlation to reality.

Predicativity is actualization.

 Sentence is the smallest syntactical construction, used in verbal-communicative acts, characterized by predicativity and realizing a definite structural scheme.

Predicativity – one of the most important properties of the sentence. Actualization is of great importance. E.g. Peter can be nominated in many ways: I, you, this man, Mary’s brother, etc.

Modality is set by the mood of the verb functioning as the subject of the sentence. Modality describes the situation as real or unreal.

Sentence has a form.

Each sentence has an intonation.

2. Classification of sentences.

Blokh:

Purpose of communication:

1. declarative

2. interrogative

3. imperative (inducive)

These communicative sentence-types stand in strict opposition to one another, and their inner properties of form and meaning are immediately correlated with the corresponding features of the listener’s responses.

The DECLARATIVE sentence expresses a statement, affirmative or negative, and as such stands in systemic syntagmatic correlation with the listener’s responding signals of attention, of appraisal (agreement, disagreement), of fellow-feeling.

The IMPERATIVE sentence expresses inducement, affirmative or negative. It urges the listener in the form of request or command to perform or not to perform a certain action. The imperative sentence is situationally connected with the corresponding “action response” (Ch.Fries), and lingually is systemically correlated with a verbal response showing that the inducement is either complied to, or else rejected.

e.g. “Let’s go and sit down up there, Dinny.” – “Very well”.

The INTERROGATIVE sentence expresses a question, a request for information wanted by the speaker form the listener. The interrogative sentence is naturally connected with an answer, forming together with it a question-answer dialogue unity.

+ EXCLAMATORY (all the 3 types can be exclamatory). Exclamatory sentences do not possess any complete set of qualities that could place them on one and the same level with the 3 cardinal communicative types of sentences. The property of exclamation should be considered as an accompanying feature which is effected within the system of the 3 cardinal communicative types of sentences  each of the cardinal communicative sentence-types can be represented in the 2 variants: non-exclamatory and exclamatory  3 pairs of sentence-types make up a distinct semantico-syntactic oppositions effected by regular grammatical means of language, such as intonation, word-order, and special constructions with functional-auxiliary lexemic elements.

1. constative utterances (constatives) – express the speaker’s reflections of reality as they are, e.g. He declares the conference open.

2. performative utterances (performatives) – render such verbal actions of the speaker as immediately constitute his social functions. The performative is a pronouncement by the speaker of such an action of his, as is embodied in the pronouncement itself: pronouncing this kind of utterance, the speaker performs his complete function, e.g. I declare the conference open. I disapprove of this question! The performative utterance implies the pronoun of the 1^st person singular, while the verb is used only in the form of the present tense of the indicative mood, active.

Ch.Fries: according to the responses the sentences elicit.

1. situation utterances

1. utterances that are regularly followed by oral responses only. These are greetings, calls, questions, e.g. Hello! Good-bye! See you soon!

2. Utterances regularly eliciting action responses. These are questions and commands, e.g. Oh, wait a minute!

3. Utterances regularly eliciting conventional signals of attention to continuous discourse. These are statements, e.g. I’ve been talking with Mr. D – in the purchasing department about our type-writer (-Yes?).

2. response utterances

+ Non-communicative utterances: minor type of utterances not directed to any listener but “characteristic of situations such as surprise, sudden pain, disgust, anger, laughter, sorrow”, e.g. Oh, oh! Goodness! My God!

Ilyish:

Types of sentences according to Structure:

1. simple

2. composite

Иванова, Бурлакова, Почепцов:

Sentences:

1. sentences

1. declarative, e.g. John came

2. Interrogative, e.g. Did John come?

3. Optative, e.g. If John came

4. Imperative, e.g. Come

2. quasi-sentences

1. vocative, e.g. John

2. interjectional, e.g. Oh

3. meta-communicative, e.g. Good day

3. Complicated sentences.

4. Word order in English.

Хаймович, Роговская:

English language is characterized by a rigid word-order in accordance with which the subject of declarative sentences, as a rule, precedes the predicate. This is the so-called DIRECT word-order, e.g. The assistant greeted the professor.

Any deviation from the rigid word-order is termed inversion, e.g. Often has he recollected the glorious days of the Civil War.

The direct object is usually placed after the verb unless the indirect object precedes it, e.g. He offered me his help.

Sometimes the object is pushed to the front of the sentence, it occurs when:

1. The direct object is an interrogative word which is naturally placed at the head of the sentence to form a special question, e.g. What did you do?

2. The object is separated from its verb by some other parts of the sentence – adverbial complements, prepositional objects – when it is intentionally placed at the end of the sentence for the sake of emphasis, logical stress, e.g. And unexpectedly he saw against the background of the forest two approaching figures.

The indirect object cannot be used in the sentence without the direct object. The indirect object is regularly put before the direct object, e.g. That gave me a new idea. Only it can be used before the indirect object, e.g. I gave it him.

The prepositional objects can be put at the head of the sentence for the sake of emphasis, e.g. About Mary’s departure I didn’t tell him.

Occasionally the prepositional object is placed before the direct object (in to-phrases), e.g. I recommended to him some effective measures.

Adverbial complements are often referred to as most mobile parts of the sentence.

Adverbials of place and time are normally placed either at the end of the sentence, e.g. It happened on Wednesday, or at the beginning of the sentence, e.g. On Wednesday he came again.

Adverbials of indefinite time and frequency are placed before a synthetic predicate verb and within an analytical predicate verb, e.g. I always helped him.

If the adverbials are placed at the head of the sentence they become emphatic, e.g. Never shall I forget that day.

Adverbial complements of manner are likewise closely allied with the verb and are mostly placed either after the verb or within the analytical form, e.g. He has openly defied the law.

Attributes may precede or follow the word they modify and accordingly we distinguish prepositive and postpositive attributes, e.g. Her desire to please was quite apparent.

Attributes are postpositive after pronouns, e.g. I can’t tell you anything important yet.

Noun has mostly prepositive attributes, but some attributes are regularly postpositive:

1. prepositional phrases, e.g. Men of good will.

2. Infinitives, infinitival and participial constructions, e.g. I’ve no wish to se him tonight.

3. Adjectives in –able, -ible, e.g. The happiest man imaginable.

Postpositive attributes often acquire semi-predicative connotation, e.g. a man (who is) in love.