Elliptical (incomplete) sentences

§ 5. A two-member sentence may be either complete or incomplete (elliptical). An elliptical sentence is a sentence in which one or more word-forms in the principal positions are omitted. Ellipsis here refers only to the structural elements of the sentence, not the informational ones. This means that those words can be omitted, because they have only grammatical, structural relevance, and do not carry any new relevant information.

In English elliptical sentences are only those having no word-forms in the subject and predicate positions, i.e., in the positions which constitute the structural core of the sentence.

There are several types of elliptical sentences.

1. Sentences without a word-form in the subject position.

Looks like rain.

Seems difficult.

Don’t know anything about it.

2. Sentences without word-forms in the subject position and part of the predicate position. In such cases the omitted part of the predicate may be either a) an auxiliary verb or b) a link verb.

a) Going home soon?

See what I mean?

Heard nothing about him lately.

b) Not bad.

Free this evening?

Nice of you to come.

Susan's father?

3. Sentences without a word-form only in part of the predicate position, which may be an auxiliary or a link verb.

You seen them?

Everything fixed?

You sure?

All settled.

4. Sentences without word-forms both in the subject and the predicate position. Such ellipses occur in various responses.

What time does Dave come for lunch? - One o'clock.

What were you thinking about? - You.

What do you want of us? Miracles?

Where're you going? - Home.

5. Sentences without a word-form in the predicate position. Such ellipses occur only in replies to questions.

Who lives there? - Jack.

What's happened? - Nothing.

The Structural Types of Sentence

Communicative types of sentences

§ 6. The sentence is a minimal unit of communication. From the viewpoint of their role in the process of communication sentences are divided into four types, grammatically marked: declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory sentences. These types differ in the aim of communication and express statements, questions, commands and exclamations respectively.

Dickens was born in 1812. Come up and sit down.

When shall I see you again? What a quiet evening!

Do you know Italian?

These types are usually applied to simple sentences. In a complex sentence the communicative type depends upon that of the main clause as in:

I waited till the light turned to green, (statement)

Do you always wait till the light turns to green? (question)

Wait till the light turns to green. (command)

How thoughtless of you not to have waited till the light turned to green! (exclamation)

In a compound sentence, coordinate clauses may as well belong to different communicative types.

Look out, or you may meet with an accident. (command-statement)

I obeyed, for what else could I do? (statement-question)

Declarative sentences

§ 7. A declarative sentence contains a statement which gives the reader or the listener some information about various events, activities or attitudes, thoughts and feelings. Statements form the bulk of monological speech, and the greater part of conversation. A statement may be positive (affirmative) or negative, as in:

I have just come back from a business trip.

I haven't seen my sister yet.

Grammatically, statements are characterized by the subject-predicate structure with the direct order of words. They are mostly two-member sentences, although they may be one-member sentences, as in:

Very early morning.

No curtain. No painting.

Statement usually have a falling tone; they are marked by a pause in speaking and by a full stop in writing.

In conversation, statements are often structurally incomplete, especially when they serve as a response to a question asking for some information, and the response conveys the most important idea.

Where are you going? - To the library.

Thanks to their structure and lexical content, declarative sentences are communicatively polyfunctional. Thus, besides their main function as information-carriers, statements may be used with the force of questions, commands and exclamations, as in:

I wonder why he is so late.

You mustn't talk back to your parents.