[e-mail]_2012-06-24_15-33-11 английский язык / 27 subject

27 The Subject

The subject is a principal part of a two-member sentence. It refers to the person or thing whose action or state is defined by the predicate. The subject controls the form of the verb which typically follows (in declarative sentences) the subject.

14.3.1.1. Ways of Expressing the Subject

The subject can be expressed by different parts of speech.

1. A noun in the common case:

Science is organized knowledge. Tom has just left.

Occasionally a noun in the independent possessive case is used as the subject of the sentence:

My aunt's is a nice place.

The jury's was not the right approach.

2. A pronoun:

a) personal in the nominative case:

I am hungry;

b) in a very informal style the objective personal pronoun is used in elliptical responses with too, nor and neither.

I'm glad it's Friday. — Me too! (= I am too)/Us too! (= We are too);

I don't want to do it. — Nor me / Me neither!;

3. demonstrative: This is not right;

4. compound: Everybody knows it;

5. distributive: All is OK;

6. negative:

Nothing ever happens to me;

g) independent possessive: Yours is not the best plan;

h) interrogative: Who has done it?

3. A substantivized adjective or participle:

The old believe everything.

The middle-aged suspect everything.

The young know everything.

4. A numeral (cardinal and ordinal):

The two were evidently at a loss. The first and the second stood silent.

5. An infinitive:

To err is human.

6. A gerund:

Jogging keeps you fit.

7. Any part of speech used as a quotation;

"On" is a preposition.

14.3.1.2. Structural Classification of the Subject

When expressed by a verbal, subjects structurally fall into three groups: the simple subject, the phrasal subject, and the complex subject.

1. The simple subject is expressed by a single word-form:

To see is to believe, (a single infinitive) Lying is a great sin. (a single gerund)

2. The phrasal subject is expressed by a group of words functioning as one syntactic unit:

To see her is to fall in love with her. (an infinitive phrase) Continuous lying is always monotonous, (a gerundial phrase)

3. The complex subject is expressed by a predicative complex:

For us to see her was a rare treat, (an infinitive construction) Her lying to everybody was very monotonous, (a gerundial construction)

14.3.1.3. It as the Subjects of the Sentence

When the pronoun it is used as the subject of a sentence, it may represent a thing, a living being or a notion and then it is a notional subject.

When the pronoun it has no definite reference and performs a purely grammatical function of the subject, it is a formal subject also called empty or dummy it.

1. Notional it. When it is a notional subject, the pronoun it has the following meanings. It stands for a definite thing or abstract idea — personal it. The personal it is usually translated into Russian with the help of personal pronouns он, она, оно:

The house was dark. It was evidently empty.

His theory was not impossible. It was inappropriate.

It points out some person or thing expressed by a predicative noun or a pronoun (a noun or a pronoun that follows the verb be) — cataphoric demonstrative it. Sentences of this type name people and things:

Who is there? — It's Tom.

Who's broken the cup? — It's him.

It refers to the thought expressed in a preceding statement — anaphoric demonstrative it:

He came early. It made us change our plans.

Demonstrative it is usually translated into Russian by это.

2. Formal it. The formal subject it can be found in the following sentence patterns.

Impersonal it is used in sentences

a) that describe the state of weather, environment:

It is raining there now. (the verbal predicate denotes an action)

It is dark /dirty I nice here, (the nominal part of the predicate denotes a state and is expressed by an adjective)

b) that present the idea of time, temperature, distance:

It is morning/late/5 p.m. now.

It's time to do it.

It's a long way to Tipperary.

c) that describe situations. In this case there is always a link verb and a predicative clause to follow:

It seemed that she knew everything.

It appeared he had calmed down.

Introductory it introduces the real (extraposed) subject of the sentence expressed by an infinitive, a gerund, a verbal phrase or construction, a subject clause in a complex sentence:

It's really good to see you.

It's no use doing this again.

It's nice for you to talk about such things.

It seemed quite evident that she knew everything.

Sentences with introductory it thus contain two subjects: the formal introductory subject it and the extraposed subject expressed as stated above. Such sentences can be transformed (contrary to the growing tendency) into sentences with the meaningful subject in the initial position:

To see you is really good.

That she knew everything seemed quite evident.

Emphatic it is used in the principal clause of a complex sentence to emphasize the predicative — the word that follows the verb be. Sentences with emphatic it are often called "cleft" sentences because a simple sentence is split up (cleft) into two clauses:

Tom phoned Mary yesterday, (simple sentence, no emphasis)

It was Tom who phoned Mary yesterday, (subject is emphasised)

It was Mary who Tom phoned yesterday, (object is emphasised)

It was yesterday that Tom phoned Mary, (adverbial is emphasised)

Note that after emphatic it the verb be is always singular:

It was Tom and Mary that talked over the telephone yesterday.

The conjunction that is normally used in sentences with emphatic it. When the subject of the simple sentence is emphasized, who (referring to persons) is possible instead of that. To emphasize the object referring to people, who and whom are possible instead of that:

It was in London that they met.

It is Tom that/who took my girlfriend from me.

It is Mary that I who I whom Tom took away from me.

When the emphasized subject is a pronoun, there is a choice between the nominative and the objective cases of the personal pronoun:

It was me who opened the letter, (informal)

It was I who opened the letter, (formal)

Emphatic it can emphasize any member of the simple sentence except the predicate.

3. The formal introductory subject there. There are sentences where the notional subject is introduced by the word there (unstressed) with a simple predicate expressed by the verb be (appear, follow, live, come, exist) to follow:

There is a book on the desk.

There appeared a stranger at the door.

Once upon a time there lived a king.

Such sentences express the idea of the existence or coming into existence of a person or a non-person denoted by the notional subject and are called existential sentences.

The construction with there allows new and /or important information to come at the end of the sentence thus making this information more prominent.

The form of the verb be normally agrees with the notional subject, but in informal English the verb may be singular even when the postponed subject is plural:

There are two students in the classroom.

There is two students in the classroom, (informal)

The formal subject there should not be confused with the adverbial of place expressed by the adverb there (always stressed): There we shall meet you.