Compound Sentence

The compound sentence is a composite sentence built on the principle of coordination. Coordination can be expressed either syndetically or asyndetically.

A compound sentence consists of two or more clauses of equal rank which form one syntactical whole in meaning and intonation. Clauses that are parts of a compound sentence are called coordinate, as they are joined by coordination.

The main semantic feature of the compound sentence is that it follows the flow of thought; thus the content of each successive clause is related to the previous one.

Hence come two syntactical features of the compound sentence which distinguish it from the complex sentence: 1) the opening clause mostly plays the leading role, and each suc­cessive clause is joined to the previous clause; 2) the clauses are sequentially fixed. Thus a coordinate clause cannot change place with the previous one without changing or distorting the meaning of the whole sentence.

Speaking about communication types it should be mentioned that there are compound sentences consisting of clauses belonging to different communication types. In this case it is impossible to state to what type the compound sentence as a whole belongs. e.g. These came nearer than most to meaning something to her, but what? (declarative + interrogative)

From the point of view of the relationship between coordinate clauses four kinds of coordinate connection are distinguished: copulative, adversative, disjunctive and causative-consecutive. The type of connec­tion is expressed not only by means of coordinating con­nectives, but also by the general meaning of clauses con­veyed by their lexical and grammatical content.

Copulative coordination implies that the informa­tion conveyed by coordinate clauses is in some way simi­lar. The connectors are: the conjunctions and, nor, neither... nor, not only... but (also), as well as, and the conjunctive ad­verbs then, moreover, besides. E.g. I didn’t recognize the girl, nor did I remember her name.

Adversative coordination joins clauses containing opposi­tion, contradiction or contrast. Adversative connectors are: the conjunctions but, while, whereas, the conjunctive adverbs how­ever, yet, still, nevertfaless, and the conjunctive particle only. Adversative coordination may also be realized asyndetically. E.g. The story was amusing, but nobody laughed.

Disjunctive coordination implies a choice between two mutually exclusive alternatives. The disjunctive con­junctions are or, either... or, the conjunctive adverbs are else (or else), otherwise. E.g. Either listen to me, or I shall stop reading to you.

Causative-consecutive coordination joins clauses connected in such a way that one of them contains a rea­son and the other - a consequence. The second clause may contain either the reason or the result of the event conveyed by the previous clause. The only causative coordinating conjunction is for. E.g. The days became longer, for it was now springtime.

Complex Sentence

Linguists explain the complex sentences as units of unequal rank, one being categorically dominated by the other.

The complex sentence is a polypredicative construc­tion built up on the principle of subordination. The com­plex sentence of minimal composition includes two clauses — a principal one and a subordinate one.

The subordinate clause is joined to the principal clause either by a subordinating connector (subordinator), or, with some types of clauses, asyndetically.

Subordination is marked by some formal signals. These formal signs may be conjunctions or connectives.

Conjunctions are specialized formal devices (con­nectors) the only function of which is to link clauses and express the relation between them. They usually stand at the beginning of a subordinate clause. The only exception to this rule is the complex sentence with a concessive clause, where owing to partial inversion the conjunction may come second, after the word which is the focus of concessive meaning.

Connectives combine two functions - that of linking clauses and that of a part in the subordinate clause. Connec­tives are subdivided into conjunctive words (conjunctive subordinating pronouns and adverbs), which are used to join nominal clauses and relative words (pronouns and ad­verbs), used to join attributive clauses. Some con­junctive and relative words coincide in form, and it is there­fore necessary to give some criterion according to which the two types can be distinguished.

Connectives
Conjunctive words		Relative words
Conjunctive pronouns e.g. I don’t know who he is.	Conjunctive adverbs e.g. I don’t know where he is.	Relative pronouns e.g. This is the man whom we spoke about yesterday.	Relative adverbs e.g. This is the time when we usually have dinner.

The difference between conjunctive words and rela­tive words lies in their role within the sentence or clause. In the case of conjunctive words the choice is determined by the structure and meaning of the subordinate clause itself. In the case of relative words the choice depends on the antecedent in the main clause.

In accord with the functional principle, subordi­nate clauses are to be classed on the analogy of the posi­tional parts of the simple sentence. Subordinate clauses function as different parts of the sentence (subject, predi­cative, object, apposition, attribute, adverbial modifier). Traditionally these numerous types of clauses are ar­ranged in three groups:

1. nominal clauses (that is, clauses functioning as nouns in various syntactical positions)

e.g. What I need is a piece of good advice.

2) at­tributive clauses e.g. A man whose voice seemed familiar to me gave commands.

3) adverbial clauses e.g. When it rains I usually stay at home.

All nominal clauses have a function approximating to that of a noun or a nominal phrase. They may fulfill the function of a basic part of the main clause:

- a subject clause functions as subject of the main clause which has no subject of its own (e.g. How the book will sell depends on its plot and the author.),

- a predicative clause functions as predicative to the link verb within the main clause (e.g. That’s what I want you to do.);

- an ob­ject clause refers to verbs in different forms and functions, to adjectives, statives and occasionally to nouns, and may be obligatory or optional (e.g. I don’t know why I like you so much.).

All nominal clauses are very closely connected with the main clause, and if such a clause is removed, both the structure and meaning of the sentence are changed or become ungrammatical.

Attributive clauses function as modifiers to a word of nominal character, which is generally called the antecedent. Usually an attributive clause immediately follows its ante­cedent, although some types may occasionally be distant. An attributive clause may be introduced by connec­tives - relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, what, which, that, as), or relative adverbs (when, where, whence, wherein). Attributive clauses fall into two types, depending on the degree of connection and the relation they bear to the antecedent:

Attributive limiting clauses are very closely con­nected with the antecedent and cannot be removed from the sentence, because the information contained in the attributive clause singles out, determines, or particular­izes the person, thing, idea, etc., expressed by the antecedent (e.g. This is the man who we spoke about yesterday.). Therefore the meaning of the main clause is not complete or is altogether changed without the subordi­nate clause. The lack of completeness is manifested by some deictic elements (determinants) before the antece­dent (mainly articles, demonstrative pronouns, or words with a demonstrative or particularizing meaning, such as the same, the only, the best).

Attributive descriptive clauses are characterized by a looser connection with the main clause (e.g. I returned to London, where I remained for a week.). Usually they contain additional information about the antecedent and may be left out without any serious change in the mean­ing of the main clause. Attributive descriptive clauses are generally comma off. They are joined by the same connectives as limiting clauses, except the relative pronoun that, and asyndetic connection hardly ever occurs. The additional descriptive character of the attributive clause is determined by the fact that the antecedent denotes a definite person, place, thing, notion, etc. It is either specified by a limiting at­tribute, or is expressed by a proper name, or else denotes a unique notion (or one specified by the situation). An attributive descriptive clause referring to a whole clause, sentence, series of sentences, or even a whole story is called a continuative (or sentential) attribu­tive clause. It is generally introduced by the connective which, occasionally by that.

Adverbial clauses are usually classified according to their meaning, that is, according to the relation they bear to the main clause. They differ from nominal and attribu­tive clauses in that they are introduced by conjunctions with a more distinct meaning. Some types of adverbial clauses may be introduced by at least a dozen different conjunctions (as for instance adverbial clauses of time). Conditional clauses may be joined asyndetically, though they have link-inversion in this case. Here the meaning and function of the clause can be inferred only from the meaning of the subordinate and the main clause. An adverbial clause may qualify the whole main clause, the verbal predicate or any verbal part, and also parts expressed by an adjective or adverb. Its position therefore varies: it may be initial, medial, or final - de­pending on the position of the part of the sentence it re­fers to and on the general structure of the main clause.

According to their semantics several types of adver­bial clause are distinguished:

• of place (e.g. Why can’t we go where it’s warm?),

• of time (e.g. He didn’t say a word till he was asked.),

• of manner (e.g. He could do it as no one else could have done),

• of comparison (e.g. He spoke timidly as if he were afraid of me.),

• of condition (e.g. If anything troubles you, you’d better tell me.),

• of concession (e.g. Although the weather was bad, he went for a walk.),

• of purpose (e.g. I tell you all this so that you may understand me perfectly),

• of cause (e.g. As he was tired he preferred to stay at home.),

• of result (e.g. Light fell on her there, so that he could see her face.).