Classification of Phrases.

Phrases can be classified on different principles. Taking into consideration the nature of syntactic relations within phrases they can be classified as coordinative, subordinative, interdependent and cumulative.

If we take into consideration a part-of-speech nature of the head word in subordinative phrases they can be classified as nominal (red pencil), adjectival (very brave), verbal (speaks English), adverbial (very quickly), pronominal (something new), infinitival (to stay late), gerundial (his reading), participial (walking slowly, recently built).

From the structural point of view it is important whether there is a head word within the phrase or not.

Hence, all the phrases can be subdivided into nuclear and nuclear-free. By nuclear phrases we understand those in the syntactic structure of which there is one constituent dominating the other. They are typical subordinative phrases.

Taking into consideration the position of the head word, all nuclear phrases are subdivided into progressive and regressive. We have a progressive nuclear phrase when the head word precedes the dependent word (or words), e.g. a book of poems, asked a question.

We have a regressive nuclear phrase when the head word follows the dependent word or words, e.g. a young tree, very soon.

By nuclear-free phrases we understand those which contain no head word. Mostly such phrases are coordinative, interdependent or cumulative.

Nuclear-free phrases in their turn can be subdivided into dependent and independent. Independent nuclear-free phrases are those which are recognized as grammatically organized structures without any additional context, e.g. a boy and a girl – no head word; she entered – no head word.

Dependent nuclear-free phrases can be recognized as grammatically organized structures with the help of some additional context. Usually they are cumulative phrases, e.g. his own (house), (send) him a telegram.

Thus phrases can be classified on different principles and when characterizing a phrase, several characteristics should be named to identify its concrete status among other phrases:

• a diligent student. It’s a subordinative, nuclear, regressive noun-phrase;

• black and white. It’s a coordinative, nuclear-free independent phrase;

• our new (teacher). It’s a cumulative, nuclear-free dependent phrase;

• he knows. It’s an independent, nuclear-free, independent phrase.

2) The simple sentence.

The sentence is the basic unit of syntax. Due to the fact that it has many aspects it is difficult to give a complete definition of it. As a means of forming and expressing thoughts it is characterized from its logico-grammatical aspect. As a syntactic construction which reflects a situation of reality it is characterized from its syntactic and semantic aspects. As a unit of communication it is characterized by actual division and pragmatics. So it is clear that it is hard to give a definition of the sentence which could reflect all its aspects.

However when dealing with sentences we should be sure that we really deal with a sentence and not with some other segmental language unit. It means that we should know the specific features of the sentence. The sentence takes the top position in the hierarchy of language units.

Like words and phrases, the sentence is a naming unit. It names a situation of reality, but unlike words and phrases, the sentence is a unit of communication. Only a sentence can form and render a complete thought. Communicativeness presupposes all other basic features of the sentence, such as predicativeness, intonation pattern, syntactic and semantic structures. The sentence is mostly not a ready-made unit. It is formed and produced by the speaker in the actual process of communication.

Thus the draft definition of the sentence can be formulated the following way: The sentence is a syntactic structure, which is used in communication acts to form and render complete thoughts about situations of reality. It is characterized by nominative, communicative and pragmatic aspects. All these three aspects of the sentence are closely interconnected and presuppose each other.

Classification of Sentences.

Sentences can be classified on different principles. According to the structural principle all the sentences are classified into simple and composite, when the fist ones are treated as monopredicative, as they contain one subject-predicative line, while the other are treated as polypredicative, as they contain more than one subject-predicate lines.

e.g I looked at the picture.

I looked at the picture which was hanging on the wall.

According to the principle of obligatoriness of members of the sentence we differentiate extended and unextended sentences. Unextended sentences include only syntactically and semantically obligatory members.

e.g. He put the book on the table (unextended).

He put the book of poems on the table in the corner of the room.

According to the principle of availability of the main members of the sentence, sentences can be divided into one-member and two-member. The presence of the both main members of the sentence makes it two-member.

e.g. He is tall – two-member sentence.

Winter. What a frosty day. Come here. – one-member sentences.

Depending on the nature of the subject, sentences are divided into definite personal, indefinite personal and impersonal. The sentences are definite personal when the action or property named by the predicate can be ascribed to some concrete object, process or abstract notions.

e.g. The book is interesting.

To swim across the river was difficult.

Love of life helped them to survive.

The sentence is indefinite personal when the action named by the predicate can’t be ascribed to a concrete object. In such sentences the subject can be expressed by indefinite personal pronouns: by the pronouns “they, you, we” in a general sense, by nouns like “people, students”. They do not point to or name concrete object.

e.g. They say he is a good doctor.

The impersonal sentence contains the predicate which names an action or property which can’t be ascribed to any object.

e.g. it’s cold.

Taking into consideration the communicative aim of the speaker, we differentiate declarative sentences which express a statement, interrogative sentences which express a question and imperative sentences which express an inducement. These communicative types of sentences are characterized by specific word order and intonation patterns.

Due to the small number of inflexions the word order is of considerable significance in any of the communicative types of sentences. It is rather fixed in modern English. In the declarative sentence it is typical to observe a direct word order – Subject – Predicate – Object. Declarative sentences are looser in the structure of the sentence. Inverted word order is also possible but it’s used only when we want to rhematize or emphasize some component of the sentence.

e.g. The photo was on the wall.

But: Written on the back of the photo was his name (тема).

In actual intercourse the role of word order may be reduced thanks to the intonation pattern and structurally a declarative sentence can render the meaning of an interrogative and imperative sentence.

He lives in Bryansk?

You’ll go and take it (inducement).

Interrogative sentences differentiate several sub-types which have peculiarities in word order and intonation patterns. Traditionally we speak of general, special, alternative and disjunctive questions though the latter two can be treated as variants of the first two types. The general question contains a request about the reality of predicative relations and hence it requires an affirmative and negative answer in reply.

e.g. Did he answer well? Yes.

The special question contains a request which is aimed at getting some definite information. The character of the required information is signaled by the interrogative word (who, when, why).

Sometimes intonation patterns can transform interrogative sentences into imperative.

e.g. Will you open the door?

All the communicative types of sentences can be affirmative or negative in their form. We should differentiate two types of negation: general and secondary. We have a general negation when it concerns the subject-predicate relations. Such sentences can be called negative.

e.g. I don’t understand you.

Nobody can do it better.

Isawnobody. (отрицание касается субъектно-предикативной линии)

The negation is secondary when it concerns only some secondary member of the sentence, which is usually an optional member. Such sentences are mostly treated as affirmative:

The book was lying not on the shelf but on the table.

I smiled at him not to discourage him (отрицание не касается субъектно-предикативной линии).

The actually existing difference between the general and secondary negation make it possible for them to be used in one sentence.

e.g. I didn’t tell anything to him not to confuse him.

Besides, declarative, interrogative and imperative sentences, as the basic communicative types, we can make use of secondary types of sentences in speech acts. They usually lack any subject-predicate line and it is not the case of ellipsis. The subject-predicate line in such sentences can be restored, because it is not contextually omitted, but such structures take the position of a sentence in speech and so they can be called as quasi-sentences. To the group of quasi-sentences we refer:

1. Vocatives: John! Come here!

2. Interjections: Oh! Dear me!

3. Meta-communicatives which mark the beginning or the end of communication: Hello! Bye-bye!

Quasi-sentences can be treated as sentences because in our speech they take the position of a regular sentence and function like it. But on the other hand, unlike regular communicative types of sentences, they can be included into the structure of a simple sentence or can be joined within one utterance.

e.g. Good-bye, John! Good-bye!

John! You must do it!

Oh, I/m not sure of it, John!

But we can’t join together in one simple sentence two communicatively different sentences:

e.g. we can’t say “Did john come, John came?”

3) The composite sentence.

The Simple sentence is structurally opposed to the composite one. The basic difference between them lies in the fact that the simple sentence is monopredicative, as it contains one subject-predicate line, while the composite sentence is polypredicative, as it contains more than one subject-predicate lines. The simple sentence reflects one situation of reality, while the composite sentence reflects more than one situations related to each other.

Clauses within the composite sentences are syntactically and semantically connected contributing to the general meaning of the sentence.

Traditionally we speak of 2 main types of composite sentences: compound and complex.

Clauses within the compound sentence are coordinated. Coordination implies equal rank of joining clauses. Strictly speaking, clauses within the compound sentence do not depend on each other and do not presuppose each other syntactically, but they get into close semantic relations and so they lose their absolute communicative independence,

e.g. I opened the room and she entered the room.

Clauses within the compound sentence can be joined syndetically and asyndetically,

e.g. His head ached, his mouth was dry and he looked quite miserable.

The number of clauses within a compound sentence is not limited, but principally it depends on the amount of information the speaker wants to present.

The complex sentence is that one which consists of at least two clauses of unequal rank that is one clause dominates the other or others. The complex sentence includes: a principal (main clause) and one or more subordinate clauses.

So the complex sentence is a polypredicative unit which is arranged on the principle of subordination.

Subordinate clauses can be joined to the main clause or between themselves syndetically or asyndetically,

e.g. He said that she was out. He said she was out.

Syndetic means include:

1. subordinating conjunctions which do not perform a syntactic function within the clause (till, until, if, since etc);

2. conjunctive words which can be relative pronouns or conjunctive adverbs (who, which, what, where, when), which are treated as syntactically significant within the clause.

e.g. I don’t know whether (conjunction) he likes it.

I don’t know what (conjunctive word)makes him think so.

Very often we can come across the case of homonymy between words of different parts of speech.

e.g. The book that (relative pronoun)is lying on the table is mine.

He said that (conjunction) the book was interesting.

Then there arises the problem of classifying subordinate clauses. They can be classified on two principles:

1. on the basis of correlation with the members of the sentence;

2. on the basis of correlation with parts of speech.

According to the first principle subordinate clauses are treated as functionally similar to some member of the sentence, but as this member of the sentence reflects a situation it is expressed by a subordinate clause. This correlation between a clause and a member of the sentence can be proved by a reducing a subordinate clause to a non-predicative unit,

e.g. I don’t know who is absent = } I don’t know that.

He is absent because he is ill =} He is absent because of illness.

Thus, we differentiate:

1. Subordinate-Subject clauses which are usually fused together with the main clause,

e.g. What is done cannot be undone.

subordinate

P R I N C I P A L

It is obvious that some radical measures should be taken.

a subordinate subject clause

T H E P R I N C I P A L C L A U S E

2. Subordinate Predicative clauses which are also fused together with the main clause.

e.g. He looked as if he were deadly tired.

His suggestion was that we should join the excursion.

3. Subordinate object clause.

He knows what should be done.

4. Subordinate attributive clauses which can be of descriptive or limiting character.

He is a person who is always ready to help you (of descriptive character).

The room which I entered (of limiting character) was small and dark.

5. Subordinate attributive clauses of time, place, manner, cause, result, purpose, condition, concession, comparison, attending circumstances.

When he cameI had already finished my work.

6. A complex sentence like a simple one can be modified by a parenthetical clause.

John insists, and I agree with him, that we should vote for this candidate.

According to the 2^nd principle subordinate clauses can be subdivided into nominal (substantival), adjectival and adverbial.

Nominal clausesare those which name an event as a fact and can be replaced by a noun or a pronoun.

She understood what he hinted at = He understood that.

Adjectival clausesare those which name an event as a kind of characteristic of some nominal unit. They can be replaced by demonstrative pronouns in the attributive function.

He denied the fact that he had betrayed him = He denied that fact.

Adverbial clausesexpress dynamic relations or characteristics of some event, process or quality. Such clauses can be replaced by adverbs or adverbial phrases.

Let’s meet when classes are over = Let’s meet then.

Both classifications do not contradict each other and can be regarded as mutually complimentary.