12. Communicative types of sentences. Speech acts as realization of communicative intentions of the speaker. The three cardinal communicative sentences types. The problem of exclamatory sentences.

Classification of sentences according to the purpose of communication has always been subject to criticism and several modifications. Now it has become a tradition in grammar to distinguish three cardinal communicative types of sentences: the declarative sentence, the interrogative sentence, the imperative sentence.

Some linguists suggested the 4^th type of this classification – the exclamatory sentence (B. A. Ilyish , I.P. Ivanova). In modern linguistics however exclamatory sentences are not referred to as a separate communicative type since they can’t be opposed to the 3 cardinal types by regular grammatical means such as word order, the use of special auxiliary forms. That is why the exclamation can not be considered as a principal of discriminating a communicative type of sentence.

Some original classifications of sentence according to the purpose of communication were suggested by Charles Fries, by G.G. Pocheptzov, L.P. Chachayan and other linguists.

Thus, G.G. Pocheptzov discriminates in addition to proper types of sentences a group of sentences which convey no information and have no subject-predicate division. Among them

– addresses: Jack, Nora!

- interjectional sent.: Oh, well!

- conversational formulas: Good morning! How are you doing?

Suchlike sentences have also been mentioned by Ch.Fries. He called them non-communicative utterances. M.Y. Bloch calls them non-sententional utterances.

M.Y. Bloch exposes the communicative properties of sentences in terms of the theory of the actual division of the sentence. He stresses that each communicative type is distinguished by its specific actual division patterns. The actual division features are revealed in the nature of the rheme of the sentence as the meaningful nucleus of the utterance. The declarative sentence immediately expresses a certain proposition. The actual division presents itself in the most complete form. The rheme of the sentence makes up the center of some statement as such. The question-test reveals the rheme, e.g.: The next moment she had recovered. - What had happened the next moment?. The imperative sentence does not express any proposition proper. It is only based on a proposition, without formulating it directly. The proposition in this case is contrasted against the content of the expressed inducement, e.g.: Let’s get it ready. (The premise: It is not ready.). Thus, the rheme of the imperative sentence expresses a wanted (or unwanted) action. The actual division of the interrogative sentence is determined by the fact that the interrogative sentence expresses an inquiry about information which the speaker does not possess. Therefore the rheme of the interrogative sentence, as the nucleus of the inquiry, is informatively open.

The three cardinal communicative types are strictly opposed to one another in Modern English by their meaning and form. Each sentence type is distinguished by the specific word-order and intonation, by the absence or presence of the interrogative pronouns or forms of the verb-predicate.

Thus, the declarative sentence expresses a statement, either affirmative or negative. It is built up around the direct word-order pattern, e.g.: He knew him pretty well.

The imperative sentence expresses inducement, either affirmative or negative. It urges the listener, in the form of request or command, to perform or not to perform a certain action, e.g.: Let’s do it right away!

The structure of the imperative sentence is characterized by the lack of the subject and by the imperative mood form of the verb-predicate.

The interrogative sentence expresses a question and is naturally connected with the listener, e.g.: - Are you all right?

- Yes, thank you.

Structurally the interrogative sentence is characterized by the reverse word-order pattern, the use of interrogative pronoun and interrogative forms of verb-predicate.

Alongside of the 3 cardinal communicative types there are also 6 intermediary subtypes distinguished by mixed communicative features:

Interrogative-declarative, i.e. declarative by its form and interrogative by its meaning (I’d like to know what you are going to do under the circumstances).

Declarative-interrogative, i.e. interrogative by its form and declarative by its meaning – the so-called rhetorical questions (Can a leopard change his spots?)

Imperative-declarative, i.e. inducement expressed in the form of a declarative sentence (You must take care of him; You ought to follow the instructions).

Declarative-imperative, i.e. imperative constructions used to express a declarative meaning, a characteristic feature of proverbs (Live and learn; Don’t put it off till tomorrow if you can do it today)

Imperative-interrogative, inducement in the form of a question, is employed in order to convey such additional shades of meaning as request, invitation, suggestion, softening of a command (Why don’t you help him out of the car? Would you like to go for a walk?)

Interrogative-imperative sentence induces the listener not to action but to speech (Please tell me what the right number is).

It should be noted that all cardinal and intermediary communicative sentences types are typical of Modern English and therefore should be reflected in practical teaching of English.