3. The Conjunction

Semantic features

Every conjunction has its own meaning, expressing some connection or other existing between phenomena in extralinguistic reality.

When discussing prepositions, we noted that in a certain number of cases the

use of a given preposition is predicted by the preceding word: thus the verb depend

can only be followed by the preposition on (or upon), the adjective characteristic only by the preposition of, etc. In such cases the preposition has no meaning of its own. Conjunctions in this respect are entirely different. Their meaning is independent of preceding words.

Syntactic features

Two levels are distinguished — that of phrases and that of sentences.

On the phrase level it must be said that conjunctions connect words and

phrases. It is the so-called co-ordinating conjunctions that are found here, and only

very rarely subordinating ones.

On the sentence level it must be said that conjunctions connect clauses (of

different kinds). Here we find both so-called co-ordinating and so-called

subordinating conjunctions.

In comparing prepositions with co-ordinating and subordinating

conjunctions we cannot fail to notice that while prepositions have nothing in

common with co-ordinating conjunctions, some prepositions are very close in

meaning to subordinating conjunctions, and in some cases a preposition and a

subordinating conjunction sound exactly the same.

It should also be noted that the difference between prepositions and

conjunctions is much less pronounced in Modern English than in Russian, where

prepositions are closely connected with cases, while conjunctions have nothing

whatever to do with them. In English, with its almost complete absence of cases,

this difference between prepositions and conjunctions is very much obliterated.

4. The Particle

Particles usually refer to the word (or, sometimes, phrase) immediately

following and give special prominence to the notion expressed by this word (or

phrase), or single it out in some other way, depending on the meaning of the

particle.

The question of the place of a particle in sentence structure remains

unsolved. The following three solutions are possible:

(1) a particle is a separate secondary member of the sentence, which should

be given a special name;

(2) a particle is an element in the part of the sentence which is formed by the

word (or phrase) to which the particle refers (thus the particle may be an element

of the subject, predicate, object, etc.);

(3) a particle neither makes up a special part of the sentence, nor is it an

element in any part of the sentence; it stands outside the structure of the sentence

and must be neglected when analysis of a sentence is given.

Each of these three views entails some difficulties and none of them can be

proved to be the correct one, so that the decision remains arbitrary.

5. The Interjection

Interjections have for a long time been an object of controversy. There has

been some doubt whether they are words of a definite language in the same sense

that nouns, verbs, etc. are, and whether they are not rather involuntary outcries, not

restricted to any given language but common to all human beings as biological

phenomena are.

Modern scholars consider interjections part of the word stock of a language

as much as other types of words. Interjections belonging to a certain language may

contain sounds foreign to other languages. Thus, for instance, the Russian

interjection ax contains the consonant phoneme [x], which is not found in English,

etc.

Semantic features

The characteristic features which distinguish interjections from practically

all other words lie in a different sphere. The interjections, as distinct from nouns,

verbs, prepositions, etc., are not names of anything, but expressions of emotions.

Another characteristic feature of the meaning of interjections is, that while

some of them express quite definite meanings (for instance, alas can never express the feeling of joy), other interjections seem to express merely feeling in general, without being attached to some particular feeling. The interjection oh, for example, may be used both when the speaker feels surprised and when he feels joyous, or disappointed, or frightened, etc. The meaning of the interjection itself is thus very vague.

Syntactic features

On the sentence level the function of interjections is a controversial matter.

The usual interpretation is that the interjection stands outside the structure of the

sentence. Another view is that it is syntactically a kind of parenthesis at least in

some cases. The controversy cannot be decided by objective investigation and the

answer only depends on what we mean by sentence structure on the one hand, and

by some element or other being outside the sentence structure, on the other.