It remains doubtful whether the article belongs to the noun defined by the adjective in the superlative degree or whether it makes part and parcel of the superlative form itself.

To find an answer to this question it is necessary to know whether the definite article is ever used with a superlative form where it cannot be said to belong to a noun.

Rare examples show that the definite article has a tendency to become an appendix of the superlative form itself. (Cf. the definite article used with the superlative form of an adverb where there is no noun to which it might belong), e.g. The world hears most of the former, and talks of them 'he most: the second most is an adverb and the definite article has become an integral part of the adverb's superlative form. Such instances arc rare, but they do show that there is a tendency for the article to become an integral part of the superlative form, whether of an adjective or of an adverb.

Special Meanings of the Superlative

The basic meaning of the superlative is that of a degree of propern surpassing all the other objects mentioned or implied. But there are cases where the meanin11 is different and merclv a vcrv hmh denrcc of rvror)crtv is meant, without any comparison with other objects possessing that property, e.g. It is with the greatest pleasure that we learnt of the news. It shows that the pleasure was very great, or. e.g. In Brown's room was the greatest disorder.

This meaning is called the elative. (Cf. Russian С величайшим удовольствием.) The forms of the superlative degree are never used with the indefinite article, but a most satisfacton' result is a verv hish desree

without implying any comparison, the meaning of it is the same as that of the superlative degree in its elative application.

Substantivized Adjectives

There are some intermediate cases when some words belonging to a certain part of speech for some reasons lose several characteristic features of this part of speech and acquire characteristic features of another part of speech. In Modern English especially between the class of nouns and adjectives there is a number of words developing from adjectives into nouns (substantivization of adjectives) and nouns developing some features of adjectives (adjectivization of nouns).

Substantivized adjectives are formally adjectives but the}' have lost some of their adjective characteristics and have acquired some noun characteristics. The}' are in the process of developing and in different words the degree of substantivization is naturally different. Substantivized adjectives first of all acquire the lexical meaning and the syntactical functions of a noun.

E.g. The reach will never understand the pour.

All the substantivized adjectives also acquire the connection with the definite article. Most substantivized adjectives have a collective meaning and therefore they cannot be used with the indefinite article. Some substantivized adjectives may be used both with the definite and the indefinite articles: the Chinese, a Chinese. These adjectives have reached a greater degree of substantivization and some words have become nouns.

E.g. a German, the Germans.

They are nouns which have historically developed from the adjectives. In Modem English they have lost all their adjectival characteristics and have acquired all the noun characteristics: the lexical meaning of a noun and their syntactical functions, their syntactical connections with words of other classes and their morphological categories of number and case. Some grammarians call them fully substantivized adjectives. But in this case they are no longer adjectives but nouns. When we say substantivized adjective we mean only those words which occupy an intermediate position between the noun and the adjective.

Adjectivized Nouns

Adjectivized nouns are words developing in the opposite direction. They are widely spread in Modem English. We find many word-groups in which the first element is historically a noun which acquires the meaning and functions of an adjective and therefore the}' occupy an intermediate position between the noun and the adjective.

E.g. a tram-car, a tram-stop, a watch chain.

Different authors explain the first element of these combinations in different ways. Some of them say that they are nouns used in the function of an adjective. Such an explanation cannot satisfy us because both nouns and adjectives are parts of speech but not functions; therefore we cannot speak of a noun used as an adjective.

Some other authors say that these words are not nouns but adjectives. But we cannot consider them to be adjectives because they have not yet acquired all the adjectival characteristics. As is known an adjective may perform the function of an attribute and of a predicative.

E.g. This is a black suit. This suit is black.

We ma}1 say This is a factory gate. But we cannot say This gate is factory. So these words do not perform the function of a predicative. It means that they have not yet acquired all the adjectival characteristics and therefore we cannot call them adjectives.

There are several different opinions about adjectivized nouns in Modern English. Perhaps the most detailed description of this class of words was given by Professor Smirnitsky. He says that the degree of adjectivization of nouns is different in various cases. This is why the first element of such combinations as stone wall or rose garden is not the same in all the cases. The first element is adjectivized in different degrees. It expresses the characteristics of a thing. It is used as an attribute and placed before a noun to which it refers. All these characteristics are typical of the adjective. On the other hand these words cannot be used as predicatives as true adjectives can. Therefore they occupy some intermediate position between a noun and an adjective.

If we take such a combination as a rose garden we shall see that this is a compound word in which the first element is not a separate word but a noun stem which is used as a part of a compound noun. On the other hand the word rose cannot be used as a predicative, on the other hand a rose garden is a garden of roses and not a garden of rose. If it were not a noun stem the picture would be different. The fact that these nouns have lost their plural form in this function (a rose garden not roses garden) clearly shows that they are not nouns but noun stems.

The Problem of the Classification of Adjectives

Traditionally all the adjectives arc classified into: qualitative and relative. But there are some other opinions concerning classification of adjectives. Zhigadlo. Ivanova, loffic in their book "Современный английский язык"

give another classification:

1. Qualitative (small, great);

2. Relative (woolen, wooden, iron);

3. Quantitative (little, much, many. few).

The third group is singled out on the ground of its meaning and its relation ю the noun. The lexical meaning if these words (many, much, little, few) is that of quantity and not of quality. Qualitative adjectives can be used with any kind of nouns, e.g. white snow, a white coat, white coast while the quantitative adjectives cannot be used in such a way. We may say: much /'little) snow but we cannot say many (fcwj snow. We may say many (few) ' oats.

Some grammarians find still more groups among the adjectives such as:

1. Qualitative-relative adjectives (e.g. a wooden face: cf. a wooden table):

1. Limiting adjectives (mere. only. very, sheer, etc.).

Limiting adjectives are not used in the function of a predicative while 'his function alongside with the attributive function is the main function of the adjectives, for example, we may say The rose is red. But we cannot say The woman is onlv or The road is ven\

Lecture IX The Pronoun

1. Its definition. Lexical characteristics, syntactical function and grammatical categories of different classes of pronouns.

2. Noun pronouns and adjective pronouns.

3. Types of pronouns and their morphological peculiarities.

4. The category of number and gender in pronouns.

5. Limits of the pronoun class.

The Pronoun

The pronoun is a class of words the characteristics of which differ greatly from the characteristics of other classes of notional words. The pronoun does not name any thing or characteristics of a thing. If we take a noun, for example, a book or table we know what thing is meant without any context. If we take the pronoun he or this we do not know who or what is meant without a preceding context. The same refers to all the pronouns. That is why we say that the pronoun points to a thing, person or property without naming them. These lexical characteristics are the main points of difference between the class of pronouns and all other classes of notional words. All the other notional words always name some phenomena existing in reality while the pronoun has a more general meaning than the other notional words in English. Since a pronoun does not name a definite thing it can point to man} different thing according to the context. It may point to a noun or to an adjective. That is why the pronoun has a wider and more general meaning than the noun and the adjective.

Syntactical Functions. If we take different pronouns he, this, even' and so on. we shall see that their functions are different. The pronoun he may be used as a subject, object, predicative. This means that the pronoun he has the same functions as the noun. The pronoun this may be used as a subject, object, predicative, attribute. This means that the pronoun this has the i unctions both of the noun and the adjective.

If we analyze the syntactical relations of the pronoun to other classes of words we shall see that the pronoun is connected with a noun and with a verb. The pronouns which are used as attributes are connected with a noun. The pronouns which are used as a subject, object and predicative are connected with a noun and with a verb. Different classes of pronouns have different relations to other parts of speech.

If we analyze the morphological categories of the pronoun we shall find such categories as the category of number, person, gender, case. But not all the categories are morphological and these categories are not the same for all the pronouns. Personal pronouns have the category of number, person, case, and gender. Demonstrative pronouns have the category of number. In indefinite pronouns such as somebody, anybody, someone, and some others we shall find the category of case (common and possessive). The other indefinite pronouns such as each, every, any, etc. are invariable.

Some authors do not call the categories of pronouns morphological, they consider them to be lexical. So the lexical meaning of English pronouns is typical for the whole class of pronouns while the grammatical characteristics of different pronouns are different. But a part of speech must have in common both lexical and grammatical features. That is why the question arises whether we should regard the pronoun with its different grammatical characteristics as a part of speech or not. We consider the pronoun to be a pan of speech because:

1) it has its own lexical meaning which is different from the lexical meaning of all the other parts of speech;

2) because its grammatical characteristics though not quite the same for all the pronouns are different from the grammatical characteristics of all the other parts of speech.

All the pronouns in Modem English may be subdivided into two mam classes:

1) Noun-pronouns and

2) adjective pronouns.

Noun-pronouns arc those which replace a noun while adjective-pronouns replace adjectives. Noun-pronouns point to a thing and have the functions of a subject, object, predicative and are connected in the sentence with a verb.

Adjective-pronouns point to the characteristics or qualities of a thing or person. Their typical function is that of an attribute. They are connected with a noun.

oonie i^ngiiSu pronouns arc always used as adjective-pronouns, such as indefinite pronouns each, every, any. no. There are pronouns which may be used both as noun-pronouns and adjective-pronouns, as. for example, demonstrative pronouns.

E.g. This is a book. This book is mine.

The possessive pronouns and the negative pronouns no, none have different forms when used as adjectives-pronouns and noun-pronouns.

E.g. My is an adjective-pronoun. Mine is a noun-pronoun.

The possessive pronouns have two forms: the conjoint (dependent) form and the absolute (independent) form. The difference between them is that the conjoint form is the form of an adjective pronoun while the absolute form is the form of a noun-pronoun. Thus, my is an adjective-pronoun always used attributively. Mine is a noun-pronoun used in noun functions, no is an adjective-pronoun, none is a corresponding noun-pronoun.

Number is one of the main morphological categories in the English pronouns. We do not find this category in all English pronouns.

English pronouns may be classified into the following groups:

1. Personal (I. he. she. it. we. you, they: me. him. her. it. us. you. them).

2. Possessive (my. his. her. its. our. your; mine. his. hers. its. ours, yours, their(s)).

3. Reflexive (myself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves).

4. Demonstrative (this, these, that, those, such, the same).

5. Interrogative (who. whose, what, which).

6. Connective:

a) relative (who. whose, which, that, as);

b) conjunctive (who. whose, which, what).

7. Defining (each, every, everybody, everyone, everything, all. either, both, other, another, etc.).

8. Indefinite (some. any. somebody, anybody, something, anything, someone, anyone)

9. Negative (no. none, neither, nobody, nothing, no one. etc.).

10. Reciprocal (each other, one another).

1. Personal pronouns have the categories of person, case, number and gender. They have two cases: nominative - /. he. she. it. you. me. ihey. and objective - me. him. her, it, us. YOU. them.

i crsoriui pronouns nave two numbers: siri^Uiar- i. tic. slic. it, anc piuriij-ие, they. The second person you may be both singular and plural The pronouns he. she. it distinguish gender: male beings arc referred to as he. female beings as.v/гг. Inanimate things are referred to as /). Persona! pronouns may have different functions in the sentence: subject, object, predicative.

2. Possessive pronouns arc exactly parallel to the personal pronouns and distinguish number, gender and person in the same way as the personal pronouns do. because they originate from the old genitive case of the personal

pronouns (Old English: Ic ^emunde his = I remember him or it). Possessive pronouns have two forms: the conjoint (dependent) - my, your, his, her, its, our, vow; their, and the absolute form - mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs.

The conjoint form is used when the possessive pronoun comes before a noun it modifies. It is used as an attribute, e.g. In his turn he looked at me.

The absolute form is used when the possessive pronoun does not modify any noun. It may be used as a subject, predicative or object. Possessive pronouns are often used before the names of the parts of the body, clothes, things belonging to a person. In this case they are not translated into Russian, e.g. Young Jolion rose and held out his hand to help his father up.

3. Reflexive pronouns have the category of person, number, and gender. They refer to the subject of the sentence in which they are used. They perform the syntactical function of an object or a predicative, attribute and adverbial modifier, e.g. She was by herself (alone), (predicative). She was struggling with herself, (prepositional object). He looked at the photograph of himself. (attribute). She lived by herself, (adverbial modifier of manner).

Reflexive pronouns in the function of a direct object to transitive verbs impart to them reflexive meaning: wash oneself, dress oneself, etc.

Emphatic pronouns coincide in form with reflexive pronouns. They are used in apposition to nouns or persona! pronouns sen-ing to emphasize them (Cf. with the Russian сам, сама. само. сами).

Emphatic pronouns are placed cither after the word the}" emphasize or at the end of the sentence:

Jolion himself lit a cigarette. I have thought of it myself.

Sometimes an emphatic pronoun is used independent!}', there is no noun or pronoun in the sentence with which it might be correlated:

My friend and myself would be much obliged to you.

4. Demonstrative pronouns have two numbers singular and plural: this-these, that - those. Jliis and that may be applied both to persons and to things. They may be used in such functions as a subject, predicative, object, attribute. The pronoun same usually performs the function of an attribute but it may a*so be usc»^ as a subject, object, predicative. I lie pronoun siidi is used as a subject, object, predicative, attribute.

E.g. Such was the matter, (subject).

From the day she left I was no longer the same, (predicate c).

5. Interrogative pronouns are used to form special questions. The pronoun who has the category of case: nominative who and objective мУкэш. In a sentence they may be used as a subject, predicative, object, attribute.

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6. Relative pronouns not only point back to a noun or a pronoun mentioned before but also have the conjunctive power introducing attributive clauses. Hence, these pronouns are semi-auxiliary words because they also perform some syntactical functions: subject, object, etc.. e.g.

At first I did not recognize the person who called me. (who is in the function of the subject of the attributive subordinate clause referring to an antecedent person in the principle clause).

Relative pronouns who, whom, whose, which, thai together with conjunctive pronouns are called sometimes connective pronouns.

7. Conjunctive pronouns what. who. and which introduce subject, predicative, and object subordinate clauses: Whatever I can do for you will be nothing. That is what I do not understand. May I ask what he is professor of?

8. Defining pronouns are all. each, every, everybody, everyone, everything, either, both, other, another.

Everybody and everyone have two cases: the common and the genitive case: everybody - everybody's, everyone - even-one's. The pronoun other has two cases and two numbers.

9. Indefinite pronouns point out to some person or thing indefinitely. Such pronouns ^somebody, anvbodv, someone, anvone. one have two cases: common and genitive (possessive).

Negative pronouns. Most of the indefinite pronouns correspond to negative pronouns: somebody - nobody, someone - no one.

10. Reciprocal pronouns express mutual action or relation. They have the category of case: common and possessive: each other - each other's. They are usually used in the function of an object or attribute.

B.Khaimovich and B.Rogovskaya find some more types of pronouns:

1. Generalizing pronouns: all, both, each, either, every, and its compounds everyone, everything, etc. The pronouns every, each, all, both, either are called pro-adjectives and pro-numerals. The word everywhere is called pro-adverb.

2. Quantitative pronouns: much, many, few, a few, little, several. The main function of these pronouns is adjectival, numeral, and adverbial.

3. Contrasting pronouns: others, other's, others", another, another's, othenvise. Pronouns other and another are pro-adjectives and otherwise is a pro-adverb.

We cannot support the point of view that one and the same word may be a pronoun and an adjective, a pronoun and a noun, a pronoun and an adverb because of their syntactical functions.

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Different opinions exist as to the category of number and gender in pronouns. The category of number is found in the pronouns this - these, that - those, other - others, etc. It should be said that personal pronouns had no morphological category of number. It is a lexical category: the pronoun we is not I -r I but rather I + you. I •+- they, etc. They is not always he - he. it may mean he- she, etc. The pronoun you is said to indicate both the singular and the plural. So it ought to be similar to such cases as sheep-sheep, deer - deer. But it is not so. Two sheep = one sheep - one sheep. In other words sheep plural = sheep singular ~ sheep singular. With the pronoun vou it is different. You plural does not always indicate you singular ^ you singular. It may indicate vou singular -f- he or they, etc.

B.Ilyish is of the opinion that there is no grammatical category of number in the pronouns: mv, our. mine, ours, myself, ourselves. He considers them to be different words. B.Ilyish also says there is no grammatical category of gender in the pronouns: he, she. it. his, hers, himself, herself.

The word she is not a form of the word her. They are separate units.

Limits of the Pronoun Class

The limits of the pronoun class are difficult to define. Take, for example. the word many. In several respects it is similar in meaning and function to the pronouns some and several: Cf. some children, some of the children, some of them: many children, many of the children, many of them. Here manv differs from adjectives which cannot be followed by the group of- noun or pronoun. But/наш1 has degrees of comparison. So such words as manv, few, much, little are hybrids, partaking both of pronouns and of adjectives.

Another case in point is the word certain. When used as a predicative it is an adjective (We're quite certain of the fact.), but it is used as an attribute like the pronoun some (A certain Mr.Brown wants to see you. or There are certain indications that...). The question is whether certain is an adjective or a pronoun. It can be preceded by the indefinite article, which is not the case with pronouns. We shall not class certain with pronouns.

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Lecture X The Adverb

Definition of the adverb. The limits of the adverb. Morphological classification of adverbs. Semantic classes.

4. The syntactical function of adverbs. Degrees of comparison.

The Adverb

The adverb is such a part of speech which denotes some properties of an action or another property or expresses various circumstances in which an action occurs.

The adverb has the only category that of degrees of comparison. The adverb is mostly invariable.

Unlike the Russian adverb the adverb in English is recognized not by its being unchangeable but mainly by its semantic and syntactical distinctions.

There are some classifications of adverbs in English.

1. Morphological classification divides adverbs into simple or primary and derived or secondary'.

A simple adverb is not derived from an}- other part of speech, such as soon, now, since, well.

Derived adverbs are formed from other parts of speech, either by composition (midway, somewhere) or derivation (namely). They preserve semantic and formal connections with the words from which they are derived. Adverbs are formed by the way of suffixation and composition. Productive suffixes with the help of which derived adverbs are built up are: -/v, -wise, -wards, ways. The suffix -/v is the most productive one with the help of which adverbs are derived from adjectives and Participles I. II.

E.g. easy - easily, kind-ly. decided-ly. meaning-ly.

By means of composition derived adverbs may be composed in accordance with the following patterns:

1) preposition -+ noun (upstairs, downstairs):

2) preposition - adverb (forever):

3) pronoun - adverb (somewhere, sometimes);

4) adverb л adverb (however, whenever).

There are also phrase adverbs formed from nouns with prepositions (phraseological units): at last, at least, one by one, ю and fro.

There are combinations of an adverb with a preposition, such as:

till now, since then, from where, from within.

2. Semantic classes. B.Khaimovich and B.Rogovskaya distinguish the group of adverbs called quantitative denoting the degree, measure or quantity of an action, quality of state: very, quite, almost, entirely, rather, too, sufficiently, enough, little, much, etc.

Most grammarians however consider these adverbs as quantitative on account of the fact that qualities of an action or manner of it or qualities of state or degree or measure are simply shades of one and the same meaning of quality. The qualitative adverbs as such may modify verbs (to speak fluently), adverbs (very seriously), adjectives (awfully dangerous).

The qualitative adverbs mostly form the degrees of comparison. The comparative and superlative degrees are built up in adverbs in the same way as in corresponding adjectives. Adverbs having one or two syllables form the degrees of comparison synthetically, i.e. with the help of the suffix -cr and -cst: high - higher - highest. All other adverbs express different degrees of qualities of an action or a property by means of the words more and most. e.g. more expressively, most expressively.

The circumstantive adverbs serve to denote various conditions or circumstances attending an action (time, place, etc.). They may express temporal or local conditions or cause, purpose, frequency of an action. These adverbs refer not directly to a predicate verb but to a whole situation which is expressed in a sentence. Therefore the}' may occupy different positions in a sentence. Some circumstantive adverbs expressing time and place have degrees of comparison, e.g. soon - sooner - soonest.

And so lexically adverbs are divided into two main divisions with their groups as follows:

A. Qualifying adverbs denoting quality of an action, the manner in which an action is performed or give a quantitative characteristic of an action or quality. Qualifying adverbs are subdivided into:

1) qualitative adverbs (slowly, badly, fluently, quickly, well);

2) adverbs of manner (aloud, upside-down, how, by heart, in turn): ?) adverbs of quantity or degree (very, almost, quite, rather). B. Circumstantive adverbs divided into:

П adverbs of time (now. then, before, tomorrow, just, still, at present,

at last, by now. just now. sooner or later);

2) adverbs of frequency (often, never, seldom, sometimes, usually); ?') adverbs of place (her;, outside, southward, near, where); 4) adverbs of cause or purpose (why denotes the cause and purpose of

an action), e.g. Whv do vou sav that9

The Syntactical Function of an Adverb

The syntactical function of an adverb in the sentence is that of an adverbial modifier. In this function an adverb may be connected with a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a stative or it may refer to a whole sentence, e.g.

His voice is utterly expressionless. He was fast asleep. They knew it perfectly well. Yesterday we went to the cinema.

Sometimes an adverb may express the property of a substance. In Modern Russian such cases are rather frequent, e.g. Москва сегодня. Парк летом.

In English adverbs rarely modify nouns, e.g. The above remark. The house opposite. The then government.

In such cases adverbs have the function of an attribute. But this function is not typical of English adverbs.

Still more rarely adverbs may be used in the function of a direct object.

E.g. We leave here tomorrow.

The word here in the sentence means the place.

Lecture XI

Modal Words in English

1. Definition of modal words. Modal words and the modality of the sentence.

2. Arguments for distinguishing modal words as a separate part of speech. Assessment of these arguments.

3. Syntactical functions of modal words.

The Post-Position

Characterics of post-position. Different points of view on post-position. Distinction among post-positions, prepositions and adverbs.

Words of the Category of State (Statives).

The possibility of distinguishing the stative as a separate part of speech and peculiarities. Some arguments against this view. Reasons for considering these words as adjectives. Assessment of both conceptions.

The Particle

Definition of the particle. The problem of discriminating adverbs and particles. Reasons for distinguishing particles as a separate part of speech. Assessment of these reasons. Syntactical functions of particles.

Modal Words in English

Modal words form a separate class of words. The lexical meaning of modal words is the expression of modality, that is the relation of what is said to reality. Modal words are: of course, certainly, surelv. really, probabh: no doubt, naturally, and others. By means of modal words the speaker expresses his assurance, doubt, possibility, improbability of what is said to reality. Syntactically modal words differ from form words. They are different because the}' cannot be used as parts of the sentence and because they cannot be connected with words of other classes. Modal words are used cither as parenthesis or thcv mav form sentences in themselves e n.

- Are you glad?

- Certainly.

Morphologically modal words are invariable. If we compare modal words to any class of notional words we shall sec a great difference between them. They are different in their meaning, function and morphological characteristics.

The lexical meaning. In this aspect they are different because modal

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words express modality. They do not denote any phenomenon, any thing or action existing in reality.

Syntactically they are independent elements in the sentence while notional words perform different syntactical functions.

Morphologically they are also different because they are invariable. Foreign grammars usually do not mention such a class as modal words. They include modal words into the class of adverbs.

If we compare modal words with adverbs we shall see that they are quite different:

1. Modal words are different from adverbs in their lexical meaning as the adverbs denote the circumstances under which an action takes place or a character of an action while modal words denote neither the circumstances of an action nor the character of it. They express only modality.

2. Their syntactical characteristics are even more different. The adverb usually performs such functions as an adverbial modifier of time, place, manner, etc. The adverb is usually connected with the verb, adjective and adverb in the sentence. While modal words do not perform any function in the sentence. They are not connected with any word in the sentence and are used as independent elements.

3. Modal words as well as some adverbs are morphologically invariable. For those authors who look at the parts of speech traditionally, this fact seems important. But we know very well that in English there are many words which are invariable. Therefore there is no ground to include modal words into a class of adverbs based only on their coincidence in the stability of form, their unchangeability.

The modal words historically developed differently. A part of them have developed from adverbs: certainly, possiblv, probably, surely and some others.

They have preserved the adverbial suffix -ly, which is typical of modern adverbs. They look like adverbs in form. Some of them even have an adverb homonym in Modern English, e.g.

He acted swiftly and surely. (Here.v;/n?/Y is an adverb in the function of an adverbial modifier of manner.)

Surely he is here. (A»r/visamodal word in the function of a parenthesis.) They are homonyms.

Modal words may be classified in two ways:

1. The}- may be divided into subgroups according to their meaning.

2. They may be divided into subgroups according to the way in which the}' have been formed.

1. According to their meaning modal words ma}- be divided into:

a) Modal words expressing certainty, assurance: certainly, of course, surely, really, assuredly, etc.;

b) Modal words expressing doubt or uncertainty: probably, possibly, perhaps, maybe;

c) Modal words expressing different shades of desirability: happily.

luckily, etc.

2. By their origin modal words may be divided into those which have developed from combinations of a noun with a preposition or consisting of two words. From prepositional phrases have developed such modal words as perhaps, of course', from the verbal combination has developed maybe.

So modal words is a special class of words expressing modality of a sentence.

The Post-Position

The post-positions which are sometimes called as prepositional adverbs are form-words usually connected with the verb and following it: to come in, to go out, to give up, make-up, etc.

Sometimes post-positions are connected with nouns of verbal origin: a looker-on, a passer-by.

Post-position form a class of form words which are used to modify the verb. On the one hand post-positions change the lexical meaning of the word, on the other hand post-positions change the character of an action expressed by the verb. If a verb without a post-position expresses a durative action, the same verb with a post-position usually denotes a terminative action. Since post-positions change the character of an action some authors think that post-positions together with the verb form the grammatical category of aspect. The idea is wrong because post-positions though used very often do not form a resular system and different post-positions have different lexical meaning. There are some verb in Modem English which are never used with post-positions, other verbs may be used with different post-positions: to sit - to si! down, to take - to take away (in, out).

The use of a verb with a post-position or without it is one of the ways of expressing the character of an action, but it is expressed lexically and not grammatically. Therefore we cannot speak here about the grammatical category of aspect. Morphologically post-positions are unchangeable.

Some grammarians think that post-positions are not separate words but morphemes. Such an idea comes into being because the post-position forms one lexical unit with the verb. However we cannot agree with the opinion that post-positions are morphemes taking into consideration the following:

1. Very often other words may be placed between the verb and the

following post-position, e.g. Take your hat and put it on.

2. The endings are added to the verb and not to post-positions and this is a very strong argument proving that post-positions are not morphemes, e.g.

He comes in and sits down at the table.

Owing to these two reasons we consider post-positions to be separate words and not morphemes.

Post-positions should not be confused with adverbs or prepositions with which they often coincide in form being their homonyms.

E.g. He went down the street (preposition). He is down there (adverb). He sat down (post-position).

The same can be observed with pretty many post-positions. Since many post-positions are homonyms with prepositions and adverbs there is an opinion that they are not different words but one and the same word in different functions, i.e. in the function of a post-position, an adverb or preposition.

According to this idea there are no separate classes of prepositions, post­positions or adverbs. But this is obviously wrong on many points. The idea could be regarded plausible if all adverbs, prepositions and post-positions coincided in form. But this is far from real facts. Many adverbs are not homonyms with prepositions and post-positions: such adverbs as ever, never, here, there, lately, early, etc. On the other hand there are prepositions which are not homonyms to post-positions or adverbs, e.g. instead of. in spite of. Since the three classes of adverbs, prepositions and post-positions only partly coincide in form, they cannot be treated as one class of words. They have quite different meaning and functions, adverbs being notional words and post-positions and prepositions - form-words. Post-positions were first analyzed and described by Professor I.E.Anichkov.

Words of the Category of State (Statives)

The term stative refers to such words as asleep, alike, ashame. The general meaning of it is that of expressing a passing state in which a person or thing may happen to be. The meaning of stative embraces the following points. Statives may express physical states (asleep, alive), psychological state (ashame), state in space (ashore, aloof), state of moment (ahead).

Statives as a part of speech appeared as a certain process of the development of the English language. In Old English there existed the combination of the preposition on •+• noun. In the course of time these two words merged. The preposition on turned into a certain element which further on turned into a prefix a- which nowadays is a productive way of formation

of statives as separate part of speech. The role of the prefix a- is especially obvious in the words which historically had some other prefixes:

O.E. of athirst - M.E. aware, on slaspe - asleep.

However the existence of statives as a separate part of speech is not universally recognized either for the Russian language or for the English language. Thus Professor L.Barkhudarov denies the existence of statives and calls such words as alive, asleep adjectives on the following grounds:

1) the meaning of state is merely a special variety of the meaning of property typical of adjectives;

2) words of this category' can be preceded by the word more', more

ashamed;

3) they can be modified by adverbs (painfully alive), by prepositional phrases (alive with stars) and they can be a predicative, a postpositional or detached attribute, and, less frequently, a prepositive attribute, e.g. In the US the problem of dealing with names of foreign extraction is an alive one.

The conclusion L.Barkhudarov arrives at is that words of this type are adjectives, which is the traditional view. However these arguments are not binding. They are based on several assumptions which are by no means self-evident or necessary. Thus there us nothing to prove that the notion of state cannot be the foundation of a separate part of speech.

Academicians Shcherba and Vinogradov were the first to discuss this separate part of speech in the Russian language. Such words as жаль, тепло, холодно, обидно were called by them ''слова категории состояния".

In the English language this question was investigated by Professor Ilyish who called this part of speech as words of the category of state or statives.

If we compare the generalized lexico-grammatical meaning of statives and adjectives we may see that the adjective as a part of speech serves to express quality or property whereas a stative as a part of speech serves to express a passing state.

From the point of view of their morphological characteristics they are also quite different. They are built up with the help of the characteristic prCiix u- Vv'iTiiC adjectives arc characterize^ by such tvpicai sunixcs as -jul, -less, -ous. and such a prefix as un- with all its variations.

The adjective as a part of speech may be characterized by the category of degrees of comparison. The statives as a part of speech are invariable.

As to the function the adjective is mostly used in the function of an attribute while the statives arc usually used in the function of a predicative and are not used as attributes. Therefore the most typical combination model combination of adjectives is their prepositive connection with a noun while

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with the stative as a part of speech the prepositive connection with a link-verb is more typical. Summing up we may say that adjectives and statives are different classes of words and statives do form a separate independent part of speech.

From the point of view of their meaning we may distinguish a group of the so-called sterWe-statives which are more or less widely used in the language: afire, ablaze, alive.

Besides there is quite a numerous group of the so-called non-stable statives which are often formed individually by the speaker.

Stable statives as a rule express: Psychic-statives (ashame): Physical or the state of an action or a movement (ahead).

Non-stable statives may be divided into two groups: the first is represented by statives which are synonymous to stable statives. the second group is represented by statives which express notions not denoted by stable statives.

From the point of view of their morphological characteristics, or their structural characteristics words of the category of state may be classified also into two groups:

1) morphologically divisible; 2} morphologically indivisible.

The first group is more numerous and productive. We may easily distinguish the prefix a- and a noun- or a verb- or an adjective-stem, e.g. asleep.

The second group is not numerous, the element a- in the words of this group cannot be treated as a prefix because the elimination of this clement does not give any meaningful stem, e.g. aware.

In Modern English words of the category of state are used in three syntactical functions: predicative, objective-predicative and attributive. The main function of the stative is that of predicative. In this function statives may be preceded by a link-verb.

E.g. He became aware of a figure in grey.

She dropped asleep feeling rather sorry for herself.

Statives may be also used in the function of objective-predicative particularly after the verbs find. have, and others and after nouns and pronouns.

E.g. He found his sister alone.

He ought to have this fire alight.

It may be followed by a prepositional object with the prepositions of. to,

with, at.

E.g. She felt ashamed of her action. His face was alive with delight.

The words afraid and ashamed may take an object expressed by the infinitive, e.g. He should be ashamed to see such things.

The stative aware may be followed by a whole subordinate clause, e.g. He is aware that she does not admire his face.

Statives may be combined with different adverbial modifiers, e.g. He was afoot in a moment.

In all the above given cases statives are used as predicatives, and their predicative force is quite evident in all the examples. This predicative force is somewhat weakened when a stative is used in the function of an attribute following its noun, that is a post-positive attribute, e.g. He was a man alive to social interest.

The predicative force of a stative is still more weakened when a stative precedes a noun to which it refers as an attribute, that is when a stative is used as a prepositional attribute, e.g. His aloof manner annoyed me.

Statives in English and in Russian do not correspond to each other. A Russian stative is never translated by an English stative and vice versa. Such typical Russian statives as жаль, лень, тепло are translated into English by different parts of speech but not by statives.

Мне жаль его. I pity him (глагол). I feel some pity for him (существительное).

Тепло. It is warm (прилагательное).

So we may say that the phenomenon which can be expressed by statives in Russian and in English are far from being the same.

The Particle

Particles are words which are used to stress some notional word in the sentence. In Modern English there are the following particles: even, only, just, so, merely, but, also, to, simply, still, yet.

The lexical meaning of the particle is to stress, to emphasize, restrict or make negative the meaning of separate words, groups of words or even whole clauses.

Syntactically the particles belonging to form-words are used as independent parts of the sentence. As to their syntactical relations, particles may be connected with any classes of notional words. This is the main difference between the particles and other form-words. The article, for example, as a form-word is always connected with a noun, post-positions with a verb, etc., e.g. Even she would never have said this.

It is connected with the subject she making it more prominent. Or She wouldn't even think of such a thing. Here the same particle is connected with a verb. Morphologically particles are invariable. The number of particles in English is not so great as in Russian, but nevertheless they form a separate part of speech.

Particles may be classified in different ways. As to their structure particles may be simple: just, still, yet, even, and some others: derivative: merely, alone, simplv. compound: also.

According to their meaning particles may be:

1. Limiting: onlv, just, but, alone, merelv.

2. Intensifying: simply, still, just, etc.

3. Connecting: too, also.

4. Negative: not, never.

Not all grammarians consider the particle to be a separate part of speech. We shall adduce two opinions on the subject.

On the one hand many authors especially foreign use the term particle with reference to all the classes of invariable words in Modern English. That means that all the words with the exception of notional words are called particles.

The other idea is that particles in Modern English should be included into the class of adverbs. That means that no such a class of words as particles is mentioned at all.

And we do not share these two points of view and recognize particles as a separate part of speech.

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Part II Syntax

Lecture I Phrase

1. The general characteristics of phrases.

2. Classification of phrases.

3. Syntactical relations between the compounds of a phrase.

Phrase or word-combination is a grammatical unit of two or more words which have their own lexical meaning when taken separately. Here a phrase differs greatly from an analytical form. In analytical forms one of the components is an auxiliary7 element which means that it is completely devoid of any lexical meaning. The second component is the carrier of the lexical meaning of the whole combination.

E.g. I have read this book. I have to read this book.

In linguistic theory there is an opinion (Professor Smirnitsky) that a phrase must consist of at least two notional words. This point of view is hardly to be acceptable because if we admit this point of view then this classification of phrases will leave outside such a large group of combination of words as preposition ^ noun.

As a phrase is one of the basics units of syntax alongside with a sentence it is necessary to discuss the difference between the phrase and the sentence.

The phrase and the sentence differ in the following respects:

1. Phrases do not express predication whereas the expression of predication is one of the mam features of any sentence. Predication is a

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whole complex of relations between the subject and the predicate expressed grammatically, e.g. She studies hard. I saw him run.

2. A phrase has no intonation, just as a word has none, while intonation is one of the most important features of any sentence.

3. A phrase is a means of naming different phenomena, that is why a phrase may express some thought or it may not whereas a sentence as such usually expresses a complete thought.

4. A phrase is always represented by not fewer than two words while a sentence may be formed by a single word.

5. Each component of a phrase may undergo grammatical changes in accordance with grammatical categories represented in it and the identity of a phrase, the pattern of a phrase will not be destroyed or violated, it will be preserved.

E.g. Play with a child.

Playing with a child. V + prep. + N Playing with children.

With a sentence things are different as a sentence is a unit with every word having its definite form, a change in the form of one or more words would produce a new sentence. E.g. He plays with a child.

He is playing with a child.

Classification of Phrases

All phrases may be classified on the bases of two criteria: according to their structure and according to their function in a sentence.

The structural or morphological classification of phrases deals with two groups:

1. The first group is represented by simple phrases which consist of two words. One of them is a head word and the other is a subordinate word. e.g. Clever remark (head word).

2. The second group is represented by compound phrases which have besides head words and subordinate words some extending elements, e.g. Discussion of an interesting book.

Here, in the phrase, interesting is an extending element.

The Syntactical Classification of Ph'rases

According to their function in a sentence phrases may be divided into two groups:

1. Phrases which perform an independent syntactical function of one or more parts in a sentence.

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E.g. He was to go their (modal compound verbal predicate).

We began working (aspective compound verbal predicate). He writes many letters (the phrase is used in the function of two members of a sentence, i.e. the predicate and the object of the sentence).

2. Phrases which do not perform any independent syntactical function in a sentence but their functions are equivalent to the functions ol prepositions, conjunctions and modal words. These phrases are equivalent of the corresponding parts of speech, e.g. apart from, in order that, down to. in accordance with, etc.

There are some typical patterns of phrases in Modern English:

1. N + N. In this pattern we may have either both nouns in the common case or the first noun may be in the possessive case. e.g. Stone wall, father's room, canon ball.

2. V-N. Here the noun following the verb may be either an object of an action or measure of an action, e.g. read a book, wait a minute.

3. V + Adv. Speak fluently, run fast (headlong).

4. Adv -r Adj. Very beautiful.

5. Adv - Adv. Very well.

6. V -i- prep, т- К or pron. Speak to him. rely on brother.

An important question is connected with the pattern N - V. In the linguistic theory different opinion have been put forward on the subject. Some scientists consider that the combination X - V ought to be studied just like other types of phrases, but some other grammarians hold to the opinion that the combination N + V constitutes a sentence. In connection with this question it seems more preferable to consider such combinations under different circumstances taking into account the points of difference between phrases and sentences and then judge whether we deal with a phrase or with a sentence.

Syntactical Relations between the Components of a Phrase

Syntactical relations between the components of a phrase may be divided into three groups: agreement, government, and adjoinment.

1. By agreement we mean such a method of expressing syntactical relations in a phrase which consists in making the subordinate word take a grammatical form similar to the grammatical form of its head-word. In Russian there is agreement in the categories of number, case, gender.

In Modern English agreement refers to the category of number only. This means that the subordinate word agrees in number with its head-word

if the latter has different number forms. This is practically found in the pronouns this and that which agree in number with their nouns.

As to the question of agreement of the verb with a noun or pronoun denoting the subject of an action, there exists a variety of opinions in linguistic theory. One point of view is that in such cases we deal with agreement of the predicate with the subject. The other point of view is that there is no agreement in number of a verb with the noun or pronoun denoting the doer of an action. As a certain proof of this point of view the fact was put forward that the sentences My family is small and My family are early rises exist side by side in the English language. In accordance with this point of view in such cases there is no agreement of the verb with the noun. The verb just shows whether the subject of the action is to be thought of as singular or plural no matter what the category of number in the noun may be. This very question is still to be solved.

2. By government we understand the use of a certain grammatical form of a subordinate word regarded by the meaning of its head-word. In case of government the grammatical form of a subordinate word does not coincide with the grammatical form of its head-word. Here lies the difference between agreement and government. The vivid example of government in Modern English is the use of the objective case of personal pronouns and the pronoun who when they are subordinate to a verb or follow a preposition, e.g. I help them. I rely on him.

Accordingly there are two types of government, that is direct government (to read books, to help them) and prepositional government (object to her. rely on him).

3. By adjoinment we understand such a way of connecting words when the}' are joined to one another without any special form but only by their position, their dependent grammatical function and their meaning. The most usual example of this type of connection is the relation between an adverb and its head-word which may be a verb, an adjective or another adverb. An adverb may only be connected with its head-word in the way of adjoinment since it has no grammatical categories which would allow it to asree with another word or to be governed by it. e.g. He was slowly walking along the street.

The same may be said of Modern English adjectives. They are also adjoined to their head-words being invariable, e.g. Neither the young woman nor the old one knew what to do.

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Lecture II Sentence

1. The problem of the definition of a sentence.

2. Principles of classification of sentences.

3. The classification of sentences on the basis of the purpose of utterance or aim of communication.

4. The classification of sentences on the basis of their structure.

If a word and a phrase serve to express notions, a sentence is the main way of expressing man's thought. In other words sentence is a unit of language manifested in speech by means of which people communicate with one another. Any definition of sentence as a grammatical phenomenon should be based on the following principles:

1. It must state the relation of the sentence as a unit of language to thought.

2. It must take into account the specific structure of the language in question.

3. It must give room for as many possible varieties of sentences as can be reasonably expected to occur in the given language.

The definition which is widely used in linguistic theory characterizes sentence as the following one:

Sentence is a unit of language and speech which expresses more or less complete thought and has a definite grammatical structure and intonation.

Even' sentence shows the relation of the statement to reality from the point of view of the speaker.

However the definition of a sentence given above does not reflect all the characteristic features of all the variants of structures that may be encountered in language in general and in the English language in particular. For example. in connection with such combinations as shop notices (Bookshop] and book titles (English Grammar) two interpretations have been advanced:

1. These structures are sentences which mean This is a bookshop and This is an English Grammar. These structures arc interpreted as predicatives of sentences in which the subject and the link-verb are omitted. Thus, these structures are looked upon as units of communication, namely sentences.

2. Such notices as Book shop and such titles as English Grammar are not units of communication and they are merely appended to the object they denote.

The question arises whether we should consider these units of nomination as sentences or phrases. Since there is no established satisfactory definition of sentence as such the question is not yet solved.

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It is also necessary to mention special cases when novels have titles formulated as sentences.

E.g. Tomorrow is with us. The stars look down. Say no to death.

These titles are certainly sentences but they are units of nomination not communication, e.g. Have you read "The stars look down'"?

One more problem concerning the definition of sentence has to be considered in connection with the idea of paradigmatic syntax. In it such units as He has arrived. He has not arrived, Has he arrived'?, He will arrive. etc. are treated as different forms of one and the same sentence just as arrive, arrives, etc. are forms of one and the same verb.

But from the point of view of communication such structures are different sentences since they convey different information. The above given definition of sentence does not however reflect all these questions.

The sentence is very closely connected with what we call judgement in logic. In a judgement the speaker affirms or negates a certain fact, the existence of something. Every judgement has two members: the logical subject and the logical predicate. Logical subject and logical predicate do not always correspond to grammatical subject and predicate. The logical predicate is always stressed for it carries a logical stress in a sentence. Every judgement exists in the form of a sentence but not every sentence is a judgement because a sentence unlike a judgement is capable of expressing emotionally coloured emphatic statements, orders, questions, etc.

E.g. This is a table (it is a judgement and a sentence). Go to the blackboard (a sentence). Do you like the weather9 (a sentence). How sad! (a sentence).

The sentence is a many-sided phenomenon which may be approached from different points of view.

Classification of Sentences

I. In accordance with the purpose of utterance or types of communication sentences may be: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory.

In a declarative sentence which may be either affirmative or negative the speaker affirms or negates a certain fact. e.g. She is a good student. It's not goina to ram today.

In an interrogative sentence a question is contained. There are different types of questions: general, special, disjunctive, alternative. There are also

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sentences which are called semi-interrogative, in which the question is implied but the order of words is direct and no interrogative word is used, e.g. Oh. you've seen him0

Imperative sentences convey order, command, request, etc. They are characterized by the usage of a verb in the form of the imperative mood. Their intonation is also specific. Imperative sentences also show marked peculiarities in the usage of modal words and modal verbs. As a matter of fact modal words and modal verbs are never used in imperative sentences because their meaning is incompatible with the notion of order or request. And more than that modality in imperative sentences is expressed grammatically mainly by the forms of the imperative mood.

Exclamatory sentences serve to express feelings and emotions. They are mostly marked by a specific structure. The words what, /гон; such usuallv open the exclamatory sentences but the order of words is direct, e.s. What a lovely day it was!

II. According to the structure sentences are divided into simple and composite. They also may be:

1) two-member sentences:

2) one-member sentences:

3) elliptical sentences.

1. In a two-member sentence the subject and the predicate are expressed grammatically, e.g. She helped me greatly.

2. In a one-member sentence we deal with such a part of sentence which is neither the subject nor the predicate because the idea of the subject and the predicate may be justified only from the point of view of these phenomena existing together, i.e. the subject and the predicate may exist only in connection and comparison with each other. That is why Academician Vinogradov suggested that the part of a one-member sentence should be termed as the principle part without any distinctions whether it is a subject or a predicate. In English the principle part of a one-member sentence may­be expressed by this or that nominal part of speech by an infinitive or a verb in the form of the imperative mood. Accordingly we may distinguish three types of one-member sentences:

1) Nominative: Morning, grey and foggy.

2) Infinitive: To put a child in that position! Only to think of it! Why not go there immediately9

3) Imperative: Stop talking! Don't laugh at her!

4) By words of affirmation or negation and modal words:

- Do you know her? - Yes.

- You'll let me go? - No.

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- But. mother, do you really think it's a good idea? - Certainly.

5) By set expressions of polite address: Thank you! Sony! Please. Never mind. Not at all.

E.g.: - Have a drink? - Thanks, very much!

One-member sentences in English differ to some extent from one-member sentences in Russian. A one-member sentence in Russian may be sometimes impersonal while in English an impersonal sentence is always a two-member sentence: It is cold. Холодно. The difference is explained by the structure of English as an analytical language.

3. Elliptical sentence cause a very prolonged discussion and study both in General linguistics and in English Grammar. Traditionally they are treated as incomplete sentences and have always been studied on the basis of comparison with the so-called complete one- and two-member sentences. They are looked upon as sentences in which this or that part is omitted and could be easily replaced. Academician Vmogradov was the first to consider them as specific structures which differ greatly from one- and two-member sentences. He treated them as sentences in which something is omitted and something may be added. Later on this question was investigated by other grammarians. The viewpoint has been advanced that elliptical sentences are specific sentence structures functioning in dialogues or monologues in which they are always connected semantically and structurally with other sentences. So in these sentences nothing is omitted and nothing may be added without destroying the meaning or structure of the elliptical sentence. And therefore anv addition to the structure of the elliptical sentence is neither necessary nor possible, e.g.

- Have you ever been there0 - Never.

- How old are you? - Twenty-five.

Simple and Composite Sentences

Sentences may also be simple and composite.

A simple sentence is a separate two-member or one-member sentence or a part of a compound sentence. (The parts of a complex sentence are called clauses).

E.g. The sound of a piano came faintly from below.

Composite sentences may be divided into:

1. Compound sentences which contain two or more coordinated simple sentences, e.g.

It was full late for the river, but the weather was lovely and summer lingered bellow the yellowing leaves. (Galsworthy)

2. Complex sentences contain a principle clause and one or more

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subordinate clauses, e.g. I don't quite understand

when you speak about the

what you mean man j whom I have never clapped eyes on.

3. Mixed sentences called sometimes compound sentences with subordinate clauses or even compound complex containing compound sentences which may have subordinate clauses, e.g. Dessie was tired, too, and the blisters on her hands made digging so painful that she could hardly bear to hold the spade.

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Lecture III The Principal Parts of the Sentence

1. Principal and secondary parts of the sentence.

2. The definition of the subject.

3. Principles of classification of the subject.

4. Classifications of the subject:

a) the structural classification;

b) the classification of the subject according to its content.

5. The definition of the predicate.

6. Principles of classification of the predicate.

7. Classifications of the predicate.

It's common in grammatical theory to distinguish between principal and secondary parts of the sentence. The subject and the predicate are regarded as the principal parts of the sentence while an object, an attribute, and an adverbial modifier are secondary parts of the sentence.

Thus, in syntax as well as in morphology we deal with the system of opposition in connection with the parts of the sentence. This opposition is justified by the difference in the functions of these parts of the sentence. The subject and predicate make predication and therefore constitute the sentence while the secondary parts serve to extend predication by being added to the words which make predication and build up the sentence in accordance with their combinability as words.

The Subject

The subject is one of the principal parts of a sentence. The definition of the subject must contain the following items:

1) the meaning of the subject, i.e. its relation to the thought expressed in a sentence;

2) the syntactical relation of the subject in a sentence;

3) the morphological realization of the subject.

In accordance with these points we may define the subject as one of the principal pans of the sentence which denotes the thing or the person whose action or characteristics is expressed bv the predicate and which does not depend upon other parts of the sentence.

The subject may be expressed by different parts of speech. The classification of the subject is based on the following principles:

1. The structure of the subject:

2. The content of the subject.

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From the point of view of its structure the subject may be simple or complex. The simple subject is expressed by different parts of speech such as a noun in the common case or a personal pronoun in the nominative case. a demonstrative pronoun, some indefinite pronouns, a substantivized adjective, a numeral, an infinitive, a gerund, and a whole phrase. The Complex Subject is expressed by predicative constructions with verbals which imply the idea of secondary predication. There are the following predicative constructions which may be used in the function of the Complex Subject:

1. Subjective with the Infinitive: He is considered to be very clever.

2. Subjective with the Participle: They were seen crossing the street.

3. Gerundial Construction: Your being late is a very unpleasant fact,

4. For-to Infinitive Construction: For you to read English books is

quite necessary.

In connection with the sentence of the type He is considered to be very clever there exist two points of view:

1. In this sentence the subject is he to be very clever, expressed by subjective with the Infinitive. The predicate in such sentences is said to be simple verbal predicate with the verb in the passive voice or when the verbs are such as seem, appear then the active voice is presented here.

2. In sentences of such a type the subject is simple expressed either by a personal pronoun in the nominative case or a noun in the common case but the predicate is considered to be compound verbal modal which serves to express the speaker's attitude to a certain statement. V.L.Kaushanskaya supports this point of view.

In accordance with the classification of the subject from the point of view of its content it may be divided into personal and impersonal.

The personal subject always denotes a person or a thing in the broad sense. According to the classification suggested by Professor Smirnitsky the personal subject may be divided into the following classes:

a) the personal subject proper:

b) the indefinite personal subject;

c) the demonstrative subject;

d) the negative subject;

e) the interrogative subject.

a) The personal subject proper denotes a person or thing or anything presented as a thing in the broad sense. E.g. They finished their meal in silence.

To smoke is unwholesome. In connection with the sentence beginning with There is..., There are...

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some grammarians think that the subject here is a personal one and it is expressed by the phrase there + noun or pronoun whereas the predicate is a simple one expressed by the notional verb to be in our sentence.

The other point of view is that the subject here is a personal one and is expressed by a noun or a pronoun, etc. but the predicate is also a simple one and is expressed by the phrase there is.

b) The indefinite personal subject may denote:

a person but only in a very general sense usually by the indefinite pronoun one or the personal pronoun you. e.g. \\Ъеп one has a fever one's ideas become fanciful.

The indefinite persona! subject ma}1 express more or less indefinite group of persons by the personal pronouns we and they. e.g. The}' say it is easy to work there.

c)The demonstrative subject may point out a person or a thing denoted by a pronoun or a noun in the function of a predicative, e.g. This is our teacher.