- •§ 2. From the point of view of their structure, sentences can be:
- •The simple sentence
- •Elliptical (incomplete) sentences
- •The Structural Types of Sentence
- •Communicative types of sentences
- •Declarative sentences
- •Interrogative sentences
- •§ 14. Pronominal questions are often used as short responses. They usually consist of (a) a question word or (b) a question word followed by a preposition.
- •Imperative sentences
- •§ 19 In the case of first person plural and third person singular and plural subjects, the imperative let is followed by a personal pronoun in the objective case.
- •§ 20. The imperative of some verbs may acquire interjectional force. Thus the forms listen, look (here), see (here) (Am.) - are used to attract attention.
- •Verbless Commands
- •§ 21. Commands are sometimes expressed without an imperative verb as in:
- •Exclamatory sentences
- •§ 22. The main distinctive feature of this communicative type of sentence is a specific intonation; structurally it is variable.
- •§ 23. There are utterances which do not constitute sentences (non-sentence utterances). They are:
- •The subject
- •§ 41. The subject is expressed by:
- •§ 42. From the point of view of its grammatical value the subject may be either notional or formal.
- •§ 43. The notional subject denotes or points out a person or non-person, that is, various kinds of concrete things, substances, abstract notions or happening.
- •§ 44. The formal subject expressed by it is found in two patterns of sentences: those with impersonal it and those with introductory it.
- •Grammatical types of subject
- •The predicate
- •§ 46. The predicate is the second main part of the sentence and its organizing centre, as the object and nearly all adverbial modifiers are connected with, and dependent on, it.
- •Structural classification of the predicate
- •The simple predicate The simple verbal predicate
- •§ 48. The simple verbal predicate is expressed by:
- •The simple nominal predicate
- •The compound predicate
- •§ 50. The compound predicate consists of two parts: the notional and the structural. The structural part comes first and is followed by the notional part.
- •The compound verbal predicate
- •The compound nominal predicate
- •§ 55. Among the class of link verbs we may distinguish:
- •§ 56. The predicative can be expressed by:
- •§ 57. The three most typical semantic characteristics of a predicative are: identification, classification and characterization.
- •Mixed types of compound predicate
- •§ 59. Compound predicates can combine elements of different types. Thus we have:
- •The composite sentence
- •The scheme of the above compound-complex sentence
- •The scheme of a complex sentence with homogeneous clauses
- •The compound sentence
- •§ 140. Copulative coordination implies that the information conveyed by coordinate clauses is in some way similar.
- •§ 142. Disjunctive coordination implies a choice between two mutually exclusive alternatives. The disjunctive conjunctions are or, either... Or, the conjunctive adverbs are else (or else), otherwise.
- •The complex sentence
- •Formal indicators of subordination (connectors)
- •Functional classification of subordinate clauses
- •§ 151. Complex sentences with subject clauses may be of two patterns:
- •§ 153. Predicative clauses may occur as parts of two structurally different kinds of sentences:
- •It seems that there is no cure. (a predicative clause) It seems evident that there is no cure. (a subject clause, the predicate 'seem evident' is complete)
- •§ 155. Like objects in a simple sentence, object clauses may vary in their relation to the principal clause and in the way they are attached to, the word they refer to or depend on.
- •§ 158. Attributive clauses fall into two types, depending on the degree of connection and the relation they bear to the antecedent:
- •§ 160. Attributive clauses may be joined to the main clause without a relative word, that is, asyndetically. They are called contact clauses.
- •§ 164. According to their semantics we distinguish adverbial clauses of place, time, manner, comparison, condition, concession, purpose, cause, result.
- •§ 166. An adverbial clause of time characterizes the action expressed in the main clause from the temporal point of view. The action may be expressed by a finite or non-finite form of the verb.
- •I. Adverbial clauses of manner may modify the predicate of the main clause by attributing some quality to it.
- •II. They may refer to attributes or predicatives characterizing a state or quality of a person or non-person.
- •III. They may refer to an adverbial modifier, giving additional information or explanation concerning it.
- •§ 168. Adverbial clauses of comparison characterize the action expressed by the predicate in the main clause by comparing it with some real or hypothetical circumstance or action.
- •§ 169. Adverbial clauses of this type contain some condition (cither real or unreal) which makes the action in the main clause possible.
- •§ 170. Depending on the relation between the subordinate and the main clauses and on the use of tense and mood forms, complex sentences with conditional clauses may be subdivided into three types:
- •In the main clause In the subordinate clause
- •In the main clause In the subordinate clause
- •§ 171. A complex sentence with a conditional clause may be built on clauses of both type II and III, thus forming a mixed type of conditional relationship. For instance:
- •§ 174. Adverbial clauses of cause (or causative clauses) express the reason, cause, or motivation of the action expressed in the main clause or of its content as a whole.
- •§ 175. An adverbial clause of result denotes some consequence or result of the action expressed in the main clause. It may be introduced by the conjunction so that, or simply that.
- •§ 176. In complex sentences of this type it is impossible to differentiate which of the clauses is the main one and which is subordinate. We shall consider two patterns of such sentences.
- •Pseudo-complex sentences
- •§ 180. These sentences in their turn fall into three patterns, in all of which the form of the complex sentence is used to emphasize some part of the sentence.
- •Appended clauses (повторы с уточнением)
- •Absolute (or indendent) subordinate clauses
- •§ 182. Subordinate clauses may be used absolutely as independent exclamatory sentences. They may have the form of a conditional or comparative clause.
- •Parenthetical clauses (parentheses)
- •§ 183. A parenthetical clause (parenthesis) interrupts another sentence with which it is either not connected syntactically or is only loosely connected with separate parts of the sentence.
§ 169. Adverbial clauses of this type contain some condition (cither real or unreal) which makes the action in the main clause possible.
Adverbial clauses of condition may be introduced by conjunctions: if, unless, once, in case. There are also several conjunctions derived from verbal forms sometimes followed by the optional that: provided (that), providing (that), suppose (that), supposing (that), considering (that), given (that), granted (that), granting (that), admitting (that), presuming (that), seeing (that).
Conditional clauses introduced by if and other conjunctions (with the exception of unless) imply uncertainty. Therefore they often contain non-assertive forms of pronouns and pronominal adverbs, such as any, anybody, anything, anywhere.
If anything troubles you, you'd better tell me.
If anyone asks for me, tell him to wait,
Clauses beginning with unless express the only possible condition which will make the action in the main clause possible. Therefore they usually contain assertive forms like something, somebody.
Unless somebody interferes, there may be a disaster.
For the same reason unless-clauses hardly ever express unreal conditions.
The exclusive meaning of unless accounts for the fact that, even if the condition is real, the unless-clause is not always equivalent to an if-not-clause. Thus the sentence: I won't come unless you invite me (я приду, только если вы пригласите меня) and the sentence I won't come if you don't invite me (= я не приду, если вы меня не приглашаете) are quite different in their meaning.
The conjunction provided opens a clause containing some desirable condition for the fullfilment of the action expressed by the predicate in the main clause.
And you can do what you please, provided you do it neatly and don't make a row over it.
The conjunctions suppose and supposing always imply that the condition is merely hypothetical.
I mean this: Suppose some other European pauper prince was anxious to marry Princess Anna and her fortune, wouldn't that Prince have an interest in stopping this loan of yours to Prince Eugen?
Conditional clauses may be joined to the main clause asyndetically by means of link-inversion. Inversion is possible only if the predicate in the subordinate clause is in the subjunctive mood, that is expressed by past subjunctive (were), or by non-factual Past Perfect.
But had chance taken you out into the surrounding country and had it taken you in the right direction, you would have found him toiling along by the hedges...
§ 170. Depending on the relation between the subordinate and the main clauses and on the use of tense and mood forms, complex sentences with conditional clauses may be subdivided into three types:
I. Complex sentences with clauses of real condition are those when the actions or events in both the clauses refer to the past or present and these actions or events are regarded as real facts. If the actions or events in these clauses refer to the future, the actions or events are regarded as possible real facts.
If f have offended you, I am very sorry.
Why did he send us matches if he knew there was no gas?
If Jules comes back, simply defy him to enter - that is all.
I won't phone you, unless something unforeseen happens.
The conditional clause may be a statement for mere argument, no condition is meant.
If she got no money from her brother-in-law, she got what was as good as money - credit.
If Adrian had a passion, indeed, except for Diana Ferse, it was a burning desire to fix that breeding spot.
A
Note:
In cases
like the following Let
her come to me as she will, when she will, not at all if she will
not; But I must run out for half a minute, if you'll let me
the verb will
is not auxiliary but modal, as it expresses wish, insistence, or
resistance (in negative form).
II. Complex sentences with clauses of open condition. These clauses denote hypothetical situations or circumstances which may be (or may not be) realised in the present or future. Accordingly the subjunctive-mood forms are used both in the subordinate and the principal clause to denote actions or states.