Lecture 10

3

Lecture 10: TYPOLOGY OF THE COMPLEX SENTENCE

Contents

1. Introduction to typology of the complex sentence.

2. Typological features of subject clauses.

3. Typological features of predicative clauses.

4. Typological features of object clauses.

5. Typological features of attributive clauses.

6. Typological features of adverbial clauses.

1. Like the simple and compound sentence, the complex sentence too, presents a universal unit in the syntactic systems of all 5,651 languages of the world. Consequently, this type of composite sentence has some isomorphic features of its own. They are in the contrasted languages as follows:

(1) the complex sentence has a polypredicative nature;

(2) it is characterised by the subordinate way of joining the clauses to the principal/matrix clause;

(3) it may consist of homogeneous clauses or of consecutively dependent clauses joined to the matrix clause or to each either syndetically or asyndetically;

(4) the arsenal of syndetic means of connection includes conjunctions, connective pronouns, connective adverbs and subordinating connective words;

(5) the connectors join clauses and express some logico-grammatical relations formed within the complex sentence. These include predicative, objective, attributive and various adverbial relations expressed by the corresponding clauses which may occupy either the preceding or the succeeding position/place in regard to the matrix clause. The nature of the many logico-grammatical relations created between the subordinate and the matrix clause generally corresponds to the nature of relations created between the adjuncts/complements and their heads in subordinate word-groups. Hence, there are distinguished the following typologically relevant groups of subordinate clauses:

1. Substantive-nominal:

a) subject subordinate clauses;

b) predicative subordinate clauses;

c) objective subordinate clauses.

2. Qualitatively-nominal:

a) appositive clauses;

b) descriptive attributive clauses;

c) restrictive/limiting attributive clauses.

3. Adverbial Clauses (of time, place, purpose, cause, часу, attending circumstances, condition, concession, result, etc).

2. This type of subordinate sentence or clause performs the function of the subject in regard to the principal clause, If such a type of clause is eliminated then the principal clause becomes incomplete and looses its sense. Subject clauses initiate a complex sentence with the help of: a) the corresponding/equivalent conjunctions (that, whether, if, because, either...or, whether...or — що, щоб, якщо, тому що, чи, або...або, чи...чи); b) the corresponding connectives (relative pronouns or adverbs): who, whose, what, which, whom, where, when, how, why — хто, що, який, котрий, чий, де, коли, як/яким чином:

What you say is true. (Dreiser) – Те, що ти кажеш, є правда ...

...whether it does not create worse difficulties in place of the one removed is another question. (Voynich) – ...чи це не створить більших труднощів замість цієї подоланої – залишається ще одним запитанням.

Pertaining only to English are rhematic subject clauses located in the postposition to the matrix clause and introduced by the anticipatory pronoun it. Cf. It has been said that the greatest events of the world take place in the brain. (Wilde) It is no exaggeration to say that one was told he must have plums. (T. Wolfe) This structural form of English subject clauses has some semantic equivalents, though not absolutely identical in Ukrainian. The main difference, naturally, lies in the absence of the introductory pronoun it and in the use of various forms of predicate verbs.

No structural equivalents have in Ukrainian some transforms of English subject clauses introduced by the emphatic pronoun it. The English complex sentences then may correspond to Ukrainian simple extended or even to simple unextended sentences:

It is the smoking itself that is not nice. (London) – Уже само собою палити/куріння не гарно.

Some English complex sentences of this type may have an identical structural form in Ukrainian. Cf. It was about five years after this that I decided to live in Paris for а while. (Hemingway) – Це було десь років п'ять по тому, як/коли я вирішив пожити/провести якийсь час у Парижі.

3. Predicative clauses are equally characterised in English and Ukrainian by some isomorphic as well as by some allomorphic features. Thus, predicative clauses may be: a) structurally extended or unextended; b) they may perform the function of the nominal part of the predicate in the matrix clause; c) they always follow in English their matrix clause whereas in Ukrainian they may sometimes occupy a front position and even a midposition in the complex sentence; d) they may be introduced mainly by common semantically and structurally conjunctions, correlatives and connectives (relative pronouns, relative adverbs) which are as follows: that, whether, as, as if, as though, because, lest, either...or, whether...or; who, whose, whoever, what, which, where, whenever, when, how, why — що/щоб, як, ніби/нібито, наче/ неначе, мов/немов, такий, кого, яким etc.

A peculiar feature of English predicative clauses is that they are in the place of the nominal part of the predicate, i. e. they almost always follow the linking verb of the matrix clause: "That's what he did". (Macken) My experience is that they're mostly pleasant. (J. K. Jerome) It was as if they had not been there at all. (O'Dell)

The most striking allomorphism in the system of predicative clauses in the contrasted languages, however, is their ability (in Ukrainian) to occupy sometimes the initial and seldom even the midposition of the complex sentence. Cf. Яке життя, таке й товариство. (Мирний) Який Сава, така й слава. Or in the interposition: Першим, кого він побачив, був Захар Побережний, знатний хлібороб. (Стельмах)

Common in the syntactic systems of both contrasted languages are complex sentences consisting of two subordinate clauses, the first of which is in the position of the subject clause and the second, following the linking verb, is the predicative clause, eg:

What had troubled her was that she had no thread to mend her children's clothes. (Parker) – Що її турбувало, було те, що вона не мала ниток, аби полатати своїм дітям одежини.

4. The object clauses being of the same nominal nature as the subject and predicative clauses, are introduced in the contrasted languages by two common means: a) syndetically and b) asyndetically. The syndetic means are conjunctions (that, if, whether, lest), correlatives (either, or, whether... or), connective pronouns (who, whoever, what, whatever which), and connective adverbs (where, when, whenever, why, how). Their corresponding syndetic means in Ukrainian are respectively subordinating conjunctions and pronominal correlatives що, щоб, чи; чи...чи; хто, котрий, який; де, коли, звідки, куди, чого, чому, як.

Allomorphism is observed in the nature and structure of some Ukrainian connectors among which there is the particle чи corresponding to the English conjunctions whether and if. Cf. "I wonder whether he already knew the contents of my telegram." (Greene) – "Мене цікавить, чи він уже знав тоді зміст моєї телеграми."

English object clauses, however, are more often introduced asyndetically. To mark this way of connection the semicolon, a comma, or a dash is used in Ukrainian instead of the conjunction "що", eg:

I realised he wanted to talk. (F. Hardy) – Я зрозумів: йому хотілося побалакати.

Lena said she would rest. (Maugham) Ліна казала - вона спочиватиме.

Postposition of object clauses following the matrix clause is more often observed in Ukrainian whereas in English complex sentences of both positions are equally common. But isomorphic remains one more feature such as the use of homogeneous object clauses to a matrix clause:

"You know I'm not a beautiful woman, I'm not even a very pretty one." (Maugham) – "Знаєте, я зовсім не красуня, мене навіть гарненькою не назвеш."

In object clauses which present the indirect speech in English the phenomenon of sequence of tenses is widely spread. In Ukrainian this phenomenon is absent.

5. Like all other nominal clauses, English and Ukrainian attributive clauses have also both isomorphic and allomorphic features. The isomorphic features, which generally outnumber the latter, are predetermined by some common syntactic and semantic factors. These are the following features of attributive clauses in the contrasted languages: 1) they always follow the antecedent noun, pronoun or numeral which they modify/ specify; 2) they may sometimes be substituted for the corresponding participial constructions performing an attributive function; 3) They may often be joined to the English antecedent asyndetically. Cf.: He could be somebody who could play the piano. (Saroyan) – He could be somebody playing the piano.

Attributive clauses in the contrasted languages have some other common features, namely: a) they can be joined to the antecedent of the matrix clause by means of conjunctions that, as if/as though, whether (що, мов, ніби); b) they are much more often joined to the matrix clause by means of relative pronouns and relative adverbs (who, whose, what, which, that, when, whence, where, how — хто, кого, ким, який, що, де, коли, звідки, куди, чому). Common in the contrasted languages are some traditionally distinguished groups of attribute clauses like the following:

(1) Appositive clauses which are joined to an antecedent noun having a most general abstract meaning or to a pronoun (mostly indefinite) with the help of a relative pronoun or pronominal adverb:

This was the time when they looked now. (O'Dell) – І от настав час, коли очі вже бачили.

Also it seemed to be connected with something which required concealment. (Dreiser) – Здавалося також, що це було пов'язане з чимось, що треба було приховувати.

(2) Restrictive attributive clauses in English and Ukrainian are very closely connected with the antecedent which is determined or identified/ particularised by the subordinate clause without which the matrix clause is incomplete. When the subordinate sentence is removed the meaning of the principal clause becomes blurred, unclear:

There was a legend among the people that the island had once been covered with tall trees. (O'Dell) – Між людьми ходила легенда, що острів колись був покритий високими деревами.

(3) Descriptive attributive clauses give some additional information about the antecedent. Due to this the clauses in both contrasted languages may be omitted without affecting the semantic completeness of the sentence:

...his eyes were fixed upon the princess, who sat to the right of his father. (Stockton) – ...його очі не відривалися від принцеси, яка сиділа праворуч від батька-короля.

The connective word of sentences of such a type can be easily replaced by the coordinating conjunction and the pronoun, e.g.:

In the street I met some children, who (=and they) showed me the way to the station. – На вулиці я зустрів дітей, які (=і вони) показали мені дорогу на станцію.