3. Compound and complex sentences. Types of Predicates

The compound sentence is a composite sentence built on the principle of coordination, expressed either syndetically (by means of coordinative connectors) or asyndetically. The usual classification into compound and complex sentences should be applied to syndetic composite sentences. The basic difference: in compound sentences none of the clauses of which they consist is below the other in rank, they are coordinated. In complex sentences the clauses are not on an equal footing (the main and subordinate clauses). The base sentences joined into 1 compound sentence lose their independent status and become coordinate. The first clause is leading, the successive clauses are sequential.

The coordinators are divided into conjunctions, proper and semi-functional clausal connectors of adverbial character. The main conjunctions are and, but, or, for, yet, so, either or, neither nor, etc. The main adverbial coordinators are then, yet, so, thus, however, etc. Unlike conjunctions they can shift their position in a sentence. The semantic relations between the clauses making up the compound sentence depend partly on the lexical meaning of the conjunction uniting them and partly on the meanings of the words making up the clauses themselves. The coordinating conjunctions differ in definiteness of meaning (E.g. ‘but' has a clear adversative meaning, 'and’ has different shades of meanings: The old lady read the letter and her eyes filled with horror-a meaning of cause. The bazaar had taken place Monday and today was only Thursday-an adversative shade of meaning). The number of clauses in a compound sentence may be greater than two, and in that case the conjunctions may be different.(Gerald was disappointed, for he wanted a son, but he nevertheless was pleased over his small daughter).

The complex sentence is a polypredicative construction built up on the principle of subordination. It's derived from 2 or more base sentences, one of which performs the role of a matrix in relation to the insert sentences. Various types of subordinate clauses affect the principal clause from the point of view of its completeness. (Your statement was just what you were expected to say.). The principal clause dominates the subordinate positionally, but it doesn't necessarily express the central informative part of the communication. In a neutral context the rhematic part of the sentence tends to be placed in the end, so the clause-order is very important (E.g. The boy was friendly with me because I allowed him to keep the fishing line). Intonation plays also a crucial role, and also lexical and constructional theme-forming elements such as emphatic particles, patterns of logical accents of different kinds.

Predication is an expression of relation of the sentence to reality or the expression of the relation between the content of the sentence (nominative and predicative sides) and reality (The doctor has arrived). The predicative connection of words, uniting the subject and the predicate, builds up the basis of the sentence. The subject dominates the predicate determining the person of predication, while the predicate dominates the subject determining the event of predication and ascribing to the predicative person some action or state or quality. The domination of the subject exposed by the reflective character of the verbal category of person & nouns. (I go, he goes). The predicate dominates the subject when the sentence transforms into the noun-phrase placing the predicate in the position of a headword (the train arrived — the arrival of the train).

There are predicative groupings formed by a combination of a non-finite verbal form with a substantive element (infinitival (the predicative person is expressed by the prepositional for-phrase), gerundial (by the possessive or objective form of the substantive), participial (by the nominative (common) form of the substantive) constructions: The pupil knows his mistake-> for the pupil to know—> the pupil('s) knowing his mistake-> the pupil knowing his mistake).