29. Sentence parts

The main sentence parts: the subject and the predicate The subject and the predicate have a unique standing in the system of

sentence parts. They form the backbone of the sentence. They are interdependent

and independent of any other sentence member while all other members can be

dependent either on the subject or on the predicate. The subject and the predicate

can form a sentence on their own.

e.g.She smiles. He is running.

The subject performs two main functions: categorial and relative. The

categorial function of the subject consists in naming the possessor of the

predicative feature expressed by the predicate. The relative function of the subject

consists in its being the original element in the syntagmatic development of the

sentence, thus constituting the predicate’s left environment as opposed to its right

environment. The secondary sentence parts: attribute, object, adverbial modifier The Object

1. Objects are divided into direct, indirect and prepositional. 2. Objects are grouped into prepositional and non-prepositional The Adverbial modifier

It is a secondary part of the sentence modifying a part of the sentence

expressed by a verb, a verbal noun, an adjective, or an adverb, and serving to

characterise an action or a property as to its quality or intensity, or to indicate the

way an action is done, the time, place, cause, purpose, or condition, with which the

action or the manifestation of the quality is connected.

The Attribute

Attribute is a dependent element of a nominative phrase that denotes an

attributive quality of an object expressed by a noun. It is a secondary part of the

sentence modifying a part of the sentence expressed by a noun, a substantival

pronoun, a cardinal numeral, and any substantivised word, and characterizing the

thing named by these words as to its quality or property.

30. Structural Schemes of the Sentence. The Elementary Sentence. Syntactic

processes. The structural scheme of the sentence is a sentence structure minimal

by its composition and simplest by grammatical and semantic structure. A

construction built according to a structural scheme and realizing all of its

components is called an elementary sentence. Syntactic process Expansion (расширение) consists in adding of some syntactic units to

another unit. The added elements have the same syntactic status as the expanded

element. The simplest type of expansion is repetition of some element in a

syntagmatic chain.

e.g. Good, good boy. I walked and walked.

Compression goes together with expansion. A construction is compressed

when some part common for the elements of expansion remains unexpanded.

e.g. I was about to spit into his face, slam the door behind me and walk

away.

Elements of expansion can be connected by relations of two different types:

1) additive;

2) specificative.

Addition (аддиция) takes place when each element of expansion relates to

others as both semantically and syntactically independent unit. (e.g. She cried

bitterly and with despair.)

Specification (спецификация) can be observed when one syntactic unit

semantically develops the other, makes it more specific. (e.g. I’ll give you a call

tomorrow, after 5 p.m.)

Specificatively related units are connected both semantically and

syntactically not only with the head word but also with the preceding element of

specification.

Complication is a syntactic process that consists in transforming the

structure of a syntactic unit from simple to complex. The complicacy of structure

presupposes a mutual syntactic dependence of the unit’s constituents.

e.g. She cried. She began to cry.

Contamination has a restricted usage. It can be applied only to the

predicate. The result of contamination is the so-called double, or contaminated,

predicate.

e.g. The sun shone glaring and dazzling.

Development (развертывание) is a modification of one element by another

element which depends on the former. Syntactic groups (they can be noun groups,

verb groups, adjectival groups, adverb groups, etc.) that appear in the result of

development are of endocentric character, their syntactic behavior is that of the

central element before it was modified

e.g. N → AN: flower – beautiful flower;

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V → VAdv: walked – walked slowly;

A → AdvA: beautiful – strikingly beautiful.

Adjunction (присоединение) is similar to development. It consists in

modifying words as syntactic elements with particles (e.g. only for you, just in

case, even at such a great sum).

Inclusion (включение) consists in inserting modal words and similar

elements into a sentence. (e. g. Apparently, this is the only way out. A true friend,

indeed.) The specific status of these elements (certain semantics, independence of

other sentence members, non-fixed position within the sentence boundaries) does

not allow regarding them as a sentence member.

Isolation is a syntactic process aimed at accentuating some sentence

member or sentence member group. The needed effect is reached by prosodic

means, pausation being used most often. Parcellation is a particular case of

isolation. Parcellation takes place when the isolated element forms a separate

sentence. (e. g. I used to. At home.)

Substitution (замещение) is a use of words with generalized structural

meaning instead of words and constructions with specific meaning which were

mentioned earlier.

e.g. Do you want me to open the window? – Yes, please do.

Would you kindly pass me an apple? – Do you want a red one?

Representation (репрезентация) consists in using a part of some syntactic

unit representing the whole unit.

e.g. Could you help me? – I will be happy to.

He is not coming tonight, is he? – I hope not.

Ellipsis (опущение) takes place when a structurally needed element of the

construction is not explicitly used but only implied. The omitted element can be

restored from the context.

e.g. It seems so strange! – It is!