5. Syntactic Processes

The relations between an elementary sentence and a sentence whose

composition goes beyond the limits of an elementary one can be presented as

expansion of the elementary sentence into “complete” or, on the opposite,

curtailment of the latter to elementary. Such an interpretation of relations between

elementary and “complete” sentences allows interpreting the elementary sentence

as non-expanded and the sentence the structure of which is restricted by

components determined by the structural scheme as an expanded sentence.

Expansion of an elementary sentence is a result of work of syntactic

processes. The basic syntactic processes include: expansion, complication,

development, adjunction and inclusion.

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.

Most often, the process affects the predicate and the object.

Complication of the predicate. The following three types of complication are

singled out according to the morphological appurtenance of the complicating

element:

1) active-verbal complication (e.g. I have to go);

2) passive-verbal complication (e.g. He is expected to come);

3) adjectival complication (e.g. He is unlikely to come).

In the first two types the complicating element is a verb either in the active

or in the passive form respectively, in the third type – an adjective, a participle or a

category of state word with a copula-verb.

Complication of the object. Complication of the direct object is possible

after verbs of certain semantics. It consists in adding an infinitive, a participle, an

adjective, or a prepositional group to a noun or a pronoun performing the function

of the object. The object and the complicating element stand in the relations of

secondary predication.

e.g. I found him attractive. She considered me a fool.

Complication of other sentence members expressed by nominal parts of

speech is also possible, but it is not so widely spread.

e.g. complication of the subject: There is someone hiding in the kitchen.

complication of the predicative: It was him standing in the dark.

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;

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.)

The examined syntactic processes deal either with modifying the structure of

a syntactic element aimed at making it more complicated, or with expanding the

element.

Substitution, representation and ellipsis play a different role. They are

characterized by general text dependence and orientation towards compression.

The resulting element is correlated either with some preceding or following

elements.

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!

Conclusion: Accepting the elementary sentence and the syntactic process as

important syntactic notions, we can conclude that a sentence, on the one hand, is a

construction whose structure is built according to the language system, and on the

other, the structure of the sentence can be expanded and reduced according to

specific communication needs and conditions.

Lecture 13

Semantic Structure of the Sentence.

Actual Division of the Sentence

1. Semantic roles. Minimization of semantic roles.

2. Actual division of the sentence. The notion of theme and rheme.

3. Language means of expressing the theme and the rheme.