For fifth-year students
Lecture 6
Typology of syntactical systems. Typology of the sentence.
1. Criteria for classification of sentences
2. Typology of the simple sentence
3. Typology of the composite sentence
1. Criteria for classification of sentences
a) The sentence is a communicative unit. Therefore, the classification of sentences must be based, first, on the communicative types, or on the purpose of communication. In accord with the purpose of communication, three sentence-types are recognized:
· The declarative sentence
· The imperative sentence
· The interrogative sentence
b) The sentence has a definite structure peculiar for the given language. According to it, structural types of sentences are distinguished. The sentence is made up of several members, the main of which are the subject and the predicate. According as both members are present in the composition of the sentence or only one of them, sentences are classed into
· One-member sentences
· Two-member sentences
c) The structure of the main members of the sentence can also differ and serve as a basis for classification. Thus, both the subject and the predicate can consist of one component or of two components.
d) The type of syntactical relations between the subject and the predicate is an important criterion. Ivan Ivanovitch Mestchaninov based his classification mainly on this criterion. The syntactical connection of the subject and the predicate can be expressed by agreement (in English and Russian mostly in number), government (in ergative languages where the predicate governs both the object and the subject) or by contact, without any morphological means.
e) The word order in the sentence. The differences in word order consist in its character (fixed, non-fixed) and concern the order of the subject, predicate and object.
2. Typology of the simple sentence
a) the communicative types of sentences in English and Russian.
All the three communicative types of sentences exist in both languages. The differences are found in the negative and interrogative sentences. The English negative sentence cannot have double negation, in Russian we can use several negative words.
e.g. Nobody told anything to anybody
Никто никому ничего не сказал.
In English, the interrogative sentence is marked by the inverted word order, in Russian it is marked by intonation only.
Negative questions are used in English to express doubt.
E.g. Don’t you know?
In Russian such sentences express the low degree of probability.
e.g. Ты не видел моей тетради?
The meaning of doubt is conveyed with the help of certain particles (Разве? Неужели?)
e.g. Разве ты не знаешь?
b) the structural types of sentences
There are one-member sentences in both languages: imperative (Come here! Иди сюда!), nominative (used in titles, stage directions: “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, Night. Romeo under Juliet’s balcony; «Отцы и дети»), sentences containing infinitives (Встать! In English they are found more rarely: to love such a bore!), interjections (Oh! Alas! Wow!) and modal words (Yes; No; Of course; Certainly).
However, there are some types of one-member sentences found only in Russian. Such are one-member verbal sentences expressing weather or environmental conditions. The corresponding English sentences are two-member sentences with the it- subject.
e.g. Смеркалось. Было холодно. It was getting dark.
Another type is one-member sentences with the verb in the 3rd person plural. They express an action performed by unknown doers. In English the idea is rendered by two-member passive sentences.
e.g. Раненых относили в госпиталь. The wounded were taken to the hospital.
Nominal one-member sentences are also normally translated into English by two-member sentences, although there is a tendency to use one-member sentences in English as well.
e.g. Мороз и солнце!
One-member sentences should not be mixed with elliptical sentences. The former do not imply the other member; in the latter, the omitted member is implied by the context.
e.g. Come and see us! - one-member sentence
Glad to see you=I’m glad to see you = elliptical sentence
The structural types of elliptical sentences differ in the two languages.
In the Russian elliptical sentence, the subject can be omitted. It is uncharacteristic of the English elliptical sentences. In those rare cases when the subject is omitted, a part of predicate is omitted as well.
e.g. Иду вчера домой и вижу… = When I was going home I saw…
So what did you do? Tell him everything? (= Did you tell him everything?)
The predicate can be omitted in both languages, but in English such cases are rare.
e.g. Я пошел домой, а он - в кино.
I went home, and he - to the cinema.
Some Russian sentences of this type can be understood even if the predicate hasn’t been mentioned in the previous context.
e.g. Я - за свечку, свечка - в печку.
In English, such sentences do not exist. The predicate should be mentioned.
In Russian elliptical sentences, the object can be omitted. In English the object should be mentioned.
E.g. Да, я читал. Можно взять?
I have read it (the book). May I take it (this)?
Both the subject and the predicate can be omitted in English as well as in Russian.
e.g. Куда ты ходил? - В кино.
Where did you go? - To the cinema.
In English, any verb can be substituted by the verb do or an auxiliary verb. In Russian, the notional verb should be used.
e.g. Please, don’t. Yes, he has.
Ты прочитал? - Прочитал.
c) The structure of the main members.
The subject and the predicate of a sentence can consist of one or two components. One-component subjects and predicates are typical for English as well as for Russian.
The most common type of a two-component subject is an attributive phrase. Such subjects are found in both languages.
e.g. The older girl smiled. Старшая девочка улыбнулась.
However, there are also other types of two-component subjects, which are found only in English. These are the subjects consisting of introductory it and an infinitive, introductory it and a gerund, the subjects consisting of introductory there and a noun.
e.g. It’s a pity to make a fool of yourself. It’s no use telling him that. There was a pause
The two-component predicate consists of a link-verb and a predicative. Some types of English two-component predicates correspond to Russian one-component predicates. These are the predicates with a link-verb other than be and the predicates with the predicative expressed by an adverb.
E.g. He fell silent = Он замолчал.
She turned red = Она покраснела.
The lesson is over = урок закончился.
d) The type of syntactical relations between the subject and the predicate
Both English and Russian predicates agree with the subject. In Russian this type of syntactical connection is more fully developed. The predicate always agrees with the subject in number, person and in the past - in gender. In English agreement is restricted to the forms of the 3rd person singular and to the forms of the verb to be. There are some differences in number agreement between the languages. For such nouns as audience, board, committee the principle of number agreement is notional. The number of the verb form depends on the meaning.
e.g. The audience was enormous.
The audience were enjoying the show.
For the corresponding Russian nouns, the principle of number agreement is grammatical. The number of the verb form depends on the grammatical markers of number in the noun.
e.g. Зрители были довольны.
Правительство приняло решение.
Another difference concerns subjects expressed by substantivized adjectives. In English, they agree only with a plural verb. In Russian, both number forms are possible.
e.g. The wounded were taken to the hospital.
Раненые прибыли утром.
Раненый попросил воды.
Both the English and Russian languages are classified as nominative languages. The subject in them agrees with the predicate and the predicate governs the object. Yet, there are some constructions in Russian that remind of ergative languages in which the predicate governs both the subject and the object. In such constructions the subject is not in the nominative but in the dative or accusative case. Such subjects are expressed in English by nouns or pronouns in the common case.
e.g. ей тридцать пять лет = She is thirty-five
Ему холодно = he is cold
нас было четверо = we were four
Some Russian predicatives can be expressed by nouns in the instrumental case. In English nouns in the common case are used in such constructions.
e.g. Он был простым рабочим. He was an efficient worker.
Some Russian predicatives in the genitive case express the quality of an object. In English adjectives or of +adjective+noun constructions are used in the corresponding sentences.
e.g. Он был высокого роста= He was tall
My brother was of a strong character.
e) The word order in the sentence.
The word order in the English sentence is fixed. The subject is followed by the predicate, the direct object, the prepositional object, the adverbial modifier. In the Russian sentence, the word order is not fixed grammatically, but it also performs some functions.
The functions of the word order in the two languages differ. In English, word order differentiates the communicative types of sentences. The word order in a declarative sentence differs from the word order in an interrogative sentence.
e.g. He likes books. - Does he like books?
The word order in an interrogative sentence differs from the word order in an exclamatory sentence.
e.g. How many English books have you? - How many English books you have!
In Russian, word order differentiates the rheme and the theme of the sentence. The inverted word order indicates that the subject is in the rheme.
e.g. В комнату вошла девочка. - Девочка вошла в комнату.
In English, this function is performed by the article.
e.g. A girl entered the room. - The girl entered the room.
The rheme of the sentence expressed by a secondary member of the sentence is normally placed after the theme of the sentence.
e.g. Я ему об этом скажу. - Об этом я скажу только ему. - Об этом скажу ему я.
In the English language, the inverted word order can also be used for marking the rheme, but only in certain types of sentences. Such sentences begin with the adverbial modifier, the subject is in the rheme, and the predicate includes verbs of location or appearing.
e.g. In the middle of the room stood a big table.
Then came a knock at the door.
In English, the rheme and the theme of the sentence can also be marked by the order of secondary members of the sentence, but the fixed word order gives fewer opportunities for that.
e.g. He sent me the letter yesterday. - when?
Yesterday he sent me a postcard. - what happened?
3.Typology of the composite sentence
Complex and compound sentences in both languages have similar characteristics.
The peculiarity of the Russian complex sentences is that in the principal and subordinate clause correlative words are used.
e.g. тот, кто…; то, что…; там, где…; тогда, когда…
The English complex sentence uses a pronoun only in the subordinate clause.
e.g. I went where he told me. What he says is true.
The pronoun in the principal clause is used only in bookish constructions.
e.g. He who laughs last, laughs longest.
Conjunctions can be omitted in English colloquial speech, which is uncharacteristic of Russian syntax.
e.g. He said he knew it. This is the book I was speaking about.
Secondary predicative constructions with non-finite forms of the verb exist in both languages.
e.g. Having read about it in the papers, she believed him.
Он наблюдал за нами, стоя у окна.
The difference between the languages is in the fact that in Russian the doer of the action expressed by the secondary predicative construction coincides with the subject of the principal clause.
e.g. Подождав за дверью, он вошел.
If the rule is broken the effect is humorous.
e.g. Проезжая мимо сией станции и глядя в окно, у меня слетела шляпа. (Чехов)
In English, the secondary predicative construction can have a separate subject.
e.g. On his coming home, I told him everything.
The weather being fine, we went to the river.
There are also some differences in the usage of conjunctions in compound sentences.
The English conjunction “and” has a broader semantics compared to its Russian correlate «И». The English “And” can express both confrontation and contrast of events.
e.g. I am a student and he is a student («И»)
I am a student and he is a teacher. («А»)
The Russian «И» can express only confrontation.
e.g. Я студент, и он студент.
The Russian language has two adversative (противительный) conjunctions: «А» and «НО», where English has only one - “but”. «А» compares some real events.
e.g. Я стоял, а он сидел.
“HO” and “but” compare a possible event to a real one.
e.g. Я пытался это сделать, но не смог.
I tried to do it but I failed.