COMMUNICATIVE TYPES OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Синтаксис английского языка

(с упражнениями)

для студентов 4, 5 курсов, обучающихся по специальности

«Теория и методика изучения языков и культур», «Перевод и переводоведение»

 

 

Тирасполь 2011

 

УДК 802.0-56(072)(075.8)

ББК Ш 143.21-22-9

Щ 95

Авторы: Щукина О.В., кандидат педагогических наук, доцент, зав. кафедрой английской филологии Института языка и литературы ПГУ им. Т.Г.Шевченко, Касьянова Ю.И., доцент кафедры теории и практики перевода, Будулуца М.В., преподаватель, кафедры английской филологии, Шупик И.В., преподаватель кафедры английской филологии.

 

 

Рецензенты:

Флоря Е.П., кандидат педагогических наук, доцент кафедры английского языка

Милова Н.В., кандидат педагогических наук, ст. преподаватель кафедры функциональной лингвистики

 

Учебно-методическое пособие рекомендовано к изданию, научно-методическим советом Института языка и литературы (протокол №1 от «___»_______2011 г.) и Научно-методическим советом ПГУ им. Т.Г.Шевченко (протокол №___ от «___»_______2011 г.)

Настоящее учебно-методическое пособие составлено в соответствии с действующей программой по курсу практической грамматики английского языка, предусматривающей изучение синтаксиса английского языка.

Материал пособия разделён на разделы, отражающие теоретические сведения и практические задания по простому и сложному предложениям, и предназначен для подготовки студентов к практическим занятиям по практической грамматике английского языка.

В пособии представлены основные разделы синтаксиса английского языка, в соответствии с основными тенденциями его развития в настоящее время.

 

 

Щукина О.В., Касьянова Ю.И., Будулуца М.В., Шупик И.В., 2011

 

 

Contents

ПОЯСНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ЗАПИСКА

PART 1. THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

STRUCTURAL TYPES OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

COMMUNICATIVE TYPES OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

NON-SENTENCE UTTERANCES

PARTS OF THE SENTENCE

WAYS OF EXPRESSING THE SUBJECT

THE PREDICATE

THE OBJECT

THE ATTRIBUTE

THE APPOSITION

THE ADVERBIAL MODIFIER

WORD ORDER

Practical exercises

PART 2. THE COMPOSITE SENTENCE

The complex sentence with nominal clauses

Predicative clauses

OBJECT CLAUSES

ATTRIBUTIVE CLAUSES

ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

Absolute (or independent) subordinate clauses

Parenthetical (comment) clauses

Practical exercises

LITERATURE

 

 

ПОЯСНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ЗАПИСКА

Книга является теоретико-практическим методическим пособием, предназначенным для преподавателей курса практической грамматики английского языкак, а также для студентов в качестве основного средства обучения при подготовке к практическим и лабораторным занятиям и формам контроля. Пособие может также оказать помощь аспирантам, и всем интересующимся современными проблемами грамматики.

Данное учебно-методическое пособие представляет собой сборник упражнений, направленных на формирование навыков синтаксического анализа английского предложения.

Пособие поможет учителю компенсировать имеющиеся недостатки учебно-методических комплектов, усилить коммуникативную направленность процесса обучения и повысить его эффективность.

Пособие может использоваться как для работы в аудитории, так и для самостоятельной работы над синтаксисом английского языка.

 

PART 1. THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Syntax is the part of grammar which deals with sentences and combinability of words. The core of syntax is the study of the sentence. Syntax embraces on the one hand the structure of the sentence, that is, its components, their structure and the relations between these components, and on the other hand structural and communicative types of sentences.

A sentence is a unit of speech whose grammatical structure conforms to the laws of the language and which serves as the chief means of conveying a thought. The classification of simple sentences is based on two principles:

- according to the structure of the utterance,

- according to the purpose of the utterance.

 

STRUCTURAL TYPES OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

According to the structure of the utterance the simple sentence may be of two types: two –member sentenceand one-member sentence.

Two-member sentences

A two-member sentence has two members – a subject and a predicate. For example:

Mary laughed.

In its turn a two-member sentence may be complete or incomplete. It is complete when it has a subject and a predicate. It is incomplete when one of the principal parts or both of them are missing but can be easily understood from the context. Such sentences are called elliptical and are commonly used in colloquial speech. Ellipsis refers only to the structural elements of the sentence, not the informational ones. This means that those words can be omitted, because they have only grammatical, structural relevance, and do not carry any new relevant information. There are several types of elliptical sentences.

1. Sentences without a word-form in the subject position.

Looks like rain. Don’t know anything about it.

2. Sentences without word-forms in the subject position and part of the predicate position. In such cases the omitted part of the predicate may be either a) an auxiliary verb or b) a link verb.

a) Going home soon? See what I mean? Heard nothing about him lately.

b) Not bad. Free this evening?

3. Sentences without a word-form only in part of the predicate position, which may be an auxiliary or a link verb. For example:

You seen them? Everything fixed? You sure? All settled.

4. Sentences without word-forms both in the subject and the predicate position. Such ellipses occur in various responses.

What time does Dave come for lunch? - One o’clock.

What were you thinking about? - You.

5. Sentences without a word-form in the predicate position. Such ellipses occur only in replies to questions.

Who lives there? - Jack.

What’s happened? - Nothing.

A two-member sentence may be unextendedor extended.

Anunextended sentence contains two main positions of the basic pattern, that of the subject and the predicate. For example:

Mary laughed. Mary is happy.

An extended sentence may contain variousoptional elements (including attributes, certain kinds of prepositional objects and adverbial modifiers). For example,

John ran quickly to me. Mary laughed heartily at the joke.

Obligatory extending elements are those which complete the meaning of other words, usually verbs, or pronouns, which without them make no or little sense. Therefore obligatory elements are called complements.

John learned French. (the meaning of “learned” is incomplete without the object “French”)

John lives in London. (the meaning of “lives” is incomplete without an adverbial of place)

One-member sentences

A one- member sentence is a sentence having only one member which is neither the subject nor the predicate. One-member sentences in English are of two types:nominal sentences andverbal sentences.

Nominal sentences are those in which the principal part is expressed by a noun. They state the existence of the things expressed by them. They are typical of descriptions. Nominal sentences may be:

- unextended.

Silence. Summer. Midnight.

- e x t e n d e d.

Dusk - of a summer night.

The grass, this good, soft, lush grass.

Verbal sentences are those in which the principal part is expressed by a non-finite form of the verb, either an infinitive or a gerund. Infinitive and gerundial one-member sentences are mostly used to describe different emotional perceptions of reality.

To think that he should have met her again in this way!

Living at the mercy of a woman!

COMMUNICATIVE TYPES OF THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

According to the purpose of the utterance sentences are divided into four types:declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory sentences. These types differ in the aim of communication and expressstatements, questions, commands andexclamations respectively.

Declarative sentences

A declarative sentence contains a statement which gives the reader or the listener some information about various events, activities or attitudes, thoughts and feelings. A statement may bepositive (affirmative) ornegative, as in:

I have just come back from a business trip. I don’t like milk chocolate.

Grammatically, statements are characterized by the subject-predicate structure with the direct order of words. They are mostly two-member sentences, although they may be one-member sentences, as in:

Very early morning. No curtain. No painting.

Statements usually have a falling tone; they are marked by a pause in speaking and by a full stop in writing.

In conversation, statements are often structurally incomplete, especially when they serve as a response to a question asking for some information. For example:

Where are you going? - To the library.