Ways of expressing the subject

Speak on the meanings and uses of “shall/should” and “will/would”.

Shall

Shall is never a purely (вполне) modal verb. It always combines its modal meaning with the function of an auxiliary expressing futurity.

As a rule shall as a modal verb is not translated into Russian, its meaning is rendered by emphatic intonation.

1. Shall expresses volition(волевой акт) with the first person subject in formal style.

We shall uphold the wishes of the people. — Мы поддержим желания народа.

2. In interrogative sentences shall is used with the first and third persons to inquire after the wish of the person addressed.

Shall he go there? (Do you want him to go there?) — Идти ему туда?

It is also used for making suggestions about shared activities.

What shall we do this evening? Shall we go to the theatre?

Nоte. It is only in such questions that shall cannot be regularly replaced by will.

3. Compulsion (принуждение) or strict order. In this meaning it is always used with the second and third person and has a strong stress.

H u g h. By God, you shall do nothing of the sort. (Pinero)- Клянусь богом, вы этого не сделаете.

4. Threat (угроза) or warning. In this meaning it is also used with the second and third persons and with a weak stress.

"You shall never see me again!" - Вы никогда меня больше не увидите!

5. Promise. It is also used with the second and third persons and with a weak stress.

You shall not be punished. - Тебя не накажут.

6. A restricted use of shall with the third person occurs in legal or quasi-legal (частично-допустимое) discourse (языковое общение), in stipulating regulations (условное правило) or legal requirements. Here shall is close in meaning to must.

The vendor shall maintain the equipment in good repair — Про­давцу надлежит поддерживать оборудование в хорошем состоянии.

Should

Should was originally the past tense of shall, but in the course of its development it has acquired new shades of meaning.

Should is used with the Indefinite Infinitive, the Con­tinuous Infinitive and the Perfect Continuous Infinitive.

Should expresses obligation, something which is advis­able, proper or naturally expected.

1. Obligation, very often a moral obligation or duty.

We should/ought to respect our parents.(It’s the right thing to do, it’s our duty.)

2. Advisability (general advice).

You should study more.

You should have studied hardest last year. (But you didn’t. Criticism.)

3. Something which can be naturally expected. Prob­ability (вероятность) (less certain, probably).

He should be at home soon.

Will

Will is hardly ever a purely modal verb. It generally combines its modal meaning with the function of an auxiliary expressing futurity.

The modal verb will expresses volition, intention on the pan of the ^sPeaker. or insistence.

1. Volition, intention. In most cases this meaning is rendered in Russian by emphatic intonation, but sometimes the verb хотеть is used. It is used with all persons but mostly with the first person.

"I will speak." cried the man. "I will not be turned out..." - Нет, я буду говорить! — крикнул человек. — Меня не выставят!

Very often will is used after the conjunction if in conditional clauses where it retains its modal meaning, that of volition.

You may laugh if you will but I was sure I should see her there (E. Bronte) - Можете смеяться, если xотите, но я был уверен. что встречу ее там.

The modal verb will is used in polite requests.

Will you have a cup of tea?

2.Persistence(постоянство) referring to the present or to the future.

She will not speak, she will not eat; finally she dies. - Она не желает говорить, она не желает есть, наконец, она умирает.

It is used in speaking about habits.

She will listen to music, alone in her room, for hours.

It is also used in speaking about lifeless things when the speaker is annoyed at something and speaks about a thing or a phenomenon of nature as if it possessed a will of its own (there is an element of personification here).

It's no use trying to open the door, it wtll notopen. — Нечего стараться открыть эту дверь — она все равно не откроется.

3. Prediction referring to the present or to no particular time (in limeless statements).

That'll be the postman (on hearing the doorbell ring).

Oil willfloat on water.

Would

Would was originally the past tense of will. Thus it expresses volition, persistence referring to the past.

1. Volition. In this meaning it is mostly used in negative sentences.

She was going away and would notsay where she was going. (Dreiser) - Она уезжала и не хотела сказать, куда едет.

2.. Persistence.

I asked him not to bang the door, but he woulddo it. — Я просил его на хлопать дверью, а он все продолжал хлопать.

Would is used to describe things that often happened in the past. It is very close to used to in these cases, but it is more formal and needs to be associated with a time indicator.

When we were children, we lived by the sea. In summer, it the weather was fine, we wouldall get up early and go for a swim.

It is also used in speaking about lifeless things in the same way as will, but in this use would is more common than will.

... and that was all he could see, for the sedan doors wouldn'topen and the blinds wouldn'tpull up. (Dickens) — ... и это бы­ло все, что ему было видно, ибо двери портшеза никак не открывались и занавеси никак не поднимались.

3. Would is used in polite requests, offers or invitations.

Would you open the door for me, please? Would you like to have a sandwich?

It is more polite than will in this meaning.

 

 

3.

The subject is one of the two main parts of the sentence. The most important feature of the subject in English is that in declarative sentences it normally comes immediately before the predicate, whereas in questions its position is immediately after an operator. It means that in English sentences any word or words which occur in these positions are to be treated asthe subject of the sentence.

The subject determines the form of the verbal part of the predicate as regards its number and person.

Ways of expressing the subject

1. A noun in the common case (including substantivized adjectives and participles) or a nominal phrase with a noun.

The fog is thinning.

Four and three is seven.

Occasionally a noun in the genitive case is the subject. This may be if a noun denotes someone’s place of business or residence, as in:

The grocer’s was full.

It may be the result of ellipsis as in:

Jim’s was a narrow escape. (= Jim’s escape was a narrow one.)

The latter type of subject is rather emphatic.

2. A personal pronoun in the nominative case.

She is very beautiful.

3. Any other noun-pronoun.

Who told you this?

4. A numeral (either cardinal or ordinal) or a nominal phrase with a numeral.

Seven cannot be divided by two.

5. An infinitive or an infinitive phrase.

To understand is to forgive.

6. A gerund or a gerundial phrase.

Talking mends no holes.

7. An infinitive or a gerundial predicative complex.

For her to fall asleep in broad daylight was not at all usual.

His walking out of the room in the very middle of the argument was quite unexpected.

8. Any word or words used as quotations.

“And” is a conjunction.

9. A clause (then called a subject clause), which makes the whole sentence a complex one.

What girls of her sort want is just a wedding ring.