Complex sentence types represented in the literary work

After collecting 59 complex sentences in the short story, we've grouped them according to the categorical classification.

The number of sentences in each group stands as follows:

1) Clauses of primary nominal position – 15;

2) Clauses of secondary nominal position – 26;

3) Clauses of adverbial position – 31.

As many as 11 sentences have more than one subordinate clause, connected either by means of parallel subordination or consecutive subordination.

Let us present the percentage in the form of a pie chart:

1. Clauses of primary nominal position

Substantive-nominal clauses are represented mainly by object clauses. In most of the examples, an object clause refers to the reporting verb: It's sold, I tell you - sold and gone, too.

The object clauses are introduced:

1) by conjunctions: As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's.

2) by conjunctive adverbs: But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first. I want to see how it looks on it.

3) By conjunctive pronouns: You don't know what a nice – what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you.

4) Asyndetically: I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.

Some of the object clauses carry a strong emotional charge: Please, God, make him think I am still pretty.

2. Clauses of secondary nominal position

According to the way attributive clauses are connected with the principal clause, they fall into either appositive or relative clauses. Both groups are represented in the text, however, the majority of clauses belong to the latter group.

Appositive clauses: Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her.

Relative clauses: One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered.

As we know, based on the degree of semantical closeness between the antecedent and the relative clause, there are distinguished restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, the latter far outnumbering the former.

Restrictive relative clause (non-finite):She had a habit of saying little silent prayers about the simplest everyday things.

Non-restrictive relative clauses: In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. In this case the dependent clauses are joined by a connective with a preposition.

There also have been found examples of sentence-relative clauses: She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends – a mammoth task.

The attributive clauses represented in the short story are introduced by:

1) Conjunctions: And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.

2) Conjunctive pronouns: Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride.

3) Asyndetically: She had been saving every penny she could.

These has been found no examples of attributive clauses joined by means of relative adverbs in the text.

Several attributive clauses were non-finite: She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard.

Most of the antecedents are immediate, however, there is one example of its distant position: And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house.

3) Clauses of adverbial position

Clauses of adverbial position constitute the most numerous group in the text. All of the adverbial clause types are represented in the short story.

1. Adverbial clause oftime: As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week.

2. Adverbial clause of cause: I had my hair cut off and sold it because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. Be good to me, for it went for you.

3. Adverbial clause of result (non-finite clause joined asyndetically):And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.

4. Adverbial clause of comparison: Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, the letters of "Dillingham" looked blurred, as though they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D.

5. Adverbial clauses of condition: Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out of the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. “ If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl".

6. Adverbial clauses of manner (non-finite clause joined asyndetically):So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.

7. Adverbial clauses of place: Where she stopped the sign read: 'Mme Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds.'

8. Adverbial clauses of concession: Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain.

9. Adverbial clauses of purpose (consecutive subordination of two non-finite clauses):I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs.

There are also some other examples of sentences with multiple adverbial clauses: Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. The first adverbial clause represents manner while the other one – time. The two clauses are joined by means of consecutive subordination.

Some of these sentences carry a strong emotional charge: Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

Interestingly enough, not all of the analyzed subordinate clauses were finite, in fact, we've found 14 sentences with non-finite clauses, that is to say, containing the structures with infinitive, bare infinitive, participle or gerund.