Communicative types of sentences.

Communicative types of sentences. The sentence is a communicative unit, therefore the primary classification of sentences must be based on the communicative principle. This principle is formulated in traditional grammar as the "purpose of communication".In accord with the purpose of communication three cardinal sentence-types have long been recognised in linguistic tradition: first, the declarative sentence; second, the imperative (inducive) sentence; third, the interrogative sentence. These communicative sentence-types stand in strict opposition to one another, and their inner properties of form and meaning are immediately correlated with the corresponding features of the listener's responses.Thus, the declarative sentence expresses a statement, either affirmative or negative, and as such stands in systemic syntagmatic correlation with the listener's responding signals of attention,The imperative sentence expresses inducement, either affirmative or negative. That is, it urges the listener, in the form of request or command, to perform or not to perform a certain action. The interrogative sentence expresses a question, i.e. a request for information wanted by the speaker from the listener.Alongside of the three cardinal communicative sentence-types, another type of sentences is recognised in the theory of syntax, namely, the so-called exclamatory sentence. In modern linguistics it has been demonstrated that exclamatory sentences do not possess any complete set of qualities that could place them on one and the same level with the three cardinal communicative types of sentences. The property of exclamation should be considered as an accompanying feature which is effected within the system of the three cardinal communicative types of sentences.* In other words, each of the cardinal communicative sentence types can be represented in the two variants, viz. non-exclamatory and exclamatory. What a very small cabin it was! (K. Mansfield) – It was a very small cabin. The communicative properties of sentences can further be exposed in the light of the theory of actual division of the sentence.The strictly declarative sentence immediately expresses a certain proposition. the actual division of the declarative sentence presents itself in the most developed and complete form.The rheme of the declarative sentence makes up the centre of some statement as such. The strictly imperative sentence, as different from the strictly declarative sentence, does not express by its immediate destination any statement of fact, i.e. any proposition proper. It is only based on a proposition, without formulating it directly. Thus, the rheme of the imperative utterance expresses the informative nucleus not of an explicit proposition, but of an inducement — a wanted (or unwanted) action together with its referential attending elements (objects, qualities, circumstances).Due to the communicative nature of the inducement addressed to the listener, its thematic subject is usually zeroed.As far as the strictly interrogative sentence is concerned, its actual division is uniquely different from the actual division of both the declarative and the imperative sentence-typesThe unique quality of the interrogative actual division is determined by the fact that the interrogative sentence expresses an inquiry about information which the speaker (as a participant of a typical question-answer situation) does not possess. Therefore the rheme of the interrogative sentence, as the nucleus of the inquiry, is informationally open (gaping); its function consists only in marking the rhematic position in the response sentence and programming the content of its filler in accord with the nature of the inquiry.

Structural types of sentences.

4 Types of English Sentences

Simple Sentence

A simple sentence contains one independent clause.

What’s an “independent clause”? It’s one subject followed by one verb or verb phrase. It expresses a single idea.

Examples of simple sentences:

§ I‘m happy.

§ Robert doesn’t eat meat.

§ My brother and I went to the mall last night.

§ This new laptop computer has already crashed twice.

Notice that a “simple sentence” isn’t necessarily short. The subject can be a single word like “I” or “Robert,” or it can be a double subject like “my brother and I,” or it can be multiple words describing a single person/object, like “This new laptop computer.”

Compound Sentence

A compound sentence has two independent clauses joined by a linking word (and, but, or, so, yet, however).

Each independent clause could be a sentence by itself, but we connect them with a linking word:

§ I‘m happy, but my kids are always complaining.

§ Robert doesn’t eat meat, so Barbara made a special vegetarian dish for him.

§ My brother and I went to the mall last night, but we didn’t buy anything.

§ This new laptop computer has already crashed twice, and I have no idea why.

Note that each sentence has TWO subjects and TWO verb phrases.

Complex Sentence

A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

A dependent clause cannot be a complete sentence by itself.

§ I’m happy, even though I don’t make much money.

§ Robert, a friend I’ve known since high school, doesn’t eat meat.

§ My brother and I went to the mall last night, while my sister stayed home and studied.

§ This new laptop computer, which I bought yesterday, has already crashed twice.

Compound-Complex Sentence

A compound-complex sentence contains 3 or more clauses: 2 independent and at least 1 dependent clause.

§ I’m happy, even though I don’t make much money, but my kids are always complaining since we can’t afford to buy the newest toys.

Independent clauses: “I’m happy” and “my kids are always complaining”
Dependent clauses: “even though I don’t make much money” and “since we can’t afford to buy the newest toys”
Linking word: “but”

§ Robert, a friend I’ve known since high school, doesn’t eat meat – so Barbara made a special vegetarian dish for him.

Independent clauses: “Robert doesn’t eat meat” and “Barbara made a special vegetarian dish for him”
Dependent clause: “a friend I’ve known since high school”
Linking word: “so”

§ My brother and I went to the mall last night, while my sister stayed home and studied because she has a test coming up.

Independent clauses: “My brother and I went to the mall last night” and “my sister stayed home and studied”
Dependent clause: “because she has a test coming up”
Linking word: “while”

§ This new laptop computer, which I bought yesterday, has already crashed twice; however, I have no idea why.

Independent clauses: “This new laptop computer has already crashed twice” and “I have no idea why”
Dependent clause: “which I bought yesterday”
Linking word: “however”

Ellyptical sentences and one-member sentences.

Elliptical Sentences

The problem of elliptical sentences has been and still is one of the most important and at

the same time difficult problems of syntax.

The problem is solved by different linguists in different way. According to H. Kruisinga's

(36) concept “Any noun that is used to call a person may be looked upon as a sentence, or a

sentence-word.

Some words regularly form a sentence, such as “yes” or “no”'; but they do so only in

connection with another sentence. Words used in a sentence with subject and predicate may also be

alone to form a complete sentence, but again in connection with another sentence only...”

As we stated above elliptical sentences are also the result of transformation of kernel

sentences. Since transforms are derived from kernel sentences they must be considered in

connection with the latter.

L. Barkhudarov (3) looks upon the sentences like ≪Вечер≫, ≪Утро≫ and so on as two-member sentences.

Really, if we isolate such utterances from the language system it will not be divisible. If an investigator wants to be

objective he cannot neglect the language system. Any unit of any language is in interdependence of the other units

of the language. Since the overwhelming majority of sentences are two-member ones as e.g. ≪Был вечер≫, ≪Будет

вечер≫ the above-mentioned utterances are also two-member ones. In sentences ≪Был вечер≫, ≪Будет вечер≫ the

predicates are expressed explicitly, while in ≪Вечер≫, ≪Утро≫ the predicates are expressed by zero alternants of the

verb ≪быть≫. M. Blokh is conception is very close to this (5), (6).

The classification of elliptical sentences may be based on the way of their explication. By

explication we understand the replacement of the zero alternant of this or that word by the explicit

one. There are two kinds of explication:

1. Syntagmatically restored elliptical sentences - when the explicit alternant of the elliptical

sentence is found in the same context where the elliptical sentence is:

One was from Maine; the other from California.

If you have no idea where Clive might be, I certainly haven't. (Nancy Buckingam).

2. Paradigmatically restored elliptical sentence - when the explicit alternant of the zero

form is not found in the context where the ellipsis is used but when it is found in similar language

constructions, e.g.

Stop and speak to me. (Galsworthy)

You listen to me, Horace. (Steinback)

One -member Sentences

“A sentence is the expression of a self- contained and complete thought”.

“He is ill”, he said. “Didn’t you know?” –

“Seriously?” – “Very, I understand”, to Fries “Seriously” is a sentence - equivalent. They all seem to be a complete

communication. But it can not be denied that each of them, either through pronouns (he, him) or through omissions,

depend heavily on what has been said immediately before it is spoken; in fact the last three would be unthinkable

outside a linguistic context. Properly speaking, therefore, omissions must be said to effect connection between

sentences (31), (32).

Sentences with syntactic items left out are natural, for omissions are inherent in the very

use of language. “In all speech activities there are three things to be distinguished: expression,

suppression, and impression.

Expression is what the speaker gives, suppression is what the speaker does not give, though

he might have given it, and impression is what the hearer receives”. (35)

Grammarians have often touched upon omissions of parts of sentences. But it is difficult to

find an opinion which is shared by the majority of linguists.

When considering the types of sentences some grammarians recognize the existence of

two-member, one-member and elliptical sentences. The two-member sentences are sentences which have the subject and the predicate. However, language is a phenomenon where one cannot

foresay the structure of it without detailed analysis. There are sentences which cannot be described

in terms of two-member sentences. We come across to sentences which do not contain both the

subject and the predicate. “There's usually one primary part and the other could not even be

supplied, at least not without a violent change of the structure of the sentence", (llyish) Fire! Night.

Come on!

As Ilyish (15) puts it, it is a disputed point whether the main part of such a sentence should,

or should not be termed subject in some case (as in Fire! Night...) or predicate in some other

(Come on!; Why not stay here?) There are grammarians who keep to such a conception. Russian

Academician V.V. Vinogradov (10) considers that grammatical subject and predicate are

correlative notions and that the terms lose their meaning outside their relation to each other. He

suggests the term “main part”.

Thus, one member sentence is a sentence which has no separate subject and predicate but one main only

instead. B. Ilyish (15) considers some types of such sentences:

1) with main part of noun (in stage directions);

Night. A lady's bed-chamber....

2) Imperative sentences with no subject of the action mentioned:

Come down, please.

Infinitive sentences are also considered to be one special type of one-member sentences. In

these sentences the main part is expressed by an infinitive. Such sentences are usually emotional:

Oh, to be in a forest in May!

Why not go there immediately?

B.A. Ilyish (15) states that these sentences should not be considered as elliptical ones, since

sentences like:

Why should not we go there immediately? - is stylistically different from the original one.

By elliptical sentence he means sentence with one or more of their parts left out, which can

be unambiguously inferred from the context.

By "elliptical sentences " we mean sentences with one or more of their parts left out, which can be unambiguously inferred from the context. We will apply this term to any sentence of this kind, no matter what part or parts of it have been left out.

The main sphere of elliptical sentences is of course dialogue: it is here that one or more parts of a sentence are left out because they are either to be supplied from the preceding sentence (belonging to another speaker) or may be easily dispensed with. We take a few examples of elliptical sentences from contemporary dramatic works: Charlie. Have you asked her yet? Captain Jinks. Not often enough. It is clear here that the answer means: 'I have, but not often enough'. Aurelia. And by the way, before I forget it, I hope you'll come to supper to-night — here. Will you? After the opera.