Predicative word-groups

Predicative word-groups consist in two parts: a subjectival and a predicatival.

He didn’t want for me [subjectival] to come [predicatival].

The relations between the subjectival and the predicatival are similar to those of the subject and the predicate. There is no correspondence in person and number between the predicatival and subjectival.

Predicative word-groups like other word-groups are semantic and grammatical units; cannot function as independent sentences as they do not express communications.

The person (thing) expressed by the subject of the sentence and the subjectival are different: Val likes you to look nice. The subject ‘Val’ and the subjectival ‘you’ denote different persons.

Classification of predicative word-groups

There are bound and absolute predicative word-groups:

1) bound predicative word-groups are grammatically connected with the verb-predicate of the sentence, functioning as subject, object, predicative, adverbial, or with the noun (attribute), the subjectival is unusually having a dependent form (him, their, John’s), they are not isolated.

E.g. They watched him running down the slope (object).

2) Absolute predicative word-groups are always isolated expressing an additional (parallel) quality. They are usually connected by means of intonation with the whole sentence and not only with the verb predicate, the subjectival of the absolute construction denotes a person or a thing other than the object.

E.g. The situation being urgent, we had to go ahead.

Bound Predicative Word Groups

a) Accusative with the Infinitive.

She saw the girl come in.

b) Accusative with the Participle.

Dinny saw her uncle walking out.

c) Accusative with a nominal part of speech: the chaw made the ice insecure.

These constructions are used only after some verbs (to see, to hear, to watch, to feel, to think, to believe, to suppose, etc.)

d) Nominative with the Infinitive.

Philip Bosinney was known to be a young man without fortune.

e) Nominative with the Participle.

They were heard talking together.

f) Infinitive for-phrases: For me to go back now would be to admit that I am afraid. He didn’t wait for me to finish.

g) gerundial complexes: Erik’s coming to-night meant that a great deal of work had to be put off.

Both the infinitive for-phrases and gerundial complexes are more independent of the verb predicate as their use is not usually restricted be definite verbs.

Absolute Predicative Word Groups

1) Nominative (isolated) absolute constructions.

Her mother remaining in bed, Dinny dined alone with her aunt.

2) Prepositional absolute constructions (with, without)

I simply couldn’t sit with Hubert on my mind.

Syntactical Relations between the Components of Phrase

They may be divided into 3 groups: 1) agreement; 2) government; 3) adjoinment. Agreement is a means of syntactical relationship between words which implies that the use of one form necessitates the use of the other.

1) an adjunct word agrees in number with its headword (a noun) E.g. this (that) book – these (those) books.

2) a singular subject requires a predicate in the singular, a plural subject requires the predicate in the plural. E.g. I am a student. There are 2 books on the table. But in Modern English there is sometimes a conflict between form and meaning, in these cases the predicate doesn’t agree with the subject. My family are early risers. My family is small.

Government is a means of connecting words consisting in the use of a certain case form of the adjunct required by its headword.

1) The use of the objective case of personal pronouns and of the pronoun ‘who’ when they are subordinate to a verb or follow a preposition: e.g. I saw him (her, them). Whom did u see there?

2) We also find government between the headnoun and the attributive adjunct noun. E.g. The boy’s mother; the student’s answer.

Adjoinment is such a way of connecting words when they are joined to one another without any specail forms by only their position and combinability. It is found in the following cases:

1) Adverbs are joined to the verb. E.g. they walked slowly.

2) Adjectives, participles, pronouns (when used as attributes) are joined to their head-nouns. E.g. a small room.

3) Adverbs are joined to adjectives or other adverbs: very interesting, very well.

The Theory of Phrase

The theory of phrase or word combination in linguistics has a long tradition going back to the 18-th century.

According to Russian scholars the term ‘word combination’ (словосочетание) can be applied only to such groups of words which contain at least two notional words forming a grammatical unit. Thus Soviet linguists restrict the use of the term ‘word combination’ to combination of notional words.

Western scholars hold a different view of the problem. They consider that every combination of two or more words constitutes a unit which they term ‘phrase’. In other words, western linguists do not limit the term ‘phrase’ to combination of notional words and do not draw a sharp distinction between the two types of word-groups such as ‘wise men’ and ‘to the lighthouse’. The first and the most important difference of opinion on the question between soviet and western scholars concerns the constituents of the word groups forming grammatical units.

Another debatable problem in soviet linguistics was whether a predicative combination of words forms a word combination.

It is generally known that a sentence is based on predication and its purpose in communication.

A word combination has no such aim. Word combinations are more like words because they are employed for naming things, actions, qualities and so on.

In contrast with soviet linguists some western scholars make no difference between subject – predicate combinations of words and other word combinations, though some western theories bear considerable resemblance to Russian ideas.

There’s no traditional terminology in the works of English and American scholars discussing combinations of words; and different terms are used to express the same idea (phrase, combination of words, cluster of words, word group).

Lecture 11

The Sentence

When we write, we convey our thoughts through sentences. A sentence is the only unit of language which is capable of expressing a communication containing some kind of information. But linguics is at difficulty to define it. One of the definitions is ‘the sentence is the smallest communication unit expressing a more or less complete thought and having a definite grammatical structure and intonation’. In most sentences intonation functions as part of a whole system of formal characteristics.

The sentence and the word group (phrase)

1) Neither words no word groups can express communication. Cf. the arrival of the delegation is expected next week (a sentence). It is a structure in which words are grouped (arranged) according to definite rules (patterns).

2) Another difference between the sentence and the phrase is predicativity. Predicativity comprises tense and mood components. The sentence together with predicativity expresses a fact, while a phrase gives a nomination without time reference:

The doctor arrived. The doctor’s arrival.

Predication is a word or combination of words expressing predicativity. Thus the essential property of sentence is predicativity and intonation.

Classification of Sentences

Sentences are classified 1) according to the types of communication and 2) according to their structure.

In accordance with the types of communication sentences are divided into:

1) Declarative (giving information). E.g. the book is interesting (statement).

2) Interrogative (asking for information). E.g. is the book interesting? (question).

3) Imperative (asking for action). E.g. give me the book! (command, request).

Each of these 3 kinds of sentences may be in the affirmative and negative form, exclamatory and non- exclamatory.