Major components of the noun-head phrase 8 page

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 353.

Two special types of predicative fronting are illustrated in the examples below. The first group contains proportion clause combinations marked by pairs of phrases with the, where fronting of the correlative phrases almost always occurs: 1. I think the better the players are treated in these respects, the more enthusiasticis [their response to the challenges before them]. (news) 2.The more general the domain, the more general, selective and tentativeare [the statements about its style]. (acad) 3. The more firmly he tells them and the country that, as Prime Minister, he and not they will rule, the more likely[it] is that he will eventually reach Downing Street. (news ) 4. The larger the base the easier[it] will be to perform the action (acad) When the subject is long and heavy, there is subject-verb inversion (as in 1 and 2 above); clauses with a subject pronoun often have no inversion, as in the extraposed structures of 3 and 4 above (where, following the principle of end-weight, the complements of likely and easier are not fronted along with them).

The second special type of predicative fronting, with subject-operator inversion, frequently affects adjectives premodified by intensifier so introducing a that-comparative clause, which is not fronted: So preoccupied was [she] at this moment, she was unaware that Diana was standing in the arched doorway to the sitting room. (fict) cf. She was so preoccupied at this moment that she was unaware ... So ruthlesswas [the IRA] in its all-out onslaught against the police and the Army, it didn't care who got in its way. (news) So different,however, are [the theories of the schools] from the practice of ordinary business–every establishment, too having peculiarities of its own– that much which he learned in the former will have to be unlearned in the latter. (acad)

Where the subject is an unstressed pronoun, we find the same pattern without inversion as with fronting of direct objects, and often with a single focus on the initial element: Right you are! (conv) They're tiles. Horriblethey are! (conv) Bloody amazing it was! (conv) Pink as a fingernail it was, and sprinkled with glittering chips. (fict) The fronting has an intensifying effect, which is often strengthened by the choice of words (horrible, bloody amazing, etc.), or by emphatic stress when spoken (reflected by exclamation marks). Furthermore, the fronted material is new rather than old information.Fronted predicatives with initial focus are related to structures with declarative tags: You're a little devil you are! (conv) Oh God, it was magic it was! (conv) It's terrible it is! (conv) If the subject pronoun and the copular verb are ellipted, as is frequently the case, we get a structure with a fronted predicative, e.g. A little devil you are or Terrible it is. The following examples illustrate a special type of pattern with focus on the initial element: A: No, their surname isn't anything even similar to that. B: No. A: Because - Jones- their name is! (conv) I don't know what her name is. Dot I think her name is. (conv) Peter Harronson, he said he was called. (fict) The initial predicative in these examples highlights the main purpose of the utterance - establishing the name of a person or place - and therefore contains the new information. The rest of the structure follows almost as an afterthought, contains given information, and is not in focus, even though it may contain extensive lexical material. Note that the predicative may belong to an embedded clause.

The choice to front objects or predicatives differs in important ways. Object fronting is typically chosen when there is a communicative need to emphasize or contrast a clause element. Both the fronted element and the verb are strongly focused. In contrast, fronting of predicatives is basically cohesive. The clause opens with a reference to the preceding text, followed by a light-weight verb, which is in turn typically followed by a long and heavy subject introducing new information. Furthermore, in the unfronted, uninverted version of such a clause, both the same elements could be focused, or stressed in speech if required: there is no gain in capability to focus an additional element in the fronted version such as is obtained with fronted objects. Furthermore, the structures differ with respect to weight distribution. With fronted objects, the end of the clause is light, because both the object and the subject precede the verb (OSV). With fronted predicatives there is a much more balanced distribution, as such fronting is usually accompanied by inversion of the subject and the verb (PVS). The subject, as in the examples in A, is often a substantial noun phrase rather than a single word, so the outcome is a clause with more or less equal weight at both ends. This accords better with the principles of weight distribution in English than does a clause with weight only at the front.

Fronted infinitive predicates. In a finite clause it is possible to place in front of the subject the main verb, with everything that follows it in normal clause order. The fronted element then constitutes a non-finite predicate (in the traditional sense of that term). There are three main types of fronted non-finite predicates,corresponding to the three types of non-finite verb forms: predicates beginning with a bare infinitive (discussed in the present section), those beginning with an ing-participle, and those beginning with an ed-participle. Infinitive predicates are fronted with the remainder of the verb phrase without inversion of the subject (which is usually short). The operator, which renders the clause as a whole finite, with other auxiliary verbs, if any, remains in the normal position after the subject and takes the form of do in the absence of any other auxiliary verb. One situation where infinitive predicates may be fronted is when they repeat or echoa previous verb (or predicate): 1. I had said he would come down and come downhe did. (fict) 2. But, as he said, it had to be borne, and bear ithe did. (fict) 3. Who better to help her than her father's old friend and distant relative, Eamonn Casey? And help herhe did - into his bed. (fict) Since an echoed element has, of course, already occurred previously, the echo is not providing new information so the fronting of it serves the information principle and is explicitly cohesive. However, the fronting also serves to emphasize the repeated element, since it would be more usual to ellipt such a repetition. For example, compare with 1:I had said he would come down and he did. In fact, the fronting brings about a double focus in the clause, such as we have seen with other types of fronting above, in this case placing emphasis on both the lexical verb and the final auxiliary verb. Thus both the meaning of the lexical verb (or the entire non-finite predicate) and the truth of the proposition can be focused separately in a way not possible in non-fronted versions. In 3 there is really a triple focus, because part of the predicate - into his bed - is not fronted along with the earlier part of the predicate - help her - but postponed for emphatic effect so that it occupies the end focus position in the clause. Fronted infinitive predicates are also found outside echo contexts with similar double focus: Hit my bloody shoe that will! (conv) Work I must, and for money. (fict) Note the similarity of effect of structures with fronted infinitive predicates and declarative tags: You'll get a smack you will! (conv) With initial ellipsis of the type that often happens in speech, this would become identical to a structure with a fronted infinitive predicate Get a smack you will. While fronting is a fairly marginal phenomenon with infinitive predicates, it is far more general with other non-finite forms. Fronting of ed- and ing-predicates is accompanied by inversion of the subject and the non-fronted portion of the verb phrase. Examples of fronted ed-predicates, with subject in []: 1.Nothing on the walls, with one exception: Tacked over the bedwas [a yellowed, deckel-edged photograph]. (fict) 2.Pasted to his pointed head, its overlapping cap of bone already springing apart under the elastic scalp, was [a mat of thick black hair]. (fict) 3.Enclosed is [a card for our permanent signature file which we request you to sign and return to us]. (fict) 4. There were a couple of framed photographs on the walls, <. ..> Also framed on the wallwas [a small inspirational legend in steely letters on a grey background]. (fict) 5.Also billed to appear as a special mystery guest is [Vivacious Val]. (news) As might be expected, since participles as main verbs shade off into adjectives, these structures behave similarly to classic examples of predicative fronting. Through fronting and subject-verb inversion, we get balance of weight between the fronted element and the subject. The order agrees with the information principle since there is generally a reference to the preceding context early in these structures: note the occurrence of definite noun phrases in the fronted ed-predicates of 1, 2, and 4, and the use of also in examples 4 and 5. The whole structure prepares for the introduction of new information in the final focus position, occupied by the subject. A different effect is found with the more stylistically coloured fronting of gone, though the inversion ensures end-weight and end focus on the information in the subject, which often relates to an institution or customary event of a past time: 6. Gone was [the vamp, the English schoolboy]. Instead, she appeared in clogs, a long granny dress of an old-fashioned print and sleazy texture, with a purple velvet cape. (fict) 7.Gone were [the crises that had once produced banner headlines]. There were no mysterious murders to baffle the police <.. .> (fict) 8.Gone are [the days when the average man would be happy with soap on a rope in his Christmas stocking]. Now he is more likely to ask for a body spray or shower gel. (news) 9.Goneis [the sanctity of the family meal]. Irretrievably alteredis [the role of Mom, the nurturer]. (news) Here the initial element does not contain an explicit reference to the preceding text and the clauses end with a definite rather than an indefinite noun phrase, often with generic reference. Fronted ing-predicates are used under much the same conditions as the regular type of fronted ed-predicate. Note the following example, which contains an instance of each: 10. The money was left on the parapet of a bridge carrying the track over an old dismantled railway line, the Dove Valley Trail. Waiting belowwas [Michael Sams, who had left a tray on the bridge parapet for the money]. Attached to itwas [a sash cord, linked to a rope hanging down to the track]. (news) As with fronted ed-predicates, fronted ing-predicates regularly open with elements conveying given information, so that the main clause ends with the introduction of new information: 11. Billy beamed lovingly at a bright lavender farmhouse that had been spattered with machine-gun bullets. Standing in its cock-eyed doorwaywas [a German colonel], (fict) 12. Waiting for him behind the Speaker's chair and out of sight of the other members was [the leader of the opposition, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who also shook him warmly by the hand]. (fict) 13. Coming to Belfast this month are [The Breeders and Levellers], while next month sees Jethro Tull in Town. (news) 14. Standing on the step was [Father James Morrow, the Roman Catholic priest and pro-life activist who has threatened to bring a private prosecution for murder against the anguished couple if their son is allowed to die]. Father Morrow felt it his duty to try to appeal face to face to Tony's parents to allow their son to live. (news) In 14 we clearly see the progression from a place known through the preceding text to the person who is introduced and serves as the starting-point in the following sentence. If we examine the non-fronted paraphrases of clauses with initial ing-predicates, we sometimes find that they would actually be expected to contain a non-progressive verb form: 15. Standing on the sand is a beach hut built like a mini-mosque. (fict) 16. They suffered 25 per cent performance-related pay cuts, dropping to $996,000 and $740,700 respectively. Also sufferingwas Sir Derek Alun-Jones, chairman of Ferranti International Signal, the troubled electronics company. (news) 17. He is keen to catch up with family and friends, especially his 91-year-old mum Dolly Simmons who lives in Bebington. Also living on the Wirralare brother Stanley, 72, and sister Dorothy Jones, 68, and Audrey Duncan, 66. (news) The hut in 15 was presumably not temporarily placed on the beach; hence a non-progressive form would be expected: A beach hut... stood on the sand. In 16 and 17. the preceding sentence contains non-progressive forms of the same verbs. In other words, we do not seem to be dealing here only with progressive aspect verbs that have been moved to initial position. We may note that the main verb in the non-progressive verb phrase could not readily be fronted in such instances as an infinitive predicate, because of the length of the subject and the quite different communicative effect that would be produced: e.g. *Stand on the sand a beach hut did. In other cases, fronted ing-predicates behave much like adverbials, which may take the form of ing-clauses , and may occur fronted with subject-verb inversion: 18.Standing on the corner outside the petrol station on Park Lane stood a young girl smiling at him invitingly, her white leather mini skirt so short it might have been better described as a handkerchief. (fict) 19.There on one side were three large bedrooms and a bathroom, <...> and on the far side this one bedroom. Adjoining itwas the side verandah where <...> (fict) 20. There, standing at the bar of the Commons,was the victor of the first by-election since <...> (fict) Neither of the first two examples allows a straightforward paraphrase with a progressive verb phrase. Standing in 18 clashes with stood, it is in fact redundant and can be left out without loss of meaning, leaving a prepositional phrase as a place adverbial. Adjoining in 19 could easily be replaced by the complex preposition next to. Finally, note how the ing-predicate in 20 is used as a non-restrictive amplification of the preceding place adverbial there. Initial ing-predicates like ing-constructions in general - are chameleon-like structures. But whatever the correct structural analysis may be, it is quite clear what work these initially placed ing-constructions do: they connect with given information and provide the frame or setting for the situation described in the clause, especially the new information given in the grammatical subject.

Fronting in dependent clauses. Apart from syntactically conditioned fronting, which is completely regular in wh-clauses fronting in dependent clauses is restricted to special structures with the subordinators as and though. It can, however, be related to types of fronting which occur more generally. Consider the following (with the dependent clause shown in [ ]): 1. [Try as she might to make it otherwise], the sycamores beat out the children every time and she could not forgive her memory for that. (fict) 2. Modern penitentials won't be of much use to future historians of the twentieth century, but eleventh-century penitentials might be, [richas they are in the prejudices of our enlightened age–particularly the inferior status of women]. (news) 3. [Astounded though she was], Francesca was thrilled and excited. (fict) 4. <...> the proponents of more traditional solutions to the problem of universals, [unsuccessfulthough they have been in their own proposals], have made trouble for the solution in terms of individual properties. (acad) We may note that the fronting of the main verb in 1 and of the predicative adjectives in 2-4 occurs without subject-verb inversion, in a similar way to independent clause occurrences. Furthermore, complements are often not fronted along with their controlling words (e.g. the to-infinitive complement of try in 1 and the in-prepositional complements in 2 and 4), thus avoiding an unsatisfactorily front-weighted clause. The main purpose of placing the fronted forms where they are in these structures, in a conspicuous position preceding the subordinators, is clearly to emphasize them. In 1, 2, and 4 the special effect is lost if the fronted element is placed in the unmarked position (using subordinator though in place of as, which only occurs with fronting) because it is then no longer focussed by being in initial or final position. End focus would naturally fall on a later word in the complement, such as otherwise in 1: Though she might try to make it otherwise,.... It is no coincidence also that these clauses are generally concessive, and the emphasis may involve contrast, as in 3, between the adjective predicated of Francesca in the dependent clause and those predicated of her in the main clause.

Fronting in exclamations. Exclamative clauses introduced by wh-words have syntactically conditioned fronting and thus do not belong in the survey here. However, there are declarative main clauses which have exclamatory force and mirror the structure of exclamative clauses, though there is no wh-word. Note the fronted predicatives and objects in the following examples, where such is used in much the same way as what: Such a rich chapter it had been, when one came to look back on it all! (fict) Such a gift he had for gesture. He looked like a king in exile. (fict) And she thought: Such a sure handmy son has with people. (fict) Note that this use of such is quite different from the cohesive uses illustrated earlier. Compare also: 1. Charming you are! (fict) 2. How brave you are! (fict) 3. Some diet that is! (conv) 4. And what a great night that was! (fict) Here the exclamation marks reflect the similarity in speech act function. Fronting in exclamations may express irony and sarcasm, as in 1 and 3 above. The exclamative force is particularly strong with the single-focus types of fronted objects and predicatives. In general, though fronting of core elements is relatively rare in present-day English, it is an important option, because of the special effects it may have - which may be all the more conspicuous because of the comparative rarity.

3.2. Inversion. Another common pattern of word order is the inverted word order (inversion), one of the forms of emphatic constructions. Inversion reverses the usual order of words. Any unusual position of any part of the sentence may be treated as inversion in the broad sense of the term, e.g., The fact I know (the object precedes the subject). But, for the most part, the term inversion is used in its narrow meaning with regard to the principal parts of the sentence. It indicates that the predicate precedes the subject (indirect order of words). In an overwhelming majority of cases only the structural part of the predicate is placed before the subject: Is he writing? May I enter? Where does he live? Cases like Away ran the horse are comparatively rare.

Inversion, as one type of a large variety of non-canonical word-order phenomena, has received a considerable amount of attention over the last few decades. Studies on inversion include approaches in various generative and transformational frameworks, functional and cognitive linguistics. M.L. Borroff [2000: 206-209] considers that inversion and its non-inverted counterpart are word-order variants that denote the same event and express the same proposition, but differ in how the speaker directs the hearer (or the writer directs the reader) to view, construe and conceptualize the event. In general, inversion is used to direct the hearer's or reader's attention to a previously unknown figure, something that its non-inverted counterpart cannot do.

Grammarians distinguish full inversion (when the predicate precedes the subject, as in Here comes the most interest part of information) and partial inversion (when only part of the predicate precedes the subject, as in Out he went. Some scholars also distinguish double inversion (when parts of the predicate are placed separately before the subject, as in Hanging on the wall was a picture). In some cases inversion may be taken as a normal order of words in constructions with special communicative value, and is thus devoid of any special colouring. Grammatical inversion is used: 1. In various communicative types of sentences: a) general questions, polite requests and in tag questions: Is it really true? Won't you sit down? You are glad to see me, aren't you? b) pronominal questions: What are the police after? c) existential fact-sentences: There has been an accident d) exclamatory sentences expressing strong emotions: Long live the king! Come what may! e) exclamatory sentences which are negative in form but positive in meaning: Have I watched them! Wouldn't that be fun! f) negative imperative sentences: Don't you do it. 2. In some complex sentences as a grammatical means of subordination: a) conditional clauses joined without connectors: Were you sure of it, you wouldn't hesitate, b) concessive clauses: Proud as he was, he had to consent to our proposal, c) the second part of a sentence of proportional agreement (although inversion is not obligatory): The more he thought of it, the less clear was the idea. 3. In sentences beginning with adverbs denoting place. This usage is traditional, going back to Old English norms: Here is another example. There goes another bus. 4. In stage directions, although this use is limited: Enter the King and the Queen. 5. In sentences indicating whose words or thoughts are given as direct or indirect speech: “That's him,” said Tom. How did he know, said Jack, miserably. Direct word order can also be used here. 6. In statements showing that the remark applies equally to the one or something else: I am tired. – So am I. He isn't ready. – neither is she. But if the sentence is a corroboration of a remark just made, direct word order is used: You promised to come. – So I did. We may meet him later. – So we may.

In other cases inversion is a sort of reordering for stylistic effect or for emphasis. The second function of word order is to make prominent or emphatic that part of the sentence which is more important or informative in the speaker's opinion. These two functions to express prominence, or information focus, and emphasis are different in their purpose, but in many cases they go together or overlap and are difficult to differentiate. Prominence and emphasis are achieved by placing the words in an unusual position: words normally placed at the beginning of the sentence (such as the subject) are placed towards the end whereas words usually occupying positions closer to the end of the sentence such as objects and predicatives are shifted to the beginning. The following patterns of stylistic inversion are most frequently met in both English prose and poetry. (1) The attribute is placed after the word it modifies (postposition of the attribute). This model is often used when there is more than one attribute, for example: "With fingers weary andworn..." (Thomas Hood). "Once upon a midnight dreary..." (E. A. Poe). (2) The object is placed at the beginning of the sentence, e.g. Talent Mr Micawber has, capital has not (Thomas Hood). Courage George II certainly had. Moneyhe had not (E. A. Poe). (3) The predicative is placed before the subject, as in "A good generous prayer adverbial modifier is placed at the beginning of the sentence, as in:"Eagerly Iwished the morrow" (Poe); "My dearest daughter, at your feet I fall." (Dryden). "A tone of most extraordinary comparisonMiss Tox said it in" (Dickens). Horrible these people are, ugly, dirty. Many and long were the conversations they had in the evenings. A really great day it was for all of us. (4) Both adverbial modifier and predicate stand before the subject, as in:"In went Mr. Pickwick." (Dickens) "Down dropped the breeze..." (Coleridge). Out came the chase – in wentthe horses – on sprang the boys – in got the travellers (Mark Twain). End position is always emphatic for the subject. (5). The adverbial modifier is placed at the beginning of the sentence. At you feet I fall. Off he went. Up they rushed. Front position is emphatic for adverbials of time, manner, and degree. It is often accompanied by subject-predicator inversion: Well do I remember the day. Many a time has be given me real help. (6). The predicate, expressed by the verb, precedes the subject: Into this country came our parents. Stylistic inversion, also termedanastrophe or hyperbaton, is considered to be a very common device in poetry, prose and rhetoric. Specific types of hyperbaton are hypallage and chiasmus. Hypallage involves an interchange of elements in a phrase or sentence so that a displaced word is in a grammatical relationship with another that it does not logically qualify, as in her beauty's face for her face's beauty. Chiasmus involves a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, as in He went to the country, to the town went she. To stop too beautiful, and too faint to go. As high as we have mounted in delight, In our dejection do we sink as low (Wordsworth). The night wings sigh, the breakers roar, And shrieks the wild sea-mew (Byron).

These models comprise the most common and recognized models of inversion.

Inversionis closely connected with fronting. Centuries ago, English was predominantly a verb-second language: the verb was placed in second position in the clause, whether it was preceded by the subject or by some other clause element. The latter case caused inversion of subject and verb. In present-day English, the subject generally stays before the verb - with the exception of interrogative clauses - whether there is some other pre-verbal element or not. Nevertheless, given the right circumstances, inversion does occur in present-day English outside interrogative clauses. There are two main types: subject-verb inversion or full inversion,where the subject is preceded by the entire verb phrase (or whichever portion of it remains if the main verb part of it is fronted); subject-operator inversion or partial inversion, where the subject is preceded by the operator rather than by the main verb or a full verb phrase. As in independent interrogative clauses, the auxiliary do is inserted, if there is no other verb that can serve as operator. The remainder of the verb phrase follows the subject, if included. Both types are triggered by some element other than the subject being placed in clause-initial position. Yet the behaviour of the two types is quite different, as we shall see below. Furthermore, there is a great deal of variety in inversion patterns, some of which are obsolescent, reflecting differences both in form and communicative effect. In general, inversion serves several discourse functions: