Major components of the noun-head phrase 13 page

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 379.

Infinitive clauses can have a range of syntactic roles: 1.Subject:Artificial pearls before real swine were cast by these jet-set preachers. To have thought this made him more cheerful. (fict) "I believe that homosexuality is a gift from God. To deny that gift is to deny God's will, saying His way isn't good enough." (news)2. Extraposed subject:It's difficult to maintain a friendship. (conv)It is a mistake to take sides. (news) 3. Subject predicative: "My goal now is to look to the future." (news) The only way out of the dilemma is to suppose that sometimes the photon gets through and sometimes it does not. (acad) 4. Direct object: Do you want me to send them today? (conv) He upset you very much, and I hate to see that. (fict) 5. Object predicative: Some of these issues dropped out of Marx's later works because he consideredthem to have been satisfactorily dealt with. (acad) 6. Adverbial: A little group of people had gathered by Mrs. Millings to watch the policeactivities on the foreshore. (fict) To succeed again they will have to improve their fitness and concentration. (news) 7. Part of noun phrase He is the third man to be murdered on the corner of the Donegal Roadand the Falls Road in the past two years. (news) They say that failure to take precautions against injuring others isnegligent. (acad) In the first example, the infinitive clause is a postmodifier comparable with a relative clause, in the second a noun complement. 8. Part of adjective phrase:They're too big to fight, that's the trouble isn't it? (conv)I think the old man's a bit afraid to go into hospital. (conv)In all these roles except 1 and 6 (and the first type illustrated in 7, to-infinitiveclauses act as complement clauses.

Ing-clauses can have a range of syntactic roles: 1. Subject:Having a fever is pleasant, vacant. (fict) Understanding how a planet generates and gets rid of its heat is essential if we are to understand how that planet works. (acad) 2. Extraposed subject:Anyway I says to Alice it's not fair getting in somebody's car feeling the way 1 feel I says - and puking in car. (conv)"There is only around five tonnes of newsprint left and it's very difficult getting supplies into Sarajevo." (news) 3. Subject predicative:Erm what I'm thinking of is disconnecting the pipe there, and running it through - that way. (conv)The real problem is getting something done about the cheap imports. (news) 4. Direct objectI started thinking about Christmas. (conv) "It's as if the guy never stops thinking about the issue." (news) 5. Prepositional object:No-one could rely on his going to bed early last night. (fict) 6. AdverbialI didn't come out of it looking particularly well, I know. (fict) Having established the direction of the line, we now wish to find some point on the line. (acad)7. Part of noun phrase:I think he smashed two cars coming down the road. (conv) The man making the bogus collections was described as middle aged (news) 8. Part of adjective phrase: It might be worth giving him a bell to let him know what's happening. (conv) The town is busy taking advantage of its first City Challenge victory by implementing plans aimed at revitalising East Middlesbrough. (news) 9. Complement of preposition: Jordan said he would get tough with the homeless by running identification checks on them. (news) The art of expanding limited recall by asking leading, open-ended questions is a subtle one. (acad)

Ed-clauses are less versatile than the other types of non-finite clauses. They can have the following roles: 1. Direct object:God you've gone mad with the sugar in yours. Do you want it topped up? (conv) Two-year-old Constantin will have his cleft palate repaired. (news) 2. Adverbial:When told by police how badly injured his victims were he said: "Good, I hope they die." (news)Taken in the order shown they provide propulsive jets increasing mass flow and increasing jet velocity. (acad) 3. Part of noun phrase:There wasn't a scrap of evidence to link him with the body found on the Thames foreshore at low tide. (fict) This, as we have seen, is the course chosen by a large minority of households. (acad)

The non-finite clauses have been clearly integrated within the main clause as clause elements or parts of phrases. Loosely integrated clauses, marked off by a comma in writing, are found in initial, medial, or final position: Directed by Benjamin Twist, who, incidentally, is one of the names being mentioned as a possible successor to Nowozielski, the production is a delightfully theatrical retelling of Dickens's famous novel. (news) The celebrated bust, looking like two dunces' caps applied to her chest, was encased in a puce halter-necked sweater which left all but essentials bare. (fict) He walked with a lilting gait, his left Achilles tendon apparently shortened, pulling his left heel up. (fict) The relationship between the non-finite clause and the main clause is very loose in these examples, both syntactically and semantically. By using a supplementive clause, the speaker marks the information given in the clause as subordinate: as background (initial position), parenthetical (medial position), or supplementary (final position).

11. Verbless clauses. Among non-finite clauses we may also include verbless clauses such as: 1. She had also been taught, when in difficulty, to think of a good life to imitate. (fict) 2. Although not a classic, this 90-minute video is worth watching. (news) 3. He does not believe celibacy should be demanded of priests whether gay or straight. (news) 4. Every day, if possible, allot time at your desk to sorting and filing everything you have collected since the previous day by way of either elicited or spontaneous data. (acad) Such clauses can usually be related to finite clauses with the verb be and, apart from formulaic expressions such as if possible (in 4), if so and if necessary, have the same subject as the main clause. Compare with 1 when she was in difficulty and with 2 although it is not a classic. Although there is no overt verb phrase, these clauses can be analysed in terms of clause elements. Sometimes they can be closely paraphrased by a detached predicative structure simply by omitting the subordinator: compare with 2 Not a classic, this 90-minute video is worth watching. As with supplementive clauses, their role is usually adverbial. Verbless clauses in the written registers typically mark information as communicatively less important, while in conversation they are usually limited to the formulaic expressions.

6.Communicative types of sentences. From the viewpoint of their role in the process of communication, sentences are divided into five types: declarative (Tom is speaking French), providing information,stating a fact, closing with a period; interrogative,inquiring information, asking a question, closing with an interrogation point (Is Tom speaking French?); imperative,aiming at inducing the hearer to perform an action (Tom, speak French!); negative,negating smth (Tom is not speaking French); optative,expressing unrealized volition (If Tom could speak French); exclamatory, uttering an outcry, or giving expression to a command, wish, or desire, often closing with an exclamation point – the oldest form of a sentence; (Tom is speaking French!). The sentence performs two functions: (1) emotive, i. e., it is an expression of will, or is an expression of emo­tions, attitudes, intentions, and moods present in the speaker or to be evoked in the listener; (2) it makes a state­ment, or, in the case of a question, calls for a statement. The question belongs to both, since it contains an expression of will.

6.1.Declarative sentences typically express statements which give the information about various events, activities, attitudes, thoughts, things. A statement may be positive (affirmative) or negative: I have come back from a business trip. I haven't seen my sister yet. Grammatically, declarative sentences are marked by SV structure with the direct order of words; they have a falling tone and are marked by a pause in speaking and by a full stop in writing. They are the predominant type of independent clause in news and academic prose: Police yesterday disarmed a parcel bomb at a black human rights office in Florida, the latest in a rash of mail bombing in the South that have killed a judge and a civil rights lawyer. (news) They are mostly two member sentences, although they may be one-member sentences: Very late evening. Cold sunny morning. Under special circumstances, declarative clauses may have VS order: There was a dip, a grass ravine, by the road, and some mist was crouching in the deepest part. Across it hung a wooden bridge leading to the office blocks and the other buildings on the far bank. (fict) In conversation and fictional dialogue, declarative clauses can be used with appropriate information in speech to express questions: 1.“You weren't happy together?” - “No”, I said. (conv) 2. A: So he's left her? B: She left him – (conv) 3. A: She's gonna go back tonight. B: Does, she lives in Hitchin? (conv) In these examples, the speaker asks for confirmation rather than for information. The speaker is all but sure what the answer will be (positive or negative), but by asking the question suggests the answer:Note the use of so in 2, signaling that this is a conclusion drawn by the speaker. In 3 speaker B clearly starts out with a regular yes/no-question, but changes tack and opts for a declarative clause. The effect of using a declarative question is somewhat different in: A: Do you understand? B: No. A: You don't understand? Why don't you understand? (conv) In this example the first speaker starts out with a regular interrogative structure asking for information. After hearing the response, the speaker repeats the question in the form of a declarative clause expressing surprise or disbelief.Such declarative questions are also called suggestive [Kobrina, 1985:12-13]. They form a peculiar kind of yes-no questions. They keep the word order of statements but serve as questions owing to the rising tone in speaking and a question mark in writing: You really want to go now, to-night? Suggestive questions are frequently used as question responses with various kinds of emotional colouring, most often that of surprise or incredulity: He said you were a very good interpreter. — He said that? — You sound surprised.

6.2. Interrogative clauses contain questions. Their function consists in asking for information. They are graphically identified by a question mark.. Naturally, interrogative clauses tend to occur in dialogue situations. They are frequent only in conversation and to a lesser extent in fiction. Interrogative sentences have a number of structural and communicative modifications. There are three main types of independent interrogative clauses: wh-questions, yes/no-questions, and alternative questions. Their basic uses are to supply missing information, to invite the addressee to indicate whether a proposition is true or not, and to select among alternatives presented. In addition, there is a special type of interrogative clause which has the same clause structure but differes sharply from other interrogative clauses both in form and use: this is the question tag [Biber,1999:203].

Yes/no-questions or general questionsopen with a verb operator (an auxiliary, modal, or link verb) followed by the subject. In such questions the speaker is interested to know whether some event or phenomenon asked about exists or does not exist. All the elements are taken to be already specified, and the addressee is expected to supply a truth value, by answering yes or no. Needless to say, there are other possible answers indicating various degrees of certainty (definitely, certainly, perhaps, etc.) A general question is characterized by the rising tone: Is that girl a friend of yours? Can you speak French? A negative general question adds emotional colouring of surprise or disappointment: Haven't you posted the letter yet? (Why?)The addressee may also supply additional information: A: Is it Thursday today? B: No, Friday. (conv) A: Have you got a busy week now Michael? B: Well Tuesday is my busiest day. (conv) Yes/no questions are frequently elliptic: You alright? < are omitted > (conv). Got what you want? (conv) <have you omitted > Yes/no questions are often used for purposes other than asking for information: A: Isn't that lovely! B: Oh that's lovely. (conv) Will you behave!? (conv) Could I have two pounds please? (conv) The above interrogative structures express exclamations, commands, and requests. Especially in conversation, yes/no-questions frequently have a minimal form, consisting only of the operator and a pronoun: A: She's a teacher. B: Oh is she? (conv) These comment questions do not really ask for information, but are used to provide feedback and keep the conversation going.

An alternative questionis structurally similar to a yes/no-question in opening with the operator followed by the subject, but rather than expecting an answer in terms of yes or no it presents alternatives for the addressee to choose between two or more alternative answers. The part of the question before the conjunction is characterized by a rising tone, the part after the conjunction has a falling tone: (1) A: Do you want one or two? B: Two. (conv) (2) A: So do you like haircut or not? B: It's alright. (conv) While 1 presents a choice between alternatives within the clause, the alternatives in 2 affect the whole clause. This type could be regarded as a more explicit way of asking a yes/no-question. In case when the second part of the question contains negation and the whole question has the emotional colouring of anger, annoyance, or impatience, an alternative question requires a yes-no answer: Will they ever stop arguing or not? Did you go to the university, or didn't you (go there at all).(conv) It should be noted that or not could be left out without causing any drastic change of meaning. Conversation frequently contains interrogative structures ending in or anything/something: Do you want a drink of water or anything? (conv) Although these structures are superficially similar to alternative questions, they are really yes/no-questions. Alternative questions proper are related in function to wh-questions. Both types of interrogative clauses ask for specification of an unknown element, in one case represented by a wh-word and and in the other by listed alternatives. Both types may combine in the context: Which one should I use, the blue or the pink? (conv) Here the wh-question is followed by an elliptic alternative question. The alternative question narrows down the range possible answers offered by the wh-question.

Wh-questions (also termedpronominal/special questions)open with a wh-word (what, which, who, whom, whose, where, when, why, how) which indicates an element to be specified by the addressee. The rest is taken to be already known. The element to be specified could be a clause element (subject, object, predicative, adverbial) or part of a phrase. What + do is used to ask for specification of the verb phrase: Who's calling? <subject> (conv) What do you mean? <direct object> (conv) How was your trip, Nick? <predicate > (conv) Whose turn is it tonight? < part of noun phrase > (conv) In informal language the wh-word may be reinforced by a following expletive: Where on earth have you been Gordon? (fict) What the heck has happened? (conv) These structures signal a strong emotional involvement on the part of the speaker. When the speaker asks for specification of two pieces of information, there can be more than one wh-word in the same clause: Who's getting what? (conv) Who is bringing in what? (fict) The most natural answer to a wh-question supplies the missing information, by itself or, more rarely, in the context of a whole clause: A: Who told you that? B: My mate Sue. (conv) In spontaneous conversation the relationship between question and answer is frequently far more complex. Very often the speaker asking the question also suggests an answer, in the form of an elliptic yes/no-question or alternative question: A: Who drove, Karen? B: No she can't drive. It was our mum. (conv)

Adverbial phrases (how long, how often) may also function as question words. Wh-questions are often used as short responses. They usually consist of a question word or a question word followed by a preposition: He will be absent. - How long?- Two days. I have English classes - How often? –Twice a month.

The wh-word sometimes stays in the regular position for the relevant phrase or clause element (the tone is rising and the question word is heavily stressed), especially in echoing what has been said by the previous speaker: I opened the door with a pin. — With what? Such echo questions may express surprise or disbelief and ask for confirmation rather than information. Let's talk about life on Saturn. — About what? The question may be reduced to the question word, with the article repeated if necessary: Your friend was telling us all about the chromosomes. — The what? The Boss wants to see you. — The who? Echo questions request confirmation of what has already been said, by repeating part of its content. They are used in dialogue to confirm, question, or clarify what the previous speaker has just said. All types of sentences can be echoed: John didn't like the film. — He didn't what? Sit down here. — Down there? Some echo questions repeat the structure of what was said earlier, using interrogative intonation, or else make the purpose of the echo question clear by the use of the words did you say: A: I don't see nothing in San Francisco. B: Oh, did you say San Francisco? (AmE) A: Yeah, could I please have some Percoset?B: Can you have Percoset, did you say? (AmE) On the other hand, often the echo questions simply reiterates part of the nearby utterance which needs to be repeated or clarified: A: The weather was really crappy. B: Oh yeah? A: Yeah, we ended up coming home Saturday? B: Are you serious? A: Yes. B: Saturday? (AmE) A: They have white chocolate. They have it for one of their mocha drinks or something, but you get white chocolate hot cocoa. B: White chocolate hot cocoa? (AmE) As is often the case, here the reason for seeking a repetition is not so much that the questioner filed to decode the previous remark, as that he or she found it difficult to believe. Echoes sometimes sound impolite unless accompanied by an apologetic “softening” phrase, such as I'm sorry or I beg your pardon. This is most noticeable with the question What did you say?

Although wh-questions most typically ask for information, they may have other speech-act functions. For instance, some wh-questions may contain rhetorical questionsexpressing an opinion rather than asking a question: Who needs sitcoms? (news). By choosing an interrogative form, the speaker appears to let the addressee be the judge, but no overt response is expected. This is therefore a type of question that can just as well occur in monologue as in dialogue. Wh-questions opening with why don't you/we are frequently used to express invitations (1) or suggestions (2), in which case they do not ask for an explanation: 1. Why don't you come with us for an hour or so? Mum'll be there after bingo at half past nine? (conv) 2.Why don't we go next week? (conv) The wh-question in the following example has a third person subject and is combined with a yes/no-question: Why didn't he come, was he ill? (conv) The point in this example is to find out why an event in the past did not occur, rather than to suggest a future action.

As has been mentioned above,rhetorical questionsdoes not ask for any new information. It contains a statement disguised as a question and is always emotionally coloured. Usually it is a positive question hiding a negative statement. No answer is expected. Who, being in love, is poor? What is wealth without friends? Do we always act as we ought to? Rhetorical questions are employed in oratory and poetry in the writer's digressions. They occur in colloquial English too: How should I know? What difference does that make? Where was I to go? What else could I do? Why should I feel guilty about it? What for? The declarative nature of the rhetorical question is revealed also in the fact that it is not infrequently used as an answer to a genuine question — namely, in cases when an emphatic answer is needed: Do you expect to save the country? — Well, who else will?

Tag questions are short yes-no questions added to a statement. It consists only of an operator prompted by the predicate verb of the statement and a pronoun prompted by the subject: She's so generous, isn't she? (conv) You know French, don't you? George is not a football fan, is he? (conv) Generally, the tag has a rising tone. Falling tone makes the whole sentence sound like a statement. The speaker actually knows the answer and can do without it: You knew about it before, didn't you. Here the question mark may be replaced by a full stop. Question tags are not strictly independent clauses. Question tags consist of an operator and a personal pronoun. The former is identical to the operator of the clause to which it is appended, and the latter is co-referent with the subject of the preceding clause. Question tags are most often added to declarative clauses. The main clause and the tag are generally opposite in polarity: positive statement - negative tag - positive answer: You knew that before, didn't you? - Yes, I did. Negative statement - positive tag - negative answer: You didn't know that before, did you? - No, I didn't. The answer, however, may be unexpected, as in: You didn't know that before, did you? - But I did [Kobrina,1985:11]. A clause with no-negation counts as a negative clause and is followed by a positive tag: If you talk nice and polite, people listen to you, If you shout, this is no good, is it? (conv) There is one more sentence pattern with a tag question which is less frequently used. This sentence pattern is used when the speaker comes to a conclusion concerning some event. Positive statement - positive tag: You liked your job, did you? Negative statement - negative tag: You didn't know about it before, didn't you? The main function of the tags is to elicit confirmation or agreement (thus involving the addressee in the conversation) rather than to elicit information. Tags are often added to a phrase or an incomplete clause: A: When does he go to school? B: Next September isn't it? C: No this September. (conv) Although question tags are generally added to declarative clauses, they may also be appended to interrogative clauses: Do you want this do you, anywhere? (conv) Question tags may also be added to imperative clauses, in which case they generally take the forms will you, can't you, won't you, would you and shall we: Oh, Clare, turn it up will you please? (conv) Go and see the ladies now can't you? (conv) Let's try that shall we? (conv)

6.3. Imperative clausesare formally characterized by the lack of a subject, use of the base form of the verb, and the absence of modals as well as tense and aspect markers.They are generally characterized by the falling tone and in writing are marked by a full stop or an exclamation mark. Imperatives are typically used in contexts where the addressee is apparent; the subject is usually omitted but understood to refer to the addressee. Imperatives typically urge the addressee to do or not to do something after the moment of speaking: Get off the table. (conv) Don't forget about the deposit. (conv) Hold on, are we late? (conv) Hence there is no need for tense, aspect, or modal specification. A special type of imperative clause is found with the verb let used with a first person plural pronoun (us, usually contracted to's) to express a suggestion involving both the speaker and the addressee: Let's catch up with Louise. (conv) The addressee in imperatives is specified in the form of a subject or, a vocative: You go home and go to sleep. (conv) Melissa, take those things away. (conv)

Apart from expressing commands, imperatives can be used for a wide range of purposes depending on the communicative situation, context, wording or intonation. For instance, to express request: Pass me his drink please. (conv); a polite appeal to the addressee: Oh, Clare, turn it up will you please!; invitation: “Please do come over,” she invited. (fict); warning: Mind your head on the beam; persuasion or advice: Take an aspirin; good wishes: Have a nice day!; prohibition: Don't interrupt me! etc. suggestion: Do ring Cathy if you feel like it. (conv) The auxiliary do makes a positive imperative more urgent, or it can be used to add a politely persuasive force to an offer, suggestion or invitation [Biber, 1999:220].

Commands can be softened and made into requests with the help of the word please, the rising tone, a tag question, or a yes-no question beginning with will or would: Speak louder, please. Repeat the last word, will you? Would you do me a favour? The falling tone and an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence opening with will express irritation and impatience: Will you stop arguing! Will you be quiet! Though in the vast majority of commands the subject is only implied, the subject expressed by the pronoun you occurs when it is necessary a) to specify the subject for the sake of contrast (You come first, and I'll wait a little) b) convey the speaker's personal altitude to the event, e.g., irritation, anger, threat, impatience You say it again, and I'll turn you out of here! c) soothe somebody (You be a good girl, and don't worry). A third-person command may begin with a noun or a pronoun denoting the person addressed: Somebody switch off the light. Mark and John fetch dictionaries. Don't anybody switch off the light! In the case of first person plural and third person singular and plural subjects, the imperative let is followed by a personal pronoun in the objective case: Let him try again. Let them come in. Let us have some tea. There are two negative constructions with let for the first person: Don't let's quarrel about trifles. Let's not quarrel about trifles. A third-person command admits of only one negative: Don't let him interfere in our affairs. Commands are sometimes expressed without an imperative verb (verbless commands): Silence! Gently, darling. Water, please. Careful, please. To the right! No smoking! Off with you! Hush! [Kobrina,1985:16-18]

6.4. Exclamative clausesare used to impress the extent to which speakers are impressed or aroused by something. Each of the communicative sentence types, besides performing their main communicative function, may serve as exclamations: You do look a picture of health! Hurry up! An exclamation has a falling tone in speaking and an exclamation mark in writing.