SIMPLE SENTENCE: CONSTITUENT STRUCTURE

On the basis of predicative line presentation, sentences are divided into monopredicative (with one predicative line expressed), i.e. simple, and polypredicative (with two or more predicative lines expressed), i.e. composite and semi-composite.

Traditionally, the simple sentence has been studied primarily from the point of view of its grammatical, or nominative division: the content of the situational event reflected by the sentence, which includes a certain process as its dynamic center, the agent of the process, the objects of the process, various conditions and circumstances of the process, form the basis of the traditional syntactic division of the sentence into its nominative (positional) parts, or members of the sentence. In other words, each notional part expresses a certain semantic component or “role” in the situation; in the structure of the sentence, they perform the function of modifying either each other or the sentence in general.

The syntactic functions or the members of the sentence are traditionally divided into principal (main) and secondary.

The principal parts of the sentence are the subject and the predicate, which modify each other: the subject is the “person” modifier of the predicate, and the predicate is the “process” modifier of the subject; they are interdependent.

The secondary parts are: the object – a substance modifier of the predicate; the attribute – a quality modifier of substantive parts, either the subject or the object; the adverbial modifier – a quality modifier of the predicate; the apposition – a substance modifier of the subject; the parenthesis (parenthetical enclosure) - a detached speaker-bound modifier either of one of the nominative parts of the sentence or of the sentence in general; the address (addressing enclosure) – a modifier of the destination of the whole sentence; the interjection (interjectional enclosure) – an emotional modifier

The elementary sentence coincides structurally with the so-called unexpanded simple sentence, a monopredicative sentence, which includes only obligatory nominative parts. ‘He gave me the book’

The expanded simple sentence includes also some optional parts, i.e. supplementive modifiers, which do not violate the syntactic status of the simple sentence, i.e. do not make it into a composite or semi-composite sentence. ‘He gave me a very interesting book’

 On the basis of their representation in the outer structure of the sentence, sentences are subdivided into complete sentences“two -member sentences”  two-axis sentences e.g.: Who is there? – Your brother. and incomplete sentences: “one-member sentence”, “one-axis sentence”, or “elliptical sentence”.

The semantic classification of simple sentences is based on principal parts semantics.

 

 On the basis of subject categorial meaning, sentences are divided into impersonal, e.g.: It drizzles; There is no use crying over spilt milk; and personal;

 

personal sentences are further subdivided into human and non-human.

Human sentences are further subdivided into definite, e.g.: I know it; and indefinite, e.g.: One never knows such things for sure.

 Non-human sentences are further subdivided into animate, e.g.: A cat entered the room; and inanimate, e.g.: The wind opened the door.

 

Impersonal sentences may be further subdivided into factual, e.g.: It drizzles; and perceptional, e.g. It looks like rain.

 

On the basis of predicate categorialmeaning, sentences are divided into process featuring (“verbal”) and substance featuring (“nominal”); process featuring sentences are further subdivided into actional, e.g.: I play ball; and statal, e.g.: I enjoy your party; substance featuring sentences are further subdivided into factual, e.g.: She is clever; and perceptional, e.g.: She seems to be clever.

 

On the basis of subject-object relations, simple sentences are divided into subjective, e.g.: He is a writer; objective, e.g.: He is writing a book; and neutral or “potentially” objective, e.g.: He is writing

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