SYNTAX OF THE PHRASE. SYNTAGMATIC CONNECTIONS OF WORDS

The main object of study in syntax is the communicative unit of the language, the sentence.

 The phrase is the syntactic unit used as a notional part of a sentence.

The basic difference between the phrase and the sentence is as follows: the phrase cannot express full predication, even if it denotes a situation  cf.: They considered the problem. – their consideration of the problem; for them to consider the problem; their considering of the problem.

On the basis of constituent rank, the groupings of notional words are subdivided into dominational ( hypotactic) and equipotent(paratactic).

The constituents of equipotent phrases are of equal syntactic rank; none of them modifies another, e.g.: poor but honest; mad, bad and dangerous; his, not Mary’s; etc. the phrase constituents form logically consecutive connections, which are defined as “ coordinative ”. Entering the structure of the sentence, constituents of coordinative phrases function as homogeneous notional parts of the sentence, e.g.: He is mad, bad and dangerous (mad, bad and dangerous are homogeneous predicatives).

In dominational phrases, one word modifies another. The principal constituent, which dominates the other constituent syntactically, is called the kernel, the key-word, or the head word; the subordinate (dominated) constituent, which modifies the kernel, is called the adjunct, the adjunct-word, or the expansion.

 For example, in the word-combination a beautiful girl the word ‘a girl’ is the kernel, and ‘beautiful’ is the adjunct.

 Dominational connection is achieved by different forms of the word (categorial agreement, government), connective words (prepositions, i.e. prepositional government), or word order (adjoining, enclosure). Agreement takes place when the subordinate word assumes a form similar to the form of the kernel, e.g.: this boy, these boys; the child plays, the children play;

The two basic types of dominational connections are bilateral ( two-way) domination and monolateral (one-way) domination. The connections in most of the examples above are monolateral dominational; the kernel dominates the adjunct: this boy, to talk to him, a beautiful girl, etc.

Bilateral domination is realized in predicative connections of words, which may be either fully predicative, or semi-predicative, e.g.: the pupil understands, the pupil’s understanding, the pupil understanding, for the pupil to understand.

In predicative groupings of words the subject dominates the predicate, determining the person of predication; formally, domination is manifested by the reflection of the person and number properties of the subject in the form of the verb performing the function of a predicate. The predicate dominates the subject, determining the event of predication, some action, state, or quality; in the transformation of nominalization the transform of the predicate occupies the position of the head-word, while the subject becomes its adjunct, cf.: he decided à his decision.

Thus, there are four basic types of syntagmatic connections of words distinguished in their syntactic groupings: coordination (consecutive equipotent connection), subordination (consecutive dominational connection), predication, or interdependence (bilateral dominational connection) and cumulation (inner cumulation).

LECTURE 10

SENTENCE: GENERAL

The sentence, as has been mentioned, is the central object of study in syntax. It can be defined as the immediate integral unit of speech built up by words according to a definite syntactic pattern and distinguished by a contextually relevant communicative purpose.

The correlation of the word and the sentence shows some important differences and similarities between these two main level-forming lingual units. Both of them are nominative units, but the word just names objects and phenomena of reality; it is a purely nominative component of the word-stock, while the sentence is at the same time a nominative and predicative lingual unit

A sentence can consist of only one word, as any lingual unit of the upper level can consist of only one unit of the lower level, e.g.: Why? Thanks

Another difference between the word and the sentence is as follows: the word exists in the system of language as a ready-made unit, which is reproduced in speech; the sentence is produced each time in speech, except for a limited number of idiomatic utterances. The sentence belongs primarily to the sphere of speech

Being a unit of speech, the sentence is distinguished by a relevant intonation: each sentence possesses certain intonation contours, including pauses, pitch movements and stresses,

 

The definition of the category of predication is similar to the definition of the category of modality, which also shows a connection between the named objects and actual reality. However, modality is a broader category, revealed not only in grammar, but in the lexical elements of language; for example, various modal meanings are expressed by

modal verbs (can, may, must, etc.),

 by word-particles of specifying modal semantics (just, even, would-be, etc.),

by semi-functional modal words and phrases of subjective evaluation (perhaps, unfortunately, by all means, etc.) and

by other lexical units.

 Predication can be defined as syntactic modality, expressed by the sentence.

The center of predication in the sentence is the finite form of the verb, the predicate: it is through the finite verb’s categorial forms of tense, mood, and voice that the main predicative meanings, actual evaluations of the event, are expressed

LECTURE 11

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