Composite sentences as polypredicative constructions. Types and means of connection between parts of composite sentences

Main features of the sentence:

1) expresses predication => is called a predicative unit. It’s the main characteristic of the sentence. The sentence reflects connection between the denoted situational event & reality, shows whether the action is real or unreal, desirable or not + expresses the time of the action.

2) nominates a situation or a situational event => can be called a nominative unit (but it’s not main feature – word’s feature).

3) can be called a communicative unit as it carries this/that communicative intention which determines the communicative type of the sentence. Traditional grammar defines the S.: it’s a word or a group of words capable of expressing a complete thought. Modern linguistics (e.g. semantic syntax) “ The S is a word or a group of words that nominate a situational event, express predication, and carry a communicative intention ”

The problem of the composite sent.: how to define it, how to know it from simple sentence. (1) the simple sent. is monopredicative, => has only 1 predicative line (center). The predicative line includes the subject + predicate. (2) the composite sent. is polypredicative => more than 1 predicative lines or centers, reflects 2 or more situational events, and each predicative center makes up a clause of its own.

Semi-composite sent. How to distinguish? “He waved his hand and went away”. – the S nominates 2 situational events but we can’t find 2 predicative centers in it as there is 1 subject & 1 clause => semi-composite (Blokh’s term) are intermediate between simple & composite.

Main features of the composite sentence: 1) a polypredicative unit, 2) is characterized by a communicative wholeness => has 1 communicative intention (смысл, значение), 3) is characterized by intonational wholeness, all are interconnected, 4) characteristic of literary written style, rarely used in oral speech, in conversations.

Types of composite sentences: Acc. to the type of connection of clauses we can distinguish between complex &compound sentences. In compound sent-s the type of connection of clauses is coordination-сочинит. (i.e. syntactically the clauses are of equal rank). In complex sent-s the type of connection of clauses is subordination- подчинит. & clauses are of unequal rank (principal and subordinate).

The means of combining clauses: syndetic (союзн.) & asyndetic (бессоюзн.). Syndetic => conj-s, relative pron-s (who, which), relative adv-s (where, how, when, why), phrases (as long as, in order that). Asyndetic => there are no connectives between the clauses. Some grammarians say, “the zero connector”.

Classification of subord. clauses: 2 approaches:

(1) shows correlation of clauses with parts of the sentence => a) the subject clause, b) the predicative, c) object, d) adverbial, e) attributive.

(2) correlates clauses with parts of speech & distinguishes: a) substantive clause – corresponding to subj., predic. & object clauses, b) adverbial clauses, c) adjectival clauses – corresponding to attribute clause. These 2 classifications correlate!

Semi-composite sentences, like composite sentences of complete composition (pleni-composite), are further subdivided into semi-compound sentences, built on the principle of coordination (parataxis), and semi-complex sentences, built on the principle of subordination (hypotaxis).

Predicative fusion in semi-complex sentences may be effected in two ways: by the process of position-sharing (word-sharing) or by the process of direct linear expansion.

Sentences based on position-sharing fall into two types: sentences of subject-sharing and sentences of object-sharing. Semi-complex sentences of subject-sharing are built up by means of two base sentences overlapping round a common subject, e.g.: They married young. ß They married. + They were young. The predicate in such sentences is defined as a double predicate, because it is a blend of a verbal predicate with a nominal predicate.. Another type of the semi-complex sentence of subject-sharing is sentences which include the so-called complex subject constructions; in these sentences, the verb in the dominant part is used in the passive, and the complicator part includes either a participle, or an infinitive, e.g.: She was seen to enter the room / entering the room. Semi-complex sentences of direct linear expansion include sentences with attributive, adverbial and nominal complication. Semi-complex sentences ofattributive complication are built up by means of two base sentences, one of which is transformed into a semi-predicative post-positional attribute to the antecedent element in the matrix sentence, e.g.: The girl crying in the hall looked familiar to me. ß The girl looked familiar to me. + The girl was crying. Besides semi-composite sentences proper, there are sentences of primitivized type, which include no secondary predicative constructions, but can still be traced to two situational events (they are sometimes treated as sentences with some “traces”, or “hints” of secondary predication, or with “covert secondary predication”); for example, in cases where one of the base sentences is fully nominalized, e.g.: The victory of the team caused a sensation. ß The team won. + It caused a sensation;

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