The simple sentence: classifications and types

Sweet definesa sentence as a word or group of words capable of expressing a complete thought or meaning. 

Jarsperson defines a sentence “a relatively complete and independent human utterance”.

Leo Bloomfield produced the following definition – each sentence is an independent linguistic firm not included with the help of any grammatical construction into any large linguistic form.

Bloch defines the sentence as the integral unit of speech built up of words according to define syntactic pattern and distinguish by a contextually relevant communicative purpose.

Pochepcov’s definition – sentence is the minimal syntactical construction, used in the acts of speech communication, characterized by predicativity and relying a definite structural pattern. Sometimes sentence can be expressed by a single word (come, go, yes) , but the existence of 1 word sentences doesn’t mean that under some circumstances the word and the sentence may coincide.

Classification of sentences:

Sentences can be classified from different principles:

Ilish distinguishes 2 principles:

1. According to the aim of communication:

• interrogative (питальні)

• imperative

• declarative(розповідні)

• exlamatory(окличні)

2. According to the structure sentences are divided:

• Simple, can be one member and two members. In 2 member sentences there are words denoting the doer of the action and the action itself .They have two main principle parts: the subject and the predicate. It can be unextended and extended (John ran, John ran quickly to me). A 2 member can be complete and incomplete.

• Composite can be compound(складносурядні) and complex (складнопідрядні)(main and subordinate clause)

The form – is the sentence with the full predication containing both, the subject and the predicate.

Analytical – is the sentence with subject or object which can be easily implied (no birds singing in the wood, looks like raining)

Elliptical - are cheaply used in colloquial speech especially in dialogues. (What are you doing? -Reading)

In 1 member sentences there is only one main part: either subject or predicate (fire, common)

There exists different use upon the main part of 1 member sentence:

1. by Шахматов, he considers that this main part should be termed either subject of predicate

2. Виноградов considers that this main part is neither the subject nor the predicate but it combines the features of both and should be termed the main part.

1 member sentences are of 2 types:

Nominal – are those in which the principle part is expressed by a noun. They can be unextended and extended. They are typical of descriptions(silence, summer, but this summer)

Verbal – are those in which the principle part is expressed by the infinitive or the verb in the imperative mood (go on, sit down)

Infinitival – 1 type is of those sentences is represented by an exclamatory sentence in which the infinitive with the particle -to- stands at the beginning of the sentence: (to be alive, to run)

Interogative – beginning with the adverb –why- followed by infinitive without –to- and preceded by the part “not”.(Why not go there).

There are one word sentences but they may have a few words. They represent a special type of a sentence. They are:

• Words of affirmation and negation (yes-no)

• Conversational formulas of greeting, leave-taking, thanking, congratulating, apologizing.

Their principal part may be nouns: attention! What a day!

Adjectives: splendid! How romantic!

Modal words: certainly! Of course! All right!

Semantically sentences are divided into:

• Personal

• Impersonal

Sentence types: compound and complex

Compound sentences (складно сурядні)

Are such polypredicative units the clauses of which are joined by coordination on equal rank. But professor Почєпцов considers that in compound sentences clauses are not equal, one of them is leading and the other is sequential. The clauses of compound sentence may be joint by different types of coordination:

1. Conjunctions: and, but, or, either or, neither or.

2. Connectors of adverbial character: moreover, yet, so, thus, nevertheless, however.

There are the following types of coordination between the clauses of a compound sentence:

1. Copulative coordination. It implies that events or ideas conveyed coordinate clauses are nearly joined in time and place. They are : conjunctions (and, neither, nor, not only, as well as), conjunction adverbs (then, moreover) (I didn’t recognize the girl, nor did I remember her name)

2. Adversative coordination joins clauses containing opposition contradiction or contrast (but, while, whereas) and conjunctive adverbs (yet, still, nevertheless). Adversative coordination may also be realized asyndetically (The story was amusing, but nobody laughed)

3. Distinctive coordination denotes choice between 2 mutually exclusive alternatives (or either or, the conjunction adverb) (either listen to me, or I shall stop reading to you)

4. Causative – consecutive (причинно-наслідкові) coordination – way that one of them contains the reason and the other consequence. The second clause may contain either the reason or the result of the event convoyed by the previous clause (for, so, so that, therefore as) (the days become longer for it was a spring time).

Complex sentence (складні підрядні)

Complex sentence is a polypredicative construction, built up on the principle of subordination. Semantic relation between clauses of the complex sentences are much more numerous and more berried. The subordinate clauses may be joined:

1. The conjunction after, before, while, till, until, though, because, since.

2. By phrases as long as, as soon as, so long as.

3. By relative pronouns: who, whose, which, whatever

4. By relative adverbs where, how, when, why, wherever

*Complex sent which have 2 or more subordinate clauses can be formed on the basis of 2 types of subordination:

- parallel subord

- consecutive subord*

Subordinate clauses can be classified on the basis of correlation with the parts of the sentence. Can be divided:

1. subjective subordinate clauses

2. objective subordinate clauses

3. predicative subordinate clauses

4. attributive subordinate clauses

5. adverbial subordinate clauses

Constituent analysis of the simple sentence