WORD-ORDER IN SIMPLE SENTENCES 1. The Position of the Subject and the Predicate in the Sentence
§ 477. We have already dwelt upon the fact that in Modern "English syntactical relations of words in the sentence are very often indicated by the position the words occupy in the sentence.
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As known, Modern English is characterized by a rigid word-order in accordance with which the subject of declarative sentences, as a rule, precedes the predicate. This is the so-called direct order of words.
E. g. The assistant greeted the professor.
Any deviation from the rigid order of words is termed inversion. It must be said that an unusual position of any part of the sentence may be treated as inversion in the broad sense of the word.
E. g. This I know ... where the object precedes the subject. But, for the most part, the term 'inversion' is used in its narrow meaning with regard to the principal parts of the sentence. It indicates that the predicate precedes the subject (indirect order of words). Often has he recollected the glorious days of the Civil War. Here we use the term 'inversion' in the narrow sense of the word.
In an overwhelming majority of cases only the structural (part of the) predicate is placed before the subject. Is he writing? May I enter? Where does he live?
Cases like Away ran the horse are comparatively rare.
§ 478. This is how W. Twaddell sums up the principal cases of inversion in English, which he calls 'the sequence Auxiliary -+ subject': "The most common occasion for the sequence Auxiliary + subject is with interrogation. Other, semi-marginal constructions with this sequence are
1) In formal styles, conditional inversion, usually with
had + subject + participle.
2) In formal styles, after sentence-initial elements with
negative or res'trictive meanings like "Never, Nor, Neither,
Nowhere else, Scarcely, Seldom, Not only".
3) Informally after "So" in the meaning "also, likewise,
too". l
E. g. Did you enjoy it?
Had she foreseen it, she would have acted differently. Nowhere else will you see that. He studies English. So do I.
1 W. F. Twaddell. The English Verb Auxiliaries. 1960.
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II. The Position of the Object
a) The Place of the Direct Object
§ 479. The direct object is usually placed after the verb unless the indirect object precedes it.
He offered me his help.
However the direct object may be put before its verb or may be severed from the latter by other parts of the sentence.
She lavishly displayed for my pleasure all her charms... (Bronte).
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§ 480. Sometimes the object is pushed to the front of the sentence. It occurs:
1) When the direct object is an interrogative word which
is naturally placed at the head of the sentence to form a spe
cial question, as in What did you dot Who (m) will
you meet there*
2) When the direct object serves to connect two thoughts 1.
/ see he is ready to apologize. This he can't avoid.
3) When the object is made emphatic, the speaker wishing
to attract attention towards it. Not asyllable did she
utter. Here the particle not emphasizes the word syllable.
§ 481. The direct object is separated from its verb by some other parts of the sentence — adverbial complements, prepositional objects — when it is intentionally placed at the end of the sentence for the sake of emphasis, logical stress.
And unexpectedly he saw against the background of the forest two approaching figures. (Betteredge).
b)The Position of the Indirect Object
§ 482. The indirect object cannot be used in the sentence without the direct object. The indirect object is regularly put before the direct object as in That gave me a new idea.
The only possible exception to the rule is the use of the direct object it before the indirect object, / gave it him. In
1 А. И. С m и p н и ц к и и, op. cit., p. 216.
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A. I. Smirnitsky's 1 opinion this can be easily explained by the nature of it which denotes a thing and not a person and cannot be mistaken for the indirect object.
The indirect object cannot be pushed to the front of the sentence because that would impair its only distinct formal feature — its position immediately after the verb, before the direct object.
c)The Position of Prepositional Objects
§ 483. In most cases they follow the direct object, though for stylistic purposes, i. e. for emphasis and expressiveness, they may be placed at the head of the sentence.
Cf. / didn't tell him about Mary's departure. About Mary's departure I didn't tell him.
Occasionally the prepositional object js placed before the direct object (particularly if the prepositional object happens to be a '/o-phrase').
/ tecommended to him some effective measures.
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III. The Position of Adverbial Complements
§ 484. Adverbial complements are often referred to as the most mobile par'ts of the sentence 2. We must bear in mind, however, that the position of adverbial complements is not altogether free, though it is more varied than that of the other parts of the sentence.
§ 485. Adverbials of place and time are normally placed either at the end of the sentence (e. g. It happened о п Wednesday), or at the beginning of the sentence ( О п Wednesday he came again. Along the narrow street moved a queer procession.).
In case there are both an adverbial of place and an adverbial of time, the former comes nearer the verb than the latter.
They were married in Brighton in 1876.
1 Op., cit , p. 217.
2 А. И. С м и p н и ц к и и, op cit., p. 228; Б. А. И л ь и ш,
op. cit., р. 42; Н. Sweet, op. cit. § 1833, etc.
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Adverbials of indefinite time and frequency (always, never, seldom, ever, often, etc.) are placed before a synthetic predicate verb and within an analytical predicate verb.
Cf. / always helped him. I have always helped him.
A. I. Smirnitsky * explains this position of the adverbials in question by their functioning as a sort of time attribute to the verb, owing to which they form an inalienable part of the predicate.
If these adverbials are placed at the head of the sentence they become emphatic. Never shall I forget that day.
Adverbial complements of manner are likewise closely allied with the verb and are mostly placed either after the verb (or after the object) or within the analytical form.
"Good-bye", she answered softly. (Galsworthy). He moved nervously about, while Carrie looked at him confusedly. (Dreiser).
He has openly defied the law.
IV. The Position of Attributes
§ 486. Attributes may precede or follow the word they modify and accordingly we distinguish prepositive and postpositive attributes. Both prepositive and postpositive attributes are placed in close proximity to the noun modified.
My dear girl. Her desire to p I e a s e was quite appar ent.
§ 487. The position of an attribute depends both on the head-word a nd on the attribute. If the head-word is a pronoun, the attribute is, as a rule, postpositive.
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E. g. I can't tell you anything important yet.
A noun has mostly prepositive attributes, but some attributes are regularly postpositive.
a) Prepositional phrases.
E. g. Men of good will, the idea of going there, an old friend of mine.
b) Infinitives, infinitival and participial constructions.
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1 Op. cit., p. 229.
E.g. I've no wish to see him to-night. This is a book read and enjoyed by young and old, a book for you to read.
c) Adjectives in -able, -ible.
E. g. The happiest man imaginable, a decision fully justifiable.
In certain set expressions like from time immemorial, court martial, knight errant the position of the attribute was influenced by French.
§ 488. In postposition attributes often acquire what we might call a 'semi-predicative' connotation.
E. g. something important «a something (which is) im portant.
A man in love «^ a man (who is) in love. A book enjoyed ^ a book (which is) enjoyed. A decision justifiable «=; a decision (which is) jus tifiable.
This is probably the reason why words whose main function is that of predicative complements are sometimes used as postpositive attributes.
E. g. Barbara asleep was a symbol. (Galsworthy). /'// stand up to any man alive. (Shaw).
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§ 489. If there are two or more prepositive attributes to one and the same noun their order is dependent upon a number of factors which appear to be semantic and stylistic rather than grammatical. :
a) The general principle is that we tend to place closest
to the head-word that attribute which is most closely connected
with the noun and to which the greatest importance is'attached
in the given context.
E. g steady dangerous eyes; a short killing remark.
b) The general naturally comes before the specific as in
a slow laborious process, a nice good-natured smile.
c) There is a tangible tendency to follow a definite rhythmi
cal pattern by placing a shorter adjective before the longer
one. That rude ignorant man.
1 See English Language Teaching, v. XVI, No. 4, 1962, p. 196.
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§ 490. Though the sequence of the attributes modifying one noun is in most cases influenced by several of the above-mentioned factors concurrently, we may speak of certain rules or rather tendencies of their arrangement in accordance with their meanings. The table presently to be given shows these rules.
| size |
deter mina tives
other
properties
age
Attributes denoting
| form |
| colour |
nationality
material
purpose
Noun
E. g. A beautiful Persian shawl. A round marble table. An old red brick house, etc.
§ 491. As to the position of the other parts of the sentence, see the combinability of the corresponding parts of speech.
THE COMPOSITE SENTENCE
§ 492. Composite sentences, as we know (§ 403), divide into compound and complex sentences. The difference between them is not only in the relations of coordination or subordination, as usually stated. It is also important to know what is coordinated or subordinated. In compound sentences the whole clauses are coordinated, together with their predications.
In complex sentences a clause is mosfty subordinated not to the whole principal clause but to some word in it which may be regarded as its head-word. In / know where he lives the subordinate clause is an adjunct of the objective verb know. In / know the place where he lives the subordinate clause is the adjunct of the noun place. In The important thing is where he lives the subordinate clause is an adjunct of the link-verb is. The only exception is the subordinate clause in a sentence like Where he lives is unknown in which it functions as the subject.
§ 493. These peculiarities of compound and complex sentences may account for the difference in their treatment. The clauses of compound sentences are often regarded as independent. * Some linguists are even of the opinion that
1 See, for instance, the following definition. "A compound sentence contains two or more independent propositions" (G. Curme, op. cit., p. 161)
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compound sentences are merely sequences of simple sentences, combinations of sentences. * The clauses of a complex sentence, on the contrary, are often treated as forming a unity, a simple sentence in which some part is replaced by a clause 2. Such extreme views are, to our mind, not quite justified, especially if we take into consideration that the border lines between coordination (parataxis) and subordination (hypotaxis are fluid. A clause may be introduced by a typical subordinating conjunction and yet its connection with the principal clause is so loose that it can hardly be regarded as a subordinate clause at all.
Cf. / met John, who told me(= and he told me) the big news.
Or, conversely, a coordinating conjunction may express relations typical of subordination.
E. g. You must interfere now, for (cf. because) they are getting quite beyond me. (Shaw).
§494. As already noted (§399), the demarcation line between a compound sentence and a combination of sentences, as well as that between compound words and combinations of words, is somewhat vague. Yet, the majority of compound words and compound sentences are established in the language system as definite units with definite structures. Besides, a similar vagueness can be observed with regard to the demarcation line between complex sentences and combinations of sentences.
E. g. They are not people, but types. Which makes it difficult for the actors to present them convincingly. (D. W.).
Though coordinating conjunctions may be found to con--nect independent sentences, they are in an overwhelming majority of cases used to connect clauses.
As to the asyndetical connection of clauses, it is found both in compound and in complex sentences. In either case the relations between the clauses resemble those expressed by the corresponding conjunctions.
1 Л. Л. И о ф и к. Существует ли сложносочиненное предложе
ние в английском языке. «Научные доклады высшей школы. Филоло
гические науки». 1958, № 2.
2 Л. С. Б а р х у д а р о в, Д. А. Ш т е л и н г, op. cit., p. 391.
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E. g. They had a little quarrel, he soon forgot. (London). Here the asyndeton might be replaced by which or but,
Semantically the clauses of a compound sentence are usually connected more closely than independent sentences. These relations may be reduced to a few typical cases that can be listed.
The order of clauses within a compound sentence is often more rigid than in complex sentences. He came at six and we had dinner together, (the place of the coordinate clauses cannot be changed without impairing the sense of the sentence).
Cf. If she wanted to do anything better she must have a great deal more. (Dreiser). She must have a great deal more if she wanted to do anything better.
Especially close is the connection .of the coordinate clauses in a case like this.
He expected no answer, and a dull one would have been reproved. (Dreiser).
The prop-word one is an additional link between the clauses.
§ 495. Though there is some similarity in the function and combinability of subordinate clauses and parts of the sentence, which is justly used as a criterion for the classification of clauses, we must not identify clauses and parts of simple sentences.'
Apart from their having predications, clauses differ from parts of the simple sentence in some other respects, too.
a) Very often it is not the clause itself but the conjunction
that defines its function and combinability. He speaks the
truth may be a simple sentence, a coordinate or a subordinate
clause, depending on the conjunction; and he speaks the truth
is normally a coordinate clause, when he speaks the truth is
often a subordinate clause of time, if he speaks the truth is
mostly a subordinate clause of condition, etc.
Thus a conjunction is often a definite marker of a clause, which distinguishes such clauses from most English words having no markers. That probably accounts for the fact that clauses with such markers have a greater freedom of distribution than most parts of a simple sentence.
b) There is often no correlation between clauses and parts
of simple sentences. / know that he is ill is correlated with
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/ know that. I am afraid that he is ill is not correlated with
* I am afraid that. I hope that he is well is not correlated with
* / hope that, etc.
The most important part of the sentence, the predicate, has no correlative type of clause.
Certain clauses have, as a matter of fact, no counterparts among the parts of the sentence.
E. g. I am a diplomat, aren't /? (Hemingway).
THE COMPOUND SENTENCE
§ 496. The clauses of compound sentences are of equal rank, but usually the clause preceding the conjunction is regarded as the initial clause to which the other clause is related. These relations are mostly determined by the conjunction and are accordingly copulative, adversative, disjunctive, causal, resultative 1 (see 'Conjunctions').
As to clauses linked asyndetically, their relations are likewise of different nature, though, for the most part, copulative or causal-resultative, as in.
His eyes were bloodshot and heavy, his face a deadly white ... (Dickens).
Next day his knee was badly swollen, his walking tour was obviously over. (Galsworthy).
§ 497. The compound sentence usually describes events in their natural order, reflecting the march of events spoken of in the sequence of clauses. '2
E. g. He got the hitcher instead, and reached over, and drew in the end of the tow-line; and they made a loop in it, and put it over their mast, and then they tided up the sculls, and went and sat down in the stern» and lit their pipes. (J. Jerome).
Herein lies the great expressive force of the compound sentence. It is extensively used in colloquial speech and is often resorted to when events are described in a stately or impressive way.
1 For details see M. Ganshina and N. Vasilevskaya, op. cit. p.
322 -324; Каушанская and others, op. cit. p. 277—279.
2 See G. Curme, op. cit., p. 173.
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THE COMPLEX SENTENCE
§ 498. The principal clauses of complex sentences are usually not classified, though their meanings are not neutral with regard to the meanings of the subordinate clauses.
Cf. He will come because he needs your help. He will come i f he needs your help.
§ 499. Two criteria are most often used in classifying the subordinate clauses of complex sentences: meaning and com-binability. When he came is a clause of time according to the meaning imparted by when.
E. g. When he came, it was already late.
But in the sentence / know when he came the same clause is considered objective owing to its subordination to the objective verb know.
§ 500. There are two ways of using the criterion of com-binability. Either subordinate clauses are classified in accordance with their relation to the word of the principal clause they are attached to, or they are likened to some part of speech with similar combinability. In the sentences When he came is of no importance, I remember when he came the combinability of the subordinate clause resembles that of a noun.
Cf. The fact is of no importance, I remember the fact.
Therefore the clause When he came is considered a n о u n-clause. If classified in accordance with its relation to the predicate verb, the first clause would be called a s u b j e с t clause and the second an object clause.
Similarly in This is the man who wishes to see you the subordinate clause may be regarded as an a d j e с t i v e clause in accordance with its own combinability, or as an a t t r i b-u t i v e clause, since its head-word is a noun.
§ 501. Each of the criteria described has its advantages and disadvantages. But in syntax, it seems, the correlation with the parts of the sentence is preferable to the correlation with the parts of speech. We shall therefore classify the subordinate clauses into groups parallel to the parts of the simple sentence. Accordingly we shall distinguish subject clauses,
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complement clauses (predicative, objective, and adverbial)» attributive clauses, extension clauses and parenthetical clauses.
§ 502. Subordinate clauses are connected with the principal clause by conjunctions, conjunctive and relative pronouns or asyndetically.
E. g. I have been thinking of Cambridge all through dinner,, after (a conjunction) Martin had mentioned a friend of mine who (a relative pronoun) had been killed that spring. (Snow).
He seemed to be asking what (a conjunctive pronoun) was the matter with me. (Ib.).
Mauntenay asked me i f (a conjunction) / was satisfied with the way (asyndetic subordination) / have spent my life. (Ib.)-
§ 503. In connection with the structure of the complex sentence and the means of subordination in it, it is necessary to dwell on the so-called 'sequence of tenses' which is often treated as a formal feature of the complex sentence J, a device of subordination. The rule of the sequence of tenses is usually defined as follows: If the predicate verb of the principal clause is in the present or the future tense, the predicate verb of the subordinate clause may be used in any tense required by the sense. If the predicate verb of the principal clause is in the past tense, the verb of the subordinate clause must be used in the past tense too 2.
The regularity is supposed to be mostly or exclusively characteristic of object subordinate clauses 3.
As shown in Morphology (§ 233) the so-called sequence of tenses is a morphological problem, not a syntactical one, inasmuch as the past tense forms in the subordinate clauses are used in accordance with the grammatical meanings they express. The following Russian example will help to see it.
/7 тебе все расскажу , когда приеду .
Here the predicate verbs in the principal and in the subordinate clause are both representatives of future tense gram~
1 See, for instance, O. Jespersen Essentials of English Grammar,
N. Y., 1938, p. 261.
2 Л. С. Б a p x у д а р о в, Д. А. Ш т е л и н г, op cit., p. 407.
3 See В Н Ж и г а д л о, И. П. И в а н о в а, Л. Л. И о ф и к,
op. cit., p. 323.
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memes. In the corresponding English sentence there would be a future tense verb only in the principal clause// shall tell you everything when I come.
Now from the point of view of an Englishman the future tense in the Russian subordinate clause might be regarded as depending on the future tense of the principal clause, as a means of subordination, and a certain rule of the sequence of the future tenses in Russian might be formulated.
There is no need, however, to look for any syntactical explanation of the use of the future tense verb in the Russian subordinate clause. It is used there in accordance with its meaning since it denotes an action taking place after the moment of speech.
What does need accounting for is the 'future tense' meaning of the present tense grammeme come in the English subordinate clause. Here we cannot do without syntax. We must state that in certain syntactical surroundings (see § 257) a present tense grarnmeme may acquire a 'future tense' meaning.
We may see something similar in the following two sentences.
He b e g a n to wonder what she was doing, how his children were getting along. (Dreiser). „ Он стал задумываться над тем, что она поделывает, как живут его дети.
In the English sentence each 'past tense' verb refers to the past and is used in accordance with its tense meaning. So there is no need for any theory of the 'sequence of tenses' to account for their usage.
It is not so in the Russian sentence. The 'present tense' verbs поделывает and живут have acquired a 'past tense' meaning under the influence of the past tense of стал in the principal clause.So it is in the Russian sentence that subordination is also shown by the relation of the tense meanings in the subordinate clause to those in the principal one.
§ 504. That the'sequence of tenses' in English is not merely a formal device, the agreement of the tense in the subordinate clause with that of the principal clause, is proved by numerous deviations from the rules of sequence.
E. g. Did she know that lam her father"? (Shaw). Yesterday he learned that he i s not a member of the Council. (Daily Worker).
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It published a cartoon designed to suggest that Mrs. Knight's teaching will l и п d a young man in the dock. (Ib.)
There is no agreement in tense in the examples given above simply because all the verbs are used in accordance with their tense meanings.
§ 505. However, it cannot be denied that the clauses of a complex sentence are for the most part united by the same time background. Very often it is the tense of the principal clause that shows that background. The events mentioned in the subordinate clause may be presented as unfolding against that background, as valid or important for that period of time. Only in this sense can we speak of the accord of tenses in the complex sentence. This accord can be observed not only in complex sentences with object subordinate clauses, as stated by some linguists, but in complex sentences with various types of subordinate clauses:
That she k n e w of his weakness was not believed for a moment. (Braddon) (a subject clause).
What he т e a n t was that he was sorry. (Dickens) (a subject and a predicative clause).
We were sure he w о и I d understand it when the time came round. (Daily Worker) (an extension clause, and an adverbial clause of time).
She was convinced he w a s failing in his duty as he d i d not possess a great reputation. (Black) (an object clause and an adverbial clause of cause).
They said I could apply for a second week if the doctor sent in a certificate. (Gilbert) (an object'clause and an adverbial clause of condition).
Girl or no girl he d i d not want one that was not pretty. (Dreiser) (an attributive clause).
§ 506. The mood of the predicate verb of a subordinate clause depends on the principal clause to a greater extent than its tense.
As noted (§ 296), certain types of principal clauses are e^nmonly correlated with the subjunctive mood in the subordinate clauses.
a) Clauses denoting subjective appraisal.
E. g. It is advisable that she be left in ignorance of the facts for a little while. (Stevenson).
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It was essential that I s ho и I d have a seat in the lower chamber. (Trollope). Incredible that she should never give him a chance to show that she had really loved him. (Galsworthy).
b) Clauses containing verbs and nouns denoting suggestion, demand, recommendation, insistence, perplexity, doubt, fear, anxiety, wish, etc.
He insisted that the boy remain in bed. (Cronin).
The demand that tliey should be forwarded to the company's office came at midnight. (The Worker).
At that moment she wished that she had not sent for him. (Eliot).
There is usually mood concord in conditional sentences.
E. g. If Savina were with him at this moment, his doubts and loneliness would evaporate. (Wilson). (Subjunctive, in both clauses.) // she wanted to do anything better or move higher she must have more — a great deal more. (Dreiser). (Indicative, in both clauses.)
Subject Clauses
§ 507. The subject clause is the only one used in the function of a primary part of the sentence.
The peculiarity of the subject clause is its inalienability from the principal clause. Thus in the sentence What you mean is clear the subordinate clause What you mean is used as the subject. If it is cut off from the rest of the sentence, what remains (is clear) cannot be treated as a clause either in meaning or in structure. It is synsemantic l in the sense that it can be understood only in combination with its subordinate part.
§ 508. Subject clauses are introduced by conjunctions (if, whether, that), conjunctive pro-nouns (who, which, what, whose, whichever, whoever, whatever, etc.) and pro-adverbs (how, when, where, why).
Why she left Mm is a mystery. (Jerome).
1 E В Гулы г а. Место сложноподчиненного предложения в системе синтаксиса «Научные доклады высшей школы, Филологические науки», 1961, № 3, р. 17.
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Complement Clauses
\ a) Predicative Clauses
§ 509. The sentence The question is where he can be found consists of the principal clause the question is and the predicative clause where he can be found. The predicative complement, as usual, is at the same time the notional predicate.
§ 510. Predicative clauses are introduced by the same conjunctions and pronouns as subject clauses. They are mostly attached to the link-verb to be in the principal clause, though they may occur with to look, to feel and some other links.
He felt as if something in him were collapsing. (Heym). Each littlehousehold looked as though it werepicknicking in its own back room. (Oxenham).
Predicative clauses sometimes function as objective predicatives, as in You'll make her what you like, she is pliable enough. (Braddon).
b) Object Clauses
§ 511. They are introduced by the same conjunctions and connective pronouns as subject and predicative clauses. They are often joined to their principal clauses asyndetically.
Object subordinate clauses may be either prepositionless or prepositional.
Now tell me what happened at the meeting. (Shaw). Cusins. Barbara: I am going to accept this offer. Barbara: I thought you would. (Ib.). / was thinking of what the Third Reich had done and
said so. (Snow).
§512. An object clause (like an object in a simple sentence) may be preceded by the anticipatory object it as in
/ think it very significant that he refused to communicate with the Sheltons. (Braddon).
§ 513. The usual place of an object clause is after the principal clause, though it may be placed before the principal clause for the purpose of connecting two thoughts, the object
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clause denoting something familiar, mentioned previously, what we proceed from. (See § 480).
Why he declined that offer I can't tell. (Black).
Whether she had been wise in this she was utterly unable to decide. (Galsworthy).
c) Adverbial Clauses
§ 514. Adverbial clauses serve to express a variety of adverbial relations and, consequently, they are introduced by a great number of subordinating conjunctions. Asyndetic subordination is not typical of adverbial clauses (barring those of condition) since it is mainly the conjunction that differentiates one kind of adverbial clause from another.
Cf. When he was young ... Though he was young ... Because he was young ...
§515. Of the three types of adverbial complements — qualitative, quantitative and circumstantial — adverbial clauses mostly function as the last mentioned, as adverbials of situation or external conditions.
However, we take issue with L. S. Barkhudarov and D. A. Shteling 1 over their statement that adverbial clauses are used exclusively as adverbial complements of external conditions.
The very examples they produce contradict this statement.
In the sentence Mike acted as though nothing had happened (Hemingway) the adverbial clause shows how he acted, in what manner he acted. Consequently, it shows the inner nature of the action, its quality.
The meaning of manner is mostly interwoven with thai of comparison.
All Lovels should serve it and love it as he did. (Randall).
§ 516. Adverbial clauses may occupy different places in the complex sentence. They occur before their principal clause, after it, and even within it, which shows that the position of adverbial clauses (like that of adverbial complements in simple sentences) is less fixed and rigid than that of other subordinate clauses functioning as secondary paits.
Op. cit., p 403.
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E. g. I advise you, if you cherish your private life,
not to let him frighten you. (Randall). If he had glanced upwards, he would never have suspected that she was the grim bluestocking he await ed. (Ib.).
Vou'll get along too if you take us as you find us. (Ib.).
§ 517. In accordance with their relations to the principal clause, mostly expressed by the conjunction or connective pronoun they are introduced by, adverbial clauses are classified into those of place (introduced by where, wherever), time (introduced by when, while, till, until, as, since, before, after, once, as soon as, etc.), cause (conjunctions — because, as, since) purpose (conjunctions — that, so that, in order that, les?), condition (conjunctions — if, in case, provided, unless, suppose, supposing), concession (conjunctions — though, although, as, conjunctive pronouns whatever, whoever, which ever), manner or comparison (conjunctives—as if, as though).
He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat. (Dreiser).
Because Carrie was pretty, the gentleman selected her photo. (Ib.).
Madame Lamotte would see, if Annette didn't. (Galsworthy).
Though he was "the limit", he wasyet her property. (Ib.).
Attribute Clauses
§ 518. Attributive clauses are postpositive adjuncts of nouns. They are commonly divided into relative and a'pposi-tive clauses. Relative clauses are introduced by pronouns (or asyndetically). They are usually subdivided into restrictive and descriptive. The former serve to restrict the meaning of the antecedent, so that when the restrictive clause is left out, the sense of the sentence is seriously impaired
/ don't like girls who can't hold their tongues. (Black). Then we had that raid when Uncle Ned was killed. (Gilbert).
/ know the stories you have been feeding him. (Ib.).
Descriptive clauses serve to supply some additional information which does not restrict or specify the meaning of the antecedent.
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E. g. The following day, which was Wednesday, we went to a solicitor. (Jerome). What about dining at the Embassy at Chawley, where they still brewed beer. (Gilbert).
§ 519. A variety of attributive clauses is the appositive clause, which formally differs from an attributive clause in being introduced by a conjunction (that, if, whether].
Tlie awful fact that /might never have met her is rather appalling. (Openheim).
He married you for the romantic reason that he had fallen in love with you. (Gilbert).
Appositive subordinate clauses mostly occur after abstract nouns such as idea, thought, feeling, fact, impression, reason, doubt, question, etc. *
Extension Clauses
§ 520. Extension clauses are postpositive adjuncts of adjectives, adverbs and adlinks.
E. g. It is indeed doubtful how he had become aware that
Roger was being buried that day. (Galsworthy).
The subordinate clause is an extension of the adlink aware.
I am happy that everything went off so nicely.
The subordinate clause is an extension of the adjective happy.
She is so pretty that all our boys are mad about her.
(Heyer).
The subordinate clause is an extension of the pro-adverb so.
His head was still in such a whirl that he felt confused. (Dreiser).
The subordinate clause is an extension of the pro-adjective
such.
The subordinate clauses in the last two sentences have a distinct consecutive meaning, and may be called 'extensions
1 See Л. С. Б a p x у д a p о в, Д. А. Ш т е л и к г, op. cit., p. 424.
290
of result' (instead of the traditional 'adverbial clauses of result').
Parenthetical Clauses
§ 521. Most authors who do not regard parenthetical elements as parts of the sentence treat It is past ten, I think as a simple sentence 1. We do not find this view convincing. -
1. If / think is not some part of the sentence, it must
be regarded as an independent sentence. But it is not indepen
dent. Its intonation, position and meaning show that it is
connected with It is past ten, to which it is appended and on
which it depends.
2. The sentence discussed is not simple because it contains
two predications. This becomes especially evident when we
compare ft is past ten, I think with / think it is past ten.
3. Since we regard parenthetical elements as parts of the
sentence (see § 473) we must treat It is past ten, I think as a
complex sentence, i. e. a sentence having one of its parts
(parenthetical element) expressed by a clause (a parenthetical
clause).
§ 522. In most cases parenthetical clauses are introduced asyndetically, though now and again the conjunctions as, if, etc, are used.
He is, as I told you, their only son. (Dickens). - The happiness was a private, tf you like, a happy one. (Snow).
Like parenthetical words and word-combinations they express the speaker's attitude towards the contents of the sentence or they show the relation of the given thought to some thought previously mentioned or to the source of information.
Nursing a wounded heart, he thought cynically, would not lead to happiness. (Randall).
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