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3. Syntactic Relations in English and Ukrainian
Syntactic relations are syntagmatic relations observed between syntactic units.
Various syntactic relations in the contrasted languages can be realised both by isomorphic and by allomorphic means. The latter pertain to both languages, though analytical means are naturally predominant in English, whereas synthetic or combined analytical and synthetic means are predominant in Ukrainian. An exception constitutes, however, only one relation (that of the primary predication) whose expression finds its realisation between the main parts of the sentence, i.e. between the subject and the predicate. This type of connection is often qualified as interdependence, that is dependence of the subject on the predicate on the one hand, and dependence of the predicate upon the subject on the other. This means that primary predication is realised, at least in English.
The other three relations, which also pertain to all languages, i.e. the objective, the attributive and the adverbial ones can be realised with the help of different means that are grammatically relevant. Namely by a) syntactic placement and prepositions (analytical means); b) by morphological, i.e. synthetic means (inflexions), as well as with the help of combined means, i.e. synthetic plus analytical means simultaneously. Thus, the predicate in English statements always follows, as a rale, the subject, whereas in Ukrainian the simple verbal predicate even in unemphatic speech may precede the subject without ruining the grammaticality of the sentence. Eg:
Mary was listening; but she still Слухала Мері (or Мері слухала), проте
said nothing. (F. King) вона нічого не відповідала/ мовчала.
In English interrogative or (emphatic) sentences a part of the predicate may be placed in front of the subject/subject group, which is not necessarily followed in their Ukrainian counterpart sentence. For example:
"Were you ever compelled to mutilate - Тебе примушували будь-коли ка-
the animals?" (S. Chaplin) лічити тварин?
Therefore, English predicates, wether simple or compound, rarely occupy, unlike predicates in Ukrainian, the initial position in the interrogative sentence.
English simple verbal and compound nominal predicates, however, are in syntactic agreement (expressed through morphological means) with the subject. Cf. "I'm off, Dad, it's good bye till Christmas". "Who is that in your flat?" "Who are they?"
All four predicates in these sentences (am, is, are) agree with their subjects in singular (first person) and correspondingly with It and who which are in the third person singular or plural. The same is observed in the preceding sentence where the predicate (Was she really) agrees in number and person with its subject he.
It is only partly so with the expression of the objective relation which may be realised in English and Ukrainian both synthetically and analytically as well:
We passed him through the narrow others relieved us. - Ми передали його по вузькому проходу; інші допомагали нам.
The first object (him) is direct and it is expressed through its morphological (synthetic) form him (objective case); the second object is prepositional (through the narrow way) and the third (us) has also a morphological (synthetic) form that expresses its objective function.
In the Ukrainian counterpart of this sentence the objective relation has a synthetic expression in the first direct object його (as in English) and in the indirect object нам (synthetic expression, like in English). As to the prepositional object, its connection in Ukrainian differs from that in English in that it is prepositional and morphologically marked (по проходу. Ukrainian nouns express their dependence by means of their case forms (cf. дав книжку Петренкові товаришці, товаришам/товаришкам).
The synthetic expression of objective relation in Ukrainian, unlike English, have also substantivised adjectives, present and past participles, and also numerals. Cf. задоволений новим (побаченим і почутим), зеленим та жовтим; зустрітися зі знайомим, з трьома/з першим. Synthetically dependent objective complements/ objects in Ukrainian may equally be indefinite and other pronouns. For example: зостатись/ вернутись з нічим, цікавитись усім, звести одного з одним, цікавитись кимсь, ніким і нічим.
Many English pronominal objects of this type are naturally unmarked, i.e. they have no case distinction. Cf. He heard nothing. Він нічого не чув. In Ukrainian нічого is the objective case form of the indefinite pronoun ніщо, whose equivalent nothing is indeclinable in English. Similarly with the English wholly substantivised adjectives which, unlike their Ukrainian equivalents, do not express their objective (or nominative) case form synthetically. For example:
Pink became royal red. Blue rose Рожеве ставало густо-червоним. Синє
into purple. (Norris) ставало пурпуровим.
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