A sentence is the only unit of language which is capable of expressing a communication containing some kind of information. But linguists is at difficulty to define it. One of the definitions is ‘the sentence is the smallest communication unit expressing a more or less complete thought & having a definite gram. structure & intonation’. In most sentences intonation functions as part of a whole system of formal characteristics.
Neither words no word groups can express communication. Cf. the arrival of the delegation is expected next week (a sentence). It is a structure in which words are grouped (arranged) according to definite rules (patterns). Another difference between the sentence & the phrase is predicativity, which comprises tense & mood components. The sentence together with predicativity expresses a fact, while a phrase gives a nomination without time reference: The doctor arrived. The doctor’s arrival.
Predication is a word or combination of words expressing predicativity. Thus the essential property of sentence is predicativity & intonation. In verbal complexes we find a secondary predication. In every sentence there must be a predication, without which there would be no sentence. In a usual 2 member sentence the predication is between the subject & the predicate. In most sentences this is the only predication they contain. But there are also sentences, which contain one more predication- secondary predication. It is expressed by the Complex Object or Subject, Gerundial complexes & absolute constructions. e.g. I object(predication) to her coming(secondary predication)
Sentences are classified 1) according to the types of communication & 2) according to their structure.
In accordance with the types of communication sentences are divided into: Declarative (giving information). E.g. the book is interesting (statement); Interrogative (asking for information). E.g. is the book interesting? (question); Imperative (asking for action). E.g. give me the book! (comm&, request). Each of these 3 kinds of sentences may be in the affirmative & negative form, exclamatory & non- exclamatory.
Types of Sentences According to Structure
Ia) Simple sentences containing one predication (subject-predicate relationship) b) Composite sentences containing one or more predications Composite sentences are divided into compound & complex sentences. II.Simple sentences & main clauses may be 2-member & one-member sentences.
The 2-member sentence pattern is typical of the vast majority of sentences in E.. It is a sentence with full predication. (The Sun shines. She walks fast).If a simple sentence contains the subject & the predicate only, it is called unextended. E.g. spring came. If a sentence comprises secondary parts besides the main parts, it is called extended. E.g. Dick came home late.
The one-member sentence contains only one principle part, which is neither the subject nor the predicate. E.g. Thieves! Fire! A cup of tea, please! A one-member sentence sometimes resembles a 2-member sentence. E.g. No birds singing in the dawn. It may be complex in structure: e.g. & what if he had seen them embracing in the moonlight?
Imperative sentences with no subject also belong here: Get away from me! If the main part is expressed by an infinitive, such a one-member sentence is called an infinitive sentence: Oh, to be in Engl&! The exclamatory character is a necessary feature of these sentences. Infinitive sentences are very common in represented speech.
Types of One-member Sentences in E.: Nominative (substantive) E.g. Another day of fog. Verbal: Imperative: Don’t believe him!; Infinitive: Only to think of it!; Gerundial: No playing with fire!; Adjectival one-member sentences: Splendid! How romantic! Types of Sentences According to their Completeness: Complete (non-elliptical) sentences; Incomplete (elliptical) sentences.
Elliptical sentences are such sentences in which one or several parts are missing as compared with analogous sentences where there is no ellipsis. They may freely be changed into complete sentences, the missing part of the sentence being supplied from the preceding or following context, by means of intonation: e.g. I sat near the window, he – near the door (= he sat near the door). Playing, children? (= are you playing, children?) Cf. A small but cozy room (a one-member sentence); in the background st&s/ is a little writing table (an elliptical 2-member sentence). The main sphere of elliptical sentences is of course dialogue.
A sentence carries a communication. A sentence is a unit of language. Communication is a unit of thought. Communication falls into 2 parts: ‘the known’ (also called the topic, the logical subject, the theme) & ‘the new’ (the comment, the logical predicate, the rheme). The portion of the sentence, which is ‘the known’ expresses the starting point of the communication, whereas ‘the new’ contains new information. The former is usually the subject (or the subject-group) of the sentence, the latter is the predicate (or the predicate-group). E.g. The girl (the known) had a little basket in her h& (the new).
The most important semantic element in the communication, which is part of ‘the new’, is called the center of a communication. In the given sentence it is ‘a little basket’. There are sentences, which carry only new information. E.g. It is evening. The whole sentence is ‘the new’ the gram. subject ‘it’ has no lex. meaning & cannot be the starting point of the communication. There are many sentences in which the gram. structure does not coincide with its communicative structure, i.e. ‘the new’ may be part of the subject-group. E.g. in the corner stood a table set for three. The gram. subject is the center of the communication. 60% of the total are sentences, in which the communicative division coincides with their gram. division. In connected speech the center of communication of a sentence may become the starting point of the sentence that follows. E.g. Cora & Alan were sitting in a cab (center).
