Direct word order
The most common pattern for the arrangement of the main parts in a declarative sentence is Subject - Predicate - (Object), which is called direct word order. Direct word order is also employed in pronominal questions to the subject or to its attribute.
Direct word order allows of only few variations in the fixed pattern, and then only for the secondary parts. Thus if there are two objects, the indirect one precedes the direct one, or the prepositional follows the direct one. Thus the pattern has the following form:
, . , ', .
| Subject -Predicate - | Indirect object - Direct object Direct object - Prepositional object |
The birds have come.
Ann has seen this film.
The boy gave me no answer.
The boy gave no answer to me.
As to other secondary parts of the sentence, such as attributes and adverbial modifiers, their position is less fixed.
Usually those words that are closely connected tend to be placed together. Accordingly secondary parts referring to their headwords are placed close to them, or are incorporated into, or else frame them up. Thus attributes either premodify or postmodify or frame up their headwords: a bright morning, the problems involved, the scene familiar to us, the happiest man alive, the best skier in the world. .
Adverbials and different form words seem to be the most movable parts in the sentence. Their mobility is partly accounted for by their varied reference to different parts of the sentence.
Inverted word order
Another common pattern of word order is the inverted one (or inversion). We distinguish full inversion (when the predicate precedes the subject, as in Here comes the lady of the house) and partial inversion (when only part of the predicate precedes the subject, as in Happy may you be!). Some grammarians also distinguish double inversion (when parts of the predicate are placed separately before the subject, as in Hanging on the wall was a picture).
1. Inversion is used to distinguish between the communicative types of sentences. With this function it is employed in:
Is it really true?
What are the police after?
There has been an accident.
Long live the king! Come what may!
Have I not watched them! (= I have watched them.)
Dont you do it.
2. Inversion is used as a grammatical means of subordination in some complex sentences joined without connectors:
Were you sure of it, you wouldnt hesitate.
Proud as he was, he had to consent to our proposal.
Here is another example.
Enter the King, the Queen.
Enter Beatie Bryant, an ample blond.
5. Inversion may be used in sentences indicating whose words or thoughts are given as direct or indirect speech. These sentences may introduce, interrupt, or follow the words in direct or indirect speech, or may be given in parenthesis.
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Thats him, said Tom (Tom said).
How did he know, thought Jack, miserably.
Direct word order can also be used here.
6. Inversion is used in statements showing that the remark applies equally to someone or something else. He isnt ready. - Neither is she. I am tired. - So am I.
39. Independent elements of the sentence.
The independent elements of the sentence are words and word-groups which are not grammatically dependent on any part of the sentence.
They are:
1. Interjections, such as ah, oh, hurrah, eh, hallo, goodness gracious, good heavens, etc.
Oh, if I only knew what a dreadful thing it is to be clean, I'd never come. (Shaw)
"Oh gracious me! that innocent Toots," returned Susan hysterically. (Dickens)
2. Direct address.
Good morning, sweet child! (Douglas)
Don't be tiresome, Marcellus! (Douglas)
3. Parenthesis.
A parenthesis either shows' the speaker's attitude towards the thought expressed in the sentence or connects a given sentence with another one, or summarizes that which is said in the sentence. ' , , .
A parenthesis is connected with the rest of the sentence rather semantically than grammatically. , . No question can be put to it. . Very often it is detached from the rest of the sentence and consequently it is often separated from it by commas or dashes. .
He had probably never occupied a chair with a fuller sense of embarrassment. (Galsworthy)
To be sure, Morris had treated her badly of late. (Prichard)
Unfortunately, it will be you who will have to explain that to him. (Heym)
But you shouldn't pay him to-night anyway, you're his guest.
Besides, you know, I'm a pensioner, anyway. That makes me 65, to begin with. (Maltz)
Parenthesis
A parenthesis can be expressed by:
1. Modal words, such certainly, assuredly, in fact, truly, naturally, surely, actually, possibly, perhaps, evidently, obviously, maybe.
Luckily, poor dear Roger had been spared this dreadful anxiety. (Galsworthy)
2. Adverbs which to a certain extent serve as connectives (, ', ), suchas firstly, secondly, finally, thus, consequently, then, anyway, moreover, besides, still, yet, nevertheless, otherwise, therefore, etc.
He mightn't like it. Besides, uncle Soames wants to get back, I suppose. (Galsworthy)
3. Prepositional phrases ( ), such as in a word, in truth, in my opinion, in short, by the by, on the one hand, on the contrary, at least, etc.
Everybody has his own problem. Mine is practically worthless, for instance. (Maltz)
By the way, I have often meant to ask you: is she your mother's sister or your father's?
4. Infinitive and participial phrases ( 䳺 ), such as to be sure, to tell the truth, to begin with, generally speaking, strictly speaking, etc.
To tell the truth, I don't want to go there.
40. Structural classification of the main parts of the sentence.
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The subject and the predicate present the base of the sentence: without them the sentence would not exist at all, whill all other parts may or may not be there.
The subject is one of the 2 main parts of the sentence:
1. It denotes the thing whose action or characteristic is expressed by the predicate.
2. It is not dependent on any other part of the sentence.
It may be expressed by different parts of speech, the most frequent ones being: a noun in the common case, a personal pronoun in the nominative case, a demonstrative pronoun occasionally, a substantivized adjective, a numeral, an infinitive, and a gerund.
The predicate is one of the 2 main parts of the sentence:
1. It denotes the action or property () of the thing expressed by the subject.
2. It is not dependent on any other part of the sentence.
3. Ways of expressing the predicate are varied and their structure will better be considered under the heading of types of predicate.
It is sometimes claimed that the predicate agrees in number with the subject.
Structurally subjects fall into four types: the simple subject, the phrasal subject, the complex subject, and the clausal subject.
1. The simple subject is expressed by a single word-form ( -):
Spring has come at last.
Smoking is bad for your health.
To live is to struggle.
2. The phrasal subject is expressed by any of the phrases mentioned above ( - ) (nominal phrases, infinitive phrases, gerundial phrases):
Building houses becomes more difficult.
To ask him again was impossible.
The blue of the sky deepened visibly.
3. The complex subject is expressed by different predicative complexes:
a) For-to-infinitive constructions:
For him to earn bread was a problem.
b) Gerundial constructions:
My meeting him again was a surprise.
4. The clausal subject is expressed by a subject clause:
Who has done this is still to be found.
Where he lives is unknown to me.
Predicates may be classified in 2 ways, one of which is based on their structure (simple or compound), and the other on their morphological characteristics (verbal or nominal).
Structural classification:
From the structural point of view there are two main types of predicate:
the simple predicate and the compound predicate.
Both these types may be either nominal or verbal, which gives four subgroups: simple verbal, simple nominal, compound verbal, compound nominal.
Compound verbal predicates may be further classified into phasal, modal and of double orientation.
Compound nominal predicates may be classified into nominal proper and double nominal.
