1. Suddenly he heard someone running down the stairs.
2. I saw people wearing different clothes today. (C.Schimmels)
3. Through the open door of her room, he saw her pushing up her window. (Cronin) 4.1 had seen her three hours ago turning off the main road. 5. He saw the car coming over the rise of a hill. 6. Just look at the rain coming down! (Cheever) 7. Suddenly I saw the brush moving on the opposite side of the ravine. 8.1 watched them (Aleuts) landing on the bay. (O'Dell) 9. I hear him calling her name. (Fitzgerald) 10.1 thought I detected a bazooka replying, then all was quiet again. 11. You'll have them fighting. 12.1 would imagine him going up my stairs, knocking at my door, sleeping in my bed. (Greene) 13. She could hear the man and Soames talking together. 14. And yet I don't see him doing it. 15. And yet we can see him taking no further notice. 16. I don't want them writing home. (Galsworthy) 17. Despite his concern for Alexander, Coleman found himself becoming annoyed. 18. As he spoke, Mike Seddrus found himself regarding this girl with even greater interest. 19. David Coleman found himself liking this girl. (Hailey) 20. He remembers Barker coming into the mess and starting to tell about it. 21.... I listened to him breathing regularly. 22. In the morning the old man could feel the morning coming. 23. One evening he was seen going into this very house, but was never seen coming out of it. (J.K.Jerome) 24. Did you ever see baseball
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played? 25. I heard your testimonial read in the Police Court, Fleur. (Galsworthy) 26. He saw her face contorted for a moment with the extremity of his feeling... 27. On Wednesday morning Julia had her face massaged and her hair waved. (Maugham) 28. He saw her arms raised as she fixed her hair before a mirror. (London) 29. But they would feel their tails being tied! (Galsworthy) 30. At six forty-five I walked down to the quay to watch the American planes unloaded. (G.Greene) 31. I watched him adjusting himself a little, visibly. (Fitzgerald) 32. We have the enemy almost surrounded. (Cheever)
33. I always see you this time of the year going up. (W.Maken)
34. This point is obvious: given the choice, businessmen would rather
not pay bribes. (Newsweek) 35. Given the shortage of officers, it was
not unusual for majors or captains to command brigades. (Encyclo
pedia of Ukraine - Toronto. Univ. Press.) 36. Given those anxieties,
Germany's political and journalistic establishment enthusiastically
greeted the appointment of Mr.Kornblum. 37. Given his background,
Clinton doubted his own ability to have a successful marriage. (Intern.
Herald Tribune)
C. Ways of Translating the Nominative Absolute Participial Constructions/Complexes
These English secondary predication word-groups, which are very often used in literary substyles, are presented in some structurally different types. The main of them are three:
1. The nominative absolute participial constructions consisting of a synthetic or analytical paradigm of the present participle. This type of secondary predication complexes may have the form of a synthetic or an analytic paradigm of the participle. For example, in the underlined nominative absolute participial construction This duty done, we refilled our glasses (J.K.Jerome), the paradigm of the participle is simple, i.e. synthetic. It has been derived, respectively, either from a less extended (The duty being done), or from a more extended/full analytical paradigm of this participle (The duty having been done). The contracted and less extended forms of the nominative absolute participial constructions are much more occurent in present-day English than their full paradigmatic forms, in which some emphasis is always laid on the categorial meanings (tense, aspect, voice) of the action expressed through the componental parts of the paradigm. Cf.: This duty having (perfective aspect) been (passive voice) done (accomplished action). When no
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emphasis is laid on the categorial rheanings in the paradigm of the participle, only the nucleus of it (the past participle) is usually used.
The number of components/elements in the paradigm of the participle has actually no influence on the expression of meaning and translation of this predicative construction, which can be seen from the sentence below:
This duty done, we unfilled our .
glasses, lit our pipes, and re- ,
sumed the discussion upon our
state of health. (J. K. Jerome) '.
The syntactic/functional meaning of the participial construction in this isolated sentence may be considered temporal as well. Then its Ukrainian traslation wil be respectively ϳ , , ...
It should be pointed out that only the analytical paradigms, which contain the constituent elements of the passive and perfect participles of some verbs may be condensed. When the participial paradigm is represented in the nominative absolute participial constructions through a single present participle expressing an action of the secondary subject, it can not be transformed into an extended paradigm or contracted. Thus, the present participle opening in the sentence James' face protruded naively, his mouth opening. (Galsworthy) can not undergo any complete transformation through reduction.
2. The second structural type constitute the nominative absolute participial constructions that contain no participle component at all. The relation of the predication in complexes of this type is implicitly inherent in and is realized through a prepositional (usually with a noun or pronoun) or a substantival word-group. Cf.:
Now, with this visit to Cardiff ,
in prospect, he wished her to - . ,
company him. (Cronin)
.
sat down, his face serious ³
and intent, and his fingers began ,
to race across the keyboard,
(S.Sheldon) .
With so much at stake, he did
not want to appear inhospitable, ,
(Ibid.) .
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3. The third structural type form subjectless nominative abso
lute participial complexes. Their secondary subject may have a clearly
addressed or an indistinctly addressed reference to the subject of the
introductory clause. An illustration to the first subtype of such nomi
native absolute participial constructions may be the following exam
ple: Though being left out all night in the rain, the metal had not
rusted. (Maugham)
The secondary predicate (being left out) of the nominative absolute participial construction clearly refers to the noun of the matrix clause metal. Consequently, its translation is easy: , () .
In opposition to this, in the second type of subjectless nominative absolute participial constructions the addressed referent in the introductory/matrix part of the sentence is not clearly indicated by the secondary predicate:
Bobbing and bounding upon the spring cushions, silent, swaying to each motion of their chariot. Old Jolyon watched them drive away under the sunlight. (Galsworthy)
The actions expressed by the participles of the nominative absolute participial constructions here refer to the pronoun they. Therefore, it is the secondary subject to the participles in this syntactic construction, which should be translated with the orientation on this pronoun: , , , .
4. The fourth structural type constitute nominative absolute
participial constructions whose semantic reference to a part of the
introductory clause (or to the clause as a whole) is quite vague and
scarcely traced. As a result, such nominative absolute participial
constructions function together with their secondary subjects as regu
lar clauses of a semi-composite sentence. Though semantically not
completely independent, these quasi-clauses are difficult to incorpo
rate semantically and syntactically into Ukrainian sentences, which
can be seen from the following sentence:
She reached the lake and stood there staring at it, the wind whipping the thin night-gown around her body. (S.Sheldon)
Neither the secondary subject (the wind) nor the secondary predicate (whipping the thin night-gown...) has any explicit syntactic and semantic connection with the introductory clause She reached the lake and stood there staring at it.
The vague, almost untraced semantic connection of the quasi-
clause with the introductory clause pan be guessed, naturally, 0 the basis of the contextual environment from which some temporal sequence of actions can be seen: the wind whipped her nightgown after she had reached the lake. Hence, one of the translation versions may be as follows: , , , .
Because of the vague temporal reference of actions expressed by the predicative complex/quasi-clause, which is actually independent syntactically, it can also be translated as a separate sentence: , . , .
Therefore, translation of these secondary predication constructions is predetermined by some semantic and syntactic factors, the main of which are as follows:
1) the structural type of the nominative absolute participial complex;
2) the function of the complex in the sentence;
3) its reference to a part of the introductory/semantically main clause of the semi-composite sentence.
D. Ways of Identification of Implicit Meanings in the Nominative Absolute Participial Constructions
As has been said already, a peculiar feature of many nominative absolute participial constructions is their often indistinct semantic and syntactic role in the semi-composite sentence. The syntactic and semantic interrelations formed between the quasi-clauses with the nominative absolute participial construction on one hand, and the introductory/dominant clause on the other, may be of adverbial, attributive or objective nature. Among the most frequent adverbial meanings are temporal and causal, which are rendered into Ukrainian with the help of the corresponding subordinate clauses. For example:
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/ can't write with you stand- , ,
ing there. Margery. (Galsworthy) , .
A temporal meaning may also be indicated by an adverb/adverbial expression in the nominative absolute participial construction or
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by the corresponding tense forms in the introductory clause:
Mr. Quest, once again ,
interrupted, turned his darky- ,
irritable eyes on him. .
(D.Lessing)
Another man, with his back ,
behind to the camera, faced the ,
woman. (A.Hailey) .
The inherent here in this nominative absolute participial construction causal meaning is not explicitly indicated. Nevertheless, it is clearly felt from the sentence, which can be proved by inserting the conjunction since or as, and thus transforming the secondary predication construction into the causative clause of the complex sentence:
Mr. Hilary being at a meeting. As/since Mr. Hilary was at a
the brothers had tea by them- meeting, the brothers had tea by
selves. (Galsworthy) themselves.
Therefore, there can be only one way of translation for such and the like nominative absolute participial constructions into Ukrainian, and this is by means of causative subordinate clauses introduced by the conjunctions , , : ó , / .
The nominative absolute participial constructions of causative meaning may also occupy a postpositive position in the sentence, i.e., after the introductory clause, as in the following example:
We were walking by ourselves
for an hour, George having re- , mainedin the hotel to write a letter . to his aunt. (Cronin) (Why did we walk ourselves?)
Among other adverbial meanings expressed by these secondary predication complexes in semi-composite English sentence are also conditional:
The human condition being
what it was, let them fight, let ,
them love... (Greene) ...
The nominative absolute participial constructions can also
express other meanings and relations in the sentence. Then they are translated into Ukrainian respectively as corresponding nominal (or adverbial) subordinate clauses. For example:
It's strange in a way, me be- ,
ing a secretary to the society... -
(Cronin) ...
It was Dr.Dornbergen, his ,
hands inevitably busy with his
pipe. (Hailey) .
Translation of the nominative absolute participial constructions may be influenced by the individual author's usage, because of which the aim of their employment is always stylistically predetermined. These constructions are mostly employed for the sake of economizing the speech efforts, for creating some dynamism or easiness in narration and for achieving the necessary expressiveness, etc. The last of these functions had been proved to exist in colloquial English and also in belles-lettres works of many British and American authors. This could also be observed in the translation of the above-cited nominative absolute participial construction, which may also be rendered with some ironic flavour: It was Dr.Dornbergen, his hands inevitably busy with his pipe. - , / , etc.
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