IOANA MURAR ANA-MARIA TRANTESCU
CLAUDIA PISOSCHI
ENGLISH SYNTAX. COMPOUND AND COMPLEX SENTENCES
Curs universitar pentru învăŃământul la distanŃă
EDITURA UNIVERSITARIA CRAIOVA, 2011
2
3
CONTENTS FOREWORD ..................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION TO DESCRIPTIVE ENGLISH SYNTAX ........ ............. 7 UNIT 1. CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES ……… ……………........... 9
1. Criteria of Classification .............................................................. 9 2. Compound Sentences .................................................................... 12 3. Complex Sentences ........................................................................ 16
UNIT 2. NOMINAL CLAUSES .................................................................... 23
1. Subject Clauses ............................................................................ 23 2. Predicative Clauses ...................................................................... 27 3. Object Clauses ............................................................................ 28
UNIT 3. RELATIVE ATTRIBUTIVE CLAUSES ………………… .......… 40 1. Restrictive/Defining Relative Clauses ……………………....…… 40 2. Non-Restrictive/Non-Defining Relative Clauses ……………....… 45 3. Appositive Attributive Clauses ……………………………........… 46 4. Introductory Emphatic Sentences (Cleft Sentences) ……….....… 47
UNIT. 4. ADVERBIAL CLAUSES I ……………………………… ....…….. 51 1. Adverbial Clauses of Time ………………………………………..... 51 2. Adverbial Clauses of Place ……………………………………..….. 54 3. Adverbial Clauses of Manner ……………………………………… 55 4. Adverbial Clauses of Comparison ………………………………… 57
UNIT 5. ADSVERBIAL CLAUSES II ……………………………… .…….. 63 1. Adverbial Clauses of Cause/Reason ……………………………..… 63 2. Adverbial Clauses of Concession ……………………………......… 65 3. Adverbial Clauses of Purpose ……………………………………… 67 4. Adverbial Clauses of Result ……………………………….……….. 69 5. Adverbial Clauses of Condition …………………………………… 71 6. Adverbial Clauses of Exception …………………………….……… 77
7. Adverbial Clauses of Relation ………………………………..……… 78
UNIT 6. DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH ……………………… ..…… 85 1. Changes in the deictic categories …………………………...………. 85 2. Syntactic changes ………………………………................................. 89 3. Free Indirect Speech ………………………………………................ 93
REVISION TESTS AND EXERCISES …………………………………… 98 LIST OF AUTHORS ……………………………………………… ………... 105 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………… …….…….... 107
4
5
FOREWORD
English Syntax..Compound and Complex Sentences has a double purpose: 1. It is primarily designed as a course book and a reference grammar for second-year, second term, Long Distance Learning university students. 2. The authors of this grammar book have also included a number of exercises which can be used as a classroom textbook or for self-study by students. The exercises provided at the end of each chapter are varied in form, purpose as well as the degree of difficulty.
6
7
Introduction to Descriptive English Syntax
The purpose of a descriptive syntax of the English language is to identify
and present the main patterns and structures of expression in contemporary English.
Syntax is that branch of linguistics which describes the phenomena of the contemporary language in point of relations between words and their correct arrangement in units of expression apt to reflect logical units and patterns.
Therefore, while morphology studies words and their changes in various situations and contexts, syntax describes the situations and contexts themselves, the relations between words, deriving the principles, the rules and the patterns governing the arrangement of morphological elements as part of independent or connected sense-units.
As these units are meant not only for writing but also (or rather mainly) for oral expression, it is but natural for syntax to go hand in hand with some aspects of suprasegmental phonetics such as sentence stress rhythm, emphasis and intonation.
As a matter of fact, given the progress of the sciences connected with communication and of the interdisciplinary subjects, the term syntax has come to be used – together with the term grammar – in order to indicate the rules for the specific arrangement of elements in various arts: poetry, prose, stylistics. Thus, syntax can be seen as a set of principles, rules and indications governing the best arrangement of elements in the structure of communication.
Among the various disciplines and branches of linguistics, syntax aims at offering the most adequate structures for the communication of people’s thoughts. That is why, many of the notions and terms employed in syntax (as part of the grammar of a language or of all languages) are so closely connected with logic and philosophy; some of them are not only the counterparts of notions and terms in those sciences but even identical with them.
Since linguistics and psycholinguistics have proved that human thoughts are not articulate – that is, they do not take a definite form – until they are embodied in words (even before they are uttered aloud or set down on paper), the concatenation between thinking and its materialized forms no longer requires demonstration. Hence the interpenetration between logic (as the set of rules governing correct thinking and reasoning) and grammar (or rather syntax, which recommends the best models for the arrangements of words – we may say ordinance – in such a way as to facilitate the best expression of thoughts).
Since the basic syntactical units are called sentences, the syntactical subunits are necessarily called parts of the simple sentence (or clauses in the case of compound or complex sentences).
8
Naturally, classification attaches much importance to criteria of form, but content preserves its importance in syntax too, as it is the essence of the communication which matters and that is what syntactical relations indicate (also with assistance from phonetics and punctuation).
Grammarians who analyse the deep structure of the communication have proved that it may be expressed aloud or in writing in different and sometimes dissimilar surface structures. That is why the same trend of the communication may appear in the form of a declarative, of an apparently exclamation, the most obvious example being that of requests or invitations which are most politely formulated as questions.
9
UNIT 1. Classification of Sentences
1. Criteria of Classification 2. Compound Sentences 3. Complex Sentences
Obiective: StudenŃii vor fi capabili : 1. Să enumere criteriile de clasificare. 2. Să identifice tipurile de coordonare. 3. Să recunoască elementele ce introduc o propoziŃie subordonată. 4. Să identifice criteriile de clasificare ale propoziŃiilor subordonate. Timp de studiu : 3 ore.
1. Criteria of Classification Since speech and writing are the expression of articulate thinking,
utterances and written sentences will be the materialized forms of thoughts. Articulate thoughts (in the field of logic) find their expression in sentences
or propositions (terms which have their origin in the same field of logic) and take the oral form of utterances (in suprasegmental phonetics). Language and its component elements (phonemes, morphemes, words, phrases, grammatical rules, structures, patterns, etc.) are the materials and means employed by human beings in order to embody their thoughts.
The oral and written expressions of human thoughts are part and parcel of communication and may express different trends or purposes of communication, and on the other hand may assume a variety of forms. That is why the traditional manner of classifying notions – in point of content and in point of form – assumes the following aspects when we differentiate the linguistic expressions of thoughts:
− Classification in point of trend or purpose of communication (therefore a matter of content);
− Classification in point of structure (of communication) or of composition (therefore a matter of form);
− Classification in point of status or grammatical dependence. The first classification proceeds from the trend or essence or content of
communication because it is more general than the other classifications. The discrimination of sentences according to the purpose/ intention/ attitude of the speaker or writer is essential and can apply to all the subdivisions separated under the incidence of the other classifications. Long, extended, elliptical etc. sentences or clauses are all declarative or exclamatory, etc. From the point of view of trend
or purpose of communication – which means semantic as well as logical and psychological content – sentences are normally divided into: Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative and Exclamatory.
10
So, it is a matter of the fundamental attitude which the speaker/writer adopts towards his/her communication. R. Quirk et al (1972: 387), as well as other linguists, consider that any communication – even statements (Declarative Sentences) does reflect or reveal an attitude or modality.
The second classification, the formal one, refers to the way thoughts are expressed, whether destined for utterance or for writing. The classification in point of structure/composition/form distinguishes three main types of sentences:
The Simple Sentence which expresses just one thought at a time, by means of one predicate between two punctuation marks that are destined for separating thoughts – or between two conclusive pauses in the speech chain, indicating the beginning of a new utterance and its end.
The Compound Sentence (the word “compound” is employed in the sense of homogeneity/ similarity/ coordination/ equality) that is a thought which includes more units than one, placed on an equal footing. In syntactical terms, the English compound sentence corresponds to the notion of frază (compusă) prin
coordonare that is a sentence made up of two or more clauses (= propoziŃii
coordonate), which discharge the same function and are connected between them with or without the help of coordinating conjunctions.
The Complex Sentence involves the notion of "complex" in the sense of diversity/non-homogeneousness/inequality/ subordination of the various component elements. In purely syntactical terms, it corresponds to the Romanian frază (compusă) prin subordonare that is a unit of thinking made up of one ore more main/principal clauses (= propoziŃii principale) and one or more subordinate clauses (= propoziŃii secundare/subordonate).
Sentences can also be classified in accordance with their status (of dependence or independence) or in point of grammatical dependence, that is in terms of their position as regards other syntactical units. This classification is rather intricate, because it brings into play all three types of sentences classified in point of structure, or rather simple sentences as such (or independent clauses, as part of a compound sentence) and the non-homogeneous components of a complex sentence: the subordinator(s) and the subordinated.
It is in fact a matter of government, of equality or of juxtaposition and the difficulties increase when it comes to equating the various classes in other languages (cf. in this respect the points on terminology in the table below).
In point of status or degree of grammatical dependence, sentences are classified into:
− Independent Sentences (isolated);
− Independent Clauses (as part of a compound sentence);
− Main/principal/head Clauses (in complex sentences);
− Governing Clauses (as part of a complex sentence, in case there are two or more levels of subordination);
− Subordinate/Secondary Clauses (as part of Complex sentences).
11
Independent Sentences are in fact simple sentences, their name differing only according to the angle from which they are viewed.
It is ten o’clock.
I have to go to the airport.
If linked by conjunctions, independent sentences become (more or less) independent clauses (in case of coordination, as part of a compound sentence – e.g.: It is ten o’clock and I have to go to the airport), while in the case where they are placed in a hierarchy, they turn into main clauses, subordinate clauses proper or governing clauses – e.g.: It is ten o’clock and so I have to go to the airport,
unless I want to be late again. Independent Clauses are the complete elements or units which are brought
together in a closer connection as part of the speech chain, without, however, being dependent upon each other or upon anything else in point of meaning or of grammatical status; their independence can at any time be proved, through replacing commas or coordinating conjunctions by full stops, without their full sense being altered.
Main Clauses, also called Principal or Head Clauses, are elements that rank first in the hierarchy established as part of a complex sentence, that is they have in their subordination both secondary/subordinate clauses and governing clauses, in case the latter are present. While subordinate clauses display great variety, main clauses are limited in their variability, being usually statements, although questions, imperatives or, less frequently exclamations occasionally do appear as main clauses.
Governing Clauses have the intermediate position, i.e. they have the ambivalent/hybrid nature of governed and governing at the same time, when the stratification within the complex sentence is more diversified. They behave as subordinates to the main clause(s) while governing the subordinate clause(s) proper, e.g.
He said that he would return the book when he finished it.
Subordinate or Secondary Clauses are an indispensable element of complex sentences: the very notions of "complex sentence" (= heterogeneous, unequal) and of main clauses are impossible without the existence of subordinate elements.
Their government by main or governing clauses is the principal area where the rules of sequence of tenses manifest themselves.
The comparison with Romanian, inevitably requires a perfect understanding of the equivalence of terms presented in the following table. This summarizes in fact all the above1:
Romanian English propoziŃie independentă/simplă independent/simple sentence
1 Andrei Bantaş, Descriptive English Syntax, p. 89.
12
propoziŃie independentă coordonată (în cadrul unei fraze compuse prin coordonare)
coordinated independent clause (as part of a compound sentence)
propoziŃie principală (în cadrul unei fraze compuse prin subordonare)
main/principal/head clause (as part of a complex sentence)
propoziŃie secundară/subordonată (idem) subordinate/secondary clause
(idem)
propoziŃie regentă (idem) governing clause (idem)
frază (compusă) prin coordonare compound sentence
frază (compusă) prin subordonare complex sentence
locuŃiune gramaticală grammatical phrase
Expresie Idiom, idiomatic phrase
2. Compound Sentences Just as a phrase may be simple or complex, depending on whether it is
composed of one word or more than one, a sentence may be simple (i.e. consists of a simple clause) or complex, the complex sentence consisting of more than one clause. The relationships between the clauses of a sentence are of two kinds: a) coordination, b) subordination.
Coordination (or conjoining) is the process of forming compound sentences by joining or uniting two or more sentences of equal rank. In most cases, coordination is achieved by means of coordinating conjunctions, or coordinators (sometimes called syndetic coordination), but in some cases the conjunctions may be absent altogether (asyndetic coordination).
From the point of view of the logical relations between two clauses forming a compound sentence, coordination can be subdivided into: copulative, disjunctive, adversative, consecutive, causative.
Copulative coordination is achieved by means of the following conjunctions: and, as well as, nor, neither, not only...but also, both...and, neither...nor. When two or more clauses are coordinated, repeated elements, which are therefore redundant, are ellipted (deleted) from all but one of the clauses:
- if two ore more coordinated sentences have identical subjects, the subject of the second (third, etc.) sentence is usually deleted, e.g. He1 went into the shop (he1) bought a tie and (he1) paid for it at the
cash desk. - if the predicates in the coordinated sentence contain the same auxiliary, it
is deleted (ellipsis is usually anaphoric, with realized items in the first of a series of clauses).
e.g. They were married in 1960, (they were) divorced in 1970, and (they were)
reconciled in 1972.
13
I’ve been waiting and (I’ve been) wondering where you are. - an identical head verb of a VP can be deleted e.g. John has written a poem and Bob (has written) a novel.
- the compound sentence may be reduced to only one sentence with a compound constituent,
e.g. John will come later and Mary will come later – John and Mary will
come later. The conjunction and coordinates sentences as well as their constituent
parts. As well as linking two main clauses, and can link subordinate clauses. e.g. He asked to be transferred because he was unhappy and
(because) conditions were far better at the other office. The conjunction and denotes merely a relation between the clauses, the
second clause being a pure addition to the first. e.g. John was tired and hungry. However, the conjunction has certain other semantic implications:
- adversative (and = but), e.g. I could have helped him and I didn’t. He promised to come and he didn’t.
- the second clause is a consequence or result of the first. This entails that the order of the clauses also reflects chronological sequence (and = therefore), e.g. He heard an explosion and phoned the police.
She was talking too much and we left. - the second clause is chronologically sequent to the first but without any
implication of a cause-result relationship (and = then) e.g. She washed the dishes and (she) dried them.
I wrote the letter and he posted it.
- the first clause is a condition of the second (and = if) e.g. Give me some money and I’ll help you escape.
Work hard and you’ll win the contest. (= If you work hard, you’ll win.) The other coordinating conjunctions give variety or the right emphasis to
copulative coordination: Both...and is used for the coordination of two sentences having the same
subject or for the coordination of two subjects having the same predicate, e.g. He both speaks and writes three foreign languages.
Both Peter and Ann have won prizes. Not only...but (also): the correlative not only can be found either in non-
initial or in initial position. When not only is placed in initial position the subject-auxiliary inversion is obligatory.
e.g. They not only broke into his office and stole his books but
(also) tore up his manuscripts. – Not only did they break
into his office and steal his books but also tore up his manuscripts.
14
Not only did he deny his responsibility, but he also had
the cheek to lay the blame on us. Neither...nor raises a very interesting problem since it formally resembles the disjunctive either...or, while semantically it negates the conjunction, meaning both (not-x)...and (not-y)
e.g. She didn’t eat and she didn’t drink – She neither ate nor
drank anything. The correlative conjunction neither...nor behaves in colloquial speech like and as regards concord. Thus, Neither he nor his wife have arrived is more natural in colloquial speech than Neither he nor his wife has arrived, the form recommended by traditional grammars. As R. Quirk and his colleagues point out, this preference reflects notional concord in that logical ’neither x nor y’ can be interpreted as a union of negatives: ’both (not-x) and (not-y)’ (R. Quirk et al, 1972: 384). The correlative nor is usually followed by subject-auxiliary inversion when both subject and auxiliary are present.
e.g. Mary was neither happy nor was she sad.
Neither Peter wanted the responsibility nor did his wife. (though if the predicates in the two clauses are identical, the more usual form would be Neither
Peter nor his wife wanted the responsibility). Nor and neither can be used without being a correlative pair. They are
used when the first sentence is negative and require subject-auxiliary inversion. e.g. He did not come to the symposium, neither/nor did he
send in the paper.
He did not know, nor could he guess the reason for her absence.
The role of copulative coordination can be achieved by some other connectors such as: in addition, moreover, furthermore, likewise, besides, again, then. They imply that the addition is something emphatic or important. Stylistically, they are characteristic of a more formal, written style.
e.g. I did not like the house, moreover it was too high-priced.
First I visited my friend, then I left the town.
The house is almost new; again/ besides/ furthermore/ likewise/ moreover, it is in excellent condition. He came late; in addition he hadn’t done his homework. The parts of a compound sentence may also be joined asyndentically i.e.
without any conjunction. Asydentic coordination is always marked by a comma or a semicolon. The copulative conjunction and may always be inserted.
e.g. The sun was breaking out; the sound of the mill seemed
cheery again; the granary doors were wide open. (G.E.) Disjunctive coordination presupposes a choice or an alternative between
two clauses. It is achieved by means of the conjunctions or, else, or else, otherwise, either...or.
15
Or allows ellipsis of the subject if, in the clause it introduces, the subject is co-referential with that of the preceding linked clause:
I may see you tomorrow or (I) may phone later in the day. As well as linking two main clauses, or can link subordinate clauses, e.g. I wonder whether you should go and see her or (whether)
it is better to write to her. There are some situations when disjunctive coordination links three or
even more clauses, the disjunctive relation being less obvious: You may either read a magazine, listen to the records, or watch TV.
In addition to indicating an alternative, as in e.g. You can boil yourself an egg or you can make some sandwiches, or may imply a negative condition: e.g. You must be gentle with him (the pony) or you’ll find him
troublesome. (C.D.) (the implication can be paraphrased by the negative conditional clause ’If you are not gentle with him’). The addition of either to the first clause is more explicit in excluding the combination of both alternatives e.g. You can either boil yourself an egg or you can make some
sandwiches.
Either do it properly or (else) don’t do it at all.
Either he is a rogue or he is a fool. Adversative coordination combines two opposing or contrasting
statements. It is achieved mainly through the conjunctions but, yet, whereas, while, nevertheless, only, still, however, all the same, none the less or nonetheless, on the other hand. e.g. The engine is very old; still it works very well.
She speaks highly about him; all the same I don’t trust him.
Reading is easy; on the other hand writing is difficult.
I’ve ordered the beer but it hasn’t come.
Tom was good at arithmetic, yet he was never given full marks.
One of the statues was of marble, whereas the other was a wood
carving.
Some people waste food, while others haven’t enough.
It may rain, nevertheless we will start on the trip.
He makes good resolutions only he never keeps them.
Consecutive coordination introduces an inference, conclusion, consequence, result of the previous part. It is achieved mainly with the help of the conjunctions so, therefore, hence, thus.
There was no one there, so I went away.
I forgot to return the magazine, hence his displeasure.
But this is not to be a regular autobiography, therefore I
now pass a space of eight years in silence. (C.B.)
16
Other connectors with consecutive meaning are: then, consequently, accordingly.
e.g. Singapore lies very near to the equator, consequently the weather is
very hot. They broke the rules; so/ therefore/ accordingly/ consequently they
were punished. Causal / Explanatory coordination adds an independent clause explaining the preceding statement. It is represented only by the conjunction for. The causative meaning is not felt as strong as that of its subordinating counterparts (because, etc.).
e.g. The days were short for it was September.
You should ask more of him for he can do more.
They left in a hurry, for it was already late. You had better close the window, for it is rather cold.
3. Complex Sentences One of the main devices for linking clauses together within the same
sentence is that of coordination, already discussed in Chapter II. The second major device, that of subordination will be the main concern of this chapter.
While coordination is the linking together of two or more elements of equivalent status (rank) and function, subordination is a non-symmetrical relation, holding between two clauses x and y, in such a way that y is a constituent or part of x. Diagrammatically, the difference is as in x
x y I like John and John likes me I like John y
because John likes me coordination subordination
A second difference is that a coordinate relationship may have more than two members, while only two members enter into the relationship of subordination: we may call them the superordinate/ main clause, e.g. x in the diagram, and the subordinate/dependent/ embedded clause, e.g. y in the diagram. A main clause is one that can stand alone, i.e. is not dependent on another clause. A clause can be subordinate by being able to replace an NP or an adverbial in the main clause, taking over its syntactic functions: it can function as subject, object, or adverbial of the main clause. Thus, complex sentences are formed by letting one sentence function as a part, as a constituent of another.
The device of subordination enables us to organize multiple clause structures. Each subordinate clause may itself be superordinate to one or more other clauses, so that a hierarchy of clauses, one within another may be built up, sometimes resulting in sentences of great complexity.
17
Subordinate clauses may be recognized by one or more of the following characteristics: a) they are optional elements, e.g. they can be deleted:
e.g. Jane was preparing breakfast while her husband slept. b) they can precede or follow the main clause or be inserted in it:
e.g. They trudged on, although they were overcome by fatigue. When night fell, they collapsed into an exhausted heap. These men, who had eaten nothing all day, were angered by their
leader’s inefficiency. c) they are marked by certain introductory elements: conjunctions, wh-elements; d) they may contain non-finite verb forms.
Subordinate clauses may suffer important modifications of form: as a consequence of embedding, their sentential status is destroyed to a lesser or greater extent, so that a formerly independent sentence tends to become more and more 'nouny' in its structure and properties: a) That Tom gave the letter to Ann surprised us all. b) For Tom to have given the letter to Ann surprised us all. c) Tom giving the letter to Ann surprised us all. d) Tom’s giving the letter to Ann surprised us all. e) Tom’s giving/ gift of the letter to Ann surprised us all.
As we move down from that-clauses (example a) to deverbal nominals proper (ex. e), the constituents lose their sentential features and acquire nominal features instead: such a scale is called a squish. Choice of the dependent type – whether the subordinate clause is a that-clause, an infinitive or a gerund – largely depends on the syntactic and sometimes semantic features of the matrix predicate (the term predicate is here used as a cover term for verbs and predicative adjectives).
Formal indicators of subordination On the whole, subordination is marked by some signal contained in the
subordinate clause. Such a signal may be of a number of different kinds: a) subordinating conjunctions (subordinators) are perhaps the most important
formal devices of subordination: - simple subordinators: after, although, as, because, before, if, however, like,
once, since, that, till , until, when(ever), where, wherever, whereas, while; - compound subordinators: in that, so that, in order that, such that, except that,
for all that; In some cases of compound subordinators, that is optional. Subordinators
ending with optional that are: now (that), providing (that), provided (that), supposing (that), considering (that), granting (that), seeing (that);
- as far as, as long as, as soon as, insofar as, so far as, insomuch as, according
as, sooner than, rather than, as if, as though, in case;
18
- correlative subordinators: if...then, although...yet/nevertheless, as...so, more/-
er/less...than, as...as, so...as, such...as, such...that, no sooner...than, whether...or;
b) wh-elements are markers of subordination in interrogative wh-clauses, in relative wh-clauses and in concessive clauses:
I don’t know who came / when he came. The book which he bought seems interesting. Wherever you may go you won’t find a better job. c) the relative pronoun that is a subordination marker in relative clauses: The book that I bought seems interesting. d) inversion: subject-auxiliary inversion is a marker of subordination in some
conditional clauses where the operator is had, were, should: e.g. Had I known more I should have refused the job. Should you see him tell him about the meeting.
e) the absence of a finite verb form is effectively an indication of subordinate status, since non-finite and verbless clauses occur only in subordinate clauses:
Being tired he went to bed early. = As he was tired went to bed early.
Classification of subordinate clauses Subordinate clauses may be classified according to two criteria:
− Structural type, i.e. in terms of the elements they themselves contain;
− Function, i.e. the position they have within the complex sentence.
Structural classification Analyzing clauses according to their structural type we arrive at two types
of clauses: a) Finite clauses i.e. clauses containing a finite verb
e.g. I’ll come when I am ready. When I opened the door I saw the postman.
b) Non-finite clauses i.e. clauses containing a non-finite form e.g. Opening the door I saw the postman.
The finite clause always contains a subject as well as a predicate. In contrast, the non-finite clause always has the ability to do without a subject, although in many kinds of non-finite clauses a subject is optional. The three classes of non-finite verbal construction serve to distinguish three classes of non-finite clauses: i. infinitive : - without subject: e.g. The best thing would be to tell everybody; - with subject: e.g. The best thing would be for you to tell everybody. ii. -ing participle: - without subject: e.g. Leaving the room he tripped over the mat;
19
- with subject: e.g. His aunt having left the room, Tom declared his love for Celia. iii. -ed participle : - without subject: e.g. Covered with confusion, I left the room; - with subject, e.g. The job finished, we left the room.
When the subject of participial clauses is expressed, it is often introduced by the preposition with,
e.g. With the tree growing/grown tall, we get more shade. The absence of the finite verb from non-finite clauses means that they have no
distinction of person, number or modal auxiliary. That subject and finite verb form can be omitted is a hint that their meaning should be recoverable from the context. It is possible to postulate certain missing forms, normally a form of the verb BE, and a pronoun subject having the same reference as a noun or pronoun in the same sentence. Consider the following non-finite clause:
Once appointed commander, he took the measures expected of him. One might insert a pronoun subject and a form of the verb be: Once (he had been) appointed commander, he took the
measures expected of him. When no referential link can be discovered with a nominal in the context, an
indefinite subject somebody/something may be supplied: To be an administrator is to have the worst job in the
world. ("For someone to be...") A non-finite clause in which the subordinating conjunction is retained is called
an abbreviated clause. c) Verbless clauses are clauses containing no verbal element at all but nevertheless capable of being analyzed in terms of subject, object, predicative or adverbial. A verbless clause, apart from being verbless, is also (like the non-finite clause) commonly subjectless; it therefore takes the ellipsis of clause elements one stage further than the non-finite clause. Once again, the omitted finite verb can generally be assumed to be a form of the verb BE, and the subject, when omitted, can be treated as recoverable from the context,
e.g. Whether right or wrong, he always comes off worst in
argument (= whether he is right...). Verbless clauses can also, on occasion, be treated as reductions of non-finite
clauses, e.g. Too nervous to reply, he stared at the floor (= Being too nervous to
reply...)
Functional classification Subordinate clauses may perform any syntactic function within the
complex sentence: they may function as subject, object, predicative or adverbial of the main clause. On the basis of these functions, there emerges a classification
20
similar in some ways to the functional classification of smaller units (words and phrases) as noun phrases, adverbials etc. Thus, the functional organization of the complex sentence parallels that of the simple sentence: simple and complex sentences are isomorphic. But, although the functions of subordinate clauses are similar to those of the parts of the sentence, subordinate clauses cannot be identified with these parts of the sentence. By means of subordinate clauses we may express our thoughts in a more complete, detailed manner. Compare the following:
He was exhausted for want to sleep. He was exhausted because he had not slept the whole night.
���� Summing up:
• Subordination and coordination are ways of deepening and broadening grammar.
• Subordinate clauses are embedded as part of another clause.
• Subordination is signaled by an overt link (such as a subordinator) or by a non-finite verb phrase.
• Coordinate clauses are joined, with each having equal status.
• Coordination can also be used to join phrases.
• Despite prescriptive rules, coordinators are commonly used at the beginning of a turn in conversation, and at the start of a new sentence in writing.
• Ellipsis is a way of simplifying grammatical structure through omission.
• Ellipsis is common in a wide range of contexts. The missing words can usually be reconstructed from the preceding text or from the situation.
• Pronouns and other pro-forms can also reduce the length and complexity of clauses.
• Dependent clauses are subdivided into finite and non-finite clauses (whereas independent clauses are usually finite).
• Finite dependent clauses include complement, adverbial and relative clauses.
• Non-finite dependent clauses include infinitive clauses, ing-clauses, ed-clauses and verbless clauses.
• In certain circumstances, dependent clauses are used as separate units, like independent clauses.
BIBLIOGRAFIE: Bădescu, A. 1963. Gramatica limbii engleze., Bucureşti: Ed. ŞtiinŃifică. Bantaş, A.1977. Elements of Descriptive English Syntax. Bucureşti: TUB. Budai, L.1997 Gramatica engleza, Teorie şi exerciŃii , Bucureşti: Editura Teora.
21
Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. 2005. Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman. GălăŃeanu, G., Comişel, E. 1982. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed.
Didactică şi Pedagogică. Murar, I, Trantescu, A., Pisoschi, C. 2008. Descriptive English Syntax. Theory
and Practice. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Şerban, D. 1982. English Syntax, volume one, Bucureşti. Ştefănescu, I. 1978. Lectures in English Morphology. Bucureşti, TUB. Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Swartvick, J. 1972. A Grammar of
Contemporary English. London: Longman. Thomson, A., Martinet, A.1969. A Practical English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
AUTOEVALUARE :
Exercise 1. Insert the proper conjunctions, conjunctive pronouns,
conjunctive adverbs, relative pronouns or relative adverbs: 1. It was almost ten o'clock ….. we heard the sounds of wheels. 2. Don't open the door ….. the train stops. 3. Hardly had I reached the station …..... the train started. 4. ….. I had walked the whole way home, I came home late. 5. The man raised the lantern a little higher, …. he might see the stranger's face. 6. Close the window ..... the child should catch cold. 7. You speak so fast …... it is difficult to follow you. 8. We talked ….. we talked in old days. 9. A body will never change its place ….. moved, and ….. once started will move ... stopped. 10. …... you see him tell him to ring me up. 11. We have both changed …... we left school. 12. Please, write …. I dictate. 13. ….. you ask me, I will tell you. 14. This boy is taller …….. you are. 15….. breakfast was completed, there was a knock at the door. 16. .... you go past the post, will you drop these letters in ? 17. What have you been doing ….. I saw you last? 18. I shall not forget that summer ... I live. 19. There is not a man alive ... could do it half so well as you. 20. The paradox ... made everybody laugh belongs to G. B. Shaw. 21. Take such measures ... seem to you necessary. 22. The thought ... he may have fallen ill worries me. 23. They did nothing ….. he came. 24. Can you tell me ... road leads to the station? 25. I've forgotten .. she gave it to. 26. I wonder ... she married. 27. Tell him …... you think it is necessary for him to know. 28. …….. you can't type any better than this, you had better not type at all. 29. Don't go away ... I come back. Then you can go ... you like. 30. We must go, ….. it is late. 31. He acted …... he were displeased with our offer. 32. ….. the supplies arrive in time, all will go well. 33. ..... the river were not so deep, we could cross it. 34. The night was ….. dark ….. we lost our way. 35. ... she is late, shall we wait for her? 36. …... the night was pitch dark, we continued our way. 37. I saw you yesterday …... you were one block away.
22
Exercise 2. Join the sentences which make up a pair. Use both coordinating and subordinating relative words: 1. I did not recognize the hotel where I found accommodation. I asked a policeman. 2. I spoke very clearly. I didn’t speak very carefully. 3. The teacher explained the theory several times. At last we could understand. 4. A fief broke into the house. He stole some money. The lady of the house caught him. …did he give back the money… paid for the window …he had broken. 5. She advised him to go away for a week. He fell ill before the departure. 6. We will ask John to carry out his job. John couldn’t have cared less. 7. The pupil was idle about his exam preparation. He seemed not to want to pass it. 8. We had our car repaired last month. Now it doesn’t work. 9. He wants things to remain like that for some time. We should keep everything secret. 10. Have them accept the wages. We can negotiate some bonuses. 11. The prosecution intended to have him convicted for murder. The judge found him not guilty.
Exercise 3. Built sentences of your own with where and when introducing:
Subject Clauses, Predicative Clauses, Object Clauses, Attributive Clauses, Adverbial Clauses of Place, and Adverbial Clauses of Time.
Exercise 4. Finish these sentences with clauses of the kind asked for. Use the necessary conjunctions: 1. You won’t manage …. (condition) 2. She’s late … (reason) 3. They are pleased ……(concession). 4. …(time) you can stay in a hotel. 5. The bank granted him a loan …….(purpose). 6. It was such a big surprise for everybody ……. (result). 7. They returned home ……..(comparison).
23
UNIT 2. Nominal Clauses
1. Subject Clauses 2. Predicative Clauses 3. Object Clauses
Obiective: StudenŃii vor fi capabili : 1. Să identifice regulile de folosire a modurilor şi timpurilor în propozi Ńia
subiectivă. 2. Să identifice regulile de corespondenŃă a timpurilor în completiva directă. 3. Să recunoascå diferenŃele de folosire între indicativ şi subjonctiv în
propoziŃiile subiectivă şi completivă prepoziŃională.
Timp de studiu : 8 ore.
The principles of the functional classification are most clearly exhibited by the category of nominal clauses, or clauses having a function approximating to that of a noun phrase. Just as noun phrases may occur as subject, object, predicative, appositive, so every nominal clause may occur in some or all of these functions:
Subject: Whether we need it is another matter. Object: I don’t know whether we need it. Predicative: The problem is whether we need it. Appositive: That question, whether we need it, has not yet
been considered.
1. Subject Clauses The Subject Clause discharges the same role in the complex sentence as that
of a subject in a simple sentence or in a clause, i.e. the subject clause performs the function of a subject of the main clause. Compare:
Your talk was interesting. What you said was interesting.
1.1.Introductory elements. The subject clause may be introduced syndetically (by means of formal markers) or asyndetically (no markers)
a) syndetically, by means of:
- conjunctions: if, that, whether e.g. If I agree with you is another matter.
That she is still alive is a consolation. Whether he will come is doubtful.
- pronominal wh-elements: who, which, what, whoever, whatever, whichever
e.g. Who will do the job is still a question. (who has a definite meaning ‘the person who’).
24
What is worth doing is worth doing well. Whoever breaks the law deserves a fine (whoever is used with a universal meaning ‘anyone who’). In present-day English whoever has taken over, in many contexts, both
universal and definite meanings: Whoever told you that was lying (whoever = ‘the person who’, ‘anyone who’).
- adverbial wh-elements: when, where, why, how
e.g. Where he is at present still obsesses me. How the book will sell depends on the author.
b) asyndetically e.g. 'Come to see me' is what he told me on his departure.
1.2.The Position of Subject Clauses
The subject clause may have initial position (especially in literary style) or non-initial position:
e.g. Whether he will come is doubtful.
Who her mother was and how she came to die in that forlornness were questions that often pressed on
Eppie’s mind. (G.E.) That he didn’t understand was evident.
What she loved best in the world just then was riding. (J.G.) The subject clause may undergo extraposition, i.e. it is moved to the end of the
sentence. The empty NP position left after extraposition is filled by the introductory pronoun it (which becomes the normal subject of the sentence), e.g. It was evident that he didn’t understand.
It is doubtful whether he will come. The operation of extraposition generates sets of syntactic synonyms.
Sentences with the subject clause in initial position are formal in style, while those with the extraposed subject clause are informal in style and are, by far, the more common and widespread. Unlike subject clauses introduced by that which are more frequent when extraposed, those introduced by what are frequent in initial position.
1.3.Classes of words that trigger a Subject Clause
The presence of certain adjectives, nouns, verbs in the main clause requires the use of a subject clause:
a) adjectives; most of them are evaluative adjectives expressing some comment of the speaker on the state of affairs given in the clause: amazing, apparent, astonishing, bad, certain, definite, doubtful, essential,
evident, funny, good, gratifying, helpful, important, incredible, likely,
marvellous, obvious, odd, plain, possible, probable, strange, sure,
surprising, uncertain, unlikely. They occur in the pattern: IT+BE / SEEM / APPEAR + Adj. + That-Clause
25
e.g. It is strange that he did so badly. It is unlikely that he will come. That he did not have any chance was clear to anyone.
b) nouns, mostly from the same semantic field as the adjectives above: amazement, certainty, doubt, evidence, idea, miracle, mystery, pity,
problem, shame, shock, surprise, wonder, etc. They occur in the pattern: IT+ BE / SEEM + Noun +That-clause e.g. It’s a pity that you can’t join us.
It’s really a wonder that he didn’t cause a traffic accident. It’s really a mystery how he managed to raise all that money. That he could do such a thing was a shock for his mother.
c) verbs: - intransitive verbs: appear, come about, happen, seem, turn out e.g. It seems that he has changed his mind.
It so happens that I am busy throughout the week. - transitive verbs of psychological state: alarm, amaze, anger, annoy, astonish,
astound, baffle, bother, charm, comfort, displease, disgust, embarrass, frighten,
intrigue, irritate, madden, please, relieve, satisfy, surprise, tempt, etc. The Direct Object is [+ animate] and the whole sentence expresses the reaction of this animate participant to the fact reported in the subject clause.
e.g. It intrigues me that nothing better came out of it. 1.4. Constraints upon the moods and tenses in Subject Clauses:
a) the Indicative Mood is used in the Subject Clause after the adjectives: apparent, certain, clear, evident, likely, marvelous, obvious, plain, true,
and after the nouns: a fact, secret, wonder; - a Present Tense in the main clause is followed by any tense in the Subject Clause:
e.g. It is certain that he has been/ was/ will be here. It’s true that some of us haven’t got enough training. It’s certain he’s working on an experiment. It is likely that they will build a new road.
- a Past Tense in the main clause is followed by a Past Tense or a Past Perfect in the Subject Clause:
e.g. It was clear that Tom had left earlier. It was obvious that everything had been settled.
b) The Subjunctive Mood is used in the Subject Clause after: - the adjectives: appropriate, advisable, compulsory, desirable, essential,
fitting, imperative, important, inevitable, natural, necessary, normal,
obligatory, right, recommendable, urgent, vital, etc. The verb in the Subject Clause is in the Analytic Subjunctive (with the auxiliary should):
e.g. It is absolutely necessary that he should come, too. It is important that they should be announced.
26
Is it necessary that I should answer that question? (T.H.) In American English as well as in the official (juridical, political) and elevated style the Synthetic Subjunctive I (the same form as the short infinitive) is preferred:
e.g. It is absolutely necessary that they come too. It is imperative that they send the goods immediately.
- after the adjectives likely, possible, probable the verb in the Subject Clause is in the Analytic Subjunctive (may/might + Infinitive) when the sentence is in the affirmative. In the interrogative and negative the auxiliary should is used:
e.g. Is it possible that he may/might arrive tomorrow. It is probable that more visitors may visit the exhibition on Sunday. It is likely that it may rain tonight. Is it possible that he should know so little? It is not likely that we should get through our work today.
c) After words expressing psychological reactions such as the verbs alarm, amaze, irritate, the adjectives amazing, disgraceful, gratifying, odd, strange, surprising, unthinkable, the nouns pity, shame, surprise, the verb in the Subject Clause is in the Indicative Mood or in the Analytic Subjunctive: the Indicative is used when reference is made to an actually existing state of things; the Subjunctive stresses the subjective reaction, emotional attitude of the speaker (the Subjunctive is used when the idea or the feeling is emphasized).
e.g. It is surprising that he is resigning (the resignation itself is an assumed fact). It is surprising that he should resign (the very idea of his resigning is surprising). It is odd that he denies the facts. It is odd that he should deny the facts. 1.5. Reduction of Subject Clauses to Non-finite forms:
a) an infinitival phrase: the Subject clause may be reduced to a construction with a to-infinitive or a for-NP-to infinitive (it seems to be used in preference to the that-clause in both British and American English) e.g. It is wise of you to go there (cf. It is wise of you that you should go
there). It is important for both drivers and pedestrians to obey the traffic rules. (cf. It is important that both drivers and pedestrians should obey the traffic rules). It is so kind of you to have come. It is the custom for guests to be received with bread and salt in Romania. It is important for you to read the book. For a bridge to collapse like that is unbelievable.
27
When the main clause contains an intransitive verb such as appear, happen, seem, an adjective such as certain, sure, unlikely, the derived non-finite construction usually assumes the following form:
e.g. It seems that Bill has won the prize – Bill seems to have won the prize.
It is certain that Tom will carry out his intentions – Tom
is certain to carry out his intentions. The derived sentence is obtained by applying the rule of Raising: this rule moves the subject of the subordinate clause into the main clause where it becomes the subject of the sentence (a Nominative + Infinitive construction).
b) a gerundial phrase e.g. It’s no use crying over spilt milk. It’s no good your bothering about things.
It is certainly an awful nuisance having to wait another hour for the train.
Living near the office is an advantage for him.
2. Predicative Clauses The predicative clause discharges the same function in the complex sentence
as that of the predicative in a simple sentence. The link verb is in the main clause. The predicative clause together with the link verb forms a compound nominal predicate to the subject of the main clause.
2.1. Introductory elements
Having the same formal characteristics as subject clauses, predicative clauses usually share the elements that can introduce them. The predicative clause may be introduced:
a) syndetically, by means of
- conjunctions: that, whether, if, as if
e.g. The trouble is that I forgot the address. You look as if you didn’t care. (J.G.)
- pronominal wh-elements: who, what, which e.g. That was exactly what I thought.
- adverbial wh-elements: where, when, why, how e.g. Home is where your friends and family are. That is why I never call on him.
b) asyndetically: the predicative clause is separated from the main clause by a comma
e.g. The truth is, I have never heard the name before.
2.2. Classes of words that trigger a Predicative Clause
28
The predicative clause is used in sentences when the main clause consists of: a subject expressed by an abstract noun (assumption, claim, fact, idea, problem,
question, reason, statement, etc.) + a copulative verb: be, seem, look. e.g. The assumption is that things will improve. The problem is not who will go, but who will stay. She recognized that he had charm and her fear was that he had too much. (J.G.) 2.3. Sequence of tenses in Predicative Clauses
A PRESENT TENSE IN THE MAIN CLAUSE IS FOLLOWED BY ANY TENSE
IN THE PREDICATIVE CLAUSE,
e.g. The question is if they are/ were/ had been at home. A Past Tense in the main clause is followed by: Past Tense (simultaneity).
Past Perfect (anteriority), Future in the Past (subsequence), e.g. That was exactly what I thought. The alternative was that they would start at seven.
The real problem was that they would show up at four. In clauses introduced by as if Subjunctive II (Past) or III (Perfect) is used: e.g. He knew what suffering was like and this man looked as if he were suffering. (J.G.) The room looked as if it had not been lived in for years. (O.W.) 2.4. Reduction of Predicative Clauses to Non-finite forms:
A Predicative clause can be reduced to: a) an infinitival phrase e.g. His intention was to say nothing about it. b) a gerundial phrase e.g. Our main problem was finding time to do the work.
3. Object Clauses The object clause has the function of an object to the predicate of the main
clause. There are three types of object clauses: Direct Object Clauses, Indirect Object Clauses, Prepositional Object Clauses.
3.1. Direct Object Clauses The direct object clause discharges a role similar to that of a direct object in
the simple sentence, being in fact an extension of the group of words which can normally express the direct object. e.g. They know the facts.
They know that the scheme is impracticable.
3.1.1. Introductory elements: Given their function and structure so closely connected with that of other nominal clauses, i.e. subject clauses, Direct Object Clauses may be introduced in practically the same way as subject clauses: a) syndetically, by means of:
- conjunctions: that, if, whether
29
e.g. I told him that he was wrong. If and whether can introduce interrogative clauses, the result being an indirect
question or a dependent alternative question (with the correlative or). e.g. I don’t know if/ whether what shops are open.
I don’t know whether it will rain or be sunny. I don’t care if your car breaks down or not. Only whether can be directly followed by or not, e.g. I don’t care whether or not your car breaks down. But not:* I don’t care if or not your car breaks down.
- pronominal wh-elements: who, which, what, whoever, whatever
e.g. The captain decides who shall form the team. I can’t imagine what made him do it. When the wh-element is governed by a preposition, there is a choice between
constructions with the preposition in initial or final position. e.g. He couldn’t remember on which shelf he kept it (formal). He couldn’t remember which shelf he kept it on (informal).
- adverbial wh-elements: where, when, why, how
e.g. I should like to see where you live, Jon. (J.G.) Few people know how difficult the work has been.
b) asyndetically: the conjunction that is usually deleted leaving a 'zero that-clause' after verbs such as believe, hear, hope, imagine, know, remember, say,
see, suppose, tell, think, understand, that is after verbs frequently used in constructions with object clauses. The deletion of that is normal in informal speech, when the clause is brief,
e.g. I know he was wrong. I hear he is leaving. I hope you’re feeling better today. In contrast, the need for clarity forbids the omission of that in long or expanded sentences. Any parenthetic material between the verb of the main clause and the subject of the that-clause is likely to block deletion, as in the following sentence:
He had hoped, in a moment of optimism, that the committee would look favorably on our case.
The conjunction that is never used after I wish, I’d sooner, I’d rather, e.g. I wish
he were here. She wants to fly but I’d rather she went by train.
3.1.2. Classes of verbs that trigger a Direct Object Clause
The Direct Object clause is required by the following transitive verbs: accept,
acknowledge, affirm, announce, answer, appreciate, confess, declare, deduce,
demand, deny, desire, discover, doubt, dream, estimate, expect, explain, fancy,
feel, figure (out), find, forget, gather, guess, hear, imagine, imply, infer, know,
learn, like, love, observe, own, plan, postulate, predict, prefer, presume, profess,
30
pronounce, propose, prove, provide, realize, recall, reckon, recollect, recommend,
remark, state, suggest, suppose, teach, testify, think, understand, wonder, write, etc.
3.1.3. The position of Direct Object Clauses
Direct Object Clauses are usually placed after the main clause e.g. He did not quite know what she meant. (A.J.C.) Sometimes, for stylistic reasons (to render more emphatic), the Object clause
can be found in initial position e.g. I thought I saw something. What it was I don’t know. (H.G.W.) After verbs such as consider, find, make, owe, put, take, think, the Direct
Object clause is anticipated by the introductory pronoun IT. The construction occurs in three patterns. i. V + IT + That–clause,
e.g. I take it that she gives her consent. ii. V + IT + Adjective + That–clause, e.g. I think it wrong that he didn’t go there. I made it clear that I was dissatisfied. iii. V + IT + PO + That–clause, e.g. I owe it to him that I am a teacher.
3.1.4. Tenses and Moods in Direct Object Clauses
Object Clauses undergo certain changes in their form to show their dependence on the main clause, to show the temporal relation (simultaneity, anteriority, subsequence) holding between the actions of the main and subordinate clause: a) The Present, the Present Perfect in the main clause may be accompanied by
any logical tense in the Object Clause. e.g. I wonder where you found it. (H.G.W.) Don’t you understand what has happened in the country? (J.Al.) I hope it will not inconvenience you. (C.D.) I have often thought that life is short. (C.D.) Mary thinks her brother came last night. I know she has posted the letter.
I suppose he is here. She knows John will come tomorrow. The Future in the main clause may be accompanied by any logical tense (except Future) in the Object Clause. e.g. I’ll only tell what I know.
I shall try to describe what I saw there. I will tell him that I need his help tomorrow morning.
b) The Past Tense in the main clause is accompanied in the Object Clause by:
- another Past Tense for simultaneous actions or states, e.g. He did not know what tears were. (O.W.) He thought he saw the curtain move. (C.D.)
31
I supposed he was there. However, the Present instead of the Past Tense is used in the Object Clause if it expresses assertions whose validity exceeds the moment of speaking, that is assertions referring to general or universal truths, e.g. The pupils were taught that the earth is round, or assertions referring to lasting, prolonged situations, e.g. I was told that he is near sighted. I realized that he is a German.
- the Past Perfect for previous (anterior) actions or states, e.g. I knew she had posted the letter.
Mary thought her brother had come the night before. He flew back and told the prince what he had seen. (O.W.) Harris asked me if I’d ever been there (J.K.J.)
- the Future in the Past for subsequent actions or states, e.g. Everyone assumed that he would some day return. (J.Al.)
She knew John would come the following day. He predicted correctly that there was going to be a stock market crash. He called her up one day and said that he and his wife were coming to New York.
But the Future instead of the Future in the Past is used in the Object Clause if it expresses assertions whose validity exceeds the moment of speaking, that is assertions referring to general or universal truths, e.g. We were told that the atomic energy used in science shall change the face of the earth. (general truth)
���� Summing up:
Type of action Tenses in the main clause Tenses in the Object Clause
Present/ Present Perfect/ Future
Present Perfect Anteriority
Past Tense/ Past Perfect Past Perfect Present/ Present Perfect/ Future
Present Tense Simultaneity
Past Tense/ Past Perfect Past Tense Present/ Present Perfect Future
Future Present Tense
Subsequence
Past Tense/ Past Perfect Future in the Past
There are some other constraints on the moods in the Object clauses: a) When the verb in the main clause expresses a request, recommendation or
order, such as agree, arrange, ask, demand, desire, insist, move (= suggest,
32
propose), order, propose, recommend, regret, require, settle, suggest, the Subjunctive mood – the Analytic form with should in British English, or the Synthetic form (in American English or in formal style) – is employed in the Object Clause e.g. He demands that new solutions should be sought.
I insist that you should write more carefully. Mr. Dombey proposed that they should start. (C.D.) The people all over the world demand that nuclear weapons be banned. I move that the meeting adjourn (L.C.) Ivory insisted that he be present. (A.J.C.) He recommended that the article be printed. In colloquial English the verbs propose, recommend, suggest may be followed by the Indicative mood (present or past tense). that Mr. Smith should go (normal) e.g. He proposes that Mr. Smith go (AE or formal style) that Mr. Smith goes (colloquial).
b) After the verb wish in the main clause, the verb in the Object clause is in the Subjunctive Mood:
- the Synthetic Subjunctive II (coinciding in form with the simple Past Tense) is used to express regret or present unreality:
e.g. I wish he were / was here (‘I’m sorry he isn’t here’). I wish I were ten years younger. I wish Lucy was my sister. (G.E.) The verb wish in the main clause can be put into the Past Tense without changing the form of the Subjunctive in the Object Clause,
e.g. He wished he knew (‘He was sorry he didn’t know’).
- the Subjunctive II Past (coinciding in form with the Past Perfect Tense) is used to express regret for an action not performed in the past.
e.g. I wish he hadn’t gone (‘I’m sorry he went’). How I wish I had been aware. (T.H.) I wish you had not put yourself to so much trouble. (A.J.C.) The verb wish in the main clause can be put into the Past Tense without changing the form of the Subjunctive in the Object Clause: He wished he had taken her advice (‘He was sorry he hadn’t taken it’).
- the Analytic Subjunctive with the auxiliary would to express desire for a future action or a polite request:
e.g. I wish you’d come and see us oftener. (J.G.) I wish you would not talk like this, papa. (J.C.) I wish the rain would stop for a moment. (S.M.) I wish you would speak louder.
3.1.5. Reduction of Direct Object Clauses to Non-finite forms
33
a) An infinitival phrase: the finite verb in an Object Clause can be turned into an infinitive when the subject of the main clause is co-referential with that of the Object Clause e.g. I don’t know what I should do – I don’t know what to do. He was explaining how I / one should start the motor –
He was explaining how to start the motor. After verbs of mental perception such as believe, consider, feel, find, guess, judge, know, suspect, think the Direct Object clause can be transformed into an Accusative + Infinitive construction: the subject of the subordinate clause is moved, ‘raised’ into the main sentence where it becomes the Direct Object of the sentence: e.g. I consider that he is a very sensible man. – I consider
him to be a very sensible man. I thought that he was an excellent choice. - I thought him to be an excellent choice. The choice of the that- clause or the infinitive construction (Accusative + Infinitive) – with or without be-deletion – depends on semantic factors and to a certain extent on stylistic ones, that- clauses being preferred in informal style and Infinitive constructions in more formal language. e.g. I consider that he is clever – I consider him (to be) clever. With verbs of physical perception – feel, hear, notice, see, watch – the infinitive construction is acceptable only when the verbs refer to immediate physical perception; when they refer to mental perception a that-clause should be used. Compare I saw that he hit the cat – I saw him hit the cat. (saw- physical perception) I saw / felt that he disliked the cat – *I saw him dislike the cat. (saw - mental perception) For a number of verbs – offer, promise, swear, threaten, vow – the infinitive constructions are possible only if there is identity of the two subjects. Compare: He1 promised me that he1 would get (me) the money to get the money. He promised me that I would get the money * to get the money In the second pair of sentences *He promised me to get the money the reduction to an infinitive construction is not possible because the subject of the subordinate clause should be co-referential with the subject of the main clause and not with the object of the verb promise.
b) a gerundial phrase: e.g. He admitted that he had made the same mistake again
– He admitted having made the same mistake again.
Do you mind my / me making a suggestion?
34
I don’t like his ringing us up so often.
3.2. Indirect Object Clauses Indirect Object Clauses are an extension on the plane of the complex
sentence of an indirect object in a simple sentence. Indirect object clauses are introduced by relative conjunctive pronouns:
who(m), what, whoever, who(m)ever, whatever, whichever governed by the preposition to:
e.g. He told the story to whoever would listen. Give the ticket to who(m)ever you like. He gave the wrong interpretation to what(ever) I said. 3.3. Prepositional Object Clauses Prepositional Object Clauses discharge the same function as prepositional
objects in simple sentences, therefore occurring after a number of prepositions which are required by certain verbs.
3.3.1. Introductory elements:
- conjunctions: that, whether
e.g. It all depends on whether he will come or not.
- pronominal wh-elements: who/whom, what, whoever/ whomever, whatever, whichever, e.g. They couldn’t agree on who should tell him the bad news. They were interested in what he was saying. Think of what you are doing. Don’t place too much confidence in whoever flatters you. They all laughed at what she said.
- adverbial wh-elements: when, where, why, how e.g. There are many theories as to why the partridge is disappearing.
It all depends on how you are feeling. The deletion of the preposition The preposition is always omitted when the clause is introduced by the
conjunction that:
- intransitive verbs such as admit of, complain of, decide on, depend on, hope for, insist upon, worry about, etc., take a prepositional object in free variation with a that-clause,
e.g. He complained of unfair treatment – He complained that he had been treated unfairly.
The preposition is not deleted if the Object that-clause is anticipated by the empty pronoun it, e.g. Depend upon it that there is some mistake. (J.A.) He insisted upon it that I was wrong.
35
- there is a large group of transitive verbs that combine with a Direct Object (usually expressed by a [+ animate] NP) and a Prepositional Object; the latter alternates with a that-clause: advise NP of, assure NP of, convince
NP of, inform NP of, notify NP of, persuade NP of, warn NP of/against,
etc.
e.g. He informed her of our willingness to help. He informed the manager that he was willing to work overtime.
3.3.2. Tenses and Moods in Prepositional Object Clauses
In Prepositional Object Clauses the rules concerning the sequence of tenses are applied
that he was right. e.g.We agreed upon it that there had been a misunderstanding.
that he would apologize. When the verb in the main clause expresses a psychological state (be
sorry/surprised/astonished/amazed/disappointed) the verb in the subordinate clause is either in the Indicative Mood or in the Analytic Subjunctive (with should). The Indicative Mood suggests that the whole sentence is a statement of fact (a report of a reaction or evaluation) while the Subjunctive Mood stresses the subjective reaction of the speaker.
e.g. I am surprised that your wife objects. I am surprised that your wife should object.
Thus, after these constructions in the present tense, we can have a) Present Indicative or should + Infinitive for simultaneous actions:
I’m amazed that he comes here in June. that he should come
b) Present Perfect/Past Tense or should + Perfect Infinitive to express an anterior action: I’m amazed that he has come/came.
that he should have come. If the verb in the main clause is in the Past we have in the Prepositional
Object Clause: a) Past Tense or should + Infinitive for simultaneity:
I was amazed that he came in June. he should come
b) Past Perfect or should + Perfect Infinitive for anteriority: I was amazed that he had come in June.
he should have come I was sorry she had changed her job.
she should have changed In all these cases, the difference between the sentences with the Subjunctive and those with the Indicative is the difference conveyed by the two moods: Subjunctive and Indicative. In the forms with the Subjunctive the very idea is
36
stressed, the evaluation of a possible event, while in the forms with the Indicative the actual fact is expressed (the description of a real, actual event).
3.3.3. Reduction of Prepositional Object Clauses to Non-finite forms
A Prepositional Object Clause may be reduced to a gerundial phrase:
- a simple construction when the subject of the main clause is co-referential with that of the Prepositional clause.
e.g. I am tired of being treated like a child. He insisted on seeing you.
- a complex construction: the subject of the subordinate clause assumes the form of the genitive or the object case (in informal style), e.g. I’m surprised at his/ John’s making that mistake. I’m surprised at him/ John making that mistake.
���� Summing up: • The most common type of that-clause is post-predicate. Its typical
function is reporting the thoughts and speech of humans. • Each of the other type of that-clauses has particular functions in
discourse also. • Mental verbs and speech act/communication verbs are the most
common type of verb with a that- clause. • Subject-position and extraposed that-clauses are much less common
than post-predicate that-clauses. • For verbs, only be is common controlling extraposed that-clauses. • The adjectives that control that-clauses all convey stance. • Extraposed that-clauses are far more common than subject that-
clauses. • Factors associated with the retention or omission of the that-
complementizer include register, the main clause verb, and certain characteristics of the subjects in the main clause and that-clause.
BIBLIOGRAFIE: Bădescu, A.. 1963. Gramatica limbii engleze., Bucureşti : Ed. Stiintifica. Bantaş, A.1977. Elements of Descriptive English Syntax. Bucureşti: TUB. Budai, L.1997 Gramatica engleza, Teorie si exercitii, Bucureşti: Editura Teora. Biber,D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. 2005. Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London:Longman. GălăŃeanu, G., Comişel, E. 1982. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed.
Didactică şi pedagogică. Murar I, Trantescu A., Pisoschi, C. 2008. Descriptive English Syntax.Theory and
Practice. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Şerban D. 1982. English Syntax, volume one, Bucureşti.
37
Ştefănescu, I.. 1978. Lectures in English Morphology. Bucureşti, TUB. Quirk R., Greenbaum S., Leech G., Swartvick J. 1972. A Grammar of
Contemporary English. London: Longman. Thomson A., Martinet A.1969. A Practical English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
AUTOEVALUARE: Exercise 1. Identify the subordinate clauses and their grammatical function: 1. She confesses her love story to whoever is about. 2. Their marriage depends on whether their parents are willing to help them. 3. They’re not sure whether she’ll be successful with her new part. 4. The team knew that their chances were scanty and God only could still work
miracles. 5. Never has she paid attention to whatever he says. 6. The kid always tells lies to whoever he meets on his way back home. 7. She was told that solitude was hard to stand for people like her. 8. I’m afraid she’s unhappy. 9. That he left town no one knew. 10. He could hardly know what he was talking about. 11. He’s glad she’s here. 12. They are such pious people that they give food and money to whoever comes
to their place. 13. They were not certain that she would accept their suggestion. 14. His men told us that he was in the hands of a savage tribe. 15. The question is where she made such a deep impression.
Exercise 2. Complete the following sentences supplying subject, object or predicative clauses: 1. I’d like to know ………………………. 2. I’m not sure ………………………. 3. Tell me where ……………………. . 4. She didn’t tell me why ……….…… . 5. I can’t explain how ………………………….………. . 6. It all depends on how …………….......….. . 7. He suggested that …………………….. . 8. He is certain ….......…………………… . 9. I wondered ……………………… . 10. My friend insisted …...............……. . 11. I don’t care …………………………. . 12. The captain ordered ……………... 13. She was uncertain …………..………. . 14. I’m glad …………………… . 15. He dreamed …………….……… . 16. It seems that ………………………………....……. . 17. What ……………………… surprised everybody. 18. Where ……………..…… is unknown. 19. We did not realize that ……………………. . 20. The question is how …………..…………… . 21. How …………………………. is what puzzles me more.
38
Exercise 3. Rewrite each of the following sentences with that clauses starting with the words given: 1. People have completely different opinions about this phenomenon. That is my
experience. It’s ………………………………………………….…………………………..
2. We may get there in time. It’s certainly possible. It’s ……………………………………………………………………………..
3. My husband completely forgot about my birthday which upset me. The fact …………………………………………………………………………
4. New members have to buy the first round. It’s an old tradition. It’s ………………………………………………………………………..……..
5. The new manager would make radical changes. That is what people believed. It ………………………………………………………………………………..
6. She still believes in Santa Claus, which I find ridiculous. I find it …………………………………………………………………...……..
7. They will finish in time. That was their answer. Their …………………………………………………………………...……….
8. The company runs at a loss. That is the truth. The truth ………………………………………………………………….…….
Exercise 4. In each group below, cross out any sentences that are not correct: 1. a. Paul gave the impression that he hates pop music.
b. That he hates pop music is well known. c. He was talking about that he hates pop music. d. The thing is that he hates pop music. e. She was certain that he hates pop music. f. He explained that he hates pop music. g. The thing that he hates is pop music.
2. a. He explained that he had been held up.
b. She excused that she was late. c. That he was late was really inexcusable. d. His excuse that he got lost in the crowded town was not accepted. e. It wasn’t that surprising that she was late. f. The fact of the matter was they were both late. g. The fact that neither was on time for the meeting was extremely annoying.
Exercise 5. Translate into English: 1. Ne-a spus că trenul va întârzia cu o jumătate de oră din cauza furtunii. 2. Ştiam că nu este în stare de nimic şi nu se poate întreŃine singur. 3. Nu cred că va ieşi curând din această încurcătură în care s-a băgat singur. 4. Îmi dau seama că am greşit mult, având încredere în acei oameni. 5. Încă de pe atunci ştia că apa fierbe
39
la o sută de grade. 6. Mi-a răspuns că nu este în măsură să ne dea nici o explicaŃie pentru ceea ce s-a întâmplat şi a refuzat să facă orice alt comentariu. 7. Insistară ca vasul să fie încărcat imediat. 8. Ştiu că nu e un om pe care îl poŃi înşela uşor. 9. ÎŃi sugerez să te mai gândeşti înainte de a lua o hotărâre. 10. Au cerut creşterea salariilor şi o primă de Crăciun. 11. Te sfătuiesc să-şi păstrezi impresiile pentru tine. 12. Problema era că nu luase în considerare toate detaliile. 13. I-am sugerat să-şi găsească altă slujbă dar nu m-a luat în seamă. 14. Eram surprinsă că ei se comportă astfel.
Exercise 6. Complete the sentences with a noun clause and state the function of the clause you have added.
1. He said that he ……………..........................……….. . 2. The fact ………………………… is now generally known. 3. My brother rarely succeeds in achieving what ……………….. . 4. What ………………………….. is of a direct concern to everybody. 5. I wanted to discover how ………….......……......……………… . 6. The man told his wife where ………………………....……… . 7. What …………………….. is less important then what you do. 8. I asked the doctor if …………………….................…………….. 9. The lawyer deplored the fact …………......………………....…… 10. It is clear that ……………………………………...............………. 11. It was generally agreed that …………………………..........……. 12. His argument is that …………………………….........…………… 13. Your idea that ………………………….. will probably prove very
unpopular. 14. It seems that …………........................................……………….. 15. That ………………………………. is almost unconceivable. 16. Is it true that …………….............................………………….. ? 17. Exactly how ………………..............……. will never be known. 18. He then remembered why ……….................………………… .
40
UNIT 3. Relative-Attributive Clauses
1. Restrictive/Defining Relative Clauses 2. Non-Restrictive/Non-Defining Relative Clauses 3. Appositive Attributive Clauses 4. Introductory Emphatic Sentences (Cleft Sentences)
Obiective: StudenŃii vor fi capabili:
1. Să recunoască elementele introductive ale propoziŃiilor relative. 2. Să recunoască caracteristicile propoziŃiilor relative restrictive şi
descriptive. 3. Să reducă o propoziŃie relativă la o construcŃie impersonală.
Timp de studiu: 4 ore.
Relative clauses act as modifiers of NPs. They are therefore functionally parallel to attributive adjectives or phrases. Compare:
People who speak English. – English speaking people.
There are two types of relative clauses: those which are essential to the meaning of the sentence (Restrictive Relative Clauses) and those which merely add some information (Non-restrictive Relative Clauses).
1. Restrictive/ Defining Relative Clauses A Restrictive Relative Clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence because it helps to identify the subject or another nominal part of the sentence – the antecedent – and, therefore, cannot be omitted without losing the clarity of the sentence.
1.1. Introductory elements:
- relative pronouns: who, which, that, as e.g. My brother who lives at Leeds is younger than my brother
who lives in London. This is the picture which caused such a sensation.
The bus that goes to the station stops at this corner. He gave me the same answer as he had given the day before. - wh-adverbs: where, when, why can replace the relative pronouns, as in the following examples: e.g. The store in which I buy groceries is across the street.
The store where I buy groceries is across the street.
Sunday is the day on which we usually watch TV. Sunday is the day when we usually watch TV.
41
The selection of the relative pronoun
Relative pronouns are not interchangeable in general; which specific relative pronoun is used depends on several factors:
- the selectional features of the antecedent and of the replaced noun; - the syntactic function of the replaced noun; - certain other features such as particular syntactic combinations, euphony. The selectional features of the antecedent
The choice of the introductory element (who, which, or that) depends on the following features of the antecedent:
[±human]: who is selected for [+human] nouns, which stands for [–human],
while that for [±human]. e.g. The man whom / that I knew no longer works here.
The car which / that I hired broke down after five miles.
[±definite]: that is preferred when the antecedent is determined by a superlative, an ordinal numeral or when the antecedent is expressed by an indefinite pronoun (all, everything, nothing, anybody, anything).
e.g. It was the hottest place that I had ever been in. (J.K.J.) Was there anybody that they thought would suit? (C.D.) All that glitters is not gold.
Which was the first steamship that crossed the Atlantic?
The syntactic function
Syntactically, who and which can be used for the three functions subject (who,
which), object (whom, which), possessive (whose, of which); that can express two functions only: subject and object; it cannot be preceded by a preposition.
e.g. This is the man who told us about it (subject). I don’t like the people whom you invited to the party (object). The voice that spoke was cold and cruel. (O.W.) (subject)
When she sees the damage that you have done she will be furious. He is a man whose judgement you can trust (possessive). The house whose windows are broken is unoccupied.
The form whose is extensively used with a possessive value to refer to a [-human] antecedent as well. Not all writers are happy about using whose when the antecedent is [–human], while the form of which sounds rather formal: The house
the windows of which is broken is unoccupied. That is why, some grammarians (see Hornby, A Guide to patterns and Usage in
English, p. 170), suggest that in such cases it is preferable to avoid the use of whose and of which and to resort to a prepositional phrase that takes the place of the clause, e.g. The house with broken windows is unoccupied.
Euphony
Euphony can play a role in the choice of the relative pronouns. Thus, that is preferred after interrogatives and exclamatory who, though not necessarily if the
42
relative is separated from the antecedent. Similarly, the demonstrative pronoun that tends to be followed by which rather than that,
e.g. Who that ever came into personal contact with him could help loving
him?
Who was it now that/ who had done that?
I use the word not in the present state but in that which it had in the 17th century.
1.2. Asyndetic Relative Clauses
In spoken English many relative clauses are introduced asyndetically, which can be interpreted as an ellipsis of the relative pronoun. Such clauses introduced asyndetically are sometimes called contact or unconnected relative clauses. The deletion of the relative pronoun depends on its function in the sentence. The pronoun can be deleted when it discharges the function of:
- direct object, e.g. The lawyer (whom) I consulted gave me some useful advice. The book (which) I lent you belongs to my brother.
That’s all I know.
The room I shared with lieutenant Rinaldi looked out on the
courtyard. (E.H.) I devoured the books they lent me. (C.B.)
If there is anything I can do for you I’m always at your service.(J.G.) - indirect or prepositional object: deletion is possible if the preposition is moved to the end of the sentence. e.g. Who is the man to whom you are talking? – Who is the man you were
talking to?
This is the book about which I was telling you – This is the book I was telling you about.
This is the hotel in which I stayed last month. - This is the hotel I stayed in last month.
There are cases when it is not possible to move the preposition to the end of the sentence. This is particularly true of the prepositions which are felt as being derived from other parts of speech such as round, during, concerning, regarding, except.
e.g. This is the plan regarding which he called her – *This is the plan
(which) he called her regarding. The preposition cannot be moved to the end of the sentence when the antecedent is expressed by a very abstract noun, such as time, place, manner, e.g. That is the day on which he left – *That is the day (which) he left on. Alternatively, if that is used – and this is by far more common case – the preposition is dropped; the relative pronoun that is also dropped more often than not. e.g. This was the day (that) he left.
The sea was very rough the day we crossed the Channel.
43
That’s not the way I do it (cf. The way in which I do). The reason he comes here is unknown (cf. The reason for which he comes here is unknown).
Alternatively, words denoting place, time, reason (not manner) can be followed by corresponding relative adverbs (where, when, why). e.g. This was the place where he went.
This was the time when he arrived. This was the reason why he did it. After words denoting manner (way) that is used: This was the way that he did it.
- the relative pronoun cannot be omitted when it is subject e.g. The man who told me this refused to give his name.
Nevertheless, the relative pronoun functioning as subject may be deleted in sentences opening with it is, there is. The ellipsis of the relative pronoun was very frequent in Middle and Early Modern English. Nowadays it is a feature of colloquial and careless speech:
e.g. There’s two or three of us (−) have seen strange sights.(W.S.) There’s somebody wants to see you. This is the only one there is (cf. This is the only one that exists). R.Quirk et al (1972: 867) give a summary of the introductory elements
(syndetic and asyndetic) of the Restrictive Relative Clauses: The man who / that stayed in the new hotel. The table that / which stayed in the new hotel. The man whom / that / Ø / I saw. The table that / Ø / which I saw.
The man at whom I glanced. The table at which I glanced. The place where / at which / that / Ø I tried out the new car. The time at which / that / Ø / when I tried out the new car. The reason why / that / Ø I tried out the new car. The way that / Ø / in which I tried out the new car. 1.3. Transformations involving Restrictive Relative Clauses
Relative Clauses constitute an important source for other modifiers (premodifying and postmodifying constructions): what happens is that finite relative clauses are turned into non-finite clauses or prepositional phrases, going through a process of partial nominalization whereby they obligatorily lose the tense constituent and optionally the aspect constituent.
44
a) Adjectives: Restrictive Relative Clauses may be condensed through ellipsis to the form of an adjective,
e.g. Plays which are controversies – Controversial plays. We apply Relative Clause reduction (i.e. the reduction of the relative pronoun + auxiliary), e.g. Plays controversial and then a rule called Modifier Shift, which moves the adjective in pre-nominal position, e.g. Controversial plays. b) Prepositional phrases: Prepositional phrases are derived from Relative Clauses and represent a very common type of NP postmodification. The full range of prepositions is involved:
e.g. Passengers who are on board this ship – Passengers on board this ship. A man who has a tall hat on. – A man with a tall hat on. The girl who is near Fred. – The girl near Fred.
I asked for the best book on the subject (cf. I asked for the best book that can be found on the subject)
c) Non-finite forms: -ing participles: when the verb of the finite Relative Clause is in the continuous aspect, both the relative pronoun and the auxiliary be are omitted:
e.g. The man who is waiting in the hall is a friend of mine –
The man waiting in the hall is a friend of mine. But -ing in postmodifiers is not always a reduction of a continuous form: there are a large number of cases where an -ing postmodifier cannot correspond to a continuous form in the Relative Clause. Thus, stative verbs which cannot have the progressive in the finite verb phrase, can, nevertheless, appear in -ing postmodifiers.
e.g. Anyone who wishes to leave early may do so – Anyone wishing to leave early may do so.
He is talking to a girl resembling Jane (cf. ...who resembles Jane; ... *who is resembling Jane).
-ed participles: when the verb in the Relative Clause is in the passive voice the relative pronoun and the finite form of be are usually omitted
e.g. The goods that were ordered last month have not arrived yet. - The
goods ordered last month have not arrived yet.
All the coins (which were) found on this site must be handed to the
police. - infinitives : are also obtained from the reduction of a Relative Clause especially when the antecedent is determined by superlatives, ordinal numerals, or when the Relative Clause contains modal verbs,
e.g. The last man who left the ship was the skipper →
The last man to leave the ship was the skipper.
The Romans were the first who made coloured glass →
The Romans were the first to make coloured glass. The procedure which must / should be followed →
The procedure to be followed.
45
The antecedent need not be the subject of the Relative Clause, it may be its direct or even its prepositional object, so that the infinitive clause has a distinct subject expressed in the surface structure (introduced by for).
e.g. A place that we should visit – A place for us to visit – A place to visit. If the relative pronoun is a prepositional object and the preposition precedes
the pronoun, it is possible to retain the relative in the infinitival modifier. e.g. This is a convenient tool with which you can work –
This is a convenient tool with which to work. - This is a convenient tool to work with.
1.4. Sequence of tenses in Restrictive Relative Clauses: Restrictive Relative Clauses allow freedom of general logic to govern the tenses, without any influence of the tense constraints, e.g.
For she sang of the Love that dies not in the tomb. (O.W.) But the bolts I had screwed up some days before
stopped him. (H.G.W.) Next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in
place of those you have given away. (O.W.)
2. Non-restrictive/Non-defining Relative Clauses
Non-restrictive (or Non-defining) Relative Clauses are not essential to the meaning of the sentence: the clauses give additional, but not essential information. Unlike Restrictive Relative Clauses, they can be omitted without causing confusion. Also unlike Restrictive Clauses they are placed between commas or dashes. Non-restrictive clauses are far less common than restrictive clauses. They are found in formal writing, but seldom in speech.
e.g. Your student, whose name I can never remember, has just come. Given that a Non-restrictive Relative Clause makes an additional assertion, it is plausible to assume that Non-restrictive Relative Clauses are derived from coordinated sentences. The evidence in support of this derivation of Non-restrictive Relative Clauses is their synonymy with coordinated sentences
e.g. Even John, who is a friend of mine, left early – Even
John left early and he is a friend of mine.
2.1. Introductory elements of Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses
Non-restrictive Relative Clauses are introduced by: - relative pronouns: who, which. These pronouns are distributed according
to the features of the antecedent: who for [+animate] antecedents, which for [–animate] antecedents.
e.g. John, who is going 16, wants to become an actor.
The Shannon, which is the largest river in the British Isles, rises in the North of Ireland and flows to the Atlantic.
46
Syntactically, the pronouns can be used to express the functions of subject (who, which), object (whom, which), possessive (whose, of which), e.g.
Jane Austen, whom the English regard as one of their greatest novelists, seldom moved far from her native village.
This pen, which I bought two months ago, leaks badly.
Mr. Green, whose wife teaches English, is himself a teacher of
English.
This encyclopedia, of which the second volume (or: the second volume of which) is missing, is out of date.
- adverbs: where, when, e.g. Waterloo, where Wellington defeated Napoleon, is a small village near
Brussels.
In those days, when steam engine was unknown, textile mills were
worked by the water of the rivers.
Unlike Restrictive Relative Clauses, Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses cannot be introduced asyndetically, i.e. the relative pronoun cannot be omitted.
2.2. Sentential Relative Clauses
A Non-Restrictive Relative Clause may refer not to a single noun as antecedent but to a whole clause or sentence. Sentential Relative Clauses are introduced by which (in such cases the relative pronoun may be equivalent to 'and this', 'and it').
e.g. He has to work on Sundays, which (= and this) he does not like. He missed the train, which annoyed him very much. After that things improved, which surprised me.
3. Appositive Attributive Clauses
The Appositive Attributive Clause conveys more or less essential information being appended to a non-significant, semantically irrelevant noun such as assumption, belief, doubt, fact, feeling, idea, impression, notion, opinion, problem, question, reason, thought.
3.1. Introductory elements:
- conjunctions: that, whether, if, e.g. There is no denying the fact that he has made great progress lately.
Your assumption that things will improve is unfounded.
Harry was alarmed at the notion that his friend was about to leave him. (W.M.T.)
The similarity to Restrictive Relative Clauses can sometimes cause ambiguity, since that can function as either a relative pronoun or a conjunction. Consider the following sentence: A report that he stole was ultimately sent to the police.
47
In this sentence two readings are possible depending on the possibility of interpreting the antecedent report as a concrete object or as an abstract one: in one interpretation that he stole is a Restrictive Relative Clause (‘a report/book which he stole’), in another that he stole is appositive (‘the report/ rumour was’).
- adverbs: where, when, why, how, e.g. I have no idea where you can find her. My original question why he did it at all has not been answered.
I have not the faintest notion when he’ll come. Appositive attributive clauses are never joined asyndetically.
3.2. Mood constraints in Appositive Clauses
After the nouns recommendation, demand, request, suggestion, wish, the Analytic Subjunctive (expressed by should) is used in the Appositive clause:
e.g. His suggestion that we should go to the cinema was accepted.
The thought that his adored daughter should learn of that old scandal hurt his pride too much. (J.G.) The demand that pupils should be grounded in the reading and writing of English led Edinburgh to the establishment of preparatory schools.
His recommendation that the patients should take this medicine was
strictly followed.
3.3. Non-finite forms: an infinitival phrase, e.g. My ambition to be an actor has never been fulfilled.
4. Introductory Emphatic Sentences (Cleft Sentences)
An Introductory Emphatic Sentence (or Cleft Sentence) is a special construction which gives emphasis (focal and thematic prominence) to a particular element of the sentence. It is made up of two parts:
- a main clause introduced by the empty pronoun IT (‘introductory emphatic IT’) + the verb BE (usually in the Present or Past singular) + the element on which the focus/emphasis falls;
- a Restrictive Relative Clause introduced by the pronoun who, which, sometimes that or introduced asyndetically. The pattern is:
IT + BE + FOCAL/EMPHASIZED ELEMENT + RELATIVE CLAUS E This construction may emphasize any part of the sentence except the predicate (which is emphasized by means of the verb to do): - Subject as focus:
It was she who stopped the car.(J.G.) Old Jolyon spoke: it was he who had started the discussion. (J.G.) But it is not I altogether that am to blame. (T.H.) It is not improvements which are necessary but a complete revolution.
- Object as focus: It is not only the famous men whom we honour. You are wrong; it’s not Sarah I hate.
48
- Adverbial as focus: When the prepositional object or the adverbial modifier (expressed by a noun or pronoun with a preposition, adverb, etc.) is given emphasis, the subordinate clause is introduced by that.
e.g. It was in his dealings with children that the best side of his personality
manifested. (J.G.) (prepositional object) It was on the beach, close down by the sea, that I found them. (C.D.)
(adverbial modifier of place) It was only the following morning that she noticed the disappearance of
that photograph. (J.G.) (adverbial modifier of time).
���� Summing-up: • Relative clauses are classified into two main types by their function:
restrictive, helping to identify the reference of the head noun, and non-restrictive, adding descriptive details about the head noun.
• In general, restrictive relative clauses are more common than non-restrictive.
• The most common relativizers are: which, who, and that. • In some cases, the relativizer can be omitted altogether, although its
meaning is still implied. This is referred to as the zero relativizer. • Some relativizers (such as which and that) are similar in their
potential uses, but there are differences in their actual patterns of use.
BIBLIOGRAFIE: Bădescu, A. 1963. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti : Ed. Stiintifica. Bantaş, A. 1977. Elements of Descriptive English Syntax. Bucureşti: TUB. Budai, L. 1997. Gramatica engleza, Teorie si exercitii, Bucureşti: Editura Teora. Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. 2005. Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman. GălăŃeanu, G., Comişel, E. 1982. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed.
Didactică şi Pedagogică. Murar I., Trantescu, A., Pisoschi, C. 2008. Descriptive English Syntax.Theory and
Practice. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Şerban, D. 1982. English Syntax, volume one, Bucureşti. Ştefănescu, I. 1978.Lectures in English Morphology. Bucureşti: TUB.. Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Swartvick, J. 1972. A Grammar of
Contemporary English. London: Longman. Thomson, A., Martinet, A.1969. A Practical English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
49
AUTOEVALUARE :
Exercise 1. Join the following pairs of sentences and state whether you
have written defining or non-defining clauses. (Both are possible in several cases): 1. I have read all his books. They are about the sea. 2. He has written some books about the sea. I have read them all. 3. You will marry a certain man. He will be tall, dark and handsome. 4. Is that book interesting? I mean the one Joanna gave you. 5. Tokyo has a low crime rate. It is, incidentally, one of the largest cities in the
world. 6. She trusted only one man. He was called Hector. 7. Some people can live happily alone. He envied them. 8. Let us raise our glasses to a man. From his early efforts this large business has
grown. 9. That man will return to Egypt. He has drunk the waters of the Nile. 10. My uncle was called a coward. He had served bravely in the war.
Exercise 2. Identify and analyse the attributive clauses: 1. The man I spoke to yesterday continued to complain about burying his life in
this part of the country. 2. His wife, to whom he has been married for about three months, refused to
come with him. 3. The reason why he crept between the two bushes so as to reach the hollow
linden-tree remained unknown to her. 4. He had no idea of what his elder brother had decided to do with his old bike
when he came back from his holiday. 5. I lost my purse on the same street as you did. 6. He was the last person to follow them on their way to that dangerous region. 7. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what to do next. 8. They knew nothing about the source whence the money was coming. 9. A very important aspect, that they would never accept her proposition, should
have been considered. 10. Everybody says that he is very stubborn, a fact which surprised nobody. 11. The question whether the suggestion was to be accepted or not interests all the
members of the staff. 12. He gave a stupid answer, which fact annoyed his parents.
Exercise 3. Translate into English: a) 1. Răspunse dând din cap, ceea ce era nostim pentru el. 2. Ea este femeia pentru care el a acceptat oferta. 3. Terasa pe care se îngrămădea lumea să vadă spectacolul dădea spre parcul de
distracŃii.
50
4. Scorpia de femeie pe care avea s-o suporte ani la rând era sora vecinei lui. 5. Aceea a fost ziua în care s-a hotărât totul. 6. Întrebarea de ce unii vin la serbare prea devreme sau prea târziu e inutilă. b) O luam atunci înapoi spre casă şi, ducând în braŃe minunata povară, aveam sentimentul că în realitate sunt un om fericit şi că suferinŃa mea e o iluzie, o himeră pe care ar trebui s-o alunge; puteam trăi astfel o mie de ani şi muri liniştit. Altceva, o bucurie mai mare nu există pe pământ, restul e nerozie. Acasă, însă, ne întâmpina mama ei, care mi-o smulgea literalmente din braŃe şi punea stăpânire pe ea: că n-am văzut că fetiŃa a obosit? Ce, am de gând s-o omor, aşa cum i-am spus când am auzit că e însărcinată cu ea? Cred eu că a uitat sau că o să uite vreodată aceste cuvinte? O să i le spună fetiŃei când s-o face mare, să ştie şi ea ce tată a avut şi cât de mult a dorit el să vie pe lume. Aveam atunci sentimental net că ea ghicea că sunt fericit şi vroia să nu fiu şi avea şi puterea s-o facă. De ce? mă întrebam. Ce rău îi făcusem? Totul se întuneca, nimic nu mai avea înŃeles şi valul de singurătate urca iarăşi în mine cu o putere parcă mai mare.
(Marin Preda, Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni)
51
UNIT 4. Adverbial Clauses I
1. Adverbial Clauses of Time 2. Adverbial Clauses of Place 3. Adverbial Clauses of Manner 4. Adverbial Clauses of Comparison
Obiective: StudenŃii vor fi capabili: 1. Să identifice cicumstantialele de timp, loc, mod şi de comparatie si sa
foloseasca aceste structuri in exemple pertinente. 2. Să cunoască folosirea corectă a timpurilor în subordonata temporală. 3. Să cunoască regulile de folosire a timpurilor şi modurilor în
circumstanŃiala de comparatie.
Timp de studiu : 5 ore.
Adverbial clauses may be placed in various semantic categories such as place, time, manner, etc. These categories may be related to those for adverbial phrases in general and for prepositional phrases at the level of the simple sentence. Adverbial clauses are often commutable with prepositional phrases. Compare:
Because the soloist was ill they cancelled the concert.
Because of the soloist’s illness they cancelled the concert. Adverbial clauses, like adverbials in general, are capable of occurring in a final, initial or medial position within the main clause (generally in that order of frequency).
1. Adverbial Clauses of Time
The adverbial clause of time discharges the same function as the adverbial modifier of time at the level of the simple sentence.
1.1.Introductory elements Adverbial clauses of time may be introduced by a number of connective
adverbs and conjunctions: after, as, before, once, since, till, until, when,
whenever, whereas, while; as soon as, as/so long as, directly (that), hardly...when,
scarcely...when, no sooner...than. e.g. When the cat is away the mice will play. (Proverb)
After she had finished her shopping she went to a snack-bar.
Buy your tickets as soon as you can. He sang as he worked. They ask for help whenever they need. I was reading while my brother was watching TV.
52
So long as you are happy, I don’t mind.
He recognized me directly he saw me. You can go now (that) you’ve finished. I will have done my homework by the time you come.
With till/until a dynamic verb in the main clause often has to be accompanied by a negative word:
e.g. He didn’t start to read until he was 10 years old. (in the negative sentence not...until means the same as not...before).
1.2. Sequence of Tenses in Adverbial Clauses of Time
Adverbial clauses of time are subject to many constraints as part of the set of rules called the sequence of tenses, which can be summarized as follows: a) parallel (simultaneous) actions: the action of the verb in the temporal clause
occurs at the same time or during the action of the verb in the main clause. The parallel actions are indicated by: - the Present Tense or the Past Tense in the main clause followed by the
same tense – Present or Past – in the temporal clause, e.g. He comes here when (ever) he likes.
When I have some days off I go to the mountains.
He came here when(ever) he felt like it. And the Giant’s heart melted as he looked out of the window. (O.W.) When I left for school this morning it was raining hard.
He was writing a letter when his friend rang him up. - the Future Tense in the main clause is followed by the Present Tense in
the temporal clause: e.g. I shall wait till the spring comes and then I shall pay him a visit. (O.W.)
You will change your tone when you hear what has happened. (G.B.S.) He will come here when(ever) he thinks fit to do so.
- the Future in the Past is followed by the Past Tense in the temporal clause, e.g.
He said he would come when he could. I told you I would call on you when I had some spare time.
b) Anterior (Prior) actions: the action of the verb of the temporal clause takes place before that of the main clause. Anterior actions are indicated by: - the Present or the Future Tense in the main clause is followed by the
Present Perfect in the temporal clause, e.g. You cannot stay here after what you have just said about my future
husband. (G.B.S.) You will speak when I have done. We’ll go to the pictures when we have finished our work.
- the Past Tense in the main clause is followed by the Past Perfect in the temporal clause, e.g. The children were sent to bed when they had finished
their meal. (J.Al.)
53
When he had sealed and stamped the envelope he went back to the
window. (J.G.) After they had bought their tickets they entered the opera-hall and
looked for their seats. The Past Tense may be used instead of the Past Perfect in temporal clauses introduced by after, till, until if anteriority results from the context:
e.g. He didn’t leave until he (had) received a definite answer.
He rang up all his friends after he (had) returned from his trip. After the Romans had gone/went away from Britain, the Anglo-
Saxons crossed the North Sea and landed there.
- the Future in the Past is followed by the Past Perfect in temporal clauses, e.g. He promised he would come as soon as he had finished his work. I told him that I would leave as soon as I had got my diploma.
- the Present Perfect in the main clause is followed by the Past Tense in temporal clauses introduced by since: e.g. They have moved house three times since they got married.
I have been walking to work since my car broke down. I haven’t seen him since he left school.
When the two actions are parallel, the Present Perfect is employed in temporal clauses,
e.g. I’ve lost a hundred and forty at cards since I’ve been down here. (W.M.T.) We have made many friends since we have lived here.
c) Subsequent actions: the action of the verb of the temporal clause takes place after that of the main clause. Subsequent actions are indicated by: - the Past Tense or the Past Perfect in the main clause is followed by the
Past Tense in the temporal clause. The time relation is indicated by the conjunctions till, until, before, when:
e.g. The film began/had begun before I reached the cinema-hall. He left / had left before I came. When I got to the conference, the lecturer had already been speaking
for an hour.
- the Past Perfect in the main clause is followed by the Past Tense in the temporal clause. The rule is applied in sentences containing the correlatives hardly...when, scarcely...when, no sooner...than (the adverbs hardly, scarcely, no sooner may be placed in front position with subject-auxiliary inversion):
MAIN CLAUSE TEMPORAL CLAUSE
Hardly + Past Perfect... when + Past Tense Scarcely + Past Perfect... when + Past Tense No sooner + Past Perfect... than + Past Tense
54
e.g. They’d hardly got on the train when it started.
Jim had no sooner posted the letter than he remembered he hadn’t
stamped it.
I had scarcely replaced the receiver when the telephone rang again. Hardly had they started the engine when it began to rain. They had no sooner got there, than the phone rang. No sooner had they got there than the phone rang.
1.3. Reduction of Adverbial Clauses of Time to Non-Finite Forms
a) a participial phrase: the Adverbial Clause of Time may be reduced to a participial phrase when the subject of the main clause is co-referential with that of the subordinate clause: e.g. Turning the corner, the lorry hit the tree.
Having done my homework, I went to the cinema.
Abbreviated –ing forms may follow the conjunctions when(ever), while, e.g. He does a lot of reading when travelling by train. While waiting at the dentist’s I read a whole short story.
b) a gerundial phrase introduced by the prepositions after, before, on, in, e.g. When we opened the door we saw him. – (On) opening the door we
saw him.
While I was trying to open the door I burst the key. – In trying to open the door I burst the key.
I switched off the lights before going to bed. After John’s/his passing all his exams, his friends came to celebrate.
c) a past participle preceded by after, before, once, since, when: e.g. Once published, the book caused a remarkable stir.
Some dogs become vicious when chained up. d) an infinitival phrase:
e.g. She grew up to be a successful actress.
I awoke one morning to find the house in an uproar. The sentences could be paraphrased by switching the relationship of subordination and using a when-clause: When I awoke one morning I found the
house in an uproar. The restriction of infinitival phrases to final position suggests an analogy between these clauses – called clauses of “outcome” – and Clauses of Result which they resemble in meaning. e) Verbless clauses: In a clause of the type Subject + Be + Adverbial/ Predicative, the Subject + be can be deleted to form a verbless clause:
e.g. While still at school he wrote his first novel.
When in doubt, leave out.
2. Adverbial Clauses of Place The adverbial clause of place shows the place where the action is performed, the direction of the action performed by the verb, just like the corresponding adverbial modifiers on the plane of the simple sentence.
55
2.1. Introductory elements:
The adverbial clause of place is introduced by the relative adverbs where,
wherever, everywhere: e.g. I’m always meeting him where I least expect him.
Why have you moved the book-case from where I placed it?
Wherever he went he met hospitable people.
Everywhere I looked I saw the same smiling faces. Do your duty wherever you may be.
In a sentence such as I shall go where I like, the subordinate clause where I like may be assumed to be a relative clause with or without an antecedent used as an adverbial modifier which is appended to a hypothetical noun place, that is,
I shall go where I like – I shall go to any place I like.
2.2. Sequence of tenses The Adverbial Clauses of Place do not apply any sequence of tense constraints, since they are extremely remote from the idea of time and from temporal relations. Therefore the verb in the adverbial clause is logically conditioned by the verb in the main clause, e.g.
The memorial stands where the artist was born.
The memorial stood where the artist had been born.
The memorial will stand where the artist was born.
2.3. Non-finite forms:
- Past Participle, which is a reduction of a finite verb in the Passive Voice, e.g. Wherever known (= wherever they have been known), such facts have
been reported.
3. Adverbial Clauses of Manner 3.1. Adverbial Clauses of Manner Proper are the equivalent on the plane of
the complex sentence of what an adverbial modifier of manner (proper) is on the plane of the simple sentence. The adverbial clause of manner shows the way in which the subject performs the action.
3.1.1. Introductory elements:
The adverbial clause of manner-proper is introduced by the conjunctions as, in
what manner, or by the relative adverb how: e.g. Do as you are told. They strove to do in what manner they could.
Do it how you can.
Like, elsewhere a preposition, is sometimes used as subordinating conjunction, replacing as in clauses of manner, e.g. It’s as I imagined – It’s like I imagined. Nobody loves you like I do.
56
Like is used as a conjunction instead of as colloquially and in informal American English.
3.1.2. Sequence of tenses Adverbial Clauses of Manner-proper allow perfect freedom of general logic to govern the tenses in them:
e.g. He acted as he had been advised to.
He will act as he has been advised to.
He will do just as you told him.
3.1.3. Reduction of Adverbial Clauses of Manner-proper to Non-finite forms
a) an –ing participial phrase, e.g. He came to us smiling. b) a gerundial phrase preceded by a preposition: by, in, without: e.g. I shall begin by pointing out the key words in the poem.
He resembles you in spending his spare time reading.
He went away without saying a word. c)a past participle, e.g. He bought the house unrepaired and unpainted.
3.2. Adverbial Clauses of Quantity, Degree, Approximation They correspond to the adverbial modifiers brought together under the same heading in the syntax of the simple sentence.
3.2.1. Introductory elements It is introduced by the conjunction as (mainly with a temporal meaning of
gradation or proportion, but also with that of approximation) and by the conjunctional phrases in proportion as, as far as, in so far as, e.g.
He grew wiser as he advanced in age.
As he advanced with his work, he realized its difficulty.
As/in proportion as the papers accumulated he grew more and more
hopeless and inefficient.
If the clause introduced by as is placed initially, the correlative so, in formal, literary English, may introduce the main clause, e.g.
Their hopes began to wane as time went on. –
As time went on, (so) their hopes began to wane.
As the lane got narrower, (so) the overhanging branches made it difficult
for us to keep sight of our quarry. The clause of proportionality could also be expressed by means of the
correlatives the....the, followed by the comparative forms of the adjective or adverb (the more….the more, the less….the less).
e.g. The narrower the lane got the more difficult the overhanging branches
made it for us to keep sight of our quarry.
The more he studied, the more he realized his ignorance.
The harder you work, the better results you get.
57
3.2.2. Sequence of tenses in Adverbial Clauses of Quantity, Degree,
Approximation - a past tense in the clause of proportion is followed by the same tense in the
main clause e.g. The longer we stayed there, the more we liked the place.
- the present tense in the subordinate clause is followed by the future tense in the main clause
e.g. The more time you spend in the open air the sooner you will recover.
The sooner you start, the more quickly you’ll be finished.
4. Adverbial Clauses of Comparison 4.1. Introductory elements:
The Adverbial Clause of Comparison is introduced by the conjunctions as,
than. The conjunction as is used with the positive form of an adjective or adverb. The correlative in the main clause is as for affirmative sentences and so/as for negative sentences: as...as, not so/ as...as.
e.g. The wind had dropped and it was as lovely a morning as one could desire. (J.K.J.) He writes as incoherently as he speaks. The film is not so good as you thought.
The conjunction than usually follows an adjective or an adverb in the comparative degree, e.g.
He missed her more than he could have believed. (A.J.C.) She was only a year older than he was, but she knew so much more of life.
(O.W.) Note that Comparative Clauses are often elliptical:
She is younger than you.
The sooner the better.
He spoke as follows. (= as it follows).
Act as seems best (= as it seems best).
Consider the following elliptical clause: She speaks French better than him.
In this elliptical construction we understand that both the main clause and the comparative one contain the same verb:
She speaks French better than he speaks it.
Compare with She speaks French better than she writes it. (different verbs).
4.2. Sequence of tenses in Adverbial Clauses of Comparison:
In an Adverbial Clause of Comparison introduced by as, than, the verb may be in any tense required by logic
e.g. Last year you spoke English better than you do now. This is not easy as I thought it would be. She loved her sister more than she loves or will ever love me.
58
4.3. Reduction of Adverbial Clauses of Comparison to Non-finite forms:
a) infinitival phrase A clause introduced by than may be reduced to an infinitival phrase, with or without the particle to
e.g. He did nothing more than (to) sign his name. I knew better than mention the subject to her.
It is better to say nothing than to say too much. b) -ing form (gerund)
An -ing form (gerund) is used when the verb preceding the conjunction than is also an –ing form, e.g.
This is more amusing than sitting in an office. Sometimes The Adverbial Clause of Comparison which expresses an
unreal comparison can have a tinge of concession. The Adverbial Clause of Comparison and Concession (Unreal Comparison) indicates comparison with some hypothetical circumstances.
This type of clause is introduced by means of as if, as though, e.g. He talked as though he were not in his right senses.
The hypothetical nature of such clauses warrants the presence in such clauses of a form of the subjunctive: - simultaneity between the main clause and the subordinate clause requires the Synthetic Subjunctive II (equivalent to the Past Tense) in the subordinate clause:
e.g. He talks / talked as if he were a teacher (but he isn’t/wasn’t). Janet came running up the stairs as if the house were in flames. (C.D.) He speaks English as if he were an Englishman. He spoke very little during the party as if he were angry with all of us.
- when the action of the subordinate clause is prior/anterior to that of the main clause, Subjunctive II Past (equivalent to the Past Perfect tense) is used in the subordinate clause:
e.g. He behaves / behaved as if he had been there (but he wasn’t). She speaks so enthusiastically about country life as if she had lived there. His mind was so dizzy as if he hadn’t slept for days.
- the Indicative mood may also appear in such clauses: the use of the present indicative expresses factual meaning, an assumption that ranges from tentativeness to likelihood
e.g. He acts as if he wants to tell me something.
He looks as if he is sick; fetch a doctor.
It looks as if it’s going to rain. As if is replaceable by like in American English: It looks like it’s going to rain.
Such Adverbial Clauses can also be reduced to Non-finite forms: a) –ing participle , e.g. She behaved as if seeking encouragement.
59
b) past participle, e.g. She behaved as though dazed. ���� Summing up:
• Adverbial clauses of time are subject to many constraints as part of the set of rules called the sequence of tenses, which can be summarized as follows: Parallel (simultaneous) actions: the action of the verb in the temporal clause occurs at the same time or during the action of the verb in the main clause. The parallel actions are indicated by:
- the Present Tense or the Past Tense in the main clause followed by the same tense – Present or Past – in the temporal clause,
- the Future Tense in the main clause is followed by the Present Tense in the temporal clause,
- the Future in the Past is followed by the Past Tense in the temporal clause.
Anterior (Prior) actions: the action of the verb of the temporal clause takes place before that of the main clause. Anterior actions are indicated by:
- the Present or the Future Tense in the main clause is followed by the Present Perfect in the temporal clause,
- the Past Tense in the main clause is followed by the Past Perfect in the temporal clause,
- the Future in the Past is followed by the Past Perfect in temporal clauses,
- the Present Perfect in the main clause is followed by the Past Tense in temporal clauses introduced by since.
Subsequent actions: the action of the verb of the temporal clause takes place after that of the main clause. Subsequent actions are indicated by:
- the Past Tense or the Past Perfect in the main clause is followed by the Past Tense in the temporal clause. The time relation is indicated by the conjunctions till, until, before, when.
• Sometimes The Adverbial Clause of Comparison which expresses an unreal comparison can have a tinge of concession.
• The Adverbial Clause of Comparison and Concession (Unreal Comparison) indicates comparison with some hypothetical circumstances.
• This type of clause is introduced by means of as if, as though.
• The hypothetical nature of such clauses warrants the presence in such clauses of a form of the subjunctive:
60
- simultaneity between the main clause and the subordinate clause requires the Synthetic Subjunctive II (equivalent to the Past Tense) in the subordinate clause.
- when the action of the subordinate clause is prior/anterior to that of the main clause, Subjunctive II Past (equivalent to the Past Perfect tense) is used in the subordinate clause: - the Indicative mood may also appear in such clauses: the use of the present indicative expresses factual meaning, an assumption that ranges from tentativeness to likelihood. BIBLIOGRAFIE: Bădescu, A.. 1963. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti : Ed. ŞtiinŃifică. Bantaş, A. 1977. Elements of Descriptive English Syntax. Bucureşti: TUB. Budai, L. 1997. Gramatica engleza, Teorie şi exerciŃii , Bucureşti: Editura Teora. Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. 2005. Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman. GălăŃeanu, G., Comişel, E. 1982. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed.
Didactică şi Pedagogică. Murar, I., Trantescu, A., Pisoschi, C. 2008. Descriptive English Syntax. Theory
and Practice. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Şerban, D. 1982. English Syntax, volume one, Bucureşti. Ştefănescu, I. 1978. Lectures in English Morphology. Bucureşti: TUB. Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Swartvick, J. 1972. A Grammar of
Contemporary English. London: Longman. Thomson, A., Martinet, A. 1969. A Practical English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
AUTOEVALUARE Exercise 1. Write a correct version for each of the following sentences:
1. As soon as I will get the answer, I’ll let you know. 2. When I’ll get back, I’ll tell you all about the party. 3. When examining it attentively, she realized that the ticket was for the next
day. 4. Once she will have read the instructions more carefully, she’ll work much
faster. 5. I’d no sooner taken my seat when I heard the doorbell. 6. After 1997, exports have been booming.
Exercise 2. Translate into English:
1. Va mai trece mult timp până când se vor convinge că merită să încerce. 2. Mi-a promis că mă va suna imediat ce va ajunge acolo. 3. Atâta timp cât nu vei risca, nu vei câştiga.
61
4. Te voi anunŃa de îndată ce voi termina proiectul. 5. Când îşi va da seama ce a făcut, va fi prea târziu. 6. O cunosc de când eram copil. 7. Nu vom pleca înainte de a veni el. 8. ÎŃi voi comunica un răspuns clar de îndată ce voi discuta cu familia. 9. A ieşit din cameră numai după ce a verificat totul. 10. Aştept aici cât timp mănânci. 11. Îi voi vorbi deschis când îl voi cunoaşte mai bine. 12. Când toate acestea se vor lămuri, totul Ńi se va părea un vis urât.
Exercise 3. Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar in meaning as possible to the sentence printed before it:
1. When she finds out what you’ve done, she’ll immediately come here. The moment ………………………....................................……….
2. He was busy with his computer game, giving me time to look around his room. While ……………………............................................…….……….
3. Finish your homework first. Then you can watch television. You can’t ……………................................…………………...……
4. The missing boy was last seen just before Christmas. Nobody ………………………………..............................…………
5. After the first few minutes, I began to enjoy the music. Once ………………………………………..............................……..
6. I turned on the TV and the doorbell rang a moment later. I’d no ……………………….........................................…………….
Exercise 4. Replace the infinitives in brackets by the simple or continuous form of the Synthetic Subjunctive:
1. They discussed about the project as though they themselves (initiate) it. 2. Suddenly it got dark as if dusk (set) in. 3. At that moment when she heard the news, she felt as if the ground (slip)
beneath her feet. 4. My friends looked at me as if they (find) it hard to believe that I had escaped
from such a situation. 5. The newcomer was reacting as though what was happening (present) little, if
any interest, to him. 6. Did you feel awkward at the meeting as if everyone (expect) you to have all
the answers?
Exercise 5. Put the words into the right subjunctive form. Explain what they express:
1. She looked at the boy. He did not behave as if he (do) anything wrong.
62
2. John looked as if he (be going to) say something but (change) his mind. 3. They talked as if (know) each other for ages and this (be) not the first time
they met. 4. Ann continued talking as if she (not hear) what I said. 5. It seemed as though flying (draw) him irresistibly. 6. The sky looked as if it (be) grey for months. 7. His voice sounded hoarse, as if he (shout) for hours. 8. She turned pale as if she (be going to) be sick.
Exercise 6. Explain the usage of the indicative or subjunctive in the following examples. Explain if there are other variants and what differences in meaning they express:
1. One always spoke of her like that, in the third person, as though she were not there.
2. We kept searching around as if we were looking for a treasure. 3. She had an expression of terror on her face as though she was looking at a
ghost. 4. He’s smiling as if he doesn’t believe what I’m saying.
Exercise 7. Comment on the following by using real/unreal comparisons:
1. Nobody expected Peter to pass the exam. He has just received the result and he’s in tears.
2. Eugene keeps sniffing and his nose is red. 3. The baby was crying in his sleep. 4. The students are beginning to yawn and fidget. 5. You were out of breath when you arrived. 6. There is a man standing on a window-ledge and a crowd of people are
watching. 7. Describe a feeling of claustrophobia.
63
UNIT 5. Adverbial Clauses II
1. Adverbial Clauses of Cause/Reason 2. Adverbial Clauses of Concession 3. Adverbial Clauses of Purpose 4. Adverbial Clauses of Result 5. Adverbial Clauses of Condition 6. Adverbial Clauses of Exception
7. Adverbial Clauses of Relation
Obiective: StudenŃii vor fi capabili: 1. Sa recunoască tipurile de circumstantiale şi să le foloseasca în exemple. 2. Să cunoască regulile de folosire a timpurilor şi modurilor în circumstanŃiala de scop. 3. Să identifice tipurile de propoziŃie condiŃională şi să cunoască folosirea modurilor şi timpurilor în subordonata condi\ionalå. Timp de studiu : 5 ore.
1. Adverbial Clauses of Cause/Reason
The role discharged by this clause is similar to that of the adverbial modifier of cause at the level of the simple sentence. Compare:
He had to cancel some engagements because of illness.
He had to cancel some engagements because he was ill.
1.1. Introductory elements:
The Adverbial Clause of Cause/Reason is introduced by the conjunctions: because, as, since, considering that, seeing that, now that, on the grounds that. Clauses introduced by because and on the grounds that have a tendency to follow the main clause
e.g. He succeeded because he worked hard.
In another minute she was sobbing with joy because Tom had opened his eyes. (G.E.)
The conjunction because is always used (never as or since) when the subordinate clause is given emphasis (after it is / was):
e.g. It’s because he has behaved so badly that he must be punished. (Cf. As he has behaved so badly, he must be punished).
When on the grounds that is used, the emphasis is on the reason and the subordinate clause comes last:
e.g. The specialist rejected the method or chemical analysis on the grounds that it was not accurate.
64
We oppose the bill on the grounds that it discriminates against women.
Clauses introduced by as, since, seeing that, considering that, now that have a tendency to precede the main clause (there is less emphasis on the cause and more emphasis on the result stated in the main clause),
e.g. As Milton was blind when he composed “The Paradise Lost”, he
dictated it to his daughters.
As he is working hard, he is likely to succeed.
Since we were short of money we decided to postpone our trip abroad.
Since you insist I will reconsider the matter.
Seeing that it’s raining you had better stay indoors.
Considering that the performance was extraordinary, the actors were
awarded special prizes.
Now that we are here, we may as well see the sights. As/Since/Now that/Seeing that you insist on it, we shall consider the
matter.
The conjunction that is used to introduce Adverbial Clauses of Cause after adjectives (and past participles) that express feelings; the conjunction is usually dropped in colloquial style:
e.g. She felt a little disappointed that he had not joined the group. (O.W.) Aren’t you thankful that your life has been spared?
He’s sorry (that) he can’t come.
1.2. Tenses in the Adverbial Clauses of Cause
The Adverbial Clause of Cause is used with any tense logically conditioned by the verb in the main clause:
e.g. I spoke like this because I know him. I got up at ten this morning because I hadn’t been able to sleep all night. I got up at ten this morning because today is Sunday.
1.3. Reduction of Adverbial Clauses of Cause to Non-finite forms: a) participial constructions: Adverbial Clauses of Cause/reason may sometimes be replaced – usually in written English, seldom in spoken English – by a participial construction:
e.g. Not being familiar with the place I had to ask my way at every turn.
Feeling unwell he went to bed early.
Having failed in the examination a second time he will have to leave
the university.
There being nothing else to do we went home. b) a gerundial phrase preceded by a preposition
e.g. The boy was scolded for being late. The players were suspended for having quarrelled with the umpire.
c) an infinitival phrase e.g. We were glad to have you with us.
65
2. Adverbial Clauses of Concession The Adverbial Clause of Concession expresses a contradiction between it and
the main clause, which is similar to the relation between adversative clauses as part of the compound sentence
e.g. He hadn’t eaten for days but he looked strong and healthy.
Although he hadn’t eaten for days he looked strong and healthy.
2.1. Introductory elements
The Adverbial Clause of Concession is introduced by the conjunctions though,
although, as, even if, even though, no matter; the conjunctive relative pronouns whoever, whatever, whichever; the conjunctive adverb however. The conjunctions though and although are usually interchangeable.
e.g. She is taking the exam this summer although / though she does not expect to pass.
Though is the more colloquial variant of although and it is seldom employed at the head of the sentence
e.g. Although Britain considers itself an advanced country, it has a very
old-fashioned system of measurements.
No goals were scored, though it was an exciting game.
Unlike although, though can occur in non-initial position: e.g. Although / Though he is young, he has made a name as a playwright.
Young though /* although he is, he has already made a name as a
playwright.
He looks stupid; he knows a lot of things, though. The conjunction as can express concession only in non-initial position. It is
placed after an adjective or adverb which is given front position for emphasis: Adj. / Adv. + AS + Subject + Predicate.
e.g. Rich as he is I don’t envy him. (Cf. I don’t envy him although he is rich).
Pretty as she is few people like her.
Tired as they were the rescuers continued searching among the ruins for
survivors.
Hard as he tried he could not open the door. As is ambiguous in non-initial position because it can also have the non-
concessive meaning of cause or circumstance: e.g. Michael, fool as he was, completely ruined the dinner (“…since he was a
fool; ….being a fool”). The conjunctions even if, even though indicate an overlap between conditional
and concessive clauses, expressing both the dependence of one circumstance upon another and the surprising nature of this dependence,
e.g. Even if / though you don’t like him, you can still be polite to him.
I couldn’t be angry with her even if I tried. In clauses introduced by compounds in –ever the idea of possibility is also
present:
66
e.g. Whatever happens / may happen („although there may be failure, disappointment, etc.”) you will always be glad that you tried to do your
best.
You may be certain that whatever Clare does I shall stick by her. (J.G.)
However often I try („though I often try”) I cannot find a solution.
However well you know the subject, you cannot satisfactorily transmit
your knowledge to somebody else. The longer constructions no matter wh- and it doesn’t matter wh- may be
added to the list of concessive clause introducers: e.g. No matter how / It doesn’t matter how hard I try, I can never catch up
with them (cf. However hard I try... Although I try hard...) No matter what I did no one paid any attention.
The Concessive Clause may be elliptical: It was cold, though sunny (the two subjects are identical)
2.2. Tense and mood constraints in Adverbial Clauses of Concession
a) The verb in the Clause of Concession is usually in the Indicative mood – Present or Past Tense – to express a real, factual situation. The tense of the subordinate clause is logically conditioned by that of the main clause.
e.g. We’ll try to make up our quarrel although he was so rude to us.
I shan’t go there no matter what happens.
Although he has never studied music he plays the piano quite well.
Men and women are nothing to you but things to be used, even if they are broken in the use. (G.B.S.)
b) The verb in the Clause of Concession is in the Subjunctive Mood to express a hypothetic situation, a supposition:
- the Synthetic Subjunctive I is used in clauses introduced by though,
although, whatever (in formal style) e.g. Though he be your friend I must tell, what I know about him.
Though it be the day of my coronation I will not wear them. (O.W.) However good the engine be, it wants some repairs in a few years’
time.
- the Analytic Subjunctive with may / might is preferred in speech or, generally speaking, in less formal style. e.g. Although they may look a happy couple, they often quarrel.
Whoever may / might come show him in.
Whatever you may think of my father as a man of business, he is the soul of goodness. (G.B.S.) Whatever faults he may have hypocrisy is not one of them.
Tom was very slow to forgive her however sorry she might have been.
(G.E.) However fatigued H. Maylie might have been at first, he was not proof
against the gentleman’s good humour. (C.D.)
67
- the Analytic Subjunctive with should is used in clauses introduced by even
if, even though e.g. Even though he should find out, he won’t do anything about it.
- a construction with may (more seldom will ) is possible to express concession without any introductory conjunctions or adverbs
e.g. The Smiths may live in a small house, but they are quite well off.
He may have been born in England, but he doesn’t speak the language
well.
Come what may (Cf. Whatever may come or happen), we must remain
cheerful.
Say what you will, I shall still trust to my own judgement.
Try as you will (cf. However hard you may try), you won’t manage it.
2.3. Reduction of Adverbial Clauses of Concession to Non-finite forms:
a) a participial construction e.g. Although approving the plan in general, the committee
Even admitting his explanation, his behaviour cannot be excused.
Though tired she continued to work.
b) a verbless clause (both subject and verb are omitted) e.g. Though well over 80, he can walk a mile faster than I can.
The Adverbial Clause of Concession can also be reduced to a prepositional construction, usually containing the word all: for all, with all, also in spite of:
He is a good man with all his mistakes.
He is a good man for all his mistakes.
3. Adverbial Clauses of Purpose Adverbial Clauses of Purpose discharge the same function as Adverbial
Modifiers of Purpose in simple sentences. Adverbial Clauses of Purpose can express affirmative or negative purpose.
3.1. Clauses of Affirmative Purpose
Introductory elements
Clauses of Affirmative Purpose are introduced by the conjunctions so that,
in order that, that (rarely used except in formal style). Send the postcard immediately so that he can get it in due time.
His brother lent him some money in order that he could buy that dictionary.
Tense and mood constraints
The Adverbial Clause of Affirmative Purpose usually contains an Analytic Subjunctive formed by means of the modal auxiliaries will/would, can/could,
may/might, shall/should. The choice of the auxiliary depends on two factors:
68
- the tense of the verb in the main clause: will, can, may, shall are used when the main verb is in the present, present perfect or future tense; would,
could, might, should are used when the main verb is in the past tense. - the introductory conjunction: so that may be followed by any auxiliary, in
order that is followed by may, shall; while that is normally followed by may.
e.g. I’ll send the letter airmail so that he will / can /may get it right away. He wrote the notice in several languages so that the foreign tourists could understand them. I lent him the dictionary so that he might do the translation.
Thirty copies of the book were bought so that each boy in the class should have one. I did it in order that everyone should be satisfied.
The door of Scrooge’s house was open that he might keep an eye upon his clerk. (C.D.)
3.2. Clauses of Negative Purpose
Introductory elements
Clauses of negative purpose are introduced by the conjunctions so that,
lest (formal), for fear that, in case (colloquial). So that is the only conjunction that admits a negative verb in the clause; the verb is affirmative after the other conjunctions.
I must give him a ring so that he won’t forget what to bring for the party.
Tense and mood constraints
The Adverbial Clause of negative purpose usually contains an Analytic Subjunctive formed by means of the auxiliaries will / would, shall / should, may /
might or the Indicative Mood. As with clauses of affirmative purpose, the choice of the auxiliary depends on the tense of the verb in the main clause and on the introductory conjunction: for fear that may be followed by any of the three auxiliaries, so that, lest and in case are normally followed by shall/ should.
e.g. He hid behind some bushes for fear that passers-by should see him.
He didn’t turn on the light for fear that she might wake up.
I didn’t tell him for fear that he would put the blame on me.
Put out the candles, so that they shan’t see the light when I open the
shutters. (G.B.S.) I must give him a list so that he won’t forget what to buy. She dared not approach a window lest he should see her from the street. (C.D.) She was going on tiptoes lest she should disturb him. The Indicative Mood (simple Present or Past Tense) is used only in clauses
introduced by in case e.g. I’ll give him a list in case he should forget what to buy.
I’ll give him a list in case he forgets what to buy.
69
Reduction of Adverbial Clauses of Purpose to Non-finite forms: The Adverbial Clause of Purpose may be reduced to an infinitival or
gerundial construction, when the subject of the main clause is co-referential with that of the subordinate clause:
a) an infinitival construction when the subject is identical with that of the main clause: He went to the theatre so that he could see the new performance. – He
went to the theatre to see the new performance.
The FOR-TO Infinitive construction is used when the subjects are different: He took his children to the theatre for them to see the new performance. The infinitive can be preceded by so as, in order, to emphasize the idea of
purpose: He went to the theatre so as / in order to see the new performance. The infinitival construction can be reduced to a prepositional construction: They strove to get a new job - / They strove for a new job.
b) a gerundial construction preceded by the preposition for: The gerund is used to express the general purpose of things, while the
infinitive is used when we are considering a particular purpose: A corkscrew is a tool for opening bottles. I’m looking for a corkscrew to open this bottle with.
4. Adverbial Clauses of Result
Adverbial Clauses of Result show the same relation as that expressed by Adverbial Modifiers of Result in simple sentences, that is the ultimate part of the relation cause to effect.
4.1. Introductory elements
Adverbial Clauses of Result are introduced by means of the conjunctions so
that, so, that. e.g. We planted hundreds of shrubs, so that by August the garden had
improved out of all recognition. I was tired, so that I went to bed early.
Informally, the conjunction that of so that is omitted e.g. I took no notice of him, so he flew into a rage. The correlatives so or such are used in the main clause when the conjunction
that introduces a Clause of Result. The choice between so and such depends on grammatical function: so is an adverb, such is a determiner:
- the correlative so occurs before adjectives or adverbs in the pattern: ...SO + Adj./Adv. + THAT -Clause He ran so quickly that we couldn’t catch him. Laura had so much improved in health and looks that Pen could not but admire her. (W.M.T.)
70
I so enjoyed it (or: I enjoyed it so much) that I’m determined to go again.
The conjunction that is sometimes omitted in informal English: e.g. She polished the floor so hard you could see your face in it. The correlative so (+Adj./Adv.) can be placed at the beginning of the sentence
for emphasis, being accompanied by inversion of subject and verb. If the predicate contains neither an auxiliary nor a modal verb, the auxiliary do must be used in these constructions:
e.g. So absorbed was he in his work that he didn’t hear the knocks at the door.
So terrible was the storm that all roofs were torn off. So rapidly did he drive that he reached the place before nightfall.
- the correlative such occurs before a noun in the pattern: SUCH + NP +That S
e.g. It’s such a good chance that we mustn’t miss it. He made such a remarkable speech that he was elected. He’s such a liar that nobody believes him.
An optional operation – the movement of the determiner such to the right of the head – relates sentences like the following:
He gave such an answer that we could not doubt its veracity.
He gave an answer such that we could not doubt its veracity. Such can be placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis
(accompanied by inversion of subject and verb) e.g. Such is the situation that we cannot but agree.
4.2. The use of tenses in Adverbial Clauses of Result
Adverbial Clauses of Result overlap with those of Purpose both in meaning and in form. The chief difference is that Clauses of Result are factual rather than suppositional, hence they may contain an ordinary verb without a modal auxiliary.
When the clause contains a modal auxiliary, it may be ambiguous between a clause of purpose and one of result
e.g. He turned the radio up to the maximum, so that everyone could
hear the announcement. In one interpretation the clause expresses purpose: So that everyone could /
would / should /might hear…; in another interpretation the clause expresses result: So that everyone heard….
The verb in the Clause of Result can be used in any tense logically required, e.g.
He did his job so well that they promoted him. He did his job so well that I’ll never forget him.
71
4.3. Reduction of Adverbial Clauses of Result to Non-finite forms: When the subject of the subordinate clause is co-referential with that of the
main clause, the subordinate clause can be reduced to an infinitive. THE SUBJECTS MAY BE CO-REFERENTIAL:
a) as to + Infinitive when the subordinate clause is anticipated by such or so: Speak in such a way as to be understood by everybody. The rain was so heavy as to make our picnic impossible
b) so as to + Infinitive: Pack your things so as to be ready. c) Infinitival constructions with Too / Enough:
Too + Adj./Adv. + Infinitive (Too implies a negative result); Adj./Adv. + Enough + Infinitive (Enough implies a positive result): You are too young to understand (= You are so young that you can’t understand). He repeated slowly enough to be understood.
The two clauses have different subjects, in which case the Clause of Result can be reduced to the complex construction FOR –TO Infinitive:
The box was light enough for her to carry. (=The box was so light that she was able to carry it.) The lesson was too difficult for him to understand.
5. Adverbial Clauses of Condition The Adverbial Clause of Condition has no correspondent on the plane of the
syntax of the simple sentence, condition being expressed with the help of a verb inside the clause.
Conditional clauses state the dependence of one circumstance upon another. A complex sentence containing a clause of condition is made up of two parts:
- the subordinate clause of condition/ -if clause which refers to the condition which would have to be fulfilled in order to make possible the action of the main clause;
- the main clause which expresses the result or the effect of the condition.
5.1. Introductory elements:
Subordinate Clauses of Condition may be introduced by means of the following conjunctions: if, unless, on condition (that), provided (that), providing
(that), suppose, supposing (that), so long as, in case. If is the most frequent conjunction; it can introduce all types of conditional clauses.
5.2. Types of Conditional Clauses
Conditional clauses can be interpreted from two points of view: a) from the point of view of their relation to present reality, conditional
clauses may appear as: - real, i.e. not contradicting present reality, - unreal, i.e. in contradiction with present reality.
72
b) from the point of view of the relation in time to the moment of speaking or writing, conditional clauses may refer to three periods: future, present, past. The overlapping between these two points of view leads to three types of
conditional sentences: Type I: Future–possible sentences; Type II : Present–unreal sentences; Type III : Past–unreal sentences.
Type I: Future–possible sentences (Clauses of real or probable condition) Conditional clauses belonging to this type express a possible situation not
contradicting present reality and they usually refer to a future or present period: a) those referring to the future express a condition possible or real in a future
moment. They include the Present Tense of the Indicative Mood in the Conditional Clause and Future Tense in the Main Clause. e.g. We’ll leave tomorrow if the weather is good.
You won’t be able to borrow books unless you get a reader’s card. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money. (O.W.)
The Present Perfect Tense is also used in the Conditional Clause e.g. Nobody will blame you if you have forgotten the author’s name.
Unless he has done the work to my satisfaction I shall not pay
him for it.
“Well, Jon”, said Val, “if you’ve finished, we’ll go and have
coffee”. (J.G.) b) Those referring to the present express general facts, statements of
universal truths and habitual reactions. They require the Present Tense of the Indicative Mood both in the Main and the Conditional Clause (Type 0: cause and effect).
If you heat butter, it melts. If you put salt in water it dissolves.
“ If you are going my way,” he said, “I can give you a lift”.(J.G.) If I make a mistake the teacher always finds it. If I make a promise, I keep it.
In this type of sentence the conjunction if, corresponds closely in meaning to when(ever).
Statements in this form commonly appear in factual discussions or explanatory (particularly scientific and technical) material.
The tenses in both the Conditional and the Main clause are the same (Present or Past). Thus the last sentence may be written in the past tense with a similar correspondence between the verb forms in the two clauses:
If I made a promise, I kept it. THE IMPERATIVE MOOD IS ALSO USED IN THE MAIN CLAUSE:
e.g. If you meet him tell him to come back at once.
Don’t come unless I tell you to come.
73
c) Those referring to the past use the same tense – the Past Tense of the Indicative Mood – both in the Main and the Conditional Clause.
e.g. If she betrayed any agitation, he did not observe it. (C.D.) He made a mistake if he acted like that. Some conditional clauses are in fact disguised temporal clauses referring to a
past habitual action (the conjunction if is replaceable by when, since, whenever). e.g. If he felt tired, he went for a walk.
Centuries ago, if a man had fever, he usually died.
Besides the conjunction if, Type I – Conditional Clauses are introduced by provided (that), providing (that), on condition that, so long as, in case, unless.
Provided (that), providing (that), on condition that, so long as can replace if when there is a rather stronger idea of limitation or restriction (= if and only if)
e.g. I shall accept the offer provided (that) the terms are favourable.
I’ll forgive you provided you tell the truth. I shall go on condition that you go too. So long as you return the book by Saturday, I will lend it
to you with pleasure. In case refers to possible future condition: e.g. In case I can’t come, I’ll send you a wire.
Unless followed by a verb in the affirmative introduces negative condition. The conjunction has the same meaning as if not but it is more emphatic. Compare:
I won’t say anything if he does not bring up the matter himself. –
I won’t say anything unless he brings up the matter himself. You need not meet him unless you like. (G.B.S.)
If-clauses are like questions in that they imply uncertainty about the actual existence of the circumstances referred to. Therefore they tend to contain non-assertive forms such as ever, any.
e.g. If you ever have any trouble let me know.
Clauses introduced by unless, on the other hand, lay stress on the excluded positive option, and so, they usually contain assertive forms:
e.g. I won’t phone you unless something unforeseen happens. Type II: Present-unreal sentences (Clauses of unreal, improbable
condition referring to the present or future) They express an action which refers to an unreal, improbable situation in the
present or future. The verb in the Main Clause is in the Present Conditional (should or would + the short infinitive or could/might + the short infinitive when a corresponding modal meaning is implied). The verb in the Conditional Clause is in the Synthetic Subjunctive II, i.e. in the Past Subjunctive (equivalent to the Past Tense except for the verb to be which has the form were in all persons).
e.g. I wouldn’t do this if I were you. I should be sorry if you thought ill of me. (S.M.) Perhaps if you explained a little more fully, I should
comprehend better. (C.B.)
74
If she went down again to Tom now, would he forgive her? (G.E.)
If little Hans came up here and saw our warm fire and our good supper he might get envious. (O.W.) I should not dream of doing so if I were not your friend. I’d buy the coat if it were/was cheaper. (There is a growing tendency to
use was instead of the subjunctive form were if the subject is in the 1st or 3rd person singular).
The Conditional Clause contains the modal verbs might, could. e.g. “I would not alarm you if I could avoid it”, rejoined Rose. (C.D.) If I could only have one flower I should have lilies of the
valley”. (J.G.) Besides if, Type II - Conditional Clauses are frequently introduced by suppose,
supposing (that) to underline a hypothetical, improbable condition: e.g. Suppose you were a teacher, what would you do?
Suppose / supposing your friends knew how you are behaving here, what would they think?
Type III : Past-unreal sentences (Clauses of unreal / impossible condition referring to the past)
They express a hypothetical condition which has failed to be fulfilled. The verb in the Main Clause is in the Perfect / Past Conditional (should/would + perfect infinitive or could/might + perfect infinitive). The verb in the Conditional Clause is in the Perfect Subjunctive or Past Subjunctive II (equivalent to the Past Perfect Tense).
e.g. If Mr. Reed had been alive he would have treated me kindly.(C.B.) It would have been terrible if any cloud had come across a friendship like ours.(O.W.) If I had been his brother, he could not have seemed more
pleased to see me.(J.G.) She imagined so often what her life would have been like if her father could have loved her. (C.D.) Besides the well known types of conditional sentences there are two mixed
types of sentences of unreal condition: i. the condition refers to the past and the consequences refer to the present or future:
e.g. If you had taken your medicine yesterday, you would
feel better now.
If she had taken my advice, today she would be on good
terms with her parents.
ii. the condition refers to no particular time and the consequences refer to the past: e.g. If he were not so absent-minded, he would not have
mistaken you for your sister.
If she were not so beautiful, he would never have married her.
75
���� Summing up: The tenses and moods used in Conditional sentences:
Type of clauses Tense/Mood in the main clause
Tense/Mood in the conditional clause
Type I Real Condition a) referring to the
future b) referring to the
present c) referring to the past
Future Indicative Present Indicative/Imperative Past Tense/Present Perfect Indicative
Present Indicative Present Indicative Past Tense/Present Perfect Indicative
Type II – Present Unreal Condition
Present Conditional Past Subjunctive = Past Tense
Type III – Past Unreal Condition
Past Conditional Perfect Subjunctive (= Past Perfect)
Special constructions in Conditional Sentences
a) In the literary style the conjunction if can be omitted, with subject-auxiliary inversion. Inversion is never made in clauses of real condition (Type I), but is fairly often operated in clauses of unreal condition referring to the present (Type II ) and in those referring to the past (Type III ). - In subordinate clauses whose predicate contains an auxiliary (be, have) or a modal verb (could, might) in the past tense or past perfect if may be omitted with subject-auxiliary inversion. In such cases the Conditional clause is placed at the beginning:
e.g. If I were in your position I should apologize – Were I in your position I should apologize.
Were I in her place, it seems to me I should wish the earth
to open and swallow me up.(C.B.) Had it ever occurred to me that such a suspicion would
have entered your mind, I would have died rather than
have crossed your life.(O.W.) Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Bennet would have
been very miserable.(J.A.) - When the verb in the subordinate clause is expressed by a notional verb, if may be omitted and the Analytic Subjunctive with should may be used:
e.g. If he came earlier we could go to the theatre – Should he come earlier we could go to the theatre.
Should the container explode, there would almost
certainly be widespread danger.
76
b) Apart from the types of conditional clauses outlined above, there are some types involving special verb forms: - In Type I clauses the Synthetic Subjunctive I (equivalent to the short infinitive) is sometimes used instead of the Present Tense Indicative. This usage is mainly confined to very formal style (in elevated literary style, in legal or scientific contexts):
e.g. If your answer be what I almost dare to hope it is, it will
shed a gleam of happiness upon my lonely way.(C.D.) If any person be found guilty, he shall have the right of appeal.
If the production and stockpiling of atomic weapons be stopped, considerable sums of money will be released.
- In Type II and Type I clauses special constructions can be used to emphasize the hypothetical, suppositional nature of the condition (i.e. when the writer or speaker considers the condition highly improbable or wishes to imply that the action in the Conditional Clause, though possible, is unlikely to be fulfilled):
- were + to-infinitive occurs in Type II clauses e.g. If I were to meet him I wouldn’t recognize him.
If it were / was to rain we should get wet.
He felt that if he were to live a hundred years he never
could forget. (C.D.) - should + infinitive occurs in Type I and Type II clauses (both with or
without inversion) e.g. If he should come, let me know (= if by any chance he comes).
If you should be offered the money would you accept it?
If this machine should fail to give satisfaction, we
guarantee to refund (the) purchase money.
You will understand, sir, that if we should have the misfortune to hang you, we shall do it as a mere matter
of political necessity.(G.B.S.) - In conditional clauses willingness may be expressed by will or would which should not be considered as auxiliaries for the future tense, but as modal verbs, retaining their modal meaning, that of volition: will occurs in Type I clauses, would in Type I (= politeness) and Type II (= willingness) clauses.
e.g. If you will help me (= if you are so kind as to help me) we
can finish in time. My mother would be very glad indeed if you would come too. (G.B.S.) My friend here and myself would be much obliged if you would tell us how you caught the trout up there.(J.K.J.) If any lady or gentleman would lend me a fiver I should
be very much obliged indeed. (J.K.J.) c) If only is an intensified equivalent of if, typically used in hypothetical clauses to express what the speaker wishes had happened or would happen
77
e.g. If only somebody had told us, we could have warned you.
If only you had helped them, so many things could have
been prevented. The subordinate clause introduced by if only nearly always precedes the main
clause. Sometimes, however, the main clause may be absent and the Conditional Clause stands on its own as a hypothetical wish.
e.g. If only it could always be spring! (J.G.)
If only she were more careful! If only I hadn’t lost it! If only she would come back.
Instead of a sentence with a Conditional Clause, we sometimes have two coordinate clauses:
e.g. Spare the rod and spoil the child. (Prov.) (= If a child is spared punishment, it will be spoilt).
Give him an inch and he’ll take a yard.
5.3.Reduction of Conditional Clauses to Non-finite forms
a) an –en participle, when the subject of the Conditional Clause is co-referential with that of the main clause, e.g. Given time, he’ll make a first-class tennis player.
Taken in small amounts, it can do no harm.
The participle may be introduced by the conjunctions if, unless
e.g. If pressed, the button will start the alarm clock.
She never writes letters unless compelled by circumstances. b) an –ing participle :
e.g. Judging by appearences, she must be telling the truth.
Taking all things into consideration, his life has been a happy one.
c) an infinitival phrase : e.g. To hear him speak (= if you hear him speak) you would
think him a specialist.
It would hurt her to talk like that. 6. Adverbial Clauses of Exception
The Adverbial Clause of Exception shows the situation which deviates from usual, normal circumstances. It is introduced by: except (that / when), only (that /
when), save that (literary). e.g. We go picnicking every Sunday except when it rains.
She knew nothing about his journey except that he was likely to be away for three months. I like it very much only that it is dreadfully expensive. We know nothing about him save that he was in the army during the war.
78
Adverbial Clauses of Exception are generally used with the Indicative Mood and are not subject to the constraints of sequence of tenses: e.g. I bought that wardrobe (yesterday), only / except that it will prove too
bulky for my bedroom.
7. Adverbial Clauses of Relation
The Adverbial Clause of Relation is considered by some grammarians as a restrictive sub-species of the Adverbial Clause of Manner. It is introduced by the conjunction as, or the conjunctional phrase as far as:
e.g. As far as I am concerned, this will make no difference at all.
There was no problem as far as the children were concerned.
���� Summing up:
• The Adverbial Clause of Affirmative Purpose usually contains an Analytic Subjunctive formed by means of the modal auxiliaries will/would, can/could, may/might, shall/should. The choice of the auxiliary depends on two factors:
- the tense of the verb in the main clause: will, can, may, shall are used when the main verb is in the present, present perfect or future tense; would, could, might, should are used when the main verb is in the past tense.
- the introductory conjunction: so that may be followed by any auxiliary, in order that is followed by may, shall; while that is normally followed by may.
• The Adverbial Clause of negative purpose usually contains an Analytic Subjunctive formed by means of the auxiliaries will / would, shall / should, may / might or the Indicative Mood. As with clauses of affirmative purpose, the choice of the auxiliary depends on the tense of the verb in the main clause and on the introductory conjunction: for fear that may be followed by any of the three auxiliaries, so that, lest and in case are normally followed by shall/ should.
• Adverbial Clauses of Result overlap with those of Purpose both in meaning and in form. The chief difference is that Clauses of Result are factual rather than suppositional, hence they may contain an ordinary verb without a modal auxiliary.
• Conditional clauses can be interpreted from two points of view: a) from the point of view of their relation to present reality, conditional clauses may appear as: - real, i.e. not contradicting present reality - unreal, i.e. in contradiction with present reality
79
b) from the point of view of the relation in time to the moment of speaking or writing, conditional clauses may refer to three periods: future, present, past.
The overlapping between these two points of view leads to three types of conditional sentences: Type I: Future–possible sentences; Type II: Present–unreal sentences; Type III: Past–unreal sentences. BIBLIOGRAFIE: Bădescu, A.. 1963. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed. ŞtiinŃifică. Bantaş, A. 1977. Elements of Descriptive English Syntax. Bucureşti: TUB. Budai, L. 1997. Gramatica engleza, Teorie şi exerciŃii , Bucureşti: Editura Teora. Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. 2005. Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman. GălăŃeanu, G., Comişel, E. 1982. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed.
Didactică şi Pedagogică. Murar, I., Trantescu, A., Pisoschi, C. 2008. Descriptive English Syntax. Theory
and Practice. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Şerban, D. 1982. English Syntax, volume one, Bucureşti. Ştefănescu, I. 1978. Lectures in English Morphology. Bucureşti: TUB. Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Swartvick, J. 1972. A Grammar of
Contemporary English. London: Longman. Thomson, A., Martinet, A. 1969. A Practical English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
AUTOEVALUARE: Exercise 1. Point out the adverbial clauses in the following sentences and state what kind they are. 1. Tell me their address, so that I may go and see them. 2. The car was still where I had left it the day before. 3. When we awoke, our parents had already left. 4. Nobody blamed me as I blamed myself. 5. As it was already late, we stopped work for the day. 6. Whatever it was it did not really matter. 7. It was quiet all around, so quiet that you could trace the flight of a mosquito
by its buzz. 8. Do not disturb him unless something very important happens. 9. Although we could see nothing, we distinctly heard the sound of falling water. 10. The question is easier than I thought. 11. If I were you I wouldn’t sell the collection.
80
12. He talked as if he were a specialist. 13. The sooner you finish your work, the sooner you will go home. 14. The change was so sudden that I was shocked and a little scared. 15. You ought to write English as Marie does. 16. Wherever you may go, he will not forget you. 17. Give him an inch and he’ll take a yard. Exercise 2. Complete the following sentences supplying adverbial clauses of:
a) place 1. We met where ……………..............................................................………… . 2. Begin to read where ………....................................................…………….…. . 3. She shall have music wherever …............................................................……….
b) time 1. Write to me as soon as ………............................................................………… . 2. The moment …..................................................…… they all rushed downstairs. 3. I’ll do it while …………................................................................……………. 4. You can stay as long as …..................................................................……….. . 5. You’ll find the truth once ………....................................................................... 6. I met him as ……............................................................................................... . 7. She hasn’t written since ……….................................................................……. .
c) cause 1. Since ………................................................…… I’ll do my best to please her. 2. I can’t agree to it because …….................................................……………… . 3. As ………………........................................................ I think I will return later. 4. We must finish now, for …......................................................………………. . 5. As ……………...........................................................……, you’d better leave.
d) purpose 1. Take your thick clothes lest …………......................................................…… . 2. We didn’t move in case ……...........................................................................… . 3. We climbed higher so that ……..............................................………………… .
e) result 1. I was so curious that …………..............................................………………… . 2. It is so cold that …………...................................................................……….. . 3. The wind was of such strength that …...............................................................…
f) comparison or manner 1. He did it as well as …………........................................................................….. 2. It is not so easy as …...................................................................……………… . 3. She looked very excited as if ……..........................................................……… . 4. You look taller than ……….......................................................................…….. . 5. The longer we walked the more …..........................................................…….. . 6. They knew the place as though ……................................................................... .
81
g) concession 1. Even though ………………................….. I should not refused him. 2. No matter how ………...................……. we shall try our hand at it. 3. Tired as …………....................................…… he went on working.
h) condition 1. They will certainly be there in time provided ….......……................………….. . 2. Should you …………….....................................…….. you are always welcome. 3. If ………….....................……… I would be pleased. 4. Ellen would have come if ……….......................................……… 5. Nobody would accept that job unless …………….....................…. 6. Had I known the truth ……………...................... .
Exercise 3. Reduce the following adverbial clauses:
1. When he looked outside, he saw the police car. 2. Because she didn’t feel very well, she sat down. 3. After he had retired, Cecil decided to travel. 4. I was really quite flattered at first, because I was asked to work with one of
the professors. 5. Because it was barking loudly, the dog scared us. 6. Before you leave, switch off the lights. 7. He stood there, as if he was waiting for someone. 8. Although they are small, terriers are tough. 9. When it is seen from space, the Earth is blue. 10. Though it had been broken, it still worked. 11. While they waited in line for buses during a recent one-day train strike,
London’s commuters displayed remarkable patience with their struggling Underground.
Exercise 4. Complete the following sentences: 1. The fabrics and the colours of the autumn collection were kept in secret
…….....................….. . 2. When the baby was sleeping she would always walk on tiptoes ……… 3. The politician organized a press conference ………….........…………. 4. ………............................……… lest they could be caught by surprise. 5. ……...............................……………. for fear the child might get sick. 6. A doctor was sent for so that ……….....................…………………. . 7. …………………….......................... so that he should get a better job. 8. I read the instructions very attentively lest …..……………………… 9. She put the jar on the top shelf ………….......................……………. 10. Roy climbed into the tree ……………....................................………. Exercise 5. Replace the old form of the subjunctive by an analitical form preserving the idea of concession: 1. Try as he will, he’ll never defeat us.
82
2. Say what they will, we won’t change our plans. 3. Come what may, I shall stay by your side. 4. Be that as it may, a promise is a promise. 5. Do what you will, you are our best friend.
Exercise 6. Complete the following sentences, using a result clause: 1. The fog was so thick ………....…………………………………………….... . 2. …………………………….…….. they couldn’t save any of their belongings. 3. Mary’s boys had such bad colds this morning ……………………….......…… . 4. ………………………………………..…. we can just throw it away carelessly. 5. We had such a wonderful time on holiday …..……………………………….. . 6. That class was so early …….......…………………………………..…………… Exercise 7. Rewrite the sentences, substituting for the words in italics a verb form as in the examples below: Example:
i. If by any chance we miss the 10 o’clock train, we shan’t get there till after lunch. If we should miss the 10 o’clock train, we shan’t get there till after lunch.
ii. If you are willing to reserve seats, we shall be sure of a comfortable journey. If you will reserve seats, we shall be sure of a comfortable journey.
1. If by any chance your car needs any attention during the first twelve months,
take it to an authorized dealer. 2. If by any chance I am a little late coming home, don’t wait up for me. 3. If the baby wakes up (though I doubt he will), give him some warm milk. 4. If by some unlucky chance the talks break down, it will be a black day for
industry. 5. If by some remote chance he dares to show his face again, I shall give him a
piece of my mind! 6. If he is willing to accept the nomination, a lot of electors will vote for him. 7. If you are prepared to take the trouble to read his letter carefully, you will see
what he means. 8. If you are agreeable to waiting a few more minutes, the doctor will see you
without your making an appointment. 9. If my father is willing to give me permission, I shall spend a few months
abroad. 10. What will you do if he refuses to give you permission? 11. If by any chance you die before retiring age, your widow will receive your
pension for a period of 7 years after your death.
83
12. If the unions are prepared to accept new productivity agreements, the employers will meet their wage demands.
Exercise 8. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the words in capitals: Example: I wasn’t tall enough to reach the shelf. TALLER If I had been taller I would have been able to reach the shelf. 1. I won’t sell the painting, not even for $1000. IF 2. If the ship sank, what would you do? WERE 3. If you should notice what’s on at the cinema, let me know. HAPPEN 4. If you hadn’t encouraged me, I would have given up. BUT 5. Although it is a good car, it is expensive. IF 6. I don’t have any scissors so I can’t lend you any. IF 7. But for Mary, the play would be a flop. WERE 8. If you do have any free time, could you give me a ring? SHOULD 9. We won’t go away if the weather is bad. UNLESS 10. I didn’t have the money so I didn’t buy a new suit. WOULD 11. I regret not studying French at school. ONLY 12. If they offered you the job, would you accept? WERE 13. If you are in London by any chance, come and see me. HAPPEN 14. Without you I would have given up years ago. BEEN 15. Please take a seat, and I’ll inquire for you. WILL
Exercise 9. Translate into English: A. 1. Aş fi bucuroasă dacă ai veni să vezi în ce casă frumoasă ne-am mutat. 2. În caz că plouă amânăm excursia pentru săptămâna următoare. 3. Dacă s-au pregătit atât de serios, au reuşit să ia toate examenele la care s-au prezentat. 4. Câinele meu latră totdeauna dacă aude vreun zgomot neobişnuit. 5. Vei merge la mare dacă vei trece toate examenele. 6. Dacă nu pleci imediat vei pierde în mod sigur trenul. 7. Dacă mâine aş avea zi liberă m-aş duce la munte. 8. Nu am să iau cuvântul decât dacă Tom ridică problema. 9. Dacă nu l-aş fi înŃeles l-aş fi rugat să vorbească mai rar. 10. Dacă vremea era bună plecau la plajă de dimineaŃă. 11. Dacă era înnorat se sculau mai târziu. 12. Dacă observam accidental notam numerele maşinilor. 13. S-a schimbat atât de mult în ultimul timp încât nu l-aş fi recunoscut dacă nu mi-ai fi spus tu cine este. 14. Sunt sigură că nu s-ar fi dat jos din pat dacă ar fi fost atât de bolnav.
84
Exercise 10. Translate into English: 1. Unul dintre băieŃi s-a desprins din grup şi s-a întors de unde a venit. 2. Doreau să ajungă la locul unde cetatea era susŃinută de piloni de piatră, şi la
lacul limpede de unde aveau imaginea panoramică a întregii văi. 3. Se opreau să se odihnească oriunde se putea. 4. Cu atât mai devreme, cu atât mai bine. 5. Nu vor fi fericiŃi până nu vor avea un copil. 6. Femeia rămase mult în întuneric până a venit nepotul ei să aprindă lampa. 7. A fost mult mai politicos decât m-am aşteptat. 8. Nu putea să fie la fel de docil ca şi ea. 9. Mergeau încotro li se spusese. 10. De îndată ce termină facultatea trebuie să-şi găsească o slujbă. 11. După cum era de aşteptat, s-a supărat. 12. Imediat ce ajunse acasă, se înfricoşă cumplit din cauza zgomotului care venea
din sufragerie. 13. Nu puteau să treacă şi să mai zăbovească acolo câteva minute de teamă să nu
întârzie la recepŃie. 14. Oricât de cinic este, păstrează-Ńi cumpătul. 15. Tatăl ei i-a dat mai mulŃi bani decât i-ai dat tu săptămâna trecută. 16. Fiindcă turna cu găleata, abia puteam să vedem drumul. 17. De câte ori se aduce discuŃia despre filme vechi, este foarte entuziasmată. 18. Copila era atât de dezamăgită încât se aruncă în fotoliu şi începu să plângă. 19. Dacă ceaŃa s-ar ridica, am putea pleca mai departe. 20. În timp ce mergeau spre casă, ei nu ştiau că ceva se va întâmpla la căderea
nopŃii şi viaŃa li se va schimba pentru totdeauna. 21. Dacă aş fi bănuit ceva, l-aş fi întrebat şi l-aş fi ajutat. 22. I-am lăsat cartea deschisă ca să găsească mai uşor pasajul. 23. Vorbea de parcă era un om cinstit, cu o bună reputaŃie. 24. Atât de ciudat se comporta încât toŃi îl priveau cu uimire.
85
UNIT 6. Direct and Indirect Speech
1. Changes in the deictic categories. 2. Syntactic changes. 3. Free Indirect Speech.
Obiective:
1. Să identifice schimbările categoriilor deictice ce au loc în procesul trecerii de la vorbirea directă la vorbirea indirectă.
2. Să identifice transformările sintactice în acelaşi proces. 3. Să transforme diverse tipuri de propoziŃii de la vorbirea directă la cea
indirectă. Timp de studiu : 3 ore.
When reproducing speeches and thoughts of other people or even one’s
own previous statements, one may do it in two ways: - by direct quotation: by repeating the original speaker’s exact words, called in grammars Direct Speech. Remarks thus repeated are placed between inverted commas, and a comma is placed immediately before the remark, e.g. He said, “I’ve lost my book.”
She said, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”
- by using special constructions, mainly subordinate clauses, i.e. direct object clauses, which reproduce the quoted words, without necessarily using the speaker’s exact words. This is called Indirect Speech or Reported Speech, e.g. He said he had lost his book.
She said (that) she would see me the next day.
1. Changes in the deictic categories
The most important structural modifications occurring in the conversion of direct speech into indirect speech concern the deictic categories (i.e. the orientational features of language) which relate an utterance to the given participants, to the time and the place of the utterance. Deictic categories include personal, reflexive, possessive, demonstrative pronouns, tenses, place and time adverbials. One or more of these deictic categories may be different in Indirect Speech sentences, as the latter may be produced by different participants at a different time and in a different place. There are also constraints regarding the tenses of the verb which are subordinated to the rules of the sequence of tenses in different Object Clauses. Consequently, the following types of changes are apt to occur:
86
5.1.1. The personal, possessive, reflexive and emphatic pronouns are shifted according to sense, e.g. first and second person personal pronouns may shift to the third person (except when the speaker is reporting his own words). e.g. Tom said to Mary, “You should have asked me first.” –
Tom told Mary she should have asked him first.
The demonstrative pronouns denoting proximity (this, these) are replaced by the demonstratives denoting remoteness (that, those) e.g. He said, “She is coming this week” –
He said that she was coming that week.
This and that used as adjectives usually change to the: e.g. He said, “I bought this book/these books for my sister.”-
He said that he had bought the book(s) for his sister.
Changes affecting the adverbs refer mainly to those of definite time and to those of place. The adverbs and adverbial phrases denoting proximity are replaced by adverbs and adverbial phrases denoting a distancing effect: now – then, today –
that day, yesterday – the day before/the previous day, the day before yesterday –
two days before, last night – the previous night, last week – the previous week/the
week before, a year ago – a year before, tomorrow – the next day/the following
day, the day after tomorrow – in two days’ time, next week/year – the next/the
following week, here – there. e.g. He said, “I saw Mary yesterday.” – He said he had seen
Mary the day before. He said, “Smith will be back tomorrow.” – He said Smith
would be back the following day. The teacher said, “Tom, bring your paintings the day after
tomorrow.” – The teacher told Tom to bring his paintings in two days’ time. But if the speech is made and reported on the same day these time changes are
not necessary. e.g. At breakfast this morning he said, “I’ll be very busy today.” – At breakfast this morning he said that he would be very
busy today. 7:00 a.m. Radio-news report: Steel workers are planning a
trade meeting tomorrow. – They said on the radio this
morning that steel workers are planning a trade-union
meeting tomorrow. (If the sentence is reported on the same day). But Peter the next day: They said on the radio
yesterday that steel workers are planning a trade-union
meeting today.
5.1.2. The most important changes take place in the verb phrase. Changes affecting the verb refer to the tense of the verb and occasionally the mood.
When the verb in the main or reporting clause is in the Present Tense, Present Perfect or Future Tense, statements may be reported without any change of tense
87
e.g. He says, “The train will be late.” – He says that the train will be late. Alice has said to Tom, “I’ll help you if I can” – Alice has told
Tom that she will help him if she can. When the verb in the reporting clause is in the Present/Present Perfect/Future,
demonstrative adjectives, pronouns, adverbs remain unchanged in the reported clause
e.g. Alice has said, “I’ll come here tomorrow.” – Alice has promised to come
here tomorrow. When the verb in the reporting clause is in the Past Tense, it is usual for the verb in the reported clause to be back shifted. In semantic terms, backshift may be explained as follows: the time of the original speech which is now for direct speech becomes then for indirect speech and all times referred to in the speech, accordingly, become shifted with respect to that point of orientation. a) Present Tense becomes Past Tense e.g. He said, “My father does not agree.” – He said that his
father did not agree. Tom said, “I have many friends.” – Tom said that he had
many friends.
He said to them “I’ve been very busy today.”- He said to
them that he had been very busy that day.
He said to them “How tired I am!” – He exclaimed that he
was very tired.
He said to them “Will you help me to solve this matter?” –
He asked them if they would help him to solve that matter.
Exceptions to backshift: bearing in mind that backshift is part of the natural temporal distancing that takes place when we report what was said in the past, we should not be surprised that the rule of back- shift can be ignored in cases where the validity of the statement reported holds for the present as much as for the time of utterance, i.e. the past: - when the reported clause expresses a repeated action
e.g. George said, “I go to the seaside every summer.” – George said that
he went/ goes to the seaside every summer.
- when there is a statement of universal truth e.g. The teacher said, “Water boils at 1000 C.” – The teacher
said that water boils at 1000 C.
“Nothing can harm a good man”, said Socrates. – Socrates
said that nothing can/could harm a good man. (The statement is a universal assertion which, if it was true for Socrates’ time, should also be true today. We can therefore report it either by applying or ignoring the back shift rule).
b) Past Tense/Present Perfect/Past Perfect become Past Perfect e.g. Mother said, “Tom hurt himself.” – Mother said that Tom
had hurt himself.
88
“I’ ve already seen him”, he said. – He said that he had already seen him.
He said, “We were thinking of moving house but we have changed our
minds.” – He said that they had been thinking of moving house but they
had changed their minds.
Exceptions to backshift: - in theory, the past tense changes to the past perfect but in spoken English it is
often left unchanged, provided this can be done without causing confusion about the relative times of the action,
e.g. He said, “Ann arrived on Monday”, should be reported: He
said that Ann arrived/had arrived on Monday.
- when a definite moment is indicated e.g. He said, “I was born in 1928.” - He said that he was born in 1928.
- when a statement is retold in Indirect Speech immediately after it has been made (on the same day)
e.g. I talked to him this morning. – She said she talked to him
this morning.
- repeated actions in the past e.g. Tom said, “I invited all my friends to my birthday parties
when I was young.” – Tom said that he invited all his friends
to his birthday parties when he was young.
- in subordinate clauses of time (the main verb of such clauses can either remain unchanged or become the past perfect)
e.g. He said, “When we were living / lived in London we often saw Paul.” –
He said that when they were living / lived in London they often saw Paul / had
often seen Paul.
- in Conditional Clauses (Type II) e.g. Harry said, “I would go to the museum if it was/were open.” – Harry said he would go to the museum if it was open. - in clauses after wish, would rather, it’s time e.g. He said, “I wish I knew.” – He said that he wished he knew.
“It’s time you finished your papers”, the teacher said. – The
teacher said it was time they finished their papers.
c) Future Tense becomes Future in the Past e.g. He said, “Ann will be in London on Monday.” – He said that
Ann would be in London on Monday.
Peter said, “I’m going to buy a new car next year.” – Peter
said he was going to buy a new car next year. The backshift is not applied when the action is future not only for the original statement but also for the time of the report
e.g. Peter said, “I’ll take up engineering after graduation.” –
Peter said he’ll take up engineering after graduation.
d) The backshift of modal auxiliary verbs:
89
If there is a change in time reference, a modal auxiliary verb is back shifted from present tense forms to past tense forms even if these do not normally indicate past time in direct speech: can – could, may – might, will – would, e.g. He said, “You can come with me if you like.” - He said I
could come with him if I liked.
She thought, “He may be right.” – She thought he might be right. Tom said, “The mechanic can fix the brakes on my car,
but he won’t.” – Tom complained that the mechanic could fix the brakes on his car, but he wouldn’t. On the other hand, would, should, could, might, ought to, need, must (logical
necessity), used to do not normally change e.g. I said, “He ought to know.” – I said he ought to know.
He said, “I would help her if I could.” – He said he would help her if he could.
She said, “I’m always running into him; he must live quite
near.” – She said that she was always running into him and
that he must live quite near.
When must expresses obligation, it can become would have to, or had to, e.g. Mary said, “I must go to school now.” – Mary said she had to go to school immediately.
Peter said, “I must go to a conference tomorrow.” – Peter
said he would have to go to a conference the next day. Need remains unchanged, alternatively it can change to didn’t have to,
wouldn’t have to, e.g. He said, “I needn’t be in the office till ten tomorrow
morning.” – He said that he needn’t/didn’t have to be in
the office till ten the next morning.
Could remains unchanged in indirect speech or is changed according to meaning, e.g. She said, “I could read when I was five.” – She said that she
could / had been able to read when she was five.
He said, “When I was a child I couldn’t interrupt my
parents.” – He said that when he was a child he
couldn’t / wasn’t allowed to interrupt his parents.
Changes in the mood of the verb occur mainly when the imperative in an independent sentence is reproduced into an infinitive or a subjunctive in indirect speech. 2. Syntactic changes refer to two levels: on the one hand, it is a matter of changing independent sentences into subordinate clauses, and on the other hand, the changes are reflected inside this new clause in the arrangement of words in keeping with the rules for declarative sentences. Independent sentences (which
90
may be declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamations) become subordinate direct object clauses. 2.1. Declarative sentences (statements) become subordinate object clauses.
Largely, one might say that verbs that serve to introduce direct speech, can also introduce indirect speech. This is true for a large number of ‘communication’ verbs: advise, ask, claim, confess, declare, explain, insist,
promise, protest, remark, say, state, suggest, tell. If the verb say is not followed by an Indirect Object it normally remains with reported speech.
e.g. She said, “The roof is leaking.” – She said that the roof was leaking.
But, if the verb say is followed by an Indirect Object, it is usually changed into some such verbs as tell¸ etc.
He told me that the roof was leaking. There are verbs that can introduce only direct speech sentences: gasp, snap,
sneer. e.g. “You’re some kid”, he sneered. – *He sneered that I was some kid.
In reported speech such verbs have to be expressed with say + an adverbial of manner, e.g. to sneer = to say derisively, to snap = to say suddenly, etc.
And there are verbs that can only introduce indirect speech sentences: deny,
forget, e.g. He denied that he was sick. – *He denied “I’m sick.”
Yes and no are expressed in indirect speech by means of: - the subject + auxiliary verb e.g. “Is this device safe?” “Yes.” – The man asked if the device
was safe and the mechanic replied that it was. “Can you swim?” “No.” – He asked (me) if I could swim and
I said that I couldn’t.
- verbs of assertion (accept, agree, assent, answer in the affirmative) and verbs of negation respectively (deny, refuse, reject, answer in the
negative). e.g. They said, “Yes, we are coming.” – They agreed to come.
He said, “No, I haven’t been there.” – He denied having been there.
2.2. Interrogative sentences (questions) become object clauses. When interrogative sentences are used in indirect speech they become declarative sentences: the interrogative form of the verb becomes declarative (affirmative or negative), the subject precedes the predicate, the auxiliary verb do is omitted.
e.g. He asked, “Where does he live?” – He asked where he lived.
He said, “Where is the station?” – He asked where the station was.
The object clause is introduced by a verb of inquiry: ask, inquire, wonder,
want to know.
91
- the special questions preserve the introductory element, i.e. who, which, what,
why, where, when, how, e.g. He said, “when will they return?” – He asked when they
would return.
“Why is Tom angry?”, Helen asked me. Helen asked me / wondered why
Tom was angry.
“How do you spell the word?” the teacher has asked. – The
teacher has asked how they spell the word. - the general questions are introduced by if or whether, e.g. Peter is saying, “Isn’t Tom coming?” – Peter wants to
know if Tom is not coming.
He asked, “Is that true?” – He asked if / whether it was true. - alternative questions are introduced by whether, e.g. “Are you going to the theatre or to the cinema” Tom said
to his sister. – Tom asked his sister whether she was
going to the theatre or to the cinema.
“Are you accompanied by Peter or by your sister?”, Mr.
Adams said to me. – Mr. Adams asked me whether I was
accompanied by Peter or by my sister. General questions introduced by will, would, shall, could are changed into
indirect speech according to the general meaning. a) Shall I / we
- a question about a future event, action, e.g. “Shall I see you tomorrow?” Bob said. – Bob wanted to
know if he would see me the next day.
- request for instruction or advice, e.g. “Shall I buy the red dress, mother?” Ann said. – Ann asked
her mother if she should buy the red dress.
- offer e.g. “Shall I bring you your coat?” Mary said. – Mary offered to
bring me my coat. - suggestion e.g. “Shall we have a snack?” Tom said. – Tom suggested
having / that they should have a snack. b) Will / would / could you:
- a question about a future action, e.g. “Will you be there tomorrow?” he said. – He asked if she
would be there the next day.
- request, e.g. “Could you help me?” Tom said. – Tom asked if she could
help him; Tom asked her to help him. - Invitation, e.g. “Would you attend the meeting?” the children said to their
92
teacher. – The children asked / invited their teacher to
their meeting. He said, “Will you have a drink?” – He asked me if I would like a
drink; He offered me a drink.
2.3.Imperative sentences turn into infinitival constructions. - affirmative: e.g. “Let me alone!” the child cried. – The child asked to be left
alone.
She said, “Sit down, Peter!” – She told Peter to sit down.
- negative: e.g. Don’t interrupt the speaker, please. – He asked them not to
interrupt the speaker. The infinitival construction is governed by verbs expressing order (command,
forbid, order, tell, etc.), request (ask, beg, entreat, implore, request, urge, etc.), advice (advise, recommend, warn, etc.) according to circumstances. e.g. He said, “Please, give me another chance.” – He begged
them to give him another chance.
“You’d better stay in bed for a few days, Peter!” the doctor
said. – The doctor advised Peter to stay in bed for a few days.
Imperatives expressing a general order may be transformed into a that-clause
(with should) when the command is introduced by advise, command, order, recommend, urge, suggest, e.g. Officer to soldiers, “Clean the barracks!” – The officer
ordered the soldiers to clean the barracks; The officer
ordered that the soldiers should clean the barracks.
Nick said, “Let’s watch TV!” – Nick suggested watching TV;
Nick suggested that they should watch TV.
Jane said suddenly: “Let’s have a party!” – Jane suggested
having a party; Jane suggested that they should have a
party. A possible alternative to the infinitive construction is a that-clause with the
verb be to. The be to construction is particularly useful in the following cases: - when the command is introduced by a verb in the present tense e.g. The teacher says, “Do the next exercise.” – The teacher
says that we are to do the next exercise.
He says, “Meet me at the station.” – He says that we are to
meet him at the station.
- the command is preceded by a clause (usually of time or condition) e.g. She said, “If he comes, ring me up.” – She said that if he
came we were to ring her up.
2.4.Exclamatory sentences (Exclamations) become declarative sentences in indirect speech. They turn into clauses governed by the verbs complain, cry,
exclaim, observe, shout, say + an adverb of manner, e.g. say admiringly, say
93
scornfully, etc. The following transformations are possible depending on the nature of the exclamation:
- exclamations introduced by what, how are transformed into direct object clauses introduced by that,
e.g. “What a funny joke!” he said. – He exclaimed that the joke
was funny.
“How tired I am!” the woman said. – The woman
complained that she was tired.
“What a delicious cake!” the guest said. – The guest said
admiringly that the cake was delicious.
- exclamations such as oh! ugh! alas! ah! are rendered by periphrastic constructions such as He exclaimed with disgust/ surprise; He gave an
exclamation of disgust/ surprise, etc. e.g. She said, “Alas! I’ll never be happy again.” – She exclaimed
in despair that she would never be happy again.
- greetings and wishes are rendered by semantically related verbs, e.g. They said, “Good morning!” – They greeted me/ They
wished me good morning.
He said, “Well done!” – He congratulated me.
He said, “Thank you!” – He thanked me.
She said, “Happy to see you at my place!” – She welcomed me.
3. Free indirect speech Free Indirect Speech is a half-way stage between direct and indirect speech
and is used extensively in modern narrative writing. It consists in reporting an utterance indirectly by back shifting the verb, while omitting the reporting verb (He said; He asked, etc.) Direct Speech: Ann said, “Why do you always have to pick on me?” Indirect Speech: Ann asked why they always had to pick on her.
Free Indirect Speech: Why did they always have to pick on her?
Free Indirect Speech is a more flexible medium for reporting than normal indirect speech; it also aids concision by allowing a writer to retell someone’s words without having to keep inserting expressions like He said or He exclaimed. David moved slowly and thoughtfully. He would not be deterred. (implied: He said/thought, ‚I won’t be deterred.’)
Unlike ordinary indirect speech, free indirect speech retains the potentialities of direct speech structure (direct question form, tag questions, exclamations, etc.). e.g. Here was Tom at last! (thought John).
Could he be imagining things? (wondered Mary).
She had known. Only why, as he sat there, had he still this
strange dominance over her?...Why, even now, if he looked
at her and commanded her, would she have to obey?...But
once he was obeyed, then she had him in her power, she
94
knew, to lead him where she would. She was sure of
herself…Ah, he was not a man!
(D.H.Lawrence: Sons and Lovers)
It is therefore only the backshift of the verb, together with equivalent shifts in pronouns, determiners and adverbs that signals the fact that the words are being reported, rather than being in direct speech. The use of free indirect speech for describing “interior monologue” has become a very widespread practice in the fiction of the twentieth century.
���� Summing-up:
• Back shift:
Direct Back Shifted Present becomes Past Tense Past Tense Present Perfect Past Perfect
becomes
Past Perfect
Future Tense becomes Future in the Past • Syntactic changes refer to two levels: on the one hand, it is a matter of changing independent sentences into subordinate clauses, and on the other hand, the changes are reflected inside this new clause in the arrangement of words in keeping with the rules for declarative sentences. Independent sentences (which may be declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamations) become subordinate direct object clauses. BIBLIOGRAFIE: Bădescu, A.. 1963. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed. ŞtiinŃifică. Bantaş, A. 1977. Elements of Descriptive English Syntax. Bucureşti: TUB. Budai, L. 1997. Gramatica engleza, Teorie şi exerciŃii , Bucureşti: Editura Teora. Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. 2005. Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman. GălăŃeanu, G., Comişel, E. 1982. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed.
Didactică şi Pedagogică. Murar, I., Trantescu, A., Pisoschi, C. 2008. Descriptive English Syntax. Theory
and Practice. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Şerban, D. 1982. English Syntax, volume one, Bucureşti. Ştefănescu, I. 1978. Lectures in English Morphology. Bucureşti: TUB. Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Swartvick, J. 1972. A Grammar of
Contemporary English. London: Longman. Thomson, A., Martinet, A. 1969. A Practical English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
95
AUTOEVALUARE: Exercise 1. Write the appropriate form of the verbs in brackets:
1. John asked me if I (be) going to the party. 2. William says he (want) to be a teacher when he grows up. 3. At lunch time my wife called to ask me where I (be) all morning. 4. He asked if I (ever visit) London before. 5. He wanted to know if I (can lend) him the CD player. 6. Jane called me on my mobile and asked me where I (be).
Exercise 2. Change the following into indirect speech:
1. ‘I suggest you spent a few days there’, I said. 2. He asked, ‘What are you going to do?’ 3. ‘What a stupid thing’, I said. 4. ‘Join us if you like’, Pete said. 5. ‘Bring the book here immediately’, she ordered. 6. ‘We met in Venice last March’, he replied. 7. ‘Don’t lie’, she said. 8. ‘I intended to make these changes yesterday’, Ann said.
Exercise 3. Turn the following sentences from the indirect speech into the direct speech:
1. That woman wanted to know what my name was and where I lived. 2. Mike decided that he would go to London the next day. 3. Tom said that his parents were coming that afternoon. 4. The teacher told us to open our notebooks and to do that exercise. 5. Mrs. Smith wondered whether her husband managed to catch the plain. 6. She gave an exclamation of surprise and kissed me. 7. Mother advised me not to leave so late. 8. He promised he would call on us in a day or two. 9. Emma told Pete that she was very grateful to him for everything he had
done for her. 10. I asked the boy if he was not homesick sometimes.
Exercise 4. Change the following from direct to indirect speech:
1. We say, ‘We are learning English’. 2. The boy is saying, ‘I can’t speak Spanish’. 3. I asked him, ‘Had you been there before?’ 4. Tom said to me, ‘I bought the book yesterday’. 5. Te pupils always say, ‘We are never late’. 6. They said, ‘We have never seen that film before’. 7. I heard your answer, ‘That monastery wasn’t built by him; his father built
it’.
96
8. You seldom say to him, ‘You are a diligent boy’. 9. I repeated, ‘I live in Bucharest’. 10. He said, ‘Nobody came to see me at the hospital’. 11. The teacher asked them, ‘Why didn’t you take your dictionaries’. 12. Mother asked me, ‘Where did you put my gloves?’ 13. The old man shouted angrily ‘I have been waiting too long’. 14. Mark answered ‘I have never visited them’.
Exercise 5. Complete each sentence using indirect speech in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence above it: 1. ‘I will buy the flowers myself’.
Mrs. Smith said ………………………………………………. 2. An announcement was made that the strike was over.
There was ……………………………………….........………………. 3. ‘Did you have your Identity Card on the table?’
She asked …………………………………………….............……….. 4. ‘I shall return tomorrow’.
His only comment ………………………………...............………….. 5. They said, ‘You can stay with us’.
They invited ……………………………………………...........……… 6. I remember one time when my aunt said to me, ‘Don’t talk with your mouth
full’. I remember one time when my aunt told ……………………………
7. It amazed me that he said, ‘I won’t do it’. His statement that ……………………………………………………
Exercise 6. Turn the following sentences into the indirect speech:
1. ‘Read the instructions first’, the clerk advised me. 2. ‘What will you say to her now’, Mary asked me. 3. ‘Don’t make so much noise’, the old woman told the children. 4. ‘Let’s try again’, said the girls. 5. ‘How old is your friend?’, John asked me. 6. I thought, ‘My brother will reach home before me’. 7. I was answered, ‘The new theatre will have been completely finished by
next autumn’. 8. We heard the boy saying to his friend, ‘I shall bring you the book
tomorrow’. 9. The doctor said, ‘I would take the medicine if I were you’. 10. My colleague said to me, ‘That young man was walking nervously up and
down as if he were waiting for somebody’. 11. The patient said, ‘I wish I were younger and I had better health’. 12. ‘What terrible weather!’, she exclaimed. 13. The doctor said ‘Everything should be perfectly clean by tomorrow’.
97
14. The little boy said to me, ‘I crouched behind the armchair so that I should not be seen’.
15. ‘Ugh! How I hate going there!’ 16. He said, ‘If Liz had studied more, she might have passed the exam’.
98
REVISION TESTS AND EXERCISES Exercise 1. True or False? 1. Another name for subordinate clauses is dependent clauses. 2. We always start a subordinate clause with a subordinating conjunction. 3. Comment clauses are subordinate clauses. 4. Subordinate clauses may be adverbial, nominal or relative clauses. 5. All subordinate clauses are /mite clauses. 6. Relative clauses may be subordinated by a zero pronoun. 7. Nominal clauses are often subordinated by a wh-word. 8. Inversion can mark a subordinate conditional clause. 9. Subordinate clauses cannot have pronouns as subject. 10. Noun phrases, like the day can function as subordinating time adverbials.
Exercise 2. TRUE or FALSE 1. Nominal clauses are non-finite clauses. 2. They start with a wh-word, if or that as a conjunction. 3. The initial that can be omitted in all cases. 4. Nominal clauses are often the subjects of sentences. 5. We also use them as direct and indirect objects. 6. Nominal clauses can stand in apposition. 7. They can stand as complements of prepositions. 8. They are also used as adjective complements. 9. They can stand in front position in rather formal writing. 10. They can be deleted from their sentence without loss of meaning. 11. That clauses can be one kind of nominal clauses. 12. That clauses include relative clauses.
Exercise 3. Defining/non-defining clauses. Decide whether the following statements are true or false and explain your answer: 1. Defining and non-defining clauses are all postmodifiers. 2. Both kinds of clause may have the same actual words. 3. Non-defining clauses are signalled in writing by a comma. 4. There is no difference between defining and non-defining use in spoken
English. 5. Defining clauses are essential to their sentence meaning, non-defining are not. 6. The concept applies most frequently to relative clauses. 7. It also applies to appositive clauses, but never one-word elements. 8. Most adjectives are defining. 9. Intensifying adjectives are usually defining by nature. 10. Poetic descriptive adjectives are often non-defining.
99
Exercise 4. Are the following statements true or false? 1. Relative pronouns, introducing relative clauses, all start with wh-. 2. Relative pronouns stand first in a clause except when preceded by a
preposition. 3. All relative pronouns can refer to both singular and plural antecedents. 4. Who, whom and whose normally refer to people. 5. Whose can never refer to inanimates. 6. Which always refers to things or events. 7. Which never refers to indefinite pronouns or superlatives. 8. We do not use whom if we can avoid it. 9. That and zero are alternative object pronouns for personal reference only. 10. All relative pronouns have different forms as subject and object.
Exercise 5. Decide whether the next statements are true or false: 1. Relative clauses are adjectival in nature. 2. Relative clauses start with relative pronouns. 3. Sometimes, we omit the relative pronoun, making a contact clause. 4. All relative clauses are both defining and non-defining. 5. Reduced clauses, without relative pronoun and operator, are a feature of
spoken English. 6. Relative adverbs can never replace relative pronouns. 7. Non-defining clauses stand between commas in print. 8. Defining clauses are less common than non-defining. 9. Sentence relative clauses can only be introduced by “which”. 10. Nominal relative clauses are introduced by what, meaning ‘that which’. Exercise 6. Translate into English:
13. Va mai trece mult timp până când se vor convinge că merită să încerce. 14. Mi-a promis că mă va suna imediat ce va ajunge acolo. 15. Atâta timp cât nu vei risca, nu vei câştiga. 16. Te voi anunŃa de îndată ce voi termina proiectul. 17. Când îşi va da seama ce a făcut, va fi prea târziu. 18. O cunosc de când eram copil. 19. Nu vom pleca înainte de a veni el. 20. ÎŃi voi comunica un răspuns clar de îndată ce voi discuta cu familia. 21. A ieşit din cameră numai după ce a verificat totul. 22. Aştept aici cât timp mănânci. 23. Îi voi vorbi deschis când îl voi cunoaşte mai bine. 24. Când toate acestea se vor lămuri, totul Ńi se va părea un vis urât.
Exercise 7. Put the verbs in brackets into their correct form: 1. He hurried lest he (miss) the class. 2. I shall remind you lest you (forget).
100
3. The doctor told him to keep to a diet so that he (recover) soon. 4. He worked hard so that he (win) the prize. 5. Bring it here so that we (look) at it better. 6. Some people eat so that they (live); others seem to leave in order that they
(eat). 7. They sent all the documents by air mail so that they (to be received) before the
arrival of the shipping. 8. He took his shoes off so that his mother (not hear) him enter. 9. The coachman whipped the horses so that they (be) quicker. 10. She was squeezing her son’s hand tight lest he (cross) the street alone. 11. He grew frightened for fear that his friends (tell) the whole truth. 12. The bees swarmed round the sweet-smelling flowers so that they (collect) the
nectar from them. Exercise 8. Put each verb in brackets into a suitable tense: Example: Why didn’t you phone? If I (know) you were coming, I (meet) you at the airport. Why didn’t you phone? If I had known you were coming, I would have met you at the airport. 1. If he (tell) me that last week I (be) saved a lot of trouble. 2. It’s a pity you missed the party. If you (come) you (met) my friends from
Germany. 3. If we (have) some tools, we (be able) to repair the car, but we haven’t got any
with us. 4. Thank you for your help. If you (not help) me, I (not pass) the examination. 5. It’s a beautiful house, and I (buy) it if I (have) the money, but I can’t afford it. 6. I can’t imagine what I (do) with the money if I (win) the football pools or a
lottery. 7. Mark isn’t a serious athlete. If he (train) harder, he (be) quite a good runner. 8. If Ann (listen) to her mother, she (not marry) Tom in the first place. 9. It rained ever day on our holiday. If we (not take) the television with us, we
(not have) anything to do. 10. Now we’re lost! If you (write down) Mary’s directions, this (not happen). 11. I’m sorry I can’t lend you any money. You know that if I (have) it, I (lend) it
to you. 12. What a terrible thing to happen! Just think, if we (not miss) the plane, we (kill)
in the crash.
Exercise 9. Complete the following sentences with clauses that express appropriate meaning. Example: If I had a lot of money…. If I had a lot of money, I’d travel around the world.
101
1. If I were Prime Minister… 2. People would complain bitterly if…. 3. Students would unite in opposition if… 4. If my parents saw that bathing suit…. 5. Worldwide hunger might result if… 6. If the ozone layer were to be even more severely damaged… 7. If you were in my place… 8. Would you have told him the truth if… 9. Surely if you….he would understand. 10. I should have had my photograph taken if… Exercise 10. True or False?
1. Adverbial Clauses operate in sentences in the same way as simple adverbs. 2. Adverbial Clauses may be finite or reduced clauses. 3. Reduced Clauses are usually verbless. 4. Adverbial Clauses can have meanings not expressed by simple adverbs. 5. Adverbial Clauses may take front-and end-positions. 6. All Adverbial Clauses are introduced by subordinating conjunctions. 7. Reduced Clauses take the same sentence positions as full clauses. 8. Absolute Clauses are reduced adverbial clauses. 9. Reduced Clauses can express meanings which finite clauses cannot. 10. We never use the bare infinitive in reduced clauses. .
Exercise 11. True or False?
1. Direct Speech reports someone else’s words. 2. Indirect Speech reports direct speech, making certain changes. 3. We can always note from Indirect Speech the exact words used in the
direct form. 4. Free indirect speech includes direct questions and exclamations. 5. In Indirect Speech the verb forms are often back-shifted. 6. With present and future time reference, no tense changes are necessary in
the indirect form. 7. Pronouns never need changing in an indirect form. 8. Time and place adverbs often need to be changed in indirect speech. 9. All sentence types can be reported in indirect speech. 10. We can omit that in indirect speech after all reporting verbs.
Exercise 12. Complete each sentence in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence above it. 1. ‘I left my book here yesterday’.
He said that ……………………………………....…………………… 2. ‘We won’t eat it now, but we may have it for dinner’.
102
She said that ………………………………………………… 3. ‘Carlin’s new book is the funniest thing I’ve ever read’.
The reviewer wrote that ……………………….................………… . 4. ‘You should take as much water as you can carry’.
He advised us that ……………………....................………….……. . 5. ‘I must get something to eat or I’ll faint’.
You told me that …………...............………………………….…….. . 6. ‘Shall I go there?’
She asked if …………………............…………………………..……. . 7. ‘Demand for new computers in the UK is declining’.
CompCo is reporting that ……………......................…….…………
Exercise 13. Put a cross (x) by any of the options below that cannot complete the sentence. Put a question mark beside any that are possible but very unlikely:
1. Tom just told me he is/was going home because he doesn’t feel well. 2. According to Shakespeare, life is/was nothing but a walking shadow. 3. It’s reported that there has been/had been a massive earthquake in
Indonesia. 4. Shakespeare wrote that all the world is/was a stage. 5. Can you believe it, he’s told the others he has/had passed Proficiency? 6. Mark says he’d/he’ll see you later. 7. He told me just now he is/was going to leave the town. 8. My mother was always saying that you can/could take a horse to water but
you can’t/couldn’t make it drink.
Exercise 14. Complete each sentence in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence above it. 1. ‘Mr. Brody, there’s something wrong with the lights’.
I mentioned …………………....…………………………………… 2. ‘Jane, you and your sister have to tidy up after the party’.
I reminded ……………………………….....………………………. 3. ‘Don’t touch any of the wires’.
He warned ………………………………….........…………………. 4. ‘I’ll go to the seaside next month’.
He said ………………………………………….......………………. 5. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong’.
He denied ………………………………………......……………….. 6. ‘I’m not guilty’, called out one of the defendants.
One ………………………………………………………………… 7. It really surprised us when she said she’d been adopted.
Her statement …………………………………….………………… 8. The students’ agreement is that the cost of tuition has increased too much and
I agree.
103
I agree ……………………………………………………………… 9. He claimed, ‘I’m not a thief’, but no one believed him.
No one believed his ………………………....…………………….. 10. ‘I have already called her’.
He said ……………………………………….…………………….. 11. Guard to the prisoner: ‘Stand up when the judge comes in’.
The guard ordered …………………………………………………… 12. Worker to his boss: ‘Can I leave early on Friday?’
The worker asked ………………………………………………..
Exercise 15. Translate into English:
1. L-am întrebat dacă se aştepta să ne vadă sosind atât de curând, dar mi-a răspuns că din moment ce ne rugase să ne întoarcem cât putem de repede, era convins că nu vom întârzia prea mult.
2. Când am rugat-o să intre în casă mi-a răspuns că este grăbită; se duce la spital să-şi vadă sora şi deci nu va putea sta mai mult de zece minute.
3. Când am intrat mi-a spus că după cât se pare proiectul său fusese respins. 4. Am întrebat-o dacă Peter nu lăsase vorbă înainte să plece, dar mi-a răspuns
că nu i-a spus nimic altceva decât că o va anunŃa din timp când are de gând să se întoarcă.
5. George l-a întrebat pe prietenul său dacă-i place noul serviciu. 6. M-a întrebat unde plecaseră toŃi şi cum era posibil să lase copilul singur. 7. Le-am spus că este foarte târziu şi că dacă mai vor să prindă trenul de opt
este momentul să se grăbească. 8. L-am întrebat de unde are atâŃia bani, dar a păstrat tăcerea. 9. Lucy ne-a povestit că s-au certat toată după-amiaza pentru că John refuza
să meargă la doctor, deşi era evident că de câteva săptămâni nu se simŃea bine.
10. M-a întrebat ce să spună în cazul în care este întrebat dacă a văzut cu cine am stat de vorbă.
TOPICS FOR EXAM: 1. Enumerate the classes of words that trigger a Subject Clause. 2. Enlarge upon the use of Moods and Tenses in Subject Clauses. 3. Enumerate the ways of reducing a Subject Clause to a non-finite Form. 4. Enumerate some verbs that trigger a Direct Object Clause. 5. State the rules of sequence of tenses in Direct Object Clauses. 6. Tenses and Moods in Prepositional Object Clauses. 7. Discuss the transformations involving Restrictive Relative Clauses. 8. Enlarge upon Non-defining Relative Clauses. 9. Enlarge upon the sequence of tenses in Adverbial Clauses of Time.
104
10. Discuss the ways of reducing an Adverbial Clause of Time to non-finite forms. 11. Tense and Moods constraints in Clauses of Affirmative Purpose. 12. Tense and Moods constraints in Clauses of Negative Purpose. 13. Tenses and Moods used in Conditional Sentences. 14. Direct and Indirect Speech. Enlarge upon the changes in the deictic categories.
BIBLIOGRAFIE: Bădescu, A.. 1963. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed. ŞtiinŃifică. Bantaş, A. 1977. Elements of Descriptive English Syntax. Bucureşti: TUB. Budai, L. 1997. Gramatica engleza, Teorie şi exerciŃii , Bucureşti: Editura Teora. Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. 2005. Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman. GălăŃeanu, G., Comişel, E. 1982. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed.
Didactică şi Pedagogică. Murar, I., Trantescu, A., Pisoschi, C. 2008. Descriptive English Syntax. Theory
and Practice. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Şerban, D. 1982. English Syntax, volume one, Bucureşti. Ştefănescu, I. 1978. Lectures in English Morphology. Bucureşti: TUB. Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Swartvick, J. 1972. A Grammar of
Contemporary English. London: Longman. Thomson, A., Martinet, A. 1969. A Practical English Grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
105
LIST OF AUTHORS REFERRED TO
J. Al. = James Aldridge J.A. = Jane Austen C.B. = Charlotte Brontë R.B. = Robert Browning J.C. = Joseph Conrad A.J.C. = A. J. Cronin C.D. = Charles Dickens T.D. = Theodore Dreiser G.E. = George Eliot J.G. = John Galsworthy G.G. = Graham Greene T.H. = Thomas Hardy E.H. = Ernest Hemingway A.H. = Aldous Huxley J.K.J. = Jerome K. Jerome W.M. = William S. Maugham W.S. = William Shakespeare G.B.S. = George B. Shaw P.B.S. = Percy B. Shelley H.G.W. = Herbert G. Wells O.W. = Oscar Wilde
106
107
BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, L.G. 1998. Longman English Grammar. London: Longman Avram, L. 2006. English Syntax.The structure of Root Sentences. Bucureşti: Oscar
Print. Azar, B. S. 1981. Understanding and Using English Grammar. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall. Bădescu, Alice. 1984. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Ed. ŞtiinŃifică şi
Enciclopedică. Bantaş, Andrei. 1996. Descriptive English Syntax. Iaşi: Institutul European. Bantaş, A., GălăŃeanu, G., Sachelarie, D. 1979. Limba engleză prin exerciŃii
structurale. Modele verbale. Bucureşti: Ed. ŞtiinŃifică şi Enciclopedică. Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. 2005. Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. London: Longman Bloomfield, L. 1933. Language. New York: Holt. Broughton, G. 1990. Penguin English Grammar. A-Z. Exercises for advanced
students. Penguin Books. Budai, László. 1997. Gramatica engleză. Teorie şi exerciŃii . Bucureşti: Teora. Bywater, F. V. 1996. A Proficiency Course in English. Edinburgh: Longman. Catedra de limbă şi literatură engleză a facultăŃii de limbi străine. 1962.
Gramatica limbii engleze. Vol. I-II. Bucureşti: Ed. ŞtiinŃifică. ChiŃoran, D., Panovf, I., Poenaru, I. 1995. English Grammar. Exercises.
Bucureşti: Teora. Chomsky, N. 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge: The MIT Press. Christophersen, P., Sandved, A.. 1967. An Advanced English Grammar. London. Close, R. A. 1975. A Reference Grammar for Students of English. London :
Longman. Cornilescu, A. 1976. The Transformational Syntax of English. The Complex
Sentence, Bucureşti : TUB. Curme, G. 1976. Syntax. New York : Academic Press. Fillmore, Ch. 1963. “The Case for Case”, in Bach, E., Harms, R. (eds.),
Universals in Linguistic Theory, Holt Rinehart and Winston, pp. 1-88. Fries, Charles. 1963. The Structure of English, An Introduction to the
Construction of English Sentences. New York: Harcourt Brace. GălăŃeanu, G. 1996. ExerciŃii de gramatică engleză. Timpurile verbale.
Bucureşti : Ed. Omegapres. GălăŃeanu-Fârnoagă, G. 1996. Sinteze de gramatică engleză. Bucureşti : Ed.
Lucman. GălăŃeanu, G., Comişel, E. 1992. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti: Omegapres. Graver, R. 1987. Advanced English Practice. London: Oxford University Press. Halliday, M.A.K., “Notes on transitivity and theme in English”, in Journal of
linguistics, 3, 1968.
108
Hornby, A. S. 1959. A Guide to Patterns and Usage in English. London : OUP. Huddleston, D. R. 1961. The Sentence in Written English. Cambridge. Hulban, H., Lăcătuşu, T., Gogălniceanu, G. 1983. CompetenŃă şi performanŃă.
ExerciŃii şi teste de limba engleză. Bucureşti: Ed. ŞtiinŃifică şi Enciclopedică.
Ilovici, E., ChiŃoran, M., Ciofu, M. 1970. A Practical Guide to English Grammar.
ExerciŃii de gramatică. Bucureşti: Ed. Didactică şi Pedagogică. Jespersen, O. 1933. Essentials of English Grammar. London. Jespersen, O. 1961. A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles.
London: Allen and Unwin. Kruisinga, H. 1931. A Handbook of English Grammar. Groningen. Langendoen, D.T. 1970. Essentials of English Grammar. Holt Rinehart and
Winston. LeviŃchi, L., Preda, I. 1967. Gramatica limbii engleze. Bucureşti : Editura
ŞtiinŃifică. *** 1978. Limba engleză. ExerciŃii pentru admiterea în învăŃământul superior.
Bucureşti: Ed. Didactică şi Pedagogică. Lyons, John. 1968. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. Murar I, Trantescu A., Pisoschi, C. 2008. Descriptive English Syntax..Theory and
Practice. Craiova: Editura Universitaria Nida, E. 1966. A Synopsis of English Syntax. The Hague Mouton. Paidos, C. 2001. English Grammar. Theory and Practice. Iaşi: Polirom. Palmer, F. R. 1970. Grammar. London : Pelican Books. Palmer, F. R. 1974. The English Verb London: Longman. Poutsma, E. 1926. A Grammar of Late Modern English. Groningen. Praniskas, J. 1975. Rapid Review of English Grammar, 2nd Edition. New Jersey:
Prantice Hall. Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Svartvik, J. 1972. A Grammar of
Contemporary English. London: Longman. Rutherfort, W. E. 1975. Modern English. 2nd Edition, volume I. New York. Scheuerweghs, G. 1969. Present Day English Syntax. London: Longman. Schibsbye, K. 1973. A Modern English Grammar. London: OUP. Scott, F. S., Howley, C. C., Brockett, C. S., Brown, J. G., Goddard, R. R. 1968.
English Grammar. Auckland. Side, R., Wellman, G. 2000. Grammar and Vocabulary for Cambridge Advanced
and Proficiency. London: Longman. Stageberg, N. 1971. An Introductory English Grammar, Second Edition. Holt
Rinehart and Winston. Stockwell, B., Schachter, P., Partee, B. 1973. The Major Syntactic Structures of
English. New York: Holt. Strang, B. 1962. Modern English Structure. London. Şerban, D. 1982. English Syntax. Bucureşti: TUB.
109
Ştefănescu, Ioana. 1978. Lectures in English Morphology. Bucureşti: TUB. Thomas, Owen. 1967. Transformational Grammar and the Teacher of English.
New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston. Thomson, A., Martinet, A. 1994. A Practical English Grammar. London: OUP. Thomson, A., Martinet, A. 1994. Exercises vol. I, II. London: OUP. Vince, M. 2002. Advanced Language Practice. Macmillan.
Recommended
