The Applied Syntax of the Complex Sentence in English

UNIVERSITATEA “LUCIAN BLAGA” DIN SIBIU

DEPARTAMENTUL DE STUDII ANGLO-AMERICANE SI GERMANISTICE

GABRIELA NISTOR

THE APPLIED SYNTAX OF THE COMPLEX SENTENCE IN ENGLISH

COURSE NOTES

SIBIU, 2012

TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

            A complex sentence is made up of one or several main / principal clauses and at least one secondary / subordinate clause. As we have previously seen, the relation main clause - subordinate clause may vary a lot. We speak about a compound-complex sentence, when there are several main clauses in the same sentence and about a complex-compound sentence, when there are several subordinates of the same kind related to the same main clause.

            It often happens that the sentence is more complicated – i.e. the subordinate clause may, in its turn, govern a subordinate of its own.

         e.g.: He said he would tell me the secret if he knew it.

            Or the sentence may have four or five or even more levels of subordination.

         e.g.: She said she would leave as soon as she finished reading the mail she had received from a friend who had visited her that summer.

            In this case, the first clause "She said" is considered to be the main clause, while the middle ones governing their own subordinates are regent clauses.

CLASSIFICATION OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

             From the point of view of the levels of subordination, we are interested in the distinction between governing clauses (principal or regent) and governed clauses (subordinated to either the principal clause or one of the regent clauses).

             From the point of view of their meaning and as related to the various parts of speech, clauses can be classified as follows:

           1. subject clauses;

           2. predicate / predicative clauses;

           3. direct object clauses;

           4. indirect object clauses (rare);

           5. prepositional object clauses (rare);

           6. attributive clauses, subdivided in their turn as defining and non-defining.

             Adverbial clauses can be subdivided as follows:

           7. adverbial clauses of manner (modal clauses);

           8. adverbial clauses of place (locative or directional clauses);

           9. adverbial clauses of time (temporal clauses, possibly distinguishing between definite and indefinite / frequency);