Sentences in Russian have a certain structure. Popular by frequency of use are syntactic statements containing grammatical ...

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06.08.2018 18:00

Sentences in Russian have a certain structure. Popular in terms of frequency of use, these are syntactic statements containing a grammatical basis consisting of a subject and a predicate. The subject and its modes of expression are a separate category. Details in this article.

The main members of the proposal

This is a tandem of subject and predicate. The subject is the subject that performs the action. The action itself is the predicate.

Important! The subject cannot be the object, since the object is what the action is aimed at.

The grammatical basis, the ways of expressing the subject and predicate become the cornerstone on which the entire speech statement is built.

Semantic features of the subject

The subject and ways of expressing it are a special subsection of morphology.

What is it?

The subject is the main member of the sentence, denoting the subject of the speech statement and answering the questions: “who? what?". These are questions related to the nominative case.

The meaning of the subject is very simple to determine - this is what the sentence is about. In fact, without a subject sentence, they lose their semantic component. However, there are exceptions to the rules, for example, impersonal, definite-personal or indefinitely-personal types of sentences, where either there is no subject at all, or it is implied, but not included in the general structure of the sentence.

Subject and object in a sentence

The main form of expression of the subject becomes the nominative case with the questions “who? what?". There is an interesting situation here. The fact is that in Russian two cases answer the same questions: nominative and accusative. In addition, the very form of the nominative and accusative cases may coincide.

For example:

1. "The house is on the side of the road." Here the subject is the noun "House", which is in the nominative case and answers the question "what?".
2. "I see a beautiful house on the outskirts of the village." In this case, the subject is the pronoun "I", and the noun "house" becomes an object (a minor member of the sentence), but also answers the question "what?".

In such a situation, it is important to correctly determine the subject and object, and you can also use a little trick and substitute any noun of the first declension for an incomprehensible case form, for example, mother.

Get:

1. The house (mother) stands by the road - nominative case.
2. I see a beautiful house (mother) on the outskirts of the village - accusative.

This example shows that similar nouns have different word forms and endings. Thus, the questions of the subject will no longer cause any difficulties.

Ways of expressing the subject

The subject, its semantics and ways of expression depend on the part of speech that takes the place of one of the main members in the sentence. It is impossible to say that the subject is a more significant member of the sentence than the predicate. So, for example, in impersonal sentences there is not and cannot be a subject, therefore all the semantic load there falls precisely on the predicate.

Examples of the subject and its ways of expression in Russian are presented below.

Noun

If the form of the main member is a noun:

• Mom (who?) cooked a delicious dinner.
• Natasha (who?) washed the dishes.
• Ivan (who?) cleaned up the books.
• The bus (what?) left for the depot.
• The book (what?) is on the table.
• A brush (what?) is in a glass.

Pronoun

If the form of the main member is a pronoun:

• She (who?) went to watch a movie.
• He (who?) left for Moscow.
• They (who?) rode horses.
• Someone (who?) was hiding behind a curtain.
• Something (what?) is in the box.
• I (who?) saw the new student first.

Adjective

If the form is an adjective:

• The eldest (who?) stayed with the kids.
• The last one (who?) stands in line on the left.
• Silent (who?) stood next to us and frowned.
• We haven’t thought about sneakers on a trip for a long time. Forgotten and lost (what?) lay in the same place.
• Not always tasty (what?) Is useful.
• The miser (who?) pays twice.

Participle

If the form is participle:

• The seeker (who?) will always find.
• He who raised (who?) the sword from the sword will die.
• The desired (what?) was nearby.
• The departed (who?) suddenly returned.
• Everything good (what?) is remembered for a long time.
• Has the missing (what?) been found?

numeral

If the form is a numeral:

• Two times two (what?) is four.
• Three (what?) is a good number.
• Four (what?) is not divisible by three.
• Seven (who?) do not wait for one.
• The second (who?) in line left.
• One (who?) was nearby.

In addition to the above parts of speech, unchangeable significant or auxiliary parts of speech in the meaning of a noun can also act as a subject.

Infinitive

If the form is the infinitive - the indefinite form of the verb:

• Smoking (what?) - harm health.
• To live (what?) is good!
• Protecting (what?) Motherland is the duty of every citizen.
• To love (what?) is amazing!
• To know (what?) does not mean to be able to.
• Understanding (what?) other people is an art!

Adverb

If the form is an adverb:

• Tasty (what?) - not always useful.
• Today (what?) has already arrived.
• Often quickly (what?) does not mean competently.
• Home is better (what?) than away.
• Simple (what?) - this is without unnecessary troubles!

Pretext

If the form is a preposition:

• "Oh" (what?) is a preposition.
• "K" (what?) is a spatial preposition.
• "For" (what?) is also a word.

Union

If the form is union:

• "But" is an adversative conjunction.
• "And" is a connecting union.

Particle

If the shape is a particle:

• "Not" with verbs is written separately.

Interjection

If the form is an interjection:

“Ai” is said when it hurts!

A loud "Au" (what?) rushed from the forest.

Indirect form of a noun

In addition to the invariable parts of speech, the subject can be an indirect form of a noun (that is, a noun put in any case except the nominative), or a sentence in the meaning of a noun or a form of a verb that can be conjugated.

For example:

• Where to take it? Brother.
• What are you doing? I'm reading.
• Do not think about me, do not be upset, do not overwork - this was written at the end of the letter.

Syntactically indivisible phrase

And finally, the whole form of the subject falls into the category of the subject and its ways of expression, which is a syntactically indivisible phrase, where there is a main and a dependent word. They differ in different meanings and composition of parts of speech.

quantitative value

If the form of the subject is a tandem of a name in the nominative case and a name in the genitive case.

• Six people stood at the parapet.
• Several bags lay on the bench.
• Some of the papers lay on the table.
• Half of the documents have been checked.
• Many people passed with banners.

Selective meaning

If the form is an alloy of the name in the nominative case and the name in the genitive with the preposition "of".

• Three of the detachment went in search of the missing.
• Each of us has been to the South at some time.
• Many of them will pass all stages of mastery.

Consistency value

If the form is a tandem of a name in the nominative case and a name in the instrumental case with the preposition "with". An important nuance here is the predicate - it must necessarily have a plural form.

For example:

• Father and brother will go to see the car.
• Mother and son will go to the museum.
• My sister and uncle went to the cinema.
• The cat and kittens went around the corner of the house.
• The textbook and notebooks lay on the table.

Phase value

If the form is a tandem, consisting of a noun with the meaning "beginning, middle and end" of some state and a noun in the genitive case.

• It was the end of December.
• The beginning of March was approaching.
• It's already the middle of summer.

Phraseologisms

Phraseological forms of the subject are also considered a separate case, when the role of the main member of the sentence is a special pair - a noun and an agreed name. For example, phraseological, terminological, or a phrase with a metaphorical meaning.

In this case, the components of this syntactic alloy only in the aggregate express the single and indivisible meaning that is required to understand the semantic component.

• Working slipshod is not my habit.
• “You can’t even catch a fish out of a pond without effort” is written on a poster in the lobby.
• The rings of Saturn are visible to the naked eye.
• The Milky Way is visible far away.
• White flakes fall from the sky.
• Hedgehog hair stuck out belligerently on the top of his head.

And the last form for the subject can be indefinite pronouns, which are formed from the bases “who” and “what”, which make up a single alloy with a consistent name. Such forms of the subject carry an indefinite meaning.

• Someone bald peeked out from behind him.
• Something unpleasant fell on my head from the balcony.
• Someone nasty nasally from the stage.
• Something shaggy touched my leg.
• Someone "smart" scrawled an obscene word on the wall of the entrance.
• Something delicious smelled pleasantly from the plate.

Thus, the ways of expressing the subject in Russian may vary and depend on a certain verbal form used in place of one of the main members of the syntactic construction. The subject can be not only nouns, but also other parts of speech, and even complex syntactically indivisible phrases with phase, metaphorical and terminological meaning. In addition, it is worth remembering that the subject has a certain form of expression - the nominative case.

Kievyan street, 16 0016 Armenia, Yerevan +374 11 233 255

The main members of the sentence - its grammatical basis - are the subject and the predicate, correlated with each other in meaning and standing in the form of an infinitive. But there are sentences that do not contain either one or two components of the grammatical basis at once. Such proposals are called one-part proposals.

Types of one-part sentences

• Definitely personal - in it the form of the predicate indicates that a certain action is performed by the 1st or 2nd person.
  Example: I'm going to school. Get ready!
• Indefinitely personal - according to the form of the verb, it is impossible to indicate a specific person who performs the action.
  Example: I was sent for bread.
• Generalized-personal - the form of the predicate is such that the action, technically, can be performed by anyone. This type of sentences includes a significant part of proverbs and sayings rooted in the people of wise sayings.
  Example: If you like to talk, love and listen.
• Impersonal - the essence of these sentences is that the action, which we learn from them, is performed, as it were, by itself, without someone else's action.
  Example: It was getting dark. It smelled of lilac.
• An infinitive is a sentence in which the predicate is in the form of an infinitive. These sentences often have a pronounced emotional coloring; they can be formulated as clear orders, instructions for action, or as exclamations in an internal monologue.
  Example: Be patient! Be silent! Equal! Just don't fail!
• Nominative - a type of sentence in which there is only a noun from the stem (subject in the form of the nominative case).
  Example: Winter night. Pipe. Heavy stone.

Incomplete offers and parceling

Incomplete are those sentences in which there is no predicate or subject (or both at the same time); their meaning (as well as the omitted members of the sentence) are restored from the context. Most often found in oral colloquial speech, as they help to unload it from the constant mention of the same information.
For example: A: Are you going to buy bread today at the store that opened this week? B: Yes, I will go to that shop today for bread... and so on.
Or otherwise: A: Will you go for bread? B: Yes.
Parcellation is a poetic (most often) technique, the essence of which is to divide a sentence into two or more using a dot. This is necessary for the rhythmic organization of the text.

The grammatical basis of the sentence. The concept of the main members of the proposal

The grammatical basis of a sentence consists of a subject and a predicate.

The grammatical basis expresses the grammatical meanings of the sentence. They are connected with the meanings of moods and tense of the verb-predicate.

Troops move to the front.

(The action is actually happening and takes place in the present tense).

Yesterday he came to us.

(The action actually happened, but in the past tense).

Would you talk to your mother, Ivan!

(The action is not realized in reality, but desired by the speaker).

The subject and predicate are called the main members of the sentence, because all the minor members in the sentence directly or indirectly extend them.

We show the dependence of the minor terms on the main ones in the following diagram:

The astonished Varenukha silently handed him an urgent telegram..

The subject as a member of the sentence. Subject forms

The subject is the main member of the sentence, which denotes the subject of speech and answers the questions of the nominative case who? or what?

The subject in Russian can be expressed in different ways, sometimes in "unusual" forms. The following table will help determine the correct subject.

The main ways of expressing the subject.

Part of speech in subject position
Noun in and. P.	Language reflects the soul of a people.
Pronoun in i. P.	He left. Who was there? This is right. This is my brother (when asked: who is this?) The house, which was barely standing, belonged to a forester. (Here, pay attention to the subject in the subordinate clause.) The sparks that flew from the fire seemed white. (Here, pay attention to the subject in the subordinate clause.) Someone has come. Everyone fell asleep.
Infinitive	Being honest is only half the battle. To understand means to sympathize. Smoking is injurious to health.
A combination of words (one of which is in I. p.)	We used to go there often. Two clouds float across the sky.
Combination of words without and. P.	It's been about an hour.

Predicate as a member of a sentence. Predicate types

The predicate is the main member of the sentence, which is associated with the subject of a special connection and has a meaning expressed in questions, what does the subject of speech do? what happens to him? what is he? what is he? who is he? and etc.

The predicate in Russian is simple and compound. A simple (simple verbal) predicate is expressed by one verb in the form of some mood.

Compound predicates are expressed in several words, one of them serves to connect with the subject, while the semantic load falls on the others. In other words, in compound predicates, lexical and grammatical meanings are expressed in different words.

(Verb was colonel

(Verb started serves to connect with the subject, on the word work the semantic load of the predicate falls.)

Among compound predicates, there are compound verbal and compound nominal predicates.

Learn more about predicate types. Simple verb predicate

A simple verbal predicate is expressed by one verb in the form of some mood.

It can be expressed in the following forms of the verb:

The present and past tenses of the verb.
The future tense of the verb.
Forms of the conditional and imperative mood of the verb.

We emphasize that in the case of you will be expected tomorrow, the simple verb predicate is expressed by the compound form of the future tense of the verb wait.

Compound verb predicate

A compound verbal predicate consists of two components - an auxiliary verb that serves to connect with the subject and expresses the grammatical meaning of the predicate, and an indefinite form of the verb that expresses its main lexical meaning and carries the main semantic load.

(Here it began - this is an auxiliary verb, and gnaw is an indefinite form of a verb that carries a semantic load.)

(Here I don’t want to - this is an auxiliary verb, and to offend is an indefinite form of a verb that carries a semantic load.)

The role of an auxiliary verb can be a combination of some short adjectives (should, glad, ready, obliged, etc.) and a linking service verb to be in the form of one of the moods (in the present tense, this link is omitted).

(here the linkage will be omitted).

So, let's imagine the structure of the compound verbal predicate by the formula:

CONST. VERB SKAZ. = AUX. VERB + UNDETERMINATED THE FORM

Compound nominal predicate

A compound nominal predicate consists of two components: a linking verb that serves to connect with the subject and expresses the grammatical meaning of the predicate, and a nominal part that expresses its main lexical meaning and carries the main semantic load.

(Here the connective verb will become, and the nominal part is expressed by the adjective viscous.)

(Here the connective verb will be, and the nominal part of the predicate is expressed by the noun handball player.)

Let's represent the structure of the compound nominal predicate by the formula:

CONST. NAME. SKAZ. = LINK. VERB + NOMINAL PART

The nominal part of the compound nominal predicate is expressed by the following parts of speech: noun, adjective (full and short, different forms of degrees of comparison), participle (full and short), numeral, pronoun, adverb, word of the category of state, verb in indefinite form.

In Russian, at least four main types of one-component sentences can be distinguished.

The main types of two-part sentences

Expression form of subject and predicate	Examples
The subject is expressed by a noun or a pronoun in the nominative case, the predicate is expressed by a certain form of the verb.
The subject is expressed by a noun or a pronoun in the nominative case, the predicate is expressed by a noun in the nominative case. In the past and future tense, a linking verb appears and the case in the predicate changes to instrumental.
The subject is expressed by the indefinite form of the verb or a phrase based on it, the predicate is also expressed by the indefinite form of the verb. Between the subject and the predicate, particles are possible, which means.
The subject is expressed by an indefinite form of the verb or a phrase based on it, the predicate is expressed by an adverb.
The subject is expressed by an indefinite form of the verb or a phrase based on it, the predicate is expressed by a noun in the nominative case or a phrase based on it. In the past and future tense, a linking verb appears and the case in the predicate changes to instrumental.
The subject is expressed by a noun in the nominative case, the predicate is expressed by an indefinite form of the verb or a phrase based on it. A linking verb appears in the past and future tenses.
The subject is expressed by a noun in the nominative case, the predicate is expressed by an adjective or participle (full or short) in the nominative case. In the past and future tense, a linking verb appears in the predicate.

Knowing the main types of two-part sentences, it is easier to find grammatical foundations in them.

The main types of one-part sentences

	Typical form and meaning
Nominative (naming) sentences	These are sentences where the main member is expressed by a noun or a noun pronoun in the nominative case. This main member is considered the subject and indicate that there is no predicate in the nominative sentence. Nominative sentences usually report that some phenomenon or object exists (has) in the present.	Large area in the city. Here is the bench.
Definitely personal suggestions	The predicate is expressed by the verb in the form of 1 or 2 persons. The ending of the verb in these cases clearly indicates the person and number of the pronoun (I, we, you, you). There is no need to use these pronouns as the subject.
Indefinitely personal sentences	The predicate is expressed by the verb in the form of the 3rd person plural (in the present and future tense) or in the plural form (in the past tense). In such sentences, the action itself is important, and the actor is either unknown or not important to the speaker, so the subject is absent in them.
impersonal proposals	These are sentences in which there is not and cannot be a subject, since they denote actions and states that are thought to occur “by themselves”, without the participation of an active agent. In form, these sentences are divided into two types: with a verbal predicate and with a predicate - the word of the state category. The verbal predicate is expressed by the verb in the form of the 3rd person singular (in the present and future tense) or in the form of the neuter singular (in the past tense). This role is usually played by impersonal verbs or verbs in impersonal use. The verb predicate can also be expressed in the indefinite form of the verb.	In order not to freeze she is captured jacket.
	In addition, the predicate in an impersonal sentence can be the word no.	The owners are not at home.

Secondary members of the sentence: definition, addition, circumstance

All members of the sentence, except for the main ones, are called secondary.

Secondary members of the sentence are not included in the grammatical basis, but spread (explain) it. They can explain other secondary terms as well.

Let's demonstrate this with a diagram:

According to their meaning and role in the sentence, secondary members are divided into definition, addition and circumstance. These syntactic roles are identified by questions.

Valued (to what extent?) high- circumstance.

appreciated (what?) canvases- addition.

Canvases (whose?) his- definition.

Complement as a member of the proposal. Types of add-ons

The addition is a minor member of the sentence that answers the questions of indirect cases (i.e. all except the nominative) and designates the subject. The complement usually spreads the predicate, although it can also spread other members of the sentence.

I enjoy reading (what?) magazines. (Here the addition of the logs extends the predicate.)

Reading (what?) magazines is an exciting activity. (Here, the addition of logs propagates the subject.)

Supplements are most often expressed by nouns (or words in the function of nouns) and pronouns, but can also be represented by an indefinite form of the verb and phrases that are integral in meaning.

He shaved in the campaign (with what?) With a bayonet. (Here, the addition of a bayonet is expressed by a noun.)

This is understandable only to connoisseurs of (what?) Beauty. (Here the complement of the beautiful is expressed by the adjective as a noun.)

And I will ask you (about what?) to stay. (Here the object to remain is expressed in the indefinite form of the verb.)

He read (what?) many books. (Here, the addition of many books is expressed by a combination that is integral in meaning.)

Additions are either direct or indirect.

Direct objects are transitive verbs and denote the subject to which the action is directly directed. Direct objects are expressed in the accusative case without a preposition.

I don’t know when I will see my relatives now (v. p.).

These furnaces used to melt steel (vp).

All other additions are called indirect.

Play the piano (p. p.).

I put the bread on the table (c.p. with a preposition).

I was forbidden to worry (expressed in the indefinite form of the verb).

Incomplete sentences- these are sentences in which a member of the sentence is missing, which is necessary for the completeness of the structure and meaning of this sentence.

The omitted members of the sentence can be restored by the participants of the communication from the knowledge of the situation referred to in the sentence.

For example, if at a bus stop one of the passengers, looking at the road, says: "It's coming!", the rest of the passengers will easily restore the missing subject: Bus goes.

Missing sentence members can be restored from the previous context. Such contextually incomplete sentences are very common in dialogues.

For example: - Is your company assigned to the forest tomorrow? asked Prince Poltoratsky. - My. (L. Tolstoy). Poltoratsky's response is an incomplete sentence in which the subject, predicate, circumstance of place and circumstance of time are omitted (cf .: My the company is assigned to the forest tomorrow ).

Incomplete constructions are common in complex sentences:

Everything is obedient to me I am nothing (Pushkin). The second part of a compound non-union sentence ( I am nothing) is an incomplete sentence in which the predicate is missing (cf.: I not obedient nothing).

Note!

Incomplete sentences and one-part sentences are different phenomena.

AT one-part sentences one of the main members of the sentence is missing, the meaning of the sentence is clear to us even without this member. Moreover, the structure of the sentence itself (the absence of a subject or predicate, the form of a single main member) has a certain meaning.

For example, the plural form of the verb-predicate in an indefinitely personal sentence conveys the following content: the subject of the action is unknown ( There was a knock on the door), not important ( He was wounded near Kursk) or hidden ( I was told a lot about you yesterday).

AT incomplete sentence any member of the sentence (one or more) can be omitted. If we consider such a sentence out of context or situation, then its meaning will remain incomprehensible to us (cf. out of context: My; I am nothing).

In Russian there is one kind of incomplete sentences in which the missing member is not restored and is not prompted by the situation, the previous context. Moreover, the "missing" members are not required to reveal the meaning of the sentence. Such sentences are clear and out of context, situations:

(Peskov).

These are the so-called "elliptical sentences". They usually have a subject and a minor member - a circumstance or addition. The predicate is missing, and we often cannot tell which predicate is missing.

Wed: Behind the back located / located / visible forest .

And yet, most scientists consider such sentences to be structurally incomplete, since the secondary member of the sentence (adverb or object) refers to the predicate, and the predicate is not represented in the sentence.

Note!

Elliptic incomplete sentences should be distinguished: a) from one-part denominative ( Forest) and b) from two-part - with a compound nominal predicate, expressed in the indirect case of a noun or adverb with a zero connective ( All trees in silver). To distinguish between these structures, the following must be considered:

1) one-part nominal sentences cannot contain circumstances, since the circumstance is always associated with the predicate. Among the minor members in nominal sentences, the most typical are agreed and inconsistent definitions.

spring forest; Entrance to the hall;

2) The nominal part of the compound nominal predicate - a noun or an adverb in a two-part full sentence indicates a sign-state.

Wed: All trees are in silver. - All trees are silver.

The omission of a member within a sentence in oral speech can be marked by a pause, in place of which a dash is put on the letter:

Behind is a forest. Right and left - swamps(Peskov); Everything is obedient to me, but I am nothing(Pushkin).

The most regular dash is placed in the following cases:

in an elliptical sentence containing a subject and a circumstance of place, an object, - only if there is a pause in oral speech:

Behind the night window - fog(Block);

in an elliptical sentence - in case of parallelism (uniformity of sentence members, word order, forms of expression, etc.) of structures or their parts:

in incomplete sentences built according to the scheme: nouns in the accusative and dative cases (with the omission of the subject and predicate) with a clear intonational division of the sentence into parts:

Skiers - a good track; Youth - jobs; Young families - benefits;

in an incomplete sentence that is part of a complex sentence, when the missing member (usually a predicate) is restored from the previous part of the phrase - only if there is a pause:

The nights are darker, the days are cloudier(in the second part, the link is restored become).

Incomplete sentence parsing plan

1. Specify the type of offer (full - incomplete).
2. Name the missing part of the sentence.

Sample parsing

Men - for axes(A.N. Tolstoy).

The offer is incomplete; missing predicate grappled.

§ 81. According to the definition given in § 72, the subject is a word (or group of words) that designates the subject. Since the subject was defined above as the object of thought in relation to which the predicate is thought, the subject is at the same time a member of the sentence, indicating what the statement made in the predicate refers to. Therefore, although the predication is not expressed in the subject, it, along with the predicate, is the main member of the sentence.

Moreover, since the subject indicates what the predicate refers to and the predication expressed in the predicate, the predicate itself turns out to be subordinate to the subject.

The subject is thus the structural center of the sentence, which grammatically and structurally dominates the predicate. While the predicate depends on the subject

some person on the street, all words except I depend on the predicate see; but see, in turn, is subordinate to the subject I. This becomes clear if we replace the pronoun I with some pronoun of the third person singular; in this case, the form of the predicate will also change: Do not see a man in the street. The same, of course, can be observed in such sentences as Not speaks English; is not speaking English; He has lost his key, etc. To this we must add that the central role of the subject in the sentence is indicated in this case by its design in the nominative case, which is the most independent designation of a person or object (from some other person, object or action) In this regard, cases of substantiation, or “objectification”, of personal pronouns are of interest, in which the form of the nominative case is chosen from the two forms of the pronoun: Is it a he or a she?

Based on the above understanding of the subject as the grammatical center of the sentence, subordinating the predicate, one could seem to assume that the sentence cannot exist without the subject. However, practice convinces us that sentences without a subject are also possible: cf. Russian "Sit down!", English. Sit down! etc.

What explains this contradiction? The fact is that the subject, as mentioned above, has a demonstrative

So, for example, in Latin, the absence of a subject is almost the norm in the 1st and 2nd person singular: dico, dicis. The subject may often be absent in other languages, for example, in Russian, in sentences like "I know"; "See what happened" etc.

In similar sentences, the very form of the verb, denoting the predicate, contains a clear indication of the subject.

As already mentioned, the absence of a subject is the norm in the imperative mood in both English and Russian: for example, Russian. "Get up!" or "Sit down!" or English. Sit down!; Get up!; Come! Subject reference

is given here both by the form of the verb and by the situation itself. In English, in the form of a verb in the imperative mood, the indication of the subject is not given clearly enough. The sound can have different meanings and can occur not only in the imperative mood. However, the forms of the imperative mood are characterized by a certain limitation: we cannot meet comes here. The absence of a subject has a certain meaning here and acts as a sign of the imperative mood. In this case, the indication of the subject is given by the situation itself: the content of the imperative mood can be an order, a request, which can only apply to the one to whom they are addressed. Consequently, the situation itself points to the 2nd person, and the need for a subject disappears.

The subject may be absent in answers to questions or in a narrative in colloquial speech, if the context indicates what the predicate refers to: for example, Russian. "Have you seen him? - Seen"; English Saw him yesterday? Did you see him yesterday?; Was there yesterday The verb form itself is chosen here based on a specific subject that is clear from the context or situation. While in the imperative mood the absence of a subject is the norm, in this case it is unusual and gives speech a special touch of colloquial familiarity.

In the absence of a sentence subject to the constructive center, a predicate is made; it becomes the leading and independent member of the proposal.

So, for example, in Russian sentences "They say"; "They don't do it like that" or in English Thank you there is no subject, and the center of the construction is the predicate.

In the absence of a subject, the predication refers to the subject outside the sentence. So, although in the above examples there is no subject, they are not subjectless. From the verb form in the first two sentences "they say"

and "don't do" it is clear that we are talking about the 3rd person plural, and in the third sentence (Thank you) the verb form

and context indicate that the subject is the 1st person, since gratitude is expressed by the speaker himself.

In Russian, the construction of sentences without a subject is widespread. Especially often the absence of a subject is observed in negative sentences.

For example: "There is no table here", where "no" becomes the center of the design.

In contrast to Russian, English avoids constructing sentences without a subject. Russian sentences without a subject in English often correspond to sentences with a subject. Wed:

In Russian: In English:

They say... They say. . .

One might think. . . One might think...

It's getting dark. It is getting dark.

In English, sentences without a subject are predominantly in the 2nd person in the imperative mood (however, compare Thank you and others); for the Russian language, as you can see, they are also characteristic in the 3rd person. English avoids constructing sentences without a subject in the 3rd person. What explains the difference in the design of sentences (without a subject) in English and Russian? The subject denotes the subject, that is, it indicates what the predication refers to. However, sometimes it is difficult to say what the statement refers to. This happens due to various reasons. In Russian and English, the insufficiently clear meaning of the subject is sometimes conveyed in different ways. As can be seen from the examples given, the Russian language makes extensive use of impersonal sentences and sentences without a subject, while in English even impersonal sentences are built using an impersonal subject. This is due to the insufficiently clear form of the English verb, which, by its form, may not always clearly indicate the subject; therefore, the presence of a subject becomes necessary.

Let's consider the most typical cases of insufficiently clear content of the subject and ways of grammatical registration of these cases in Russian and English.

1. If the purpose of the statement is to define the subject, to reveal its name, then the subject of the corresponding sentences in both English and Russian will be a demonstrative pronoun: for example, English. This is a piece of chalk; Russian "It's chalk." In this case, it is difficult to find a name for the subject, but it is clear that this refers to a specific subject.

2. In the event that the subject is not clear enough, or it is undesirable to indicate it clearly enough, or it is impossible to specify it, indefinitely personal sentences are used. In Russian and English, such sentences are constructed differently.

However, when this fuzzy subject is thought of as an imaginary interlocutor, both Russian and English use the indefinite personal pronoun of the 2nd person as the subject: for example, Russian. "You can never know exactly what will happen"; "You might be surprised" or eng. You can never say what he will do next. Similar proposals can even be an appeal

to himself.

3. Sometimes the subject is presented not as an object, but as a situation, a combination of circumstances. In such a case we have:

Thus, in the absence of sufficient clarity in the idea of ​​the subject, some English sentences with a subject correspond to Russian indefinitely personal sentences, while others correspond to impersonal sentences.

From the point of view of the clarity of the designation of the subject in the subject -

They say. (See also constructions like: One thinks; You can never tell.)

They say. (Cf. also constructions like: "What are you doing here.")

3. Impersonal Offers

Built with an impersonal Built without a subject

subject to it: current:

It is dark. Dark.

The classification of sentences in English in comparison with Russian in terms of the presence of a subject and the nature of the subject can be illustrated using the following scheme:

In the diagram, the letter P conditionally indicates the presence of this type in Russian, as well as in English. This applies to the types of personal sentences with and without a subject. The frame outlines types that are characteristic of one language and unusual for another. So indefinitely personal and impersonal sentences with a subject are characteristic only of the English language, while indefinitely personal and impersonal sentences without a subject are characteristic only of the Russian language and are not characteristic of English.

Thus, it can be seen from the diagram that while personal

sentences in English and Russian are built in the same way (both with and without a subject), indefinitely personal and impersonal sentences are built differently. In English, they are built with the subject, and in Russian

Without a subject.

From all of the above, it is clear that the same content can be grammatically formatted in different ways. So, in some cases the subject is presented in the sentence as a subject, in others the subject is outside the sentence. However, although there may not be a subject in a sentence, there is always a subject, since the predication always refers to something. Thus, it is extremely important to distinguish between the subject as the main member of the grammatical structure and the subject - the subject of thought, to which the content of the predication refers. They may or may not coincide, but it is necessary to be able to distinguish between them in order to understand the whole variety of sentence structure, all the subtle movements of thought in the language.

Let us give another example of different grammatical arrangement of the same content on the material of one language (Russian). Compare three sentences: (1) "I'm cold";

(2) "I'm cold" and (3) "I'm cold." In all these sentences, the same phenomenon of reality is designated, however, in each of them it is designated grammatically in different ways. In the first - impersonal - sentence, the center of the construction is "cold", and only as a subordinate to it is given to "me". There is no grammatical subject in it, although semantically "me" corresponds to "I" in the second sentence. In the second sentence, "I" is the subject, "I freeze" is the predicate. There is no subject in the third sentence, but this sentence is not impersonal like the first one, but personal, since the person is indicated in the form of a predicate.

Various ways of designating the subject make it possible to express various shades of thought in the language.

So, for example, when comparing such sentences as "I want" and "I want", it becomes clear that the impersonal structure of the sentence "I want" conveys the spontaneity of desire, its independence from the will of a person. In the sentence "I want" the active, persistent orientation of the will of the speaker is expressed.