B. As to Their Categories

The sentences He is a student — Is he a student? form a syntactical opposeme. Their forms differ only in the type of intonation and the relative position of the members of the predication. The only difference in meaning is that between 'declaration' and 'interrogation'. These two meanings can be regarded as the manifestations of the general meaning of a grammatical (syntactical) category which has no name yet. The category shows whether the sentence is presented as a statement or as a question. Let us call it the category of presentation. Like any grammatical category this is a system of opposemes whose members differ in form to express only (and all) the particular manifestations of the general meaning of the category (§ 23).

The meaning of 'declaration' is expressed by a falling tone and by placing the subject before the predicate. The meaning of interrogation is expressed by a rising tone and by placing the structural (part of the) predicate before the subject.

Are you alluding to me? (Shaw). Shall I announce hini? (lb.). Is there no higher power than that? (Ib.). Do you call poverty a crime? (Ib.).

In the last example a special syntactical predicate, the syntactical word-morpheme do is introduced and placed before the subject.

With regard to the category of 'presentation' English sentences divide into those that have 'presentation' opposites and those which have not. Imperative and exclamatory sentences mostly belong to the latter subclass-'In these sentences the opposeme of 'presentation' is neutralized. The member of neutralization (see § 43) usually resembles that of 'statement' (Go to the blackboard. Let us begin. Lookout!) But often it takes the form of the 'interrogation' member (Would you mind holding your tongue? (Hornby). Pass the salt, will you? Isn't she a beauty/) or an 'intermediate' form (How pretty she is!)

Not all interrogative sentences are syntactical opposites of declarative sentences. The meaning of 'interrogation' in 'special questions' (otherwise called W/z-questions) is expressed either lexically: (when the subject or its attribute in a statement are replaced by the interrogative pronouns who, what, which or whose) or lexico-syntactically (when some other part of a statement is replaced by some interrogative pronoun). In either case they are not opposites of the corresponding statements because they differ lexically. Compare:

The sentences below form opposemes of some syntactical category. In these opposemes meanings of 'affirmation' and 'negation' are the particular meanings of some syntactical category. It is difficult to find a name for such a general category covering statements, questions and orders. Seeing that in modern science the components of a 'yes-no' system are used as units of information, 1 we shall call the category under discussion the category of information.

The meaning of 'affirmative' information is expressed by a zero form, and the meaning of 'negative' information' by means of the predicate negation, the syntactical word-morpheme not (n't) placed after the syntactical (part of the) predicate.

Not every sentence containing a negation is the syntactical opposite of an affirmative sentence. There was nobody in the room is not the opposite of There was somebody in the room. Here the difference is in the lexical meaning of somebody and nobody. Similarly in There is a book on the table, and There is no book on the table the difference is lexical (no versus a). Only a sentence containing the predicate negation, the syntactical word-morpheme not (n't), can be the 'negative' member of an 'information' opposeme, because (like any grammatical word-morpheme) not (n't) adds no lexical meaning.

With regard to the category of information English sentences divide into those that have opposites of the category and those which have not. Since 'negative information' is expressed in English only by means of the predicate negation, all the sentences that have no predicates are outside the category. Rain. No rain, are not members of a syntactical opposeme. They only resemble the corresponding members and may be said to possess lexico-grammatical.meanings of 'affirmative' and 'negative' information. In exclamatory sentences the category of information is mostly neutralized. The member of neutralization usually resembles that of 'affirmation'. What a lovely day! But often it takes the form of the member of 'negation'. Isn't it marvellous!

39????

# 40 COMMUNICATIVE TYPES OF SENTENCES

The sentence is a communicative unit, therefore the primary classification of sentences must be based on the communicative principle. This principle is formulated in traditional grammar as the " purpose of communication".

The purpose of communication, by definition, refers to the sentence as a whole, and the structural features connected with the expression of this sentential function belong to the fundamental, constitutive qualities of the sentence as a lingual unit.

In accord with the purpose of communication three cardinal sentence-types have long been recognized in linguistic tradition: first, the declarative sentence; second, the imperative (inducive) sentence; third, the interrogative sentence. These communicative sentence-types stand in strict opposition to one another, and their inner properties of form and meaning are immediately correlated with the corresponding features of the listener's responses.

Thus, the declarative sentence expresses a statement, either affirmative or negative, and as such stands in systemic syntagmatic correlation with the listener's responding signals of attention, of appraisal (including agreement or disagreement), of fellowfeeling. Cf.:

" I think, " he said, " that Mr. Desert should be asked to give us his reasons for publishing that poem." — " Hear, hear! " said the К. С. (J. Galsworthy). " We live very quietly here, indeed we do; my niece here will tell you the same." — " Oh, come, I'm not such a fool as that, " answered the squire (D. du Maurier).

The imperative sentence expresses inducement, either affirmative or negative. That is, it urges the listener, in the form of request or command, to perform or not to perform a certain action. As such, the imperative sentence is situationally connected with the corresponding " action response" (Ch. Fries), and lingually is systemically correlated with a verbal response showing that the inducement is either complied with, or else rejected. Cf.:

" Let's go and sit down up there, Dinny." — " Very well" (J. Galsworthy). " Then marry me." — " Really, Alan, I never met anyone with so few ideas" (J. Galsworthy). " Send him back! " he said again. — " Nonsense, old chap" (J. Aldridge).

Since the communicative purpose of the imperative sentence is to make the listener act as requested, silence on the part of the latter (when the request is fulfilled), strictly speaking, is also linguistically relevant. This gap in speech, which situationally is filled in by the listener's action, is set off in literary narration by special comments and descriptions. Cf.:

" Knock on the wood." — Retan's man leaned forward and knocked three times on the barrera (E. Hemingway). " Shut the piano, " whispered Dinny; " let's go up." — Diana closed the piano without noise and rose (J. Galsworthy).

The interrogative sentence expresses a question, i.e. a request for information wanted by the speaker from the listener. By virtue of this communicative purpose, the interrogative sentence is naturally connected with an answer, forming together with it a questionanswer dialogue unity. Cf.:

" What do you suggest I should do, then? " said Mary helplessly. — " If I were you I should play a waiting game, " he replied (D. du Maurier).

Naturally, in the process of actual communication the interrogative communicative purpose, like any other communicative task, may sporadically not be fulfilled. In case it is not fulfilled, the question-answer unity proves to be broken; instead of a needed answer the speaker is faced by silence on the part of the listener, or else he receives the latter's verbal rejection to answer. Cf.:

" Why can't you lay off? " I said to her. But she didn't even notice me (R. P. Warren). " Did he know about her? " — " You'd better ask him" (S. Maugham).

Evidently, such and like reactions to interrogative sentences are not immediately relevant in terms of environmental syntactic featuring.