В.А.

Яцко

English Syntax

for Russian Speaking Students

Абакан 2002
ББК 81.2Англ
Я 936

Печатается по рекомендации Методического совета Хакасского

государственного университета им. Н.Ф.Катанова

Рецензент:
д-р Дж. Бернхардт (Государственный департамент США)
  кфилн, доц. В.Р.Щербик

Яцко В.А.
Я 936
Английский синтаксис для русскоязычных студентов. Учебное пособие –
Абакан: Издательство Хакасского государственного университета им.
Н.Ф.Катанова, 2002. – 86 c.

В учебном пособии описываются основные синтаксические структуры

английского языка: части предложения, типы сложных предложений, порядок слов.
Приводятся упражнения, направленные на развитие навыков синтаксического
анализа и использования синтаксических конструкций в речи. Особое внимание
уделяется различию между английскими и русскими синтаксическими структурами.
Для студентов и преподавателей филологических факультетов.

© Яцко В.А., автор, 2002

 Preface

This textbook is aimed at describing main English syntactic structures and

developing skills of syntactic analysis. Grammar material is divided into topics
studied by third year students at the faculties of foreign languages: parts of the
sentence (subject, predicate, object, adverbial modifier, and attribute), types of
sentences distinguished according to their function in discourse and structure,
types of composite sentences, word order. Each topic includes explanatory notes
and exercises. In the explanatory notes distinctions of syntactic structures are
described, and rules of their use in speech are given. The textbook has three types
of exercises: 1) exercises on transformation of syntactic structures. These
exercises can be done orally in class. When making up the exercises the author
tried to take into consideration connections between grammar and other linguistic
disciplines studied in the third year, practice of speech in the first turn; 2)
exercises on analysis and translation of syntactic structures. These exercises can
be given for home assignments. They have models of analysis, which allow for
correct parsing of sentences. In some small topics (the parenthesis, types of
sentences) there is no division of exercises into two types; 3) exercises aimed at
the use of syntactic structures in coherent texts (the texts are given in the
Appendix).
The third year students are supposed to know and to have studied, some pieces of
the accidence and syntax, such as modal verbs, non finite forms of the verb, tense
forms of the verb, mood, indirect speech, that is why they are not dealt with in
the textbook.
This textbook differs from existing textbooks in English grammar (see
bibliography) in two respects. 1) Special emphasis is made on differences
between English and Russian syntactic structures, which is important for
correcting typical grammar mistakes made by Russian speaking students studying
English as a foreign language. 2) Though it has some theory in explanatory notes,
the book is in no sense theoretical, being aimed at developing skills of syntactic
analysis, therefore some disputable theoretical issues are not touched upon. The
author hopes he has succeeded in reaching the appropriate balance between
theory and practice.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. PARTS OF THE SENTENCE 5

1.1. The subject 5

1.2. The predicate 11
1.3. Agreement of the predicate with the subject 21
1.4. The object 27
1.5. The attribute 33
1.6. The adverbial modifier 38
1.7. The parenthesis 46

2. WORD ORDER 49

3. TYPES OF SENTENCES 54

3.1. The compound sentence 56

3.2. The complex sentence 60

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 75
APPENDIX
76
The syntax is a branch of grammar which studies: 1) phrases, 2) parts of the
sentence, 2) types of sentences distinguished according to their structure and
function in discourse.

1. PARTS OF THE SENTENCE

Parts of the sentence are traditionally divided into principal parts, secondary parts
and independent elements. The principal parts of the sentence are the subject and
the predicate; the secondary parts – the attribute, the object, and the adverbial
modifier; the independent elements – the interjection, the direct address, and the
parenthesis.

1.1. THE SUBJECT

Explanatory notes.
The subject is the principal part of the sentence, which is grammatically
independent of the other parts of the sentence. It can denote an abstract idea, a
person, animate or inanimate object, whose action or characteristic is expressed
by the predicate. When studying the subject one should memorize by what parts
of speech it can be realized in a sentence. Special attention should be paid to the
following differences between English and Russian.
1). Russian sentences, having no subject, are usually rendered into English by
means of the sentences with the subject expressed by indefinite pronouns or
pronoun it. Чтобы получить хорошую оценку, нужно посещать все занятия.
To get a good mark one must attend all lessons. Темнеет. It’s getting dark
(impersonal pronoun it); Было трудно сдать экзамен. It was difficult to pass
the exam (introductory pronoun it). Russian speaking students being inclined to
translate it by это, it is important to understand that different types of it are
rendered into Russian differently.
2). Russian complex sentences with то, что subject clauses are rendered into
English by simple sentences with gerundial constructions. E.g. То, что учитель
ставил плохие оценки, было несправедливым. The teacher’s giving bad marks
was unjust. In formal style the same idea is expressed by the subject nominal
clauses. Cf.: That the teacher gave bad marks was unjust (such examples are
treated in detail below, see 3.2.).
 The subject Example Translation, peculiarity
can be realized by
N
1 noun (class, abstract, The books are on the shelf The subject comes after the
proper, nouns of There are books on the shelf predicate expressed by
material) there(here) + be. There can be
also used as adverbial modifier,
cf.: There was our aim
2 infinitive a) To study grammar is difficult Infinitive can be a part of the
b) It’s difficult to study grammar subject, the second part being
introductory it
3 gerund and gerun- a) Singing is my hobby Пение (петь) – моё хобби
dial constructions b) His getting a bad mark surprised То, что он получил пло-
everybody хую оценку всех удивило
4 pronoun
a personal We partook of a stilted dinner Me, us, them, him, her are
personal pronouns in the
objective case
b demonstrative That complicates matters Это осложняет дело
Demonstrative pronouns are used
instead of the whole previous
sentence or several sentences
c negative nothing, non, nobody, no one
d indefinite some, something, somebody Нельзя не восхищаться этим
someone, one. One can’t help шедевром. Personal pronouns
admiring this masterpiece. can be used as indefinite, cf.: We
can't live 2000 years
e interrogative Who is absent? To state the function of interrogative
pronouns is possible by the answer.
Cf.: What did he get?-He got a letter
f defining all, each, every, everybody,
both, either, other, another.
All is well that ends well

5 substantivized adjective, In Russian there are more

participle, The poor stay poor, the rich get rich substantivized participles than in
or numeral English; they are rendered into
English by phrases,
cf.: влюблённые – people in love
 6 A non prepositional or There is a lot of truth in your words
A non prepositional phrase used as a
prepositional phrase After nine is a good time to ring subject denotes an indefinite
number or amount
7 numeral One of the students came up to sk a
question
8 pronoun it
a notional Such a lovely dress. It Notional it is used instead of a
looks especially lovely word in the previous sentence
on you. or the whole previous sentence,
being translated either by a
personal pronoun or by это
b impersonal It is cold. It’s a long way Impersonal it denotes natural
to Tipperary phenomena, time, and distance
c introductory It’s difficult to pass this Introductory it is used with the
exam. It’s no good infinitive or gerund, which is a part
cheating at the exam of the subject
d emphatic It is you who I mean Именно тебя я имею в виду.
In Russian translation special
words именно, только are
used. Emphatic it is followed by a
link verb and relative pronoun
e demonstrative It is John. It’s a rose The speaker names an object. In
Russian это is used

Exercises to be done in class.

1. Answer the questions.
What's the difference between the syntax and the accidence?
How many parts of the sentence are there?
What's the difference between the principal and secondary pats of the sentence?
What are the most important differences between ways of realization of the
subject in English and in Russian?
Can personal pronouns in the objective case be used as a subject?
How can the syntactic function of interrogative pronouns be stated? Can you give
an example of an interrogative pronoun used as attribute?
What are differences and similarities between the notional pronoun it and
demonstrative pronoun that (this) used as a subject?
What is the structure of the sentence with the emphatic it (introductory it )?
2. Make up a text on the topic “Education” according to the following
scheme.
In the first sentence of the text the subject is expressed by a personal name, in the
second – by the emphatic pronoun it, in the third – by an infinitive, in the forth –
by notional it, in the fifth - by a personal pronoun, in the sixth – by notional it.
3. Complete the sentences in the following text using different types of the
pronoun it as subject.
1. At nine o’clock, I went out. 2. ........... . 3. At first corner, I ran across a man.
4. .... , who wore a very remarkable coat. 5. .........., but rain and sun had so
changed it that...... colour.
4. Use emphatic it before the stressed parts of the sentences. Give proper
intonation while reading the sentences.
Model: `I recognised him when he came up.  It was I who recognised
him when he came up.
I recognised him `when he came up.  It was when he came up
that I recognised him.
1.a. `He read O.Wilde’s novel. b. He read `O.Wilde’s novel. 2. a. `I met him on
my way home. b. I met him `on my way home. c. I met `him on my way home. 3.
a. `The students couldn’t read the book in the original because of difficult
vocabulary. b. The students couldn’t read the book in the original `because of
difficult vocabulary. 4. a. `He defended his dissertation in Moscow. b. He
defended his dissertation `in Moscow. 5. a. This `party came to power two years
ago. This party came to power `two years ago. 6. a. `The scholar delivered an
interesting report at the conference. b. The scholar delivered an interesting report
`at the conference.
5. Find in the text Three Men in a Boat (see Appendix) the paragraph, in
which in the first sentence the subject is expressed by the demonstrative pronoun
it, in the second – by a personal name, in the third – by a personal pronoun, in the
forth – by a noun, in the fifth – by a personal pronoun.
6. Insert a subject .
1. Now, (infinitive) through a stormy night and with wet clothes, and, in
addition, (infinitive) ill nourished and not ( infinitive) meat for a week or
a month, is about as severe a hardship as a man can undergo. (London) 2. The
mining (noun) might make wealth and power for a few men and women. 3.
, (pronoun) of course, in her present mood was so incredibly beautiful.
(pronoun) began to laugh. (Mansfield). 4. (infinitive) on good terms with
people one must share their work and interests. (Prichard) 5. His was the harsh
world of reality. (pronoun) could walk around his drawing. (Stone) 6.
(gerund) the district of Cremmen wasn't turning out to be an easy and pleasant
job. (Heym) 7. For a woman (infinitive) at her best is a point of discipline.
(James) 8. (gerundial construction) home has made me as foolish as a young
girl of nineteen. (Abrahams). 9. (pronoun)of us is a prisoner in a solitary
tower. 10. What (pronoun) shall do with my life is not clear to me. 11. There
was (pronoun) very striking in him. 12. (pronoun) has happened to you. 13.
(gerundial construction) worthy of his confidence was well proved. 14.
(pronoun) is an impertinence (infinitive) to him like this.
7. Change the sentences using constructions with the gerund as subject
1. That the lecturer gave a bad mark was unjust. 2. That the student had missed
many lessons surprised his friends. 3. What he had done caused a lot of trouble.
4. The fact that they were bothered amused him. 5. What he had said should be
memorized.
8. Use the infinitives from the following list as subject:
to behave, to scrape, to shout, to explain, to read and memorize
1. ... in the classroom is an offence against decency. 2. ... why different people
like different things is impossible. 3. ... the great speeches whether they were
required in the course or not gave Austin pleasure. 4. ... like this, is not decent. 5.
... all the rust off was .quite an undertaking.

Home exercises
9. Point out the subject and say by what it is expressed. Translate into
Russian.
1. At that moment the postman, looking like a German army officer, came in
with the mail. (Mansfield) 2. The clock struck eight. There was no sign of any of
the other guests. (Huxley) 3. Now, there is something peculiarly intimate in
sharing an umbrella. (Mansfield) 4. Together we walked through the mud and
slush. (Mansfield) 5. Something impersonal and humble in that action seemed to
reassure the Consul. (Cronin) 6. The sight of them, so intent and so quick, gave
Bertha a curious shiver (Mansfield) 7. Eight o'clock in the morning. Miss Ada
Moss lay in a black iron bedstead, staring up at the ceiling. (Mansfield) 8. Still,
the good of mankind was worth working for. (Galsworthy) 9. Sometimes the past
injects itself into the present with a peculiar force. (Heym) 10. Forgetting some
things is a difficult matter. (Voynich). 11. To cross from one end to the other was
difficult because of the water. (Heym) 12. "A person doesn't have to be rich to be
clean," Charles said. (Braine). 13. There was an eagerness and excitement in the
faces of the men. (Heym) 14. ...and Timothy's was but one of hundreds of such
homes in this City of London... (Galsworthy) 15. Let's get out quick. It's no good
wasting time. (Maugham) 16. "Very well," said Soames, "then we know where
we are." (Galsworthy)
10. State the nature of it. Translate into Russian.
1. It was dusky in the dining room and quite chilly. (Mansfield) 2. The bell rang.
It was lean, pale Eddie Warren in a state of acute distress. (Mansfield) 3. Oh! Oh!
Oh! It was a little house. It was a little pink house. (Mansfield). 4. But in her
bosom there was still that bright glowing place. It was almost unbearable.
(Mansfield). 5. She sat up, but she felt quite dizzy, quite drunk. It must have been
the spring. (Mansfield). 6. It was marvellous to be made love like that. (Prichard)
7. It is the moon that makes you talk to yourself in that silly way. (Show). 8. It is
very distressing to me, Sir, to give this information. (Dickens). 9. He took the
path through the fields: it was pleasanter than the road. (Huxley) 10. If this is
liberty, it isn't going to mean a thing. . (Heym) 11. It was now almost four-thirty
in the afternoon. (Dreiser) 12. I took a good room. It was very big and light and
looked out on the lake. (Hemingway)
11. Insert it or there in the following sentences.
1. __ was too cold to sit down, but I paused every now and then to lean on the
parapet... (Murdoch) 2. __ was no mist here and a great vault of clear stars hung
over the city with an intent luxurious brilliance. (Murdoch) 3. In what I could
discern of the Square seemed to be no one about. (Murdoch) 4. __ took me
several minutes to collect myself. (Murdoch) 5. __ did not occur to me to reflect
that there was anything illogical in this and indeed __ was nothing illogical.
(Murdoch) 6. He stood and watched her, sorry. But _ could be no altering it. 7. I
kept my face stern, but __ was so much light within, __ must have showed a
little. (Murdoch) 8.__ was still nearly an hour to wait before their plane was due
to leave... (Murdoch) 9. __ was a little flurry as Georgie dropped her handbag and
Honor picked it up for her. (Murdoch) 10. __ then occurred to me that just this
was precisely what I might be able to manage. (Murdoch) 11. Between
Brangwen and Skrebensky __ was an unbridgeable silence. Sometimes the two
men made a slight conversation, but __ was no interchange. (Lawrence) 12. A
terrible energy pervaded Antonia at this time and — tired me extremely to be
with her. (Murdoch) 13. I say this in case you should after last night's exhibition,
feel any apprehension of possible violence to your brother. I assure you sincerely
that __ is no such possibility. __ only remains for me to apologize to you very
humbly... (Murdoch)
12. Translate the following sentences into Russian:
1. There's only one farm near. 2. From the drawing-room there came sounds, 3.
There seemed only one escape for her hunted soul. 4. There arose a hollow echo
from below. 5. There stood a little crib by Miss Temple's bed. 6. There followed
an endless silence. 7. "There remains another way out," said Stephen, laughing. 8.
His grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on
paper.
13. Translate into English. Say by what the subject is expressed.
1. То, что он сказал, следует запомнить. 2. Бесполезно об этом думать. 3.
Нет смысла идти туда сейчас. 4. Было приятно гулять по лесу в такой
жаркий день. 5. Никогда не поздно признать свою ошибку. 6. Чтобы
получить хорошую оценку на экзамене нужно усердно заниматься. 7.
Нельзя так часто пропускать занятия. 8. Говорить неправду не в моих
привычках. 9. Уже поздно посылать письмо. 10. Кто сделал такую грубую
ошибку?