Pragmatic aspects of the sentence. The correlation of semantics and pragmatics of the sentence.

(a) Pragmatic syntax studies the social designation of language, i.e. the usage of sentences in speech activity. The sentence is a concentration of functional peculiarities of language and speech. Studying sentence pragmatics comprises an important sphere of language knowledge, since language literacy presupposes not only an ability to construct sentences (language competence) but also an ability to use them correctly in acts of speech to achieve the desired communicative-functional result (communicative competence).

Pragmatic aspects of the sentence include the following notions:

- communicative intention, which is, inherent in the sentence, directiveness to solving a definite lingual problem of communication;

- locution, which is the use of cognitive contents of the sentence, without any communicative purpose;

- illocution, which is an intonational framing of a communicative intention;

- perlocution, which is the effect of an act of speech.

(b) Since the contents of sentences, actualized in acts of speech, is not limited to lexico-grammatical in formation only, but always includes communicative-intentional, or pragmatic, contents, this semantic peculiarity is of great importance. Semantically identical sentences may have various illocutionary points, e.g. the sentence ‘I’ll watch you’ may be used as a statement, a promise, a menace, an inquiry, etc. However, there are cases when the semantics of the sentence predetermines its pragmatics, e.g. the sentence ‘The train will arrive in time’ cannot mean a promise, for the reality of the action does not depend on the speaker.

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56. In a sentence we distinguish the principal parts, secondary parts and independent elements. The principal parts of a sentence are the subject and the predicate. The independent elements are interjections, direct address and parenthesis.
The subject is the principal part of the sentence which is grammatically independent of the other parts of the sentence. The subject can denote a living being, a lifeless thing or an idea. It can be expressed by:
1. A noun in the common (nominative) case.
2. A pronoun – personal, demonstrative, defining, indefinite, negative, possessive, interrogative.
3. A substantivized adjective or participle.
4. A numeral.
5. An infinitive, an infinitive phrase or construction.
6. A gerund, a gerundial phrase or construction.
7. Any part of speech used as a quotation, or a quotation group.
8. A group of words which is one part of the sentence, i.e. a syntactically indivisible group. The predicate is the principal part of the sentence which expresses an action, state, or quality of the person, thing, or idea denoted by the subject. It is grammatically dependent upon the subject.
As a rule the predicate contains a finite verb which may express tense, mood, voice, aspect, and sometimes person and number. According to the structure and the meaning of the predicate we distinguish two main types: the simple predicate and the compound predicate.
The simple predicate is expressed by a finite verb in a simple or a compound tense form. It generally denotes an action; sometimes, however, it denotes a state which is represented as an action. There is a special kind of predicate expressed by a phraseological unit, the so-called phraseological predicate.
The compound predicate consists of two parts: (a) a finite verb and (b) some other part of speech: a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, a verbal, etc. The second component is the significant part of the predicate. The first part expresses the verbal categories of person, number, tense, aspect, mood and voice; besides it has a certain lexical meaning of its own. The compound predicate may be nominal or verbal. The compound nominal predicate consists of a link verb and a predicative (the latter is also called the nominal part of the predicate).
The compound verbal predicate consists of a modal verb (modal expression) or a verb expressing the beginning, repetition, duration or cessation of the action, and an infinitive or a gerund.
There are also mixed types of predicates.
The object is a secondary part of the sentence which completes or restricts the meaning of a verb or sometimes an adjective, a word denoting state, or a noun. There are three kinds of object in English: the direct object, the indirect object, and the cognate object (e.g. to live a happy life).
The attribute is a secondary part of the sentence which qualifies a noun, a pronoun, or any other part of speech that has a nominal character. There is a special kind of attribute called apposition which may be close or loose (detached).
The adverbial modifier is a secondary part of the sentence which modifies a verb, an adjective or an adverb. There exist adverbial modifiers of time, frequency, place and direction, attendant circumstances, degree and measure, cause, result (consequence), comparison, concession and purpose.
(h) The complicating elements of the sentence are homogeneous members (two or more subjects, predicates, etc.), specifying parts of the sentence (objects, attributes, adverbial modifiers) and detached, or loose, parts of the sentence, i.e. those which assume a certain grammatical and semantic independence. In spoken language they are marked by intonation, pauses, and special stress; in written language they are generally separated by commas or dashes.