1.

TYPES OF SENTENCES ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION

The basic unit of syntax is the sentence. There are many definitions of this syntactic unit but we will
consider two of them.
1) A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought;
2) A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.
Sentences are classified according to the purpose of communication and their structure. According to the
purpose of communication sentences are divided into 4 types: a) declarative, b) interrogative, c)
imperative, d) exclamatory.
DECLARATIVE SENTENCES
This type of sentence expresses an opinion or simply makes a statement. In writing, it begins with a capital
letter and ends with a period. We can use all tenses in our declarative sentences and both affirmative and
negative verb forms.
 My mom cooks delicious food.
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
An interrogative sentence is a type of sentence that asks a question. It usually begins with a question word
(who, what, where, when, why, how) and ends with a question mark. We can also use auxiliary verbs to
start a question (yes/no questions). And we can use all tenses in these sentences too.
 Have you ever been to New York?
There are 4 types of interrogative sentences: a)general questions, b)special questions, c)alternative
questions, d)disjunctive questions.
EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES
An exclamatory sentence expresses a strong emotion. It can be a surprise, a shock, or even anger. When
listening, we can identify an exclamatory sentence right away. The tone of the person’s voice will indicate
it. But in writing, we need to use the exclamation point.
 She is so beautiful!
 What a cute baby!
Since exclamatory sentences convey strong emotions, you should be careful when using them in writing.
They are not appropriate for reports or academic purposes.
IMPERATIVE SENTENCES
Imperative sentences are used to issue a command, instruction, make a request, or offer advice. These
sentences also provide direction. They usually end with a period but or the exclamation point.
 Get your hands up! (Command)
 Do your homework. (Instruction)
 Close the window. (Request or demand)
 Please come with me for dinner. (Invitation)
Imperative sentences typically begin with verbs as the subject is implied. The subject is the person to
whom the sentence refers.

2. Types of sentences according to their structure

 The basic unit of syntax is the sentence. A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete
thought.
Sentences are classified according to the purpose of communication and their structure.
According to their structure sentences fall under the following types:
1. simple sentences having one predicative line- monopredicative constructions,
2. composite sentences having more than one predicative line- polypredicative constructions.
The latter are divided into compound and complex.
Ex. In our country mountains are high and air is clear. (compound sentence)
If it stops raining children will go for a walk. (complex sentence)
The compound sentence is built on the principle of coordination and can be expressed either
syndetically or asyndetically.
Ex. It was autumn, the fields were all yellow and red. (asyndetically)
It was autumn, but fields were still green. (syndetically)
The complex sentence is based on the principle of subordination and includes one principle clause and
one or more subordinate clauses. The subordinate clause is joined to the principal clause syndetically or
asyndetically.
Ex. She said (that) she would also take part in the meeting.
The house (which) he built last year is in the center of the city.
Complex sentences which have two or more subordinate clauses have 2 types of subordination
arrangement: parallel and consecutive. Subordinate clauses immediately referring to one and the same
principal clause are subordinated in parallel. Parallel subordination may be homogeneous and
heterogeneous.
Homogeneous parallel subordination is typical of object clause.
Ex. She said her mother was busy and she could answer our questions.
Heterogeneous subordination implies that subordinate clauses refer to different parts of the principal
clause.
Ex. If you don’t write it, I’ll find someone who can do it.
As different from parallel subordination, consecutive subordination presents a hierarchy of clausal
levels. In this hierarchy one subordinate clause is subordinated to another.
Ex. Sometimes he works so hard that I think he will ruin his health.
3.The simple sentence
The classification of simple sentences is based on two principles:
1.the purpose of the utterance;
2.structure.
According to the purpose of the utterance we distinguish 4 types of sentences: declarative,
interrogative, imperative, exclamatory.
 According to structure simple sentences are divided into one-member and two-member sentences. A
one-member sentence has one part which is usually expressed by a noun. Ex. Dreams of my childhood.
Fire!
A two-member sentence has two parts: a subject and a predicate. Ex. The children are playing.
Some parts of the sentence may be missing and in this case we have the so-called elliptical sentence. Ex.
(I) Haven’t seen Jack today.
Simple sentences can be extended and unextended. An unextended sentence consists of only principle
parts. An extended sentence consists not only of principal, but also secondary parts.
4.Compound sentence
According to their structure sentences fall under the following types:
1. simple sentences having one predicative line- monopredicative constructions,
2. composite sentences having more than one predicative line- polypredicative constructions.
The latter are divided into compound and complex.
Ex. In our country mountains are high and air is clear. (compound sentence)
If it stops raining children will go for a walk. (complex sentence)
The compound sentence is built on the principle of coordination and can be expressed either
syndetically or asyndetically.
Ex. It was autumn, the fields were all yellow and red. (asyndetically)
It was autumn, but fields were still green. (syndetically)
We can distinguish the following types of coordination:
1.Copulative coordination (բաղհյուսական համադասություն) expressed by the conjunctions
and, nor, neither…, not only…, but also.
Nobody told him the truth nor was he eager to know it.
2.Disjunctive (տրոհական) coordination expressed by the conjunctions or, else, or else, either…or and
the conjunctive adverb otherwise. You must hurry up or else you’ll be late for classes.
3.Adversative (հակադրական) coordination expressed by the conjunctions but, while and the
conjunctive adverbs nevertheless, still, yet. We tried to improve the situation, but all our work was in
vain.
4.Causative-consecutive (պատճառահետևանքային) coordination expressed by the conjunctions
for, so and the conjunctive adverbs therefore, hence (հետևաբար), consequently
(հետևաբար). I decided to stop and have lunch, for I was quite hungry.
5.Complex sentence
The complex sentence is based on the principle of subordination and includes one principle clause and
one or more subordinate clauses. The subordinate clause is joined to the principal clause syndetically or
asyndetically.
Ex. She said (that) she would also take part in the meeting.
The house (which) he built last year is in the center of the city.
According to their grammatical function, subordinate clauses are divided into subject, predicate, adjective,
object, adverbial clauses. These clauses may be reduced to three if we divide them according to the part of
speech which they represent: 1) substantive clauses with the functions of a substantive, including subject,
predicate, object clauses, 2)adjective clauses, 3) adverbial clauses.
Subject clauses function as subject to the main clause. Ex. How he managed to do it is difficult to say.
Predicative clauses----.She seemed as if she knew nothing of their arrival.
Object clauses---------. We asked him where he had got his education.
Attributive clauses------. The news he told us was shocking.
Adverbial clauses consist of clauses of time ( show the time of the action expressed in the main clause)
(when, while, as soon as, after..,) place (where,), cause (as, because), purpose (so that, in order that),
condition (if, unless), result or consequence (so that), manner (as).
6. THE PRINCIPAL PARTS OF THE SENTENCE
Sentence: A sentence is a word or group of words expressing a complete thought or meaning.
The subject and predicate make up the two basic structural parts of any complete sentence. In addition,
there are other elements, contained within the subject or predicate, that add meaning or detail. These
elements include the direct object, indirect object, and subject complement. Without the subject and the
predicate there cannot be a sentence in the proper sense of it.
(7.)The subject: The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that is performing the action of
the sentence. The subject represents what or whom the sentence is about. The simple subject usually
contains a noun or pronoun and can include modifying words, phrases, or clauses. To determine the subject
of a sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing “who?” or “what?” before it -- the
answer is the subject.
There are two main types of subjects in English: definite and indefinite subjects.
Definite subjects denote an object or thing which can be clearly defined: e.g. The house is small.
Indefinite subjects denote an object or thing that cannot be clearly defined. In these
sentences we use indefinite pronouns ( somebody, someone, nothing, one, other, etc.).
Something smells really good in the kitchen.
1) The subject is expressed by:
A noun in the Common Case: The computer is out of order.
2) A pronoun: a) Personal. They got married in autumn. b) possessive. Our house is big but theirs is
bigger.
c) Demonstrative. That is Mr. Manson’s garage. d) Defining. Everybody knows it. e) Indefinite. Somebody
has taken my book. f) Negative. Nobody is allowed to take it.
3) A substantivized adjective: The wounded were taken good care of.
4) A numeral : Two can play at that game.
5) An infinitive: To tell him about it now is out of the question.
6) A gerund: Flying a plane is a glorious sensation.
(8.)The Predicate
The predicate is the second principal part of the sentence which expresses an action, state or quality of the
person or thing denoting the subject. We distinguish two types of predicate:1) the simple predicate, 2) the
compound predicate.
1) The simple predicate is expressed by a finite form of the verb in the active or passive voice. Ex.They
are building a new concert hall.
2) The compound predicate can be 1) nominal, 2) verbal.
The compound nominal predicate consists of a link verb and a predicative: to be, to look, to grow, to
turn, to seem, to appear etc. She is a charming girl. It was getting dark when they came back.
The predicative is expressed by:
a) a noun in the Common Case: Her sons became doctors.
b) an adjective: You look smart today.
c) a pronoun: This is her brother’s room and that is hers.
d) a numeral: She is nineteen.
e) an infinitive: He seemed to know what had happened.
f) a gerund : My favourite sport is swimming.
Agreement between the subject and the predicate
The following rules of agreement of the predicate with the subject should be observed.
1) The predicate verb agrees with the subject in number and person. He works at the police station.
2) When two or more singular subjects are connected by the conjuction and, the verb is plural. Julia and I
were invited to Mary’s party.
3) If the subject is expressed by a defining or a negative pronoun the verb is singular. Everybody is ready
for the trip. Nothing is seen from here.
4) With collective nouns such us family, team, crew, company, etc. the verb is either singular or plural. It is
singular if the group is taken as a whole and plural if separate members are meant. My family is large. His
family are great lovers of Italian opera.
5) Nouns of multitude such as people, police, cattle take a plural verb. The police were after the robber.
6) Plural nouns expressing measure of weight, time, money, etc., take a singular verb if the whole amount
is meant , and not separate units. I think twenty dollars is enough to buy a camera.
9. PARTS OF SPEECH
According to their meaning, morphological features and syntactic functions, words in English fall under
classes which are traditionally called parts of speech. Traditional classification of the parts of speech is
based on the presence of three criteria: 1. Meaning (semantic), 2. form (formal), 3. function (functional).
Words on this classification are divided into notional and functional, which reflects into changeable and
unchangeable parts of speech. The notional parts of the English language are traditionally the noun, the
verb, the adjective, the adverb, the numeral, the pronoun. They are usually called autonomous or
autosemantic words, since they have an independent lexical meaning of their own. The functional parts of
speech, otherwise called systemic or syntagmatic words, comprise prepositions, conjunctions, articles,
particles and interjections. They are not quite full, independent in meaning. They serve to connect words or
sentences (prepositions and conjunctions) or to specify or emphasize the meaning of words (articles and
particles). Interjections are used to express various kinds of emotions, but they don’t enter the structure of
the sentence as a part of the sentence. We don’t single out modal words as a separate part of speech,
reffering them to a class of adverbs with modal meaning.
Notional words usually have substitutes - words with much more general meaning which are used to
replace them in certain environments. E.g. nouns, adjectives, numerals, adverbs can be replaced by
pronouns, verbs by the verb do. John is my brother.- He is my brother.
Have you turned on the gas? - No, I haven’t done it.
if we compare nouns, such as snow, tree, man, with adjectives, such as big, white, green, and verbs, such
as melt, grow, speak, we shall find that all nouns have plural inflections - generally formed by adding s
(trees); that adjectives have no plural inflections, but have degrees of comparison (big, bigger, biggest)
which nouns and verbs have not; that verbs have inflections of their own distinct from those of the other
parts of speech (I grow, he grows, grown); that each part of speech has special form-words associated with
it (a tree, the tree; to grow, is growing, has grown); and that each part of speech has a more or less definite
position in the sentence (white snow, the snow melts, the green tree, the tree is green).
If we examine the meanings of the words belonging to the different parts of speech, we shall find that such
nouns as tree, snow, man, are all substance-words, while the adjectives and verbs given above are all
attribute-words, the adjectives expressing permanent attributes, the verbs changing attributes or
phenomena. We can easily see that there is a natural connection between the functions and meanings of
these parts of speech.
10. The noun and its categories ( The category of number, The category of gender)
The noun is a part of speech expressing substance. According to morphological composition we distinguish
simple, derivative and compound nouns. Simple nouns don’t have suffixes or prefixes. Derivative nouns
have prefixes or suffixes or both. Compound nouns are built from two or more stams.
Nouns are classified into proper and common nouns. Proper nouns are individual names given to persons
and things. Common nouns refer io any individual of a class of persons or things. Nouns can be classified
as countable and uncountable nouns.
The number of nouns- Countable nouns in English have two numbers: the singular and the plural.
The plural noun is formed by adding……
Some nouns form their plural by changing the root vowel:…
Some of them have double plural forms: memorandum (memoranda, memorandums), formula (formulae,
formulas).
…only in thr plural forms: trousers….
…only in the singular…: advice, gold…
Collective nouns (team, family) are plurap when they mean a number of individuals and singular when
they represent a single group.
In compound nouns with the components man and woman both components are plural: men-drivers,
women-doctors, men-servants.
The gender of nouns- The category of gender in English is basically semantic by nature as it reflects the
natural sex of the named objects. Thus we have
1. The masculine gender which is connected with the personal pronoun he (boy, man, uncle).
2. The feminine gender which is connected with the personal pronoun she (girl, woman, aunt).
3. The nuetral gender which is connected with the personal pronoun it (tree, table).
There some nouns which refer both to feminine and masculine genders (the so-called common gender).
1. notional words as sex-indicators- boy-friend, girl-friend, man-doctor, he-bear, she-bear, Tom-cat, Jane-
cat;
2. by suffixal derivation- actor-actress, tiger-tigress, lion-lioness, hero-heroine.
There are some traditional uses; moon and earth (she), sun (he). Nouns denoting larger, stronger animals
may be associated with the masculine gender: horse, dog, eagle. Nouns denoting smaller, weaker animals
are associated with the feminine gender: ca, parrot. The names vessels (ships, boats), vehicles and the
names of countries may be referred to as the feminine gender.
11. Noun ( The category of case)
The category of case in English is not so simple as it might seem at first. There are at least 5 different
theories on the nature of the category of case in English. Different cases are accepted according to the
functional positions the nouns occupy in the sentence.
There are four cases, nominative, accusative, dative, genitive. The cases other than the nominative are
called oblique cases.
Nominative- Functions. The nominative performs three functions. It plays the role of subject, predicate,
and direct address.
a. Subject. The subject relation is shown by a clear nominative form only in the case of a few pronouns: I,
he, she, we, they, who. Nouns and most pronouns become clear subject nominatives through their position:
'The wind blows.' 'The winds blow.' 'He is industrious.'
b. Predicate. The predicate nominative is found after a linking verb, i.e. a copula (to be), 'He was made a
general'.
Accusative - Functions. The accusative has three functions. It plays the role of object, adverb, or objective
predicate (i.e. noun that predicates something of an object).
a. Accusative Object. 'The dog bit my brother and me.' 'He is sitting by me on the sofa.' This book is worth
(adjective) reading.'
b. Adverbial Accusative. 'He stayed an hour.'
c. Predicate Accusative. "They supposed us to be them.' 'A boy whom I believed to be him just passed.'
Dative- Function and Forms. The dative object indicates that an action or feeling is directed toward a
person or thing to his or its advantage or disadvantage. This function is indicated in two ways. by a simple
noun or pronoun, or by a preposition + the noun or pronoun.
a. Simple Dative. 'This woman is making her little son a new coat.'
b. Prepositional Dative. 'The mother is making a new coat for her boy John.'
Genitive- Form. There are four forms of the genitive.
(1) S-Genitive: 'the girl's hat', etc. (2) Of-Genitive. 'the son of the man'.
(3)Double Genitive: 'a friend of my father's.
(4) His-Genitive. In older English instead of an s-genitive a genitive formed with his, her, their, was often
used: 'John his book', 'Mary her book', 'the boys their books'. This genitive gradually disappeared from the
literary language. It survives in popular speech.
12. Category of mood
The category of mood expresses the relation between the action and reality as stated by the speaker.
Different moods express different degrees of reality: one mood represents it as actually taking place while
another represents it as something imaginary, conditional, desirable. We distinguish three types of mood in
modern English; Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive.
The Indicative mood- in the English language has a wider usage as compared with the other forms. It
shows that the speaker considers the action or the state to be an actual fact, that is to say a real fact, in the
present, past and future. The Indicative Mood is a fact mood, because it is used to indicate an actual fact, to
represent something as a real fact, which takes, took or will take place. Eg . 1. The sun rises every morning.
The Imperative mood - Imperative mood shows commands, orders, requests, warnings, advice,
suggestions, offers or wishes, instructions or encouragement, complaints or apologies, eg.1. Taste my
cake. (offer) 2.Put some salt into the soup. (instruction) 3.Write another letter. (encouragement) 4 . Sit
here and don’t move! (order)
The Subjunctive mood- expresses the speaker’s wish, regret, condition and not the actual state of the
things. In other words it denotes an action which is desirable, advisable. eg. I wish I knew the poem by
heart. (The speaker regrets that he doesn’t know it by heart). It has two forms: the Present Subjunctive and
the Past Subjunctive. The Present Subjunctive has exactly the same form as the infinitive. It is used to
express a wish or hope. Ex. God forbid you! It is necessary that everybody be present.
If the Past Subjunctive coincides in form with the Past Indefinite it expresses a present or future action. The
Past Subjunctive of the verb to be is were for all the persons singular and plural. Ex. I wish he were here.
It is time the children went to bed.
When the Past Subjunctive coincides in form with Past Perfect, it denotes a past action. Ex. I wish I had
seen him yesterday.
13.The adjective
The adjective expresses the property of a substance. It means that each adjective used in the text
presupposes relation to some noun the property of which it denotes, such as its material, colour, position,
state, and other characteristics both permanent and temporary. In the sentence the adjective performs the
functions of an attribute and a predicative. Of the two, the more specific function of the adjective is an
attribute, since the function of a predicative can be performed by the noun as well. Adjectives have a
number of suffixes and prefixes of which the most important are: -ful, -less, -ish, -ous, -ive, -ic, un-,
in-,pre-.
We cannot tell whether a word is an adjective by looking at it in isolation. Some suffixes are indeed found
only with adjectives, ex. -ous. Most adjectives can take comparative and superlative forms. Adjectives can
sometimes be postpositive. Indefinite pronouns ending in -body, -one, -thing, -where can be modifiedonly
postpositively: I want to try on something larger. In English there are adjectives which may be
characterized by the prefix a- alive, asleep…They are normally used predicatively. He is awake. Some a-
adjectives freely take comparison by ‘very’ or ‘very much’, e.g. afraid, ashamed, alike…and ‘aware’ can
be premodified by ‘well’ too.
14. Adverb
The adverb is usually defined as a word expressing either property of an action, or property of another
property, or circumstances in which an action occurs. The adverb denotes the time, place, manner of an
action as well as the degree of a quality. According to structure adverbs may be classified into: simple
(here, yesterday), derivative (slowly, eastward), compound (sometimes), phrase adverbs (at last, for
ages). According to meaning adverbs are cllasified into: time or frequency (today, often), place (here),
manner (fast, easily), degree of a quality (very, much).
Adverbs are commonly divided into qualitative, quantitative and circumstantial. Qualitative adverbs
express immediate, non-graded qualities of actions. The typical adverbs of this knd are adverbs in -ly
(plainly). Quantitive adverbs include words of degree (very, quite, too, surprisingly, a little, almost,
hardly). Circumstantial adverbs are divided into functional and notional. The functional circumstantial
adverbs are words of pronominal nature. They include adverbs of time, place, manner, cuase, consequence
( now, here, when, where, why, how…). The notional circumstantial adverbs include adverbs of time
(today, never) and adverbs of place ( homewards, near).
A number of adverbs have the same form as the adjectives: hard, late, near, fst, early, long, low, short…
Some of them also have forms in -ly, but there is a change in meaning: hardly=almost not, lately=recently,
nearly= almost, shortly=soon.
15. The pronoun, the numeral
Words are classified into pars of speech by taking into consideration their meaning, form and syntactic
function. Pronouns do not have concrete lexical meaning.They fall under the following groups: 1)personal
(I,you…), 2) possessive (my, your…), 3) reflexive ( myself…), 4) demonstrative (this, that, the same,
such), 5)interrogative-relative (who, what..), 6) reciprocal (one another, each other), 7) indefinite-negative
(somebody, nothing…), 8) generalizing (all, everything…), 9) quantitative (much, few…).
Some pronouns distinguish between two cases: nominative and objective (I-me, they-them, who-whom). A
certain number of pronouns have a different case system: a common and a genitive case (somebody-
somebody’s). As to the category of number, it has a very restricted field in pronouns. It is found n the
pronouns this/these, that/those, other/others.
The pronouns of the third person singular distinguish gender: he refers to male beings, she refers to female
beings, it refers to inanimate things or animals.
The numeral is a part of speech which shows number or order. The main classes of numerals are: cardinal
and ordinal numerals.
There are no grammatical categories to be discussed in numerals. There is no category of number, nor of
case, nor any other morphological category. Cardinal numerals express the exact number. The most
characteristic function of numerals is an attribute preceding its noun. They can also perform other functions
in the sentence ( subject, predicative, object): We are seven. I found only three. Ordinal numerals show the
order of persons or things. The numerals, both cardinal and ordinal, share certain features with pronouns:
five (the first, some) children, five of the children, five of them.
16. Functional parts of speech
Prepositions- are a most important element of the structure of many languages. The meaning of
prepositions is relations between things and phenomena. They enter into phrases in which they are
preceded by a noun, adjective, numeral, or pronoun. In a sentence preposition is never a separate part of it.
According to their morphological structure prepositions are divided into: simple, derivative( below, until),
compound( without, outside), composite (in front of). As to their meaning, prepositions express: space,
time, abstract relations (by, according to). Some prepositions are polysemantic and may express different
relations (in-time, in-space, at, for).
Conjunction- is a part of speech which serves to connect words or phrases as well as clauses or sentences.
According to their morphological structure, conjunctions are divided into; simple (and, or), derivative
(unless, until), compound (wherever, meanwhile), composite (in case). According to their function,
conjunctions fall under the following groups: coordinating conjunctions and subordinating
conjunctions. Cordinating conjunctions (and, but, so) imply coordination of clauses and subordinate
conjunctions (because, though if) imply subordination of clauses.
Particles serve to emphasize a word, a phrase or a clause. To this class belong such words as only, even,
just, solely, etc. The meaning of particles s very hard to define. Particles are invariable. They may combine
with any part of speech, more usually preceding it (only three), but sometimes following it (for students
only). Particles never are a separate part of a sentence. They enter the part of the sentence formed by the
word or phrase to which they refer.
Interjections are used to express feeling and various kinds of emotions: anger, surprise, regret. Some
interjections represent noises (bang!). They are invariable. They usually do not enter into phrases. Only in a
few case they combine with a preposition and noun or pronoun (alas for him!) . An interjection can also be
a sentence in itself (-Alas!). Some interjectiona are expressed by phrases: Oh dear! dear me! By Jove!