Topic 4: Sentence types and discourse functions - Handout       

Simple sentences may be divided into four major syntactic types, whose use correlates mostly with different discourse functions:

Sentence types:

(I) declaratives - it is normal for the subject to be present and to precede the verb;

(II) interrogatives - formally marked in one of two ways: either an operator is placed in front of the subject, or an interrogative wh-element is positioned initially and there is generally subject-operator inversion;

(III) imperatives - normally having no overt grammatical subject and the verb is used in the base form:

(IV) exclamatives - having an initial phrase introduced by what or how, usually with subject-operator order;

Discourse functions:

(A) statements - used primarily to convey information;

(B) questions - used to seek information on a specific point;

(C) directives - used to instruct somebody to do something;

(D) exclamations - used primarily to express the extent to which the speaker is

impressed by something;

Direct associations between syntactic types and discourse functions are the rule, but the two do not always match. We distinguish direct and indirect speech acts.

Examples:       Could you mend my watch?   question about ability             DSA

                        Could you mend my watch?   request                                    ISA

Questions - Three major classes

1. Yes-no questions:

Examples:       Are you prepared? - Yes, I am.          or         No, I’m not.

They expect affirmation or negation. If there is no item in the verb phrase that can function as operator, do is introduced, as with negation.

Positive yes-no questions

Like negative statements, they may contain non-assertive items. Such questions are neutral, with no bias in expectation towards a positive or negative response:

Examples:       Did anyone call last night? Has the boat left yet?

However, questions may be conducive, e.g. a positive question may be presented in a form which is biased towards a positive answer, having positive orientation and using assertive forms rather than usual non-assertive forms:

Examples:       Did someone call last night? Has the boat left already?

Negative yes-no questions

Negative questions are always conducive. The implication is that the speaker had originally hoped for a positive response, but new evidence now suggests that the response will be negative (combination of the old expectation [positive] and new expectation [negative]):

Example:         Hasn’t he told you what to do?

Tag questions

while being appended to a statement, they express maximum conduciveness:

Examples:       He likes swimming, doesn’t he? He doesn’t like swimming, does he?

In the most common types, the tag question is negative if the statement is positive and vice versa. The tag question has the form of a yes-no question consisting of merely an operator and a subject pronoun, the choice of operator and pronoun depending on the statement. The tag with a rising tone invites verification, expecting the hearer to decide the truth of the proposition in the statement. The tag with a falling tone, on the other hand, invites confirmation of the statement, and has the force of an exclamation rather than a genuine question.

Declarative questions

have the form of declaratives, except for the final rising intonation. They are conducive and resemble tag questions with a rising tone in that they invite the hearer’s verification:

Examples:       He wants something to eat? Nobody ever stays at your place?

2. Wh-questions:

Unlike yes-no questions, wh-questions generally have falling intonation:

Examples:       What’s your name? - My name’s Peter.

They typically expect a reply from an open range of replies.

On what did you base your results? (formal) What did you base your results on?

The normal statement order of elements is altered in wh-questions not only by initial placing of the wh-element, but by the inversion of subject and operator in all cases except when the wh-element is subject:

Examples:       What happened?         Who is late?

3. Alternative questions:

There are two types, the first resembling a yes-no question, the second a wh-question:

Examples:       Would you like chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry (ice-cream)?

                        Which ice-cream would you like? Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry?

Minor types of questions

1. Exclamatory questions:

are interrogative in structure, but have the force of exclamatory assertions. Typically they are negative yes-no questions with a final falling instead of rising tone:

Example:         Hasn’t she grown!

2. Rhetorical questions:

are interrogative in structure, but have the force of strong assertions. Speakers do not expect an answer:

Examples:       Is that the reason for despair? (‘Surely that is not a reason …’)

                        Isn’t the answer obvious? (‘Surely the answer is obvious …’)

3. Echo questions:

repeat part or all of what has been said:

Example:         A: The Browns are emigrating.         B: Emigrating?

Directives

typically take the form of an imperative sentence, which differs from a declarative sentence in that 1/ it generally has no subject and 2/ it has a verb in the base form. The imperative verb lacks tense distinction and does not allow modal auxiliaries:

Examples:       Be careful.      Don’t be deceived by his looks.

However, the implied subject you can be added for emphasis:

Example:         Don’t tell me to be quiet. You be quiet!         Somebody open this door.

Exclamatives

are restricted to the type of exclamatory utterance introduced by what or how. The former is used as predeterminer in a NP, the latter as intensifier of an adjective or adverb, or as a degree adverbial. The wh-element is fronted, but in contrast to wh-questions there is no subject-operator inversion:

Examples: What beautiful weather! How quickly he runs! How pleasant her voice is!

Block language appears in such functions as labels, titles, newspaper headlines, headings, notices, and advertisements. It usually consists of noun phrases in isolation:

Examples: No dogs without leash      Entrance         Wish you were here. (postcard)