Types of syntactic relations

Types of phrases

Linguists discuss different classifications of phrases, all of them having their own advantages.

The traditional classification of phrases is based on the part of speech status of the phrase constituents, therefore nounal, verbal, adjectival, adverbial, etc.

phrases are singled out.

Three types of syntactic connections can be singled out: coordination, subordination and accumulation.

Coordination: coordinate phrases consist of two or more syntactically equivalent units joined in a cluster which functions as a single unit. The member

units can be potentially joined together by means of a coordinate conjunction.

Subordination: subordinate phrases are structures in which one of the members is syntactically the leading element of the phrase. This dominating

element is called the head-word, or the kernel, and can be expressed by different

parts of speech.

Accumulation: the accumulative connection is present when no other type

of syntactic connection can be identified.

Cf. (to give) the boy an apple – (to give) an apple to the boy

The presence of a certain syntactic connection between the words in the phrase “the boy an apple” can be proved by the fact that the change of order results in the change of the form.

The accumulative connection is widely spread in attributive phrases made up

by attributes expressed by different parts of speech (these problematic (issues); some old (lady)). The position of the elements relative to each other is fixed, they cannot exchange their positions (*problematic these (issues); *old some (lady)).

So, according to the type of syntactic connection, the following subclasses are singled out:

1. Independent one-class phrases with

- syndetic coordination (sense and sensibility),

- asyndetic coordination (the Swiss, the Dutch, the Germans);

2. Independent hetero-class phrases with interdependent primary predication (he runs).

3. Dependent one-class phrases with the accumulative connection (sharp green (pencil)).

4. Dependent hetero-class phrases with

- accumulative connection (my green (pencil)),

- interdependent secondary predication ((to find) the cup broken; (she took the box), her fingers pulling the ribbon)).

Syntactic relations of the phrase constituents are divided into two main types: agreement and government (соглашение и управление).

Agreement takes place when the subordinate word assumes a form similar to

that of the word to which it is subordinate, that is formal correspondences are established between parts of the phrase. The sphere of agreement in Modern English is extremely small: it is found in the pronouns this and that, which agree in number with their head word (that chair – those chairs).

As to the problem of agreement of the verb with the noun or pronoun denoting the subject of the action (Jack is eating; Jack and Jenny are eating), this

is a controversial problem. The questions is whether the verb stands, say, in the

plural number because the noun denoting the subject of the action is plural, so

that the verb is in the full sense of the word subordinate to the noun, or whether the verb expresses by its category of number the singularity or plurality of the doer (or doers). There are some phenomena in Modern English which would seem to show that the verb does not always follow the noun in the category of number. Such examples as, The police have arrived too late, on the one hand, and The United States is a democracy.

Government takes place when the subordinate word is used in a certain form

required by its head word, the form of the subordinate word not coinciding with

the form of the head word. The role of government in Modern English is almost

as insignificant as that of agreement. Government can be observed between the

verb and its object expressed either by a personal pronoun or by the pronoun who,

the verb being the governing element (to rely on him, to be proud of her).

Agreement and government are considered to be the main types of expressing syntactic relations, however, there exist some special means of expressing syntactic relations within a phrase. They are adjoinment and enclosure.

Adjoinment is described as absence both of agreement and of government.

Combined elements build syntactic groups without changing their forms. A typical

example of adjoinment is a combination of an adverb with a head word (to nod

silently, to act cautiously).

An adverb can only be connected with its head word in this manner, since it has no grammatical categories which would allow it to agree with another word or to be governed by it.

While adjoinment is typical of Russian, enclosure is peculiar to Modern English. By enclosure (замыкание) some element is put between the two parts of another constituent of a phrase. It is, as it were, enclosed between two parts of another element.

The most widely used type of enclosure is use of an attribute between the article (determiner) and the head-noun (a pretty face, your perfect man, one good essay).

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