Sentence Types

Basic and Particular Sentences Types in English and German

Peggy Lumm, Katharina Pischner, Patrick Puhlmann, Katrin Schaeper

Basic Sentence Types

A declaratives

B interrogatives

C imperatives

D exclamatives

Basic Sentence Types

Sentence type Function Speech act

Declarativeconvey

informationrepresentative

Interrogativerequest

informationdirective

Imperativeorders,

instructionsdirective

Exclamativeexpress

emotional stances

expressive

Declarative sentences

• convey information

• representative speech act

• basic word order (SVO)

Interrogatives

• Request for information

• Two Types:– Yes-No Questions (Polar Questions) /

Entscheidungsfragen:• Addressee has to make a decision (Yes or No)

– Wh-Questions / Ergänzungsfragen:• Addressee is asked particular, additional information

Interrogatives: Yes-No Questions

English:

• Subject-Auxiliary Inversion (auxiliary fronted)– Have you understood this stuff?– Do they study English?(„Do“ inserted)

• Intonation (Basic Word Order)– You have understood this stuff?– They study English?

Interrogatives: Yes-No Questions

German:

• Subject-Finite Verb Inversion (front aux or mv)– Hast du das Zeug verstanden? aux fronted– Studieren sie Englisch? mv fronted

• Intonation (Basic Word Order)– Du hast das Zeug verstanden?– Sie studieren alle Englisch?

Interrogatives: Yes-No Questions

English:subj-aux inversion

German:subj-finite verb inversion

Both:

Intonation (Basic Word Order)

Interrogatives: Wh-questions

English: • interrogative pronoun (Int.Pr.)

= subject, genitive attr.

basic word order– What is in the box? (subj.)– Who is your teacher? (subj.)– Whose suitcase is that? (gen. attr.)

Interrogatives: Wh-questions

English: • interrogative pronoun

≠ subject, genitive attr.

subj-aux inversion– Where have you been skiing?– What did you get for christmas? („did“ inserted)

Interrogatives: Wh-questions

German: • interrogative pronoun

= subject, genitive attr.

basic word order (SVO; Satzklammer) – Wer bezahlt die Getränke? (subj.)– Was ist kaputt? (subj.)– Wessen Socken haben ein Loch?(gen.attr.)

Interrogatives: Wh-questions

German: • interrogative pronoun

≠ subject, genitive attr.

subject-finite verb inversion (front aux or mv)– Was (>DO) hast du nicht verstanden? aux fronted– Wo (>ADV) befinden sie sich? mv fronted

– Nach wem suchst du? mv fronted ↓

Preposition has to precede interrogative pronoun in German; in English a dangling prep at the end of the question is possible: Who(m) are you looking for?

Imperatives

English

1. Run!

2. Be quiet!

3. Take him for a gentleman!

Imperatives • do not have an explicit subject• generally have a verb in the base form

German

1. Setz dich!

2. Reich mir bitte das Salz!

3. Reicht mir bitte das Salz!

4. Reichen Sie mir bitte das Salz!

• in German imperatives there is a difference between plural and singular that can be seen in the inflected verb form

• in the polite form we have an explicit/overt subject

Imperatives

Adhortatives

English

1. Let‘s get started!

2. Let‘s you do it!

The ‚us‘ has lost ist function as a pronoun.

German1. Lass uns loslegen!

Exclamatives

• exclamatives express the speaker‘s emotional stance

1. What a nice day we‘ve spent!

2. How beautiful you look today!basically restricted to exclamative utterances introduced by what or how

1. Isn‘t she beautiful!

2. Girl, do you look sad!(take the form of polar questions)

German

1. Wie schön du heute aussiehst!

2. Wie groß du geworden bist!

3. Hast du dich vielleicht erschrocken!

4. Hat das aber wunderbar funktioniert!

Exclamatives

Verb-first constructions

1. Is she reading this book again? Yes-no questionAUX S MAINV O

2. Let‘s stop it! AdhortativeAUX S MAINV O

3. Has the town changed! ExclamativeAUX S MAINV

4. Had I known this earlier, I would have helped you. Conditional ClauseAUX S MAINV O

5. Leave me alone! ImperativeMAINV O

Properties:• non-assertive• do not describe a factual information in the world

Particular clauses

• Copular clauses

• Verb-particle constructions

• Left- and right dislocation

• Cleft-sentences

• Resultative constructions

Copular clauses

1. This building is a school. predicative nominal

2. This building is old. predicative adjective

3. It is hot. nonreferential it

4. There is a school. locative/existential there (?)

German: 1. – 4.5. Das ist ein Auto.

6. Das sind meine Zeitschriften. uninflected das

Verb-particle constructions

Intransitive vs. transitive verb-particle constructionse.g. Alistair put the book away. Bob looked down.

• Position of particle:Alistair put the book away . OR: Alistair put away the book.BUT only: The students think of the exam.

Put it off! *Put off it! They think of it!

• Position of particles/prepositions in relative clauses:the school I went to the book I put awaythe school to which I went *the book away which I put

Verb-particle constructions

• Order of particles:I wrote it down.I wrote Lucy‘s new telephone number down.I wrote the telephone number from Lucy‘s new London appartment, which she recently has bought quite cheaply, down. Length

German:Separable vs. Inseparable prefixes

Separable: Ich stelle das Geschirr hin.

Inseparable: Martin über-wacht das Geschehen.

Left- and right dislocation

• constituent of the clause occurs outside the clause boundaries

• advanced (left dislocation)

My heart

itMy heart,

clause boundary

Nun ist mein Herzclause boundary

esnun istMein Herz,

is broken now.

is broken now.

gebrochen.

gebrochen.

→ emphasize, define topic

Left- and right dislocation

• constituent of the clause occurs outside the clause boundaries

• postponed (right dislocation)

What do I need my heart for?

itWhat do I need my heart?for,

clause boundary

jetzt noch?Wofür brauche ich mein Herz

jetzt noch,Wofür brauche ich es mein Herz?

clause boundary

→ give an afterthought

Cleft sentence

• complex sentence (main clause and subordinate clause) expresses a simple sentence

• very common in English, rather seldom in German (flexibility in word order)

nun gebrochen.

is broken now.

is broken now.

Mein Herz

→ put focus on constituent

My heart

thatmy heartIt is

gebrochen ist.

ist

mein HerzEs ist , das nun

Resultative construction

• verb plus its arguments and additional phrase (AP or PP) expresses a result state of the event expressed by the verb

, so it fallsYou break my heart into pieces.

You break my heart into pieces.

Du brichst mein Herz entzwei.

Du brichst mein Herz entzwei., deshalb ist es

As-predicative

• object includes hidden copular clause

heart-broken man.You see me as a

You see me heart-broken man.. I am a

Sie sehen mich als einen gebrochenen Mann.

Sie sehen mich gebrochener Mann.. Ich bin ein