Sentence Analysis: Components, Structure, and Modality

Unit 17: Sentence Components, Structures, and Conditions

From Aristotle to the present day, the definition of 'sentence' has been subject to numerous interpretations from logical, psychological, and grammatical perspectives. Therefore, we will summarize ideas about the sentence from antiquity (Aristotle, Dionysius Thrax, Priscian, etc.), the 18th century (Port Royal), and contemporary linguistics (Andrés Bello, Rafael Seco, Amado Alonso, Pedro Henríquez Ureña, SAR, Bloomfield, Hockett, Wundt, Paul, etc.):

• It is the logical expression of a judgment: if it expresses more than one judgment, it is a compound sentence, as opposed to simple sentences, which express only one.
• This judgment is expressed through predication, which then relates to a subject.
• When modalized, it is the expression of a proposition, as will be clarified later when addressing the concept of proposition.
• It expresses a complete thought and is the smallest unit of discourse with full meaning.
• It is an audio unit delimited by a pause.
• It has an independent intonation, which is integral to the speaker's method or attitude regarding the statement.
• Psychologically, it is the linguistic expression of an analytical fact of consciousness that is now determined by logical relations.

2. Sentence Constituents

The basic constituents of a sentence are the subject and the predicate, which are the usual forms of the nominal and verbal phrases. A phrase is a word or group of words that, as the maximum expansion of a nucleus, has a unique meaning, but it can be incomplete within a sentence or proposition. Words, or a single word if it is the sole member of the nucleus, are the smallest units from a syntactic point of view. The nucleus maintains a directional relationship with its expansion and, if appropriate, an added link accordingly.

In this sense, the nominal phrase (hereinafter NP), as the nucleus, conceives reality itself, categorically signifying a noun, a pronoun (e.g., eu sei - 'I know'), or any item that has undergone a metabasis or a nominal categorical transposition. Examples include a nominalized infinitive (e.g., é um dever de respeitar os outros - 'it is a duty to respect others'), a 'que' functioning as a noun, an article, or even an indeterminate adjective (e.g., A viúva, as mulheres casadas e solteiras para mim são todos peras na árvore do amor - 'The widow, married and single women are all pears on the tree of love to me'). Furthermore, some adjectives normatively function more frequently as nouns, making the language substantive: O velho vê os patos no parque - 'The old man sees the ducks in the park'. Extensions of the nominal nucleus agree in gender and number with it (e.g., carros vermelhos - 'red cars').

The verbal phrase is the focus of the sentence, as its nucleus, the verb, is the essential element for predicating a judgment about a state of being or an event. Therefore, its function is always the verbal predicate (VP), unless we consider linking verbs (e.g., ser, estar, and parecer - 'to be', 'to be', and 'to seem') as mere links between the subject and the quality predicate (QP). Constituents are either necessary or not, depending on what Tesnière's grammar and dependency syntax call valency; that is, whether the verb requires supplementation for predication. For example, a transitive verb necessarily requires a direct object. Thus, to complement Alarcos, this changes the meaning of the verb, completing, extending, or restricting it. Non-obligatory complements, such as a circumstantial complement (e.g., 'of buying'), are considered marginal or peripheral. Necessary supplements, however, are called arguments.

3. Sentence Structure: Classification According to the Dictum

The structure of the sentence, as defined, comprises a subject and a predicate. At the same time, the sentence is composed of a dictum and a modus. The dictum serves as the representation of content and is reflected in the morphosyntactic and semantic nature of the sentence. The modus (which will be discussed at length when addressing mood) adds the speaker's attitude and commitment regarding their statement. For example, the dictum 'João vem' ('John comes') with an exhortative appeal mode produces the sentence: 'Eu venho John' (meaning 'Come, John!'). Following the dictum, sentences can be divided into attributive and predicative.

3.1. Attributive Sentences

Their structure corresponds to a subject to which a quality, expressed in a predicate, is attributed. The quality or attribute is linked to the subject by means of a verb that functions as a mere copula. These are linking verbs (e.g., ser, estar, and parecer - 'to be', 'to be', and 'to seem') that express a state of being. This structure is: Subject + Predicate (Copula + Attribute). The copula can be omitted in unimember sentences: Que [é] lindo! ('How beautiful!'). On the other hand, it can even function as an intransitive verb predicate in phrases (e.g., Só não quero, eu vou estar em casa - 'I just don't want to, I'll be home'). With impersonal verbs: É dia ('It's daytime'), and as an auxiliary: O carro foi produzido pela Seat ('The car was produced by Seat'). Semi-copulative verbs are verbs that typically vary in meaning from predicative verbs to express a quality of the subject, but without being mere points of contact: Os amigos foram felizes ('The friends were happy').

3.2. Predicative Sentences

Predicative sentences express a way in which extra-linguistic reality occurs. In this sense, they are classified according to criteria of passive and active voice, transitivity and reflexivity, and personal and impersonal. Transitive verbs have a first element affected by the verbal action, the direct object (hereinafter DO), when they need it to fully express their meaning, whereas intransitive verbs do not. However, absolutely transitive sentences are those that do not require a DO (e.g., Mourn - 'To mourn').

Reflexive verbs are a subtype of transitive verbs: in these, the subject and the recipient of the action are the same. The action can be direct if the term is a DO (e.g., Acolheu-me - 'He welcomed me') or an indirect object or Greek accusative (e.g., Eu estimo o rosto - 'I estimate the face'). They are causative if the subject is not an agent but, semantically, mediates the action: Eu construí um iglu ('I built an igloo'). The so-called intrinsic reflexive pronouns correspond to verbs whose meaning takes place within the subject but clearly constitutes a real agent or term (e.g., Arrependi-me do que fiz - 'I regretted what I did'). Some authors include dative ethical sentences here, where a term of the action may coincide with the subject's referent, although this term is stylistic and elided: Eu levei meu carro e saí ('I took my car and left'). Interactions are a form of reflection, but in this case, semantically, they involve a plurality whose components mutually perform the action: As crianças estavam voando bolas ('The children were flying balls').

Within intransitive verbs, Alarcos performs the following division from a semantic perspective:

• Static: They express a state of being: Eu me comporto bem ('I behave well').
• Dynamic: They express process: Corri ontem ('I ran yesterday').
• Eventual: Transitive verbs are, eventually, intransitive in construction: Ontem eu comi tarde ('Yesterday I ate late').

Passive sentences do not have an agent subject to perform the verbal action, as is the case with active sentences. Instead, their subject receives the action from the verb and the agent complement that performs the action. Therefore, this passage has a subject and a DO in the active voice: Esse carro foi fabricado pela Seat ('That car was manufactured by Seat') > Seat fabricou o carro ('Seat manufactured the car'). However, the rule prevents this transformation in some cases: Tenho dor nas costas ('I have back pain') > *Dores nas costas são tomadas por mim ('Back pains are taken by me'). The reflexive passive form, marked by 'se' and the verb in the third person, can be exchanged for a periphrastic passive: e.g., Assinou-se a paz ('Peace was signed') can become A paz foi assinada ('The peace was signed').

Finally, there are sentences with impersonal verbs, which lack a subject: they are pure predication of an extra-linguistic reality. Thus, we have weather phenomena: Choveu muito ontem à noite ('It rained a lot last night'). Grammaticalized verbs like ser, fazer, haver, and estar are used impersonally: É noite ('It's night'), Faz frio ('It's cold'), Está nublado ('It's cloudy'), Há pessoas importantes ('There are important people'). With absolute impersonal verbs, such as those with 'se': Vive-se bem aqui ('One lives well here'). Among these, if the verb agrees with the direct object, they are passive: Vendem-se garrafas ('Bottles are sold'). In this case, we have a grammatical subject (the patient) but no logical subject as an agent. However, if they do not agree with the direct object, they will be active: Vende-se garrafas ('One sells bottles').

For Alcina and Blecua, impersonality is not just a syntactic fact; it is also semantic. Thus, there are many resources to express impersonality, even in sentences that grammatically have a subject. The important thing is that the subject is not expressed to indicate universality (e.g., Você vai para lá e é muito claro - 'One goes there and it's very clear'; Se você disser que sim, certamente o contradirão - 'If you say yes, they will certainly contradict you') or because it is irrelevant (e.g., Dizem que o Rei vem pela manhã - 'They say the King is coming in the morning').

4. Modality

Sentence types can be classified according to their modus, or form. The mood is the speaker's attitude and adherence to their statement. They are basically limited to types of oral communication. According to Bühler, these categories correspond to the three conceptions of the linguistic sign: the declarative emphasizes the symbolic character of language, the expressive is understood through symptoms, and the appellative functions as a signal.

4.1. The Declarative

The information in them focuses on the relationship: they can be negative or positive. The speaker affirms or denies a fact without expressing their attitude towards it, either fully (João não veio - 'John did not come') or partially (John passou sem esforço - 'John passed without effort'). Simple sentences are declarative and nuclear in a language; in fact, their acquisition is primary in ontogenesis. This approach is reinforced by a series of features: the verb is normally in the indicative mood, a form specialized in expressing objectivity. The attitude is not emphasized in the intonation: they have a sustained melodic line that ends in a decline. If there are several phonic groups, separated by pauses, the final inflection rises above the normal tone before declining.

4.2. The Expressive

In these, another predominant attitude of the speaker towards the communicated fact is evident. In turn, they are divided into optative (wishful), hesitant (possibility/probability), and exclamatory.

4.2.1. Optative (Wishful)

The speaker expresses a wish whose referent is neither true nor false. The verb is in the subjunctive mood, which expresses the unreality of the statement. It can be noted with emphatic markers: Esperemos, então... ('Let's hope, then...'). The present tense expresses a greater chance of realization, although the imperfect tense indicates a lesser degree of likelihood. The potentially realizable wish is more or less likely: Pode ser ('It may be') / Tomara que eu fosse ('I wish I were'). The inability to express the realization of an unrealistic wish is: Ah, se eu fosse você! ('Oh, if only I were you!'). The optative can be confused with imperatives if the main verb is omitted and only the linking element remains: e.g., [Desejo] [que] os deixem ir já ('[I wish] [that] they let them go now').

4.2.2. Hesitant (Possibility or Probability)

The speaker expresses doubts about a fact and the possibility of it being positive or negative: Talvez Ana seja um forro de prata ('Perhaps Ana is a silver lining'). Markers, such as adverbs and modal verbs, express doubt (e.g., talvez, quiçá, provavelmente - 'perhaps', 'maybe', 'probably'). They are used to indicate whether the matter is tempered by a possible certainty: Talvez você está doente ('Perhaps you are sick' - indicative), whereas if the uncertainty is high, the subjunctive is used: Talvez você esteja doente ('Perhaps you are sick' - subjunctive). Other verbal forms used are the simple or compound future (e.g., Eles já estiveram aqui e eu não sei? - 'They have already been here and I don't know?') and paraphrastic constructions (e.g., Pode não vir - 'He may not come').

4.2.3. Exclamations

Some linguists, such as Amado Alonso and Henríquez Ureña, do not consider them a distinct modality because, they argue, any modality can be expressed in an exclamation. However, it is true that they have an affective character that weighs on the statement, and therefore, they can be associated with the expressive mood. They can be marked in various ways: by pronouns, adverbs, and conjunctions (e.g., Que alegria! - 'What joy!'), by fossilized phrases, or simply by altering the linear order of words, creating an immersive effect: Às onze foram! ('At eleven they left!'). There are several types: besides phrases with a verb, they can be without one (e.g., Pelo amor de Deus! - 'For God's sake!'), proper interjections (e.g., Ai!, Caramba! - 'Ouch!', 'Damn!'), and rhetorical interrogatives (improper ones) that are not meant to be answered (e.g., O que eu fiz? - 'What have I done?').

4.3. Appellative (Conative)

They add to the speaker's communicative intention or illocutionary act (e.g., sending, asking, inquiring), the perlocutionary act, or the expected effect on the receiver. They aim to challenge and encourage.

4.3.1. Interrogatives

They evoke a verbal response from the listener because they express a demand for information to complete content. Their final melodic curve has a very sharp rise. Total interrogatives require a 'yes'/'no' answer, and if negated, they will add uncertainty: Pedro não está aqui? ('Pedro is not here?'). The partial interrogative wonders about an element represented by a pronoun, an adverb, a conjunction, or an interrogative phrase: Onde está John? ('Where is John?'). Indirect subordinate interrogatives have no exclamation: Diga-me o que você quer ('Tell me what you want').

4.3.2. Exhortations

They express command, exhortation, or prayer. In this case, the perlocutionary act does not require information but a reaction from the listener, i.e., a response, usually non-verbal (except in cases of verba dicendi: Diga que sim - 'Say yes'). They have their own mood, the imperative, for the second person singular and plural. For the rest of the persons, the subjunctive is used: Que os inventem ('Let them invent them'). However, the pattern has specialized in several uses: interrogative request: Você pode me dar fogo? ('Can you give me a light?'); 'A' + infinitive: A calar! ('Shut up!'); or gerund of exclamation: Andando! ('Walking!').

5. Proposition

According to traditional grammar and generativism, a proposition is each of the clauses that, joined by subordination, coordination, and juxtaposition, form a sentence. For Chomsky, there are as many propositions as nuclear sentences, which are then incorporated into the matrix by the transformational component. Normally, a proposition does not have syntactic-semantic autonomy, unlike a sentence.

In this sense, the relationships between clauses are subordination, coordination, and juxtaposition. Coordinated clauses are independent clauses linked to each other so that their meanings add copulatively, contradictorily, distributively, and disjunctively. Subordinate clauses, however, fulfill a function within a main clause, hence their lack of autonomy. They are, in themselves, nominal, adjectival, and adverbial subordinate clauses. In cases where no coordinating or subordinating link connects them, we are dealing with juxtaposition: e.g., Cantar, dançar, fazer muitas coisas ('To sing, to dance, to do many things').

Hjelmslev states that a proposition is the logical-semantic meaning behind a sentence. Thus, Eu não sei ('I don't know'), I don't know, or Je ne sais pas (French for 'I don't know'), despite belonging to different languages, share the same proposition. This is confirmed by Breckler and Schmidt, who state that it is the semantic nucleus, without modal components, underlying a sentence even when uttered. In this sense, Fillmore states that one of the basic structures of sentences is the logical and semantic meaning of a sentence before modality is added. Thus, we can rewrite: Sentence = Proposition + Modality (Verb + Semantic Cases). Thus, we would be closer to an identification of proposition with dictum and modality with modus, as seen above.