Курсовая работа: Subject: ways of expressing the sentence

All things are admired either because they are new or because they are great. (Francis Bacon)

Even in his novels Hardy’s pessimism is always a fighting pessimism. (T.A. Jackson, Thomas Hardy)

What do you think the weather will be tomorrow?

2. Compound , expressed by two or more nouns that represent one and the same notion (or one and the same person)

The great poet, essayist and philosopher died in 1882. (Emerson)

3. Coordinated or Homogeneous , that unites two or more different objects with the conjunction.

Tom and Maggie are the principal characters in ‘The Mill of the Floss’. (G. Eliot’s novel)

4. Complex , expressed by a special construction, first of all, by a noun in the nominal case with an infinitive or with a participle:

He had been reported to move house.

The rain could be heard rapping against the windows.

5. Double that is characteristic of the English folklore.

‘Some suits, some suits,’ the sheriff he said, ‘Some suits I’ll give to thee.’ (Robin Hood Rescuing the Widow’s Three Sons) [9, 186]

1.2.2 Classification of the Subject from functional point of view

The most typical semantic role of a subject is AGENTIVE; that is the animate being instigating or causing the happening denoted by the verb:

John opened the letter.

Apart from its agentive function, the subject frequently has an INSTRUMENTAL role; that is, it expresses the unwitting (generally inanimate) material cause of the event:

The avalanche destroyed several houses

With intransitive verbs, the subject also frequently has the AFFECTED role that is elsewhere typical of the object:

Jack fell down

The pencil was lying on the table

We may also extend this latter function to subjects of intensive verbs:

The pencil was on the table

It is now possible to see a regular relation, in terms of clause function, between adjectives or intransitive verbs and the corresponding transitive verbs expressing CAUSATIVE meaning:

S affected Sagent/instr.Oaffected

The door opened John/The key opened the door

The flowers have died The frost has killed the flowers

Saffected Sagent/instr Oaffected

The road became narrower They narrowed the road

I got angry His manner angered me