Passive constructions. Coursework grammatical features of the official business style. Minimum construction weight

The passive voice is used much more widely in English than in Russian. In the latter, the passive form, in comparison with the impersonal, is more official and more written than colloquial, and therefore less common.

It is difficult to assimilate those cases when a Russian indefinitely personal sentence corresponds to a passive phrase in English, which is impossible in Russian due to the fact that the semantics of some Russian verbs does not allow their use in the passive voice, for example: to give give, to grant give, to offer offer, to pay to pay, to promise promise, to show show, to tell tell, to teach teach and etc.

She was given a cup of tea. She was given a cup of tea.

Not was offered a trip abroad. He was offered a business trip abroad.

They were told a strange story. They were told a strange story.

She was promised help. She was promised help.

You are paid a good salary. You are paid a good salary.

Another specific English construction is close to the passive construction both in form and in the nature of its translation into Russian. Often

the English build a personal form by making subject what should, in sense, be a complement. In this case, of course, there are forms of expression that are unusual for the Russian language. We observe such a phenomenon, for example, in cases where the predicate is expressed by a combination of the linking verb to be with an adjective followed by an infinitive.

Not is difficult to deal with.FROM they are difficult to deal with.

Such thoughts are hard to live with.FROM These thoughts are hard to live with.

Nylon shirts are easy to wash. Nylon shirts are easy to wash.

Compare the examples given with passive constructions, the predicate of which carries the adverb of the mode of action.

Not is much spoken about. They talk a lot about him. She was easily frightened those days. She was easily frightened at the time.

3. Personification of objects - nouns as a subject

Russian impersonal sentences, which report on the physical or moral state of a person, about his feelings and mood, correspond in English to personal sentences. The predicate in the English sentence is expressed in such cases by the combination "to be + adjective". For example:

I am cold. I'm cold.

Though he never said a brilliant or a witty thing, we

should have been dull without him. Although he never

did not say anything brilliant or witty, we

it would be boring without it. I am not quite clear about the rest of the story. to me

the end of this story is not entirely clear.

Obviously, by analogy with these sentences in English, sentences were possible in which the subject is already a noun denoting an object. When translated into Russian, what serves as a subject in an English sentence becomes a circumstance in Russian.

Cyprus is rather hot in summer. Summer In Cyprus very

The roads will be slippery. On the roads it will be slippery. Her voice was rapturous. In her voice sounded excited.

Already here we see a certain amount of personification of inanimate objects due to the fact that they become subjects - to a certain extent, actors. Compare: Cyprus is hot in summer. - I'm hot.

It is precisely on the basis of the desire to build at all costs a sentence with a verb in a personal form in English that, obviously, it became possible to combine semantically incompatible action verbs with nouns that do not designate an agent. So, Russian combinations: The article says..., The communique jointlythere... correspond in English: The article says..., The communique says... . Thus, inanimate objects are, as it were, personified. Here are some more examples.

This list does try to highlight the more important factors... (lit.:“This list really tries to highlight the most important factors...”)

Afternoon saw Jack and Somers polishing floors. In the afternoon, Jack and Somers set about mopping the floors. (lit.:"The day saw Jack and Somers scrubbing the floors.")

The mackintosh showed the thinness of her body. She was thin, and the cloak emphasized this. (lit.:"The cloak showed the thinness of her body.")

I (English) A 76

Reviewer: doctor of philological sciences prof. L. S. BARHUDAROV

Apollova M. A.

76 Specific English (Grammar difficulties of translation). M., "International. relations", 1977.

The manual introduces the reader to the characteristic features of the English language and typical cases of discrepancies with the Russian language. It summarizes those features of the grammatical structure of the English language, which, due to their specificity, are difficult for students.

The manual has exercises built on the original language material and aimed at consolidating practical and translation skills.

70104 - 014
A------------- 1 32 _ 7? 4 and (English)

003(01)-77V

Maria Alexandrovna Apollova

GRAMMATIC DIFFICULTY IN TRANSLATION

editorial manager V. A. Chelysheva. Editor V. P. Torpakova. Publishing editor Ya. I. Bozhanova. Artist's decoration D. Ya. Kataeva. Art editor R. A. Kazakov. junior editors G. I. Kolodkova, E. P. Politova. Technical editor T. S. Oreshkova. Proofreader O. G. Mirnova

Handed over to the set on 21/X-1976. Signed for printing on 20/1-1977. Format 84X108 1/32 Paper type. No. 2. Condition. oven l. 7.14. Uch.-ed. l. 7.50. Circulation 68000 copies. Ed. No. 7/75f. Publishing house "International relations". 103031, Moscow, K-31, Kuznetsky most, 24-26. Zach. No. 826. Yaroslavl Polygraph Combine of Soyuzpoligrafprom under the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Publishing, Printing and Book Trade. 150014, Yaroslavl, st. Freedom, 97.

Price 31 kop.

Publishing house "International relations", 1977

The study of any language inevitably begins with the practical assimilation of its basics, sound and vocabulary, basic grammatical forms. However, such an acquaintance with a foreign language does not yet give the student an idea about the specifics of this language, about what in linguistics is called its system and structure, and in everyday life - its "spirit". Obviously, without understanding this internal character of a foreign language, our acquaintance with it turns out to be mechanical and superficial, the material being studied does not fit. in consciousness organically and easily forgotten. And even having studied the vocabulary and grammar of a foreign language, we often do not speak it correctly, we build our speech “in Russian”.

This disadvantage is easily eliminated when the student is in the environment of the living existence of a foreign language. At the same time, he masters the language system even faster than the language material itself: he may already “be able” to speak English and at the same time not know many, many English words, phraseological combinations, etc.

The proposed manual aims to familiarize students who have completed the initial course of the English language with some of the characteristic systemic features of this language and typical cases of discrepancies with the Russian language. Since the way of expressing thoughts manifests itself primarily in the structure of the language, in its grammar, it is precisely the features of English grammar that are revealed in the manual, moreover, those features that were less reflected, and most importantly, were not sufficiently worked out in educational literature.

The manual does not claim to be complete and systematic in describing the specifics of English grammar, but draws the attention of students to certain interesting, from the point of view of the author, moments that give English speech its unique originality.

On the whole, we confine our presentation to the framework of a simple sentence. The members of the sentence and the ways of their grammatical expression from a certain point of view are sequentially considered. Thus, the subject is considered only in connection with the category of impersonality, because here, mainly, the difference between the two languages \u200b\u200bis manifested in relation to this member of the sentence. The “Predicate” section describes only the types of the predicate expressed by the verbs of being and combinations with these verbs. The predicate, expressed by action verbs, is not affected at all, since in this case the discrepancies with the Russian language are insignificant. In the “Circumstance” section, it is mainly about the circumstance of the manner of action as the most capacious and mobile type of circumstance. The definition is of greater interest, since it gives many cases of discrepancies with the Russian language, which is why we dwell on it in more detail. We do not touch upon the question of the addition at all, since in the ways of its expression in English there are significantly fewer cases of discrepancy with Russian than is observed in relation to other members of the sentence, with the exception of prepositional additions. But prepositions, in and of themselves, are too broad a topic to speak of in passing.

In addition, the manual discusses such features of the English language as conversion, laconism of English speech, on the one hand, and a tendency to well-known complications and redundancy, on the other hand, transitivity of verbs and some other points.

Each section of the manual contains theoretical notes with illustrative examples translated by the author. The exercises are compiled from examples taken overwhelmingly from modern English and American fiction.

Introduction ................................................ ......................... 6

Subject ................................................. ........ eighteen

1. Constructions with formal subject 18

2. Passive constructions............................................... 19

3. Personification of objects - nouns as a subject 20

4. I like- I like.................................... 21

Predicate................................................. ............. 29

1. Verb to be .................................................. .............. thirty

2. The verb to have .............................................. ...... 43

3. On the transitivity of verbs in English 47

4. Predicate - the center of the sentence ..................... 58

Circumstance................................................. .......... 70

Definition................................................. ................. 81

Some specific points about the meaning and use of degrees of comparison in English

language ................................................. ................. 88

“Objectification” of degree, sign and action. 102

Conversion................................................. ............ . 110

Laconism................................................. ................. 120

Complications and "excesses" .............................................. 134

INTRODUCTION

"English and Russian languages are examples of two types of languages: analytical and synthetic. The very name of these types of languages shows that they are essentially, according to the principle of construction, not only different, but even opposite. However, this opposition is formal, since it concerns the expression of one and of the same content. Cognition of a new language is the mastery of precisely this formal, specific, qualitative side of it. Therefore, one can easily imagine what a significant mental barrier a native speaker of one type of language must overcome when mastering the language of the opposite system, as well as knowledge of the main differences between language systems .

In general terms, we can, apparently, proceed from the position that in languages with an analytical structure, the logic of thinking receives the most clear external and grammatical fixation in its elements, while in synthetic languages this logic acts rather as an internal relation in a sentence, internal word connection.

The concretization of this provision is the content of the main sections of this manual. Here, in the "Introduction", we need to point out the most important systemic features of the English language in the most general terms and do this in comparison with the synthetic language, which is the Russian language.

Obviously, when we correlate the structure of language with the logic of thought, we approach linguistic phenomena in their connection and integrity, in other words, from the point of view of syntax. The logic of thinking is primarily and most clearly expressed precisely in the syntactic structure of the language. From this point of view, the widely noted fact that in analytic languages in a sentence, as a rule,

mine and strictly defined word order. Violation of the direct word order in a declarative sentence in English looks like something unusual, like an expressive stylistic device. Here, for the first time and in the most direct form, we encounter the expression of the logic of thinking in the grammatical form of analytical languages, for it is clear that the direct word order in a sentence coincides with the sequence of logical components (subject - predicate - object).

As logic testifies, at the beginning of thought the object in question (subject) is indicated; this is why a sentence can consist of one subject. Then the fact of its existence and the quality of this existence are indicated: simple presence, state or action (predicate). After that, if the action is directed to a certain object, an indication is given to this object (object). The object expressing object may or may not be present in the sentence, which again indicates its logical following to the subject and predicate. Finally, these three main components of the sentence are followed by a circumstance as an indication of the conditions of the action taking place. Each of these components can, in turn, be separately defined. That is why the definition falls out of the general logical order of the members of the sentence and can be attributed to any of them.

It is this logical structure that turned out to be enshrined in the English sentence. Here we see the direct expression of logic in grammatical form. That internal logic of thought, which remains unexpressed in synthetic languages due to the freedom of syntactic constructions, in analytic languages, and especially in English, becomes an external grammatical rule.

This logical sequence of the grammatical structure of the sentence manifests itself in the English language so completely that the sentence regulates not only the position of the main components, but even the order of certain types of additions and circumstances. To present this with complete clarity, it is necessary to consider the relationship of the secondary members of the sentence. Attention should be paid to the fact that the object indicating the object of the action is just as objective in essence as the subject, and therefore can be expressed by all the same parts of speech as the subject.

The circumstance seems to have two poles. On the one hand (in the circumstance of place), it is clearly objective. On the other hand (in the circumstance of the mode of action), it acquires an equally definite qualitative character. The circumstance of time in its content is, as it were, between these two poles. Finally, a definition is a special indicator of quality, and it is often expressed by an adjective. Thus, from the addition to the definition, we have a gradual transition from objectivity to quality. Moreover, the circumstance in some of its forms is adjacent to the addition, and in others - to the definition. As for the closeness of the circumstance and the definition, here we can recall that the circumstance characterizes the action, and the definition characterizes the subject. And at the same time, they can even coincide lexically: fast - fast, good - good.

The foregoing helps to explain not only the location of the secondary members of the sentence, but also their individual types. So, if the sentence has several additions and one of them is direct, and the other is indirect with a preposition, then immediately after the predicate a direct addition is placed, to which the action passes directly, and then indirect with a preposition.

not handed a cup of coffee to me. He handed me a cup of coffee.

The nurse brought a bandage for him. The nurse brought a bandage for him.

Here the logical sequence of the English sentence appears clearly and undeniably. An exception is constructions in which immediately after the predicate, before the direct object, an indirect object is placed without a preposition.

I gave the student a book. I gave the student a book.

But this exception, if you look into it, has a purely logical basis. An indirect object without a preposition always answers the question of the dative case: “to whom? what?" and thereby designates the addressee of the action, as if the doer. Therefore, in an English sentence, before naming the subject of the action (direct object), the persons associated with the action are indicated: the carrier of the action (subject) and the addressee of the action (indirect object without a preposition), and only then the subject is indicated,

which these people are manipulating. The logical validity of such a construction is obvious: here the subject of the action acts only as a concretization of the action, as the subject of interaction between two persons, and therefore is named after both of them. It is no coincidence that the verbs used in such sentences constitute a special group of verbs (to give, to send send, to show show etc.), which denote this or that interaction of people and lead to an addition that answers the question “to whom?”.

As for indirect objects with prepositions following a direct object, it is not enough to note that they occupy such a place because they are indirect. Indirect additions with prepositions are the very additions that are close in meaning to the circumstances. For example:

Not received a letter from his father. He received a letter from his father.

She lives with her parents. She lives with her parents.

She pulled me by the arm. She pulled my hand.

Not died of fever. He died of a fever.

The "circumstance" connotation in these prepositional additions appears with varying degrees of obviousness, but it is undoubtedly present. Now it is clear why the indirect object with a preposition comes after the direct object and at the turn of the circumstances. It is internally adjacent to the latter. The person to whom the action is addressed (addressee of the action) can also be expressed, in addition to an indirect non-prepositional object, by an addition with a preposition. In this case, such an object will again come after the direct object: I gave the book to the student.

It is obvious that the formal logical sequence in the use of grammatical forms is also at work here, and the fact that the preposition gives the complement, expressing the addressee, already a circumstantial shade of the direction of the action.

With this approach, we can speak with all certainty about the location of various types of circumstances. We have already noted above that the circumstance has, as it were, two poles (objective and qualitative), and from this point of view, the types of circumstances are located approximately in the following

some sequence: circumstance of place, circumstance of time and circumstance of manner of action. It is in this order that the types of circumstances are arranged in the sentence. The adverb of place is placed immediately after the object. In its objectivity, it is closest to the addition. The adverb of place is followed by the adverb of time.

Not returned from Cuba a fortnight ago. He returned from Cuba two weeks ago.

If the movement of the circumstances of time and place from the place “placed” by them is a violation of the rule and is caused by certain additional conditions (see the “Circumstance” section), then the situation is different with the circumstance of the mode of action. Being in fact the definition of the action, such circumstances, like the definition, can appear almost anywhere in the sentence: at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of it.

So, in the English language, the logical sequence of speech manifests itself almost absolutely, and even external deviations from it have a logical basis. That is why in an English sentence the word order reveals their logical-syntactic functions (subject, predicate, etc.), and in Russian - their communicative load (from known to unknown). Compare:

A girl was standing at the gate. There was a girl at the gate.

In Russian, a sentence, as a rule, begins with a circumstance, that is, with a description of the situation.

There is a typewriter on my desk.

The Englishman will first name the object and only then point out the circumstances of its existence.

There is a typewriter on my desk.

From these examples it is clear that in the Russian sentence the logical stress usually falls on the last word, while in the corresponding English sentence the construction is more formal.

This "formalization" of the content is especially clear in the English interrogative sentence (a simple rearrangement of subject and predicate and the introduction of an auxiliary verb to do).

She is a teacher. Is she a teacher? He works hard. Does he work hard?

In Russian, in a similar case, only intonation works. In English, however, the syntactic definiteness of the question leads to "formalization" of the intonation itself: it receives its permanent and clearly subordinate pattern.

Here the intonation repeats the intonation of the declarative sentence.

So, we can draw the general conclusion that in English, the language of the analytical system, we observe the most complete correspondence between logical components and syntactic forms. In synthetic languages, the specific meaning of the word, semantic stress prevail over formally syntactic moments, which leads to much greater external freedom of syntactic constructions and to the almost complete absence of a formal fixing of the place of the word in the sentence.

The elements of the language, taken separately (and therefore, in their morphological meaning), of course, are much less indicative in terms of reflecting the language system as a whole than the same elements included in the sentence. However, if we take the morphology as a whole, then its full compliance with the syntax, and hence the characteristic features

given language system, is quite obvious. After all, syntax and morphology are two sides of the same language process. In this regard, we can say that in synthetic languages, relations are determined within the word itself with the help of inflections, therefore this word is already correlated with other members of the sentence and can be placed almost anywhere in the sentence. Analyticism in the development of the language is expressed as an increase in the proportion of syntactic canons, the fixing of a certain place in the sentence for the word and, at the same time, as the erasure of the morphological features of the word that lose their immediate necessity.

The loss of declension and conjugation occurred, obviously, due to the increase in the proportion of syntax and the consolidation of a constant word order, when the position of a word in a sentence has already become an indicator of its role in logical semantic connections and relationships. If this is not enough, the English resort to the help of a new element in the structure of the sentence, to the preposition, that is, to the element, again, syntactic, and not morphological. At the same time, prepositions often have a purely grammatical meaning and are not translated into Russian. For example:

This is a great work of art. This is a great work

art. (genitive) Didn't write a letter to his friend. He wrote a letter

circle.(dative) You don't cut fish with a knife. fish knife ohm do not cut.

(instrumental case)

Preservation of the 3rd person singular form in the conjugation of verbs and the genitive form for expressing the membership function requires its own historical explanation, which is not included in our task. But we must emphasize that in this case we are dealing with such rudiments of "morphologism" in the English language, which only confirm the rule, only set off the decisive and consistent turn of this language towards the syntactic expression of the main semantic relations and to the liberation from morphological means of their transmission.

From this point of view, the conversion so characteristic of the English language becomes significant. In conversion, we undoubtedly again observe the predominance of syntax over morphology. In English

(as an analytic language) parts of speech do not have such a clear formal expression as in synthetic languages. It does not (and cannot be, after the loss of conjugation and declension) such a sharp contrast between the forms of the noun and the verb, which takes place in Russian. Sometimes only a solid word order allows you to determine which parts of speech certain words belong to. For example:

Fathers father children.

In those syntactic and morphological features of the English language that we have just talked about, their systemic conditionality, the logic of the development of grammatical forms manifest themselves quite clearly. But, having arisen once, this or that linguistic phenomenon itself already serves as the basis for further development, further linguistic changes and searches. Therefore, in a language, on its systemic fundamental principle, secondary phenomena must arise, the direct explanation of which must be sought no longer in the most general systemic features of the language, but in more specific evolutions of grammatical forms. Here we stand at the origins of stylistics and phraseology, their contact with grammar.

To approach these "secondary" manifestations of the systemic character of language more concretely, let us pay attention to the fact that every language strives to economize on linguistic means. But in the languages of different systems, this problem is solved by its own specific methods. In synthetic languages, this is achieved, in particular, by reducing the length of the sentence. In analytic languages, and in particular in English, due to the fact that we are obliged to maintain a certain structure of the sentence and, therefore, to preserve the stability of the main elements of this structure, the tendency towards laconism is carried out in a contradictory unity with this law of stability.

For example, it is precisely due to the stability of the speech structure in English that the idea of negation can be expressed and is expressed by only one negation in a sentence.

I can find it nowhere. I nowhere I can find it.

If there are two homogeneous predicates in the sentence, expressed by verbs with different controls, then the addition is placed only after the second predicate, then

as when translating into Russian, we will repeat it twice, replacing in the second case with a personal pronoun.

You applied for and received an allowance. you turned for help and received her.

It was only on the basis of the structural definiteness of speech that the form of the answer to the question that we find in the English language could arise.

"Are you a student?" "Yes, I am."

Obviously, a manifestation of the same tendency towards brevity of the statement with its structural completeness is the use of auxiliary verbs without semantic ones (sometimes they replace the whole sentence, usually in dialogic speech), the use of to without a subsequent infinitive, as well as substitute words.

"I've never seen an airplane crash." will one day," somebody laughed. "I've never seen a plane crash." "You'll see someday,” someone laughed.

"You must come and see us at Stanford." "We will that," Con assured him. "You should visit us at Stanford." visit", Kohn assured him.

You needn't come in with me if you don't want to. You don't have to come in with me if you don't want to.

It is a story, and a good one. This is a story and story good.

The plan was an easy one to carry out. This plan was easy to carry out.

The range of examples in this case could be easily expanded, and we will talk about such phenomena in separate sections of the manual.

If synthetic languages strive to simplify individual sentences in every possible way, but tend to build a complex system of sentences connected by an allied connection, then analytic languages (and especially English), on the contrary, achieve the solution of all problems within one simple sentence whenever possible. Of course, this is not to be taken absolutely; this is the prevailing trend.

In English, there are a number of constructions: participles, gerunds and infinitives - these kind of "ready-made formulas" of speech. Use

they are created by a feeling of a certain compactness of the proposal. The desire to maintain continuity, the fusion of the phrase is already evident in sentences like:

I like the sound of this new name. I like, how does it sound this is the new name.

This fusion is especially clearly manifested in cases where the main clause is wedged inside the subordinate clause or the subordinate clause - inside the main one, often without a union.

When do you think he "ll come? When do you think he will come?

In some cases, the cohesion of the main and subordinate clauses leads to the commonality of their individual members.

What does Bessie say I have done? (lit.:"What, Bessie says, did I do that?")

(Here what refers to both the main clause and the subordinate clause.)

Everybody was watching except Adele, whom Leo now noticed with surprise was dressed in her uniform. Everyone was watching, except for Adele, who, Leo noticed to his surprise, was wearing her uniform.

(The allied pronoun whom is part of two subordinate clauses, being an object and a subject - even in the indirect case - at the same time.)

Speaking about the structural constancy of English speech, it should be borne in mind that the syntactic constraint associated with it must be compensated for by something: and here, instead of syntactic freedom in English, morphological and semantic freedom comes. It finds its expression in creative use, with the aim of enriching speech, conversion, easy interchange of transitive and intransitive verbs - all that distinguishes the analytical system of the language from the synthetic one in this area.

So, conversion in English receives some specific internal content, contributes to the figurativeness of speech.

He cascaded the cards. He shuffled cards.

I think I'll tea and egg it here. I'll have a snack I'm here.

Tewsborough's downed me. I am in Tewsboro crashed.

Some verbs (expressing emotional reactions or conveying gestures, facial expressions) - to smile, to laugh, to sob, to sigh, to shrug, etc. - acquire a greater semantic capacity and are translated into Russian, as a rule, not in one word, but in a combination words. We usually observe such an expansion of the meaning of these verbs in the words of the author in direct speech.

"You are too self-conscious," she smiled."You are too shy" said she is, smiling.

"You may do whatever you like," he shrugged."You can do whatever you want" said he, shrugging.

Emotional enrichment is also achieved in English through peculiar combinations: She laughed herself out of the trouble. She got out of the situation, escaping with laughter. They seemed to sing themselves back into another and happier world. It seemed that this singing brought them back to another, happier world. But Alma wiped her remark away. But Alma only brushed aside her remark.* Here the English resort to metaphor, to the clash within "normal" grammatical constructions of semantically incompatible words.

Not laughed off her taunts. In response to her barbs, he escaped with a joke. (lit.:"He ridiculed her taunts.")

Not allowing himself freedom in the construction of speech, in its form, the Englishman allows this freedom in relation to the meaning of the statement. In Russian, this kind of metaphorization would be felt much more strongly as a phenomenon of a stylistic and aesthetic nature, while in English it is regarded more as a familiar, “technical” device.

In the considered linguistic phenomena, we are already really confronted with what everyone recognizes as a manifestation of the “spirit”, the originality of the English language. But as we have seen, all this (albeit sometimes indirectly) follows

* Cm. T. R. Levitskaya, A. M. Fiterman. Translation problems. M., "International Relations", 1976, p. 162.

from his analytical framework. The peculiarity of the English language in this respect is that analyticism is carried out in it, perhaps as consistently as in any other language.

Although it is in phraseology and stylistics, or in any case in phenomena that stand on the verge of them, that the character of the language is expressed with the greatest brightness and completeness, however, both in terms of theory and in terms of teaching, before approaching these complex results of specific linguistic development, we must find out for ourselves the most systemic fundamental principle of language. In this manual, we turn to this subject, limiting ourselves, as noted above, to the framework of a simple declarative sentence.

SUBJECT 1. Constructions with a formal subject

The main difference between synthetic and analytic languages in the matter under consideration is that, since in analytic languages there is a constant word order in a sentence and the presence of a subject (as well as a predicate) is obligatory, even impersonal and indefinitely personal sentences are formalized in them as personal. This is achieved in various ways, in particular, with the help of constructions with a formal subject. The pronouns it, one, they, you, we are used as such a formal subject. For example:

It is raining. It's raining.

It was pleasant to bask in the sun. It was nice to bask in the sun.

One never knows when he gets mad. You never know when he'll get angry.

You can "t help loving him. You can't help but love him.

They say he's back. They say he's back.

Come and taste the coffee we make in Sweden. Try the coffee we brew here in Sweden.

A somewhat different kind of formal subject is the introductory there, denoting the presence of some object or person with the subsequent linking verb to be.

There is a telephone in that room. That room has

telephone. There are plenty of people there. There are many people there.

Instead of the verb to be in this construction, other verbs can also be used - modal meaning: to seem seem, to prove turn out etc.; with the meaning of existence, appearance or movement: to live live, to occur happen, to come come and etc.

There seemed no limit to her demands. It seemed not

the end of her demands. There looked like being a row. It looked like

a scandal breaks out. There lived an old man in that house. Lived in that house

old man. There came Victoria running up the little hill. (To us)

Victoria ran up the hill.

A turnover with the introductory there is often used with a gerund in the negative form.

There was no stopping him. It was impossible to stop him.

There was never any telling what would he do. There was no way to predict what he would do.

Passive constructions

She was given a cup of tea. She was given a cup of tea.

Not was offered a trip abroad. He was offered a business trip abroad.

They were told a strange story. They were told a strange story.

She was promised help. She was promised help.

You are paid a good salary. You are paid a good salary.

Another specific English construction is close to the passive construction both in form and in the nature of its translation into Russian. Often

Not is difficult to deal with. FROM they are difficult to deal with.

Such thoughts are hard to live with. FROM These thoughts are hard to live with.

Nylon shirts are easy to wash. Nylon shirts are easy to wash.

Compare the examples given with passive constructions, the predicate of which carries the adverb of the mode of action.

Not is much spoken about. They talk a lot about him. She was easily frightened those days. She was easily frightened at the time.

There are stylistic and semantic differences between the synonymous constructions of the active and passive voices.

From the stylistic point of view, the construction of the passive voice is opposed to the construction of the active voice as the bookish one is neutral. For example, passive constructions with imperfective verbs like: "Watch repairs are carried out by warranty workshops"; "Goods are released by the seller"; "Disinfection is carried out by the sanitary and epidemiological station", etc. are widely used in various instructions, job descriptions, memos and other official texts, as they have a pronounced book character.

In oral speech, as well as in a relaxed, informal style of presentation, they correspond to the constructions of the active pledge: "Repairs are made by warranty workshops", "Goods are released by the seller"; "Disinfection is carried out by the sanitary and epidemiological station."

Constructions with a passive voice verb are often used in written texts, for example, in a newspaper: "Recently we said that not all films should be called feature films, better - game ones. But where is it - a game? The game element is leaving, being expelled from the screen" (Sov. cult . 1989. 5 Sept.); “S. Gusev’s candidacy for the post of First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of the country was discussed. He was asked about the role of “telephone” law in Soviet legal proceedings, when bribe-takers, embezzlers of state property, lovers of using their official position in personal gain, speculators, etc." (Izv. 1989. Oct. 8).

Passive constructions with brief passive participles formed from perfective verbs have the same bookish character: "Nazarenko's paintings suggest that every centimeter of space is saturated with faces" (Yun. 1989. No. 9. P. 63); "Death drew a line under what was written, sung, played by Vysotsky" (Mosk. Pr. 1989. July 27). These constructions are used in fiction and scientific literature, in socio-political literature and in journalism.

The main semantic difference between the active and passive voices lies in the indicated opposition of the idea of activity of action (in the active voice) and passivity (in the passive voice). In addition, in the passive voice, the action is already presented as a property that is inherent in a logical object: "The house is abandoned by the owners"; "Cereals harvested by farmers in a short time." Some peculiarities in the use of the passive voice are connected with this.

There are frequent cases when the passive voice is represented not by three-membered, but by two-membered constructions, where the word in the instrumental case, indicating the logical subject, is absent.

1) Such constructions, for example, are very common in newspaper headlines (most often for texts of an informative nature): "Explanations are given" (Ex. 1989. June 23); "Strike ended" (Rev. 1989. July 27); "Appeal denied" (R. 1989. July 27); "No opposition candidate nominated" (Izv. 1989 Sept. 1); "The seventh president has been appointed" (ibid.), etc. Here the core of information is concentrated in the verb word, and the word naming the subject of the action is omitted, since the information contained in it is insignificant.

2) The word in the instrumental case, indicating a logical subject, is also omitted when the context or situation clearly shows who (or what) is the producer of the action. For example; "Daily, in two dozen stores in Ryazan, more than ten tons of meat are sold at the state price" (Pr. 1989. July 11); "Last year, in addition to the plan, livestock breeders produced 119,000 tons of milk and 13 (19?) thousand tons of meat... Production is growing even more actively these days" (ibid.); "Let's remember once again that the story "Donna Anna" was written in 1969-1971, and we note how far Tendryakov's thought was ahead of its time" (N. Ivanova). In such cases, the use of a word indicating a semantic subject is unjustified; it makes the presentation heavier and cumbersome.

3) The binomial structure of the passive voice is also used when in the active voice it corresponds to an indefinite personal or generalized personal sentence. "Tendryakov's new prose is ideological. But not in the primitive sense in which this epithet has been used (and planted) for decades" (N. Ivanova). "... The feeling of class hostility and, moreover, hatred of the intelligentsia was also formed by such films as "Chapaev", where the psychic attack of the whites is commented as follows: "The intellectuals are going beautifully!" (ibid.). Here, as in in correlative sentences with an active voice ("... The epithet was used and planted ...", "they commented on a psychic attack ..."), the verb form contains both an indication of an action and an indication of an indefinite or generalized subject of this action.

Rakhmanova L.I., Suzdaltseva V.N. Modern Russian language. - M, 1997.

In the stylistic assessment of the voice category, it is important to show the functional-target specialization of the correlative active and passive constructions, as well as the expressive features of some voice forms.

Many Russian verbs can be used in the form valid and passive pledge, forming correlative constructions; see for example: Author writes abstract – annotation spelled author; Books issue in the reading room – Books issued..:, Decided that the story should be published – It was decided, what... Correlative collateral turnover can be tripartite(first pair of designs), binomial(second pair) and one-membered(last example).

most brightly passive meaning expressed in a three-term construction with instrumental pointing to the real subject of the action: Funds are allocated (highlighted) organizations. In other passive constructions, various semantic shades are added to the main meaning of the voice, and the grammatical variants of voice meanings are turned into lexical ones. In particular, the involuntary nature of the action is noted: It's believed that..; indicates the commission of an action against the will of the subject: No funds were allocated; The work was interrupted. Thus, the main feature of the passive voice lies in its ability to designate an action in abstraction from the subject, in statics. At the same time, in passive constructions, "the categorical meaning of the verb is often superimposed with an additional meaning of quality, properties that contribute to the neutralization of the meaning of processuality and dynamics": Salts are detected by acid; Heredity is transmitted to seedlings through its seeds.

Passive constructions are preferred in scientific and official business styles: for them, a generalized indication of an action as a fact (and not a progressive process) is highly indicative, without specifying the time of its implementation, without specifying the subject, but when highlighting the action itself. and its object.

AT scientific style such an important feature of the passive is realized as the image of the facts of objective reality, independent of the will of the subject of knowledge - the researcher: Algae was used as food ..:, Political theories were created under the strongest influence of the social position that ...

AT formal business style passive verbs increase the emphasis on the action itself as necessary, inevitable, which reflects the prescriptive nature of the style: An administrative fine will be charged..:, Penalty imposed... etc. In business documents that require special precision, passive constructions usually include an indication of the producer of the action - a noun in the instrumental case: The investigating authorities established ..:, Damages are compensated ... etc. However, often here, too, the indication of the subject of the action is omitted if there is no ambiguity in the interpretation of the text: Final settlements are made at the destination station; The implementation of the transportation plan is recorded in the registration card.

AT journalistic style passive verbs are used less frequently than in other functional styles, although in some cases the use of such forms has become almost a tradition: The materials of the conference indicated ...; Our comments highlighted... etc. Journalists are sometimes overly fond of passive constructions. Here are some typical use cases for them: In recent years, the organization of supply has improved significantly; Previously, the plywood industry used a limited number of varieties of wood.(gas.). Meanwhile, the excessive saturation of speech with verbs of the passive voice does not decorate the publicist's style. The expansion of passive phrases gives rise to stamped speech, so journalists should, if possible, abandon passive verbs in -sya, replacing them with active verbs of the active voice.

AT colloquial and artistic speech the use of passive constructions is often assessed as an undesirable phenomenon of "clerical work". Indeed, recourse to passive reflexive verbs is detrimental to style. For example, it is hardly possible to recognize such phrases as successful: The material accumulated for a long time; Bugs are fixed gradually. Predilection for passive verbs often makes speech comical: chicks are fed insects; Breeding bulls by decision of shareholders sold out another agricultural company; Linen urinates and rattling.

The inappropriate use of reflexive verbs is sometimes complicated by the two-dimensional perception of their pledge meaning - they can indicate both passive and medium reflexive voice (with a general reflexive value); for example: The item is thrown into the bath. As a result of this use, involuntary puns arise:

To the meeting of big water getting ready pumping means and other mechanisms; Four thousand coats from here daily are sent to the shops of the capital; To help the hunter in the sleigh harnesses dog; Piglets immediately after birth are washed and wipe off towel.

In the modern literary language, the forms of the passive voice from some verbs have become archaic. In the 19th century writers used, for example, such verbs:

Soon the room was filled with children, girls and boys. There were five of them. sixth brought on the hands (N. Gogol); The words uttered in a half whisper, followed by a deep sigh... (F. Dostoevsky).

Recently, in the socio-political sphere of activity, reflexively passive forms of verbs have been quite productive: Documents were sent for consideration repeatedly; Your question has been considered twice; Responsibility is determined ..:, The problem is being solved ... etc. The syncretism of the reflexive and passive meanings of verbs in such word usage allows the speaker to choose a speech strategy in which the subject of the action is not named, therefore, in this statement it is impossible to establish who the performer is.

Kirichenko N. V. O some features of the functioning of reflexive verbs of the passive voice in the scientific style // Specificity and evolution of functional styles. Perm, 1979, p. 40.

She was given a cup of tea. She was given a cup of tea.

Not was offered a trip abroad. He was offered a business trip abroad.

They were told a strange story. They were told a strange story.

She was promised help. She was promised help.

You are paid a good salary. You are paid a good salary.

Another specific English construction is close to the passive construction both in form and in the nature of its translation into Russian. Often

Not is difficult to deal with. FROM they are difficult to deal with.

Such thoughts are hard to live with. FROM These thoughts are hard to live with.

Nylon shirts are easy to wash. Nylon shirts are easy to wash.

Compare the examples given with passive constructions, the predicate of which carries the adverb of the mode of action.

Not is much spoken about. They talk a lot about him. She was easily frightened those days. She was easily frightened at the time.

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Apollova M. A
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