英文句子基本类型-Sentence Types.ppt

Statement, question, command, exclamation Existential sentence It-patterns Sentence is the highest rank of grammatical construction. In terms of their communicative functions, sentences may be divided into four types: Statement Question Command Exclamation Statements, also known as declarative sentences, are used to state a fact or non-fact, that is, to affirm or negate something. Thus, statements may be divided into positive and negative statements. In a positive statement, there might be different degrees of certainty about the truth of the information imparted. Compare the following examples. The man in the middle is the murderer, I guess. The man in the middle is the murderer, I’m sure. The man in the middle is the murderer, I solemnly swear . Such attitudinal disjuncts may also help to soften the tone and make the utterance sound more polite, e.g. Teaching 16 class hours, I’m afraid, is too much for me. I would take a cigarette, if you don’t mind. To reinforce a statement, we may also resort to the devices such as emphasizers, reinforcement tags, double negatives as well as rhetorical questions, e.g. Many people will certainly lose their jobs. That was a trap, that was. Nothing is impossible. Isn’t it a beautiful picture? ( Rhetorical question) Who doesn’t know that? ( Rhetorical question) A rhetorical question is essentially an emphatic construction, which is a question in form but a statement in meaning. A negative rhetorical question is equivalent to a reinforced positive statement while a positive rhetorical question to a reinforced negation Who cares whether you come or not? (Nobody cares…) Can anyone doubt the truth of his statement? (No one will doubt…) Stress pattern is one more device that can reinforce a statement. Operator (auxiliary) is normally not stressed. If it receives nuclear stress, the effect is often to add emphasis to the whole sentence, e.g. I ‵am telling you the truth. (You must believe me.) You need not lie to me. You ‵ did n