THAT clauses/ THAT complements - finite clauses (propoziii predicative) 12.03.

2014
Motto: "Life would be dull if all clauses were independent" http://www.pitt.edu/~atteberr/comp/0150/grammar/advclauses.html
I. Preliminary eplanations and definitions!
" #$%# & complementizer % complementizer turns a clause into t'e complement of anot'er clause.
" % finite ver( is a ver( )it' a #ense mar*er (cu marc+ de timp) and an %,reement mar*er (cu marc+ de
acord cu su(iectul).
" -entences. clauses and p'rases - 'ttp!//))).oforddictionaries.com/)ords/sentences-clauses-and-p'rases
'ttp!//))).oforddictionaries.com/)ords/sentences
% sentence is a ,roup of )ords t'at ma*es complete sense. contains a main ver(. and (e,ins )it' a
capital letter.
Simple sentence -% simple sentence normally contains one statement (*no)n as a main clause). 0or
eample! #'e train s'ould (e 'ere soon. / $is fat'er )or*ed as a 1ournalist.
Compound sentence - % compound sentence contains t)o or more clauses of e2ual status (or main
clauses). )'ic' are normally 1oined (y a con1unction suc' as and or but (34456I7%#I47). 0or
eample!
8oe (ecame (ored )it' teac'in, and 'e loo*ed for a ne) career.
9main clause: 9con1unction: 9main clause:

;oers can (e very friendly do,s (ut t'ey need to (e trained.
9main clause: 9con1unction: 9main clause:
Complex sentence - % comple sentence is also made up of clauses. (ut in t'is case t'e clauses are not
e2ually (alanced. #'ey contain a main clause and one or more su(ordinate clauses
(-<;456I7%#I47). 0or eample!
#'e story )ould ma*e 'eadlines if it ever (ecame pu(lic.
9main clause: 9su(ordinate clause:
$e too* up t'e pro1ect a,ain as soon as 'e felt )ell enou,'.
9main clause: 9su(ordinate clause:
'ttp!//))).oforddictionaries.com/)ords/clauses (= info on relative clauses> you may find a description
of relative clauses 'ere too! 'ttp!//))).tesol-direct.com/,uide-to-en,lis'-,rammar/relative-clauses)
% clause is a ,roup of )ords t'at contains a ver( (and usually ot'er components too). % clause may
form part of a sentence or it may (e a complete sentence in itself. 0or eample!
$e )as eatin, a (acon sand)ic'.
9clause:
-'e 'ad a lon, career (ut s'e is remem(ered mainly for one early )or*.
9clause: 9clause:
'ttp!//))).oforddictionaries.com/)ords/p'rases
% phrase is a small ,roup of )ords t'at forms a meanin,ful unit )it'in a clause. #'ere are several
different types. as follo)s!
? 7oun p'rase - % noun p'rase is (uilt around a sin,le noun (& t'e head of t'e p'rase)!
A vase of roses stood on t'e ta(le. / -'e )as readin, a book about the emancipation of women .
? @er( p'rase (verb=head - -'e 'ad (een livin, in Aondon! / I will be "oin" to colle,e net year.
? %d1ective p'rase - $eBs led a very interestin, life! / % lot of t'e *ids are really keen on foot(all.
? %dver(ial p'rase - #'e economy recovered very slowl# ! / #'ey )anted to leave t'e country as fast as
possible!
? Prepositional p'rase - I lon,ed to live near the sea . / #'e do, )as 'idin, under the kitchen table .
" 6.4. & direct o(1ect / I.4. & indirect o(1ect / P.4. & prepositional o(1ect
" #opic (&#'eme/ 54! #em+) and 0ocus (&5'eme / 54! 5em+) are discourse notions t'at refer to t'e )ay
information is focused or placed out of focus in a sentence or in a tet. #opic is old information ()'at is
already *no)n (y t'e spea*er and 'is/'er interlocutor). )'ile 0ocus is ne) information ()'at t'e spea*er
1
)ants to (rin, fort'. to announce. to present as Cne)sC). Dou may read more on t'ese notions 'ere!
'ttp!//lear.unive.it/(itstream/102EF/4G1/1/4.1.4.pdf
0or t'is overvie) on #$%# clauses. it is only necessary to (ear in mind t'at #opicalization means movin,
t'e su(ordinate clause into a #opic position. at t'e (e,innin, of t'e sentence. an out-of-focus position.
" $eavy 7P -'ift ($7P-)! a #$%# clause may (e re,arded as an etended noun (or noun p'rase)> 'eavy &
lon,. many )ords> s'ift & c'an,e of position (at t'e end of t'e sentence. (ecause an etra p'rase is placed
(et)een t'e main clause and t'e #$%# clause).
" Htraposition (etra & outside = position) - ta*in, t'e #$%# clause from its standard position (t'e
syntactic case position) and placin, it at t'e end of t'e sentence and at t'e same time replacin, it )it' an
epletive CitC. also called a dummy CitC (t'e pronoun CitC does not denote a participant in t'e event. does not
refer to any entity).
" % participant in t'e event/state denoted (y t'e ver( is an entity (person. animal. o(1ect. p'enomenon.
process or a(stract idea or notion) )'ic' receives a t'ematic role (also called an ar,ument. a t'eta role/I-
role or a semantic case) from t'e ver(. #'e main semantic cases. )'ic' desi,nate participants in t'e events
named (y leical ver(s. are! %,ent. Hperiencer. ;enefactive. Joal. -ource. Aocation. #'eme. Precept.
Patient. Instrument and Pat'. #'ey )ill (e discussed in a different file t'at I )ill send to you.
" 3left sentence (a )ay of focusin, on a part of t'e information / relative clause) - eample! The thin" that
impresses me is your ,enerosity. 5ead a(out cleft sentences 'ere!
'ttp!//))).((c.co.u*/)orldservice/learnin,en,lis'/,rammar/learnit/learnitv14K.s'tml
Pseudo-cleft sentence (nominal relative clause)- eample! $hat impresses me is your ,enerosity.
II. #'e syntactic functions of #$%# clauses!
1. 6.4. #ri,,ers (elements in t'e
main clause)
eamples
a) transitive ver(s I cannot accept that he is to (lame /that he is "uilt#.
4perations! #opicalization That %liver is a sp# t'e police 'ave already *no)n.
4perations! $7P- I t'in* honestly that this is a "ood idea.
$e testified under oath that he had not been at the scene of the
crime!
4perations! Passivization
= CitC insertion
It 'as (een decided that this book should be revised.
That her father would let her travel alone )as epected (y all of
'er friends.
4(1ect etraposition #'e police *no) it for a fact that %liver is a sp#.
CItC ,ets syntactic case (%ccusative case). )'ile t'e #$%# clause is
assi,ned a semantic case (#'eme) (y t'e ver( C*no)C.
3lausal su(stitute $e told t'e trut' - and I (elieve so. too. - t'is is 1ust an opinion
$e told t'e trut' - and I (elieve it. too. - presented as a fact
() idiomatic constructions
)'ere t'e etraposed
construction is o(li,atory
(etraposition = CitC
insertion)
'ave it t'at. ta*e it t'at. see to it t'at. lay it do)n t'at
'ave it t'at & claim> epress t'e vie) t'at!
5umour 'ad it that alt'ou,' 'e lived in a derelict 'ouse. he was
reall# ver# wealth#.
ta*e it t'at & assume as a fact. (elieve. understand
I ta*e it that #ou won&t vote for our political part#.
#a*e it from me - he&ll be a millionaire (efore 'eLs 30.
see to it t'at & deal )it' or ta*e responsi(ility for somet'in,
-'e 'ad no idea t'at t'e 'ouse 'ad (een sold. I s'ould 'ave seen to
it that she was told.
c) transitive p'rasal ver(s fi,ure out t'at. ma*e out t'at. point out t'at. scream out t'at
I couldnLt fi,ure out that he would 'uit his (ob.
$e made out that he had been robbed.
2
I must point out that further dela# would be unwise.
$e screamed out that there was a fire.
d) ver(s t'at ta*e a clausal
6.4. and an I.4. or P.4.
mostly communication
ver(s
t'e su(1ect is an %,ent
su,,est to some(ody t'at.... indicate to some(ody t'at...... prove.
(oast. complain. announce. confess. declare. s'out. read. )rite.
telep'one. ca(le. )ire. fa. radio. eplain. recommend. mention.
mum(le. narrate. report. reveal. 'int. proclaim. propose. vo) etc
6ou(le o(1ect construction (I.4./P.4. = 6.4.)
$e ca(led 'er that she should (oin him at once.
Pinocc'io promised Jepetto that he would never lie a"ain.
#'e t'ief si,nalled 'is friend that the police were comin".
#'e military unit radioed (t'e 'ead2uarters) that the# were in
trouble.
$7P- #'ey ac*no)led,ed to us that the# were defeated.
-'e 'ad already 'inted to me that ) won the pri*e.
#'e la)yer represented to the court that the defendant was
mentall# unstable.
Htraposition I eplained it to 8o'n that the car was out of order.
$e o)es it to 'is fat'erLs influence that he was appointed head of
the committee.
(% different meanin, of t'e ver( Co)eC! Me o)e it to our customers
to ,ive t'em t'e (est possi(le service.)
2. -<;8H3# a) transitive psyc'olo,ical
ver(s
t'e su(1ect is an
Hperiencer
alarm. amaze. an,er. astonis'. (affle. (ot'er. c'arm. calm. concern.
discoura,e. em(arrass. fri,'ten. ,ladden. 'urt. insult. madden. rattle.
pain. satisfy. surprise. tempt etc
#opicalization
#opicalization and
passivization
That nothin" came out of it intri,ues me.
That she would press me to marr# her )as of course out of t'e
2uestion.
That ) could love such a person )as a revelation.
That +ohn is intelli"ent is (elieved (y everyone.
Htraposition and CitC
insertion
Htraposition )it'out CitC
insertion
)t intri,ues me that nothin" came out of it.
)t stirs me that ) was thou"ht worth#.
)t concerns me that #ou no lon"er seem to care.
)t amazed me that the child could swim so well.
)t pains me that #ou never answer m# calls!
)t veed 'er that her husband had for"otten her birthda#!
)t surprised/(affled t'em that their mana"er decided to 2uit 'is
1o(.
I )as very relieved that the# had not fired her!
Passivization I am intri,ued that nothin" came out of it.
I )as pleased that the# has reco"nised m# works in the art
exhibition!
I )as appalled that the fire was spreadin" so rapidl#!
#'e firefi,'ters )ere astounded that an#one could survive such a
fire!
$e felt mortified that he hadn&t been invited to the ,)- part#.
Pseudo-cleft sentence What troubles me (nominal/free relative clause) is that he never
loved me.
() intransitive ver(s seem. appear. turn out. come a(out. come to some(ody t'at. emer,e.
3
(er,ative ver(s - t'ey do
not assi,n t'e t'eta role of
%,ent)
Htraposition = CitC
= P.4. (to 'im)
'appen. follo). occur
)t turned out that she was a friend of m# sister.
-'eLs not in t'e office (ut it doesnLt necessarily follo) that she&s ill!
$eLs t'e (oss. )t al)ays seems (to 'im) that he is ri"ht.
)t appears (to me) that there has been a mistake.
)t emer,ed that .omanian officials were takin" bribes.
)t came to 6orot'y that the wi*ard mi"ht help her!
)t 'appened that the wi*ard wasn&t there )'en t'ey first called.
)t doesnLt surprise me that this mi"ht be the be"innin" of a
beautiful friendship!
3lausal su(stitute L-'e is leavin,.L / It seems t'at s'e is leavin,.
LSo it seems.L / I (elieve so/that/ this.
c) er,ative ad1ectives
t'ere is no %,ent
certain. sure. li*ely. unli*ely. possi(le. impossi(le. inconceiva(le
)t is certain that he will win.
)t is possi(le that he ma# win.
d) (isentential ver(s
ver(s t'at ta*e t)o
sentences! one is a su(1ect
and t'e ot'er is a 6.4.
prove. s'o). imply. mean. entail. su,,est. indicate
That #ou don&t want to come )it' us means t'at you donLt trust us.
e) ver(al idioms cross some(odyLs mind. escape some(odyLs attention. da)n on
some(ody t'at (&a-Ni da seama c+). stri*e some(ody t'at. enter
some(odyLs mind t'at
)t never entered my mind that she would lie to me.
)t never crossed my mind that ) mi"ht lose.
)t mi,'t 'ave escaped your notice that )&ve been unusuall# bus#
recentl#.
)t stri*es me that nobod# is in favour of the reform.
f) uner,ative ad1ectives
(modal-evaluative
/emotive ad1ectives - #'ere
is someone )'o evaluates
t'e situation descri(ed (y
t'e #$%# clause and
decides t'at it is important.
funny etc)
-ome of t'em ta*e a P.4.
)it' to. for. of
essential. crucial. appropriate. true. dou(tful. natural. normal.
a)*)ard. 'elpful. funny. luc*y. surprisin,. insultin,. ,ood. (ad.
alarmin, etc
That +ohn won )as essential to his wife.
)t )as essential to his wife that +ohn won.
,) predicatives pro(lem. t'in,. fact. idea. surprise. miracle. (no) )onder. mystery
etc
)tLs a parado of t'eir relations'ip that the# love and hate each
other.
3. P.4. Prepositional ver(s and
ad1ectives
a,ree (on/a(out). ar,ue (for/a,ainst). (et (on). (oast (a(out).
complain (of/a(out). fret (a(out). comment (on). re1oice (at). remar*
(on/upon). marvel (at). respond (to). see to. t'eorize (a(out/on).
speculate (on). )orry (a(out). )a,er (on). s)ear (to)
3ompare!
#'e or,anizers are still ar,uin, over t'e details of t'e concert.
#'e Oayor opposed t'e ne) road. ar,uin, that it wasn&t worth
4
spendin, P2G million to cut seven minutes off driversL 1ourney
times.
Oy fat'er remar*ed that ) looked unhapp#!
$e (oasted that he was the best pla#er in the team!
%ll t'e military re1oiced that the war was over.
$e (et me Q20 that ) couldn&t keep 'uiet for ten minutes.
I vote we sta# here.
I donLt )onder (&nu m+ mir c+) #ou "ot an"r# - I )ould 'ave ,ot
an,ry too.
$7P- $e reflected sadly that he had probabl# made the wron" decision.
Htraposition 3an you s)ear that the accused man was at #our house
#esterda#R
Dou may depend upon it that ever# member of the Committee
will support #our proposal.
I )ill ans)er for it that the man is honest.
-'e testified to it that she had seen him leavin".
4. %##5I;<#H M'en t'e #$%# clause is a
noun clause ((e'avin, li*e
a noun. ta*in, t'e
syntactic functions of a
noun> in t'is case. as
attri(ute. etendin, t'e
noun). t'e complementizer
#$%# cannot (e replaced
(y t'e relative pronoun
M$I3$
3ompare!
#'ere is no dou(t that ) will pass the exam.
- )e cannot say! /#'ere is no dou(t which ) will pass the exam!
#'e su(ordinate clause says precisely )'at t'e dou(t is a(out. -o
t'is is a noun clause.
#'ere is no dou(t that would hinder me from tryin,.
- )e can say! #'ere is no dou(t which would hinder me!!!
#'e su(ordinate clause does not mention )'at *ind of dou(t it is. so
t'e #$%# clause is a relative clause (an ad1ectival clause).
a) a(stract nouns proposition. idea. fact. evidence. proof. fore(odin, (presimire)
#'e most dramatic evidence that the countr# is at the centre of a
crisis is t'e out(rea* of civil )ar.
() nominalizations (nouns
derived from ver(s) of
ver(s t'at ta*e a 6.4.
(elief. conception. fear. dou(t. possi(ility. pro(a(ility etc
#'e mista*en (elief that cocaine is not an addictive dru" ruined
t'e lives of countless youn, people.
G.
P5H6I3%#I@H
54! nume predicativ
In e2uative sentences -
containin, elements t'at
can (e interc'an,ed
)it'out alterin, t'e
meanin,
Oy )orst fear is that ) could become addicted to cocaine.
means t'e same t'in, as!
That ) could become addicted to cocaine is my )orst fear.
#'e only. small difference is t'at t'e focused piece of information is
at t'e end of t'e sentence.
S.
%6@H5;I%A
54! complement
circumstanial
%n adver(ial ans)ers one of t'e follo)in, 2uestions!
M'enR - time
M'ereR - place
M'yR - reason> cause
#o )'at de,reeR/ $o) muc'/lon,R - intensity, frequency
<nder )'at circumstancesR/ $o)R - manner> condition
a) prepositional p'rases
(PPs)
(y reason t'at. in spite of t'e fact t'at. ecept for t'e fact t'at. on t'e
,round(s) t'at (& pe motiv c+/ = su(1unctive). on condition t'at
(=su(1unctive). for fear t'at (=su(1unctive). in order t'at
(=su(1unctive). in case t'at. (ut for t'e fact t'at
adver(ial of reason!
#'ey oppose t'e (ill on the "rounds that it is too resctictive!
Mine is scarce b# reason that it is prohibited!
G
adver(ial of purpose - so t'at. in order t'at!
I al)ays ta*e my p'one )it' me so that m# children can call me
an#time.
adver(ial of concession!
)n spite of the fact that it rained #esterda#. )e could not see t'e
rain(o).
() preposition = t'at (efore t'at. until t'at (&until. in Oiddle Hn,lis'). save t'at. ecept
t'at. in t'at. (ut t'at. (esides t'at. (eyond t'at
#'e ,uide s'o)ed t'em t'e )ay until that the# reached a chalet!
I can say no more be#ond that #ou have made me inexpressibl#
happ#.
Dou can find one reason for 'er silence in that she was too tired to
eplain 'erself.
I )ould (uy t'e suit. except that it costs too much!
c) ver(-(ased prepositions supposin, t'at. provided t'at. providin, t'at
adver(ial of condition!
I )ill come )it' you provided that m# suit is back from the dr#
cleaners!
-rovided that all is safe. you may depart.
Dou can find no reason not to 'ire 'im exceptin" that he is #oun"
and sh#.
Supposin" (that #ou fell in love with #our boss. )'at )ould you
doR
Dou can (orro) my (i*e provided that #ou brin" it back b#
sunset.
#'e adver(ial of result
so and such &de,ree
determiners
-o = ad1ective/adver(/2uantifier p'rase= t'at clause
-'e invited so many people that we had to leave.
$e is so old that he cannot dance the polka.
#'e )olf )as so wild that we let it escape.
#'is plane flies so fast that it can beat the speed record.
I en1oyed dancin, so much that )&m determined to ta*e up dancin,
lessons.
#'ey polis' t'e floor so hard that #ou can see #our face in it.
-uc' = determiner = noun = t'at clause
$e is not suc' a fool that he is not able to do t'at.
ItLs suc' a good chance that we mustn&t miss it.
$e is suc' a liar that nobod# believes him an#more.
-'e 'as lived suc' a life that she cannot expect s#mpath# now.
Oain clause noun = suc' = t'at clause
#'e nature of po)er is suc' that ever#bod# wants to feel po)erful.
8o'nLs ans)er )as suc' that we could not doubt him.
Oain reference!
%leandra 3ornilescu - 3omplementation in Hn,lis'
'ttp!//e(oo*s.uni(uc.ro/filolo,ie/cornilescu/cuprins.'tm
S