Syntactic function

§ 237. Statives may have three functions in a sentence: thatofpredicativein a compound nominal or a double predicate (the most common function), that ofobjective predicative, or occasionally that ofattribute.

When used in the function of predicative statives describe the state of the person or non-person denoted by the subject and are connected with the subject by means of a link verb or in some cases by a notional verb.

Statives as predicatives within a compound nominal predicate:

He was terribly afraid of his father.

The house was ablaze with lights.

Soon she fell fast asleep.

He seemed afraid to go any further.

She felt alert and young.

Why do they look so frighteningly alike?

The Overlords remained aloof, hiding their faces from mankind.

Statives as predicatives within a double predicate:

He sat quite alone on that large verandah of his.

For a moment she stood aghast, looking at the door.

She was lying wide awake listening to all the sounds of the night.

She sounded very high and afraid.

When they have the function ofobjective predicative, statives describe the state of the person or non-person denoted by the object:

First of all have the fire alight in the drawing room.

The large dog kept him afloat until the raft came up.

Don’t keep the door ajar.

Leave me alone, you fool.

I’ll get him awake in a minute.

Although thefunction of attribute is not characteristic of statives, some of them may have this function (either detached or undetached attributes).

Statives as undetached attributes are always postmodifying:

No man alive could have done it.

No one aware of the consequences of his deed would have defied the fate.

When used as detached attributes, statives may be either post- or premodifying:

The microphone, already alive, was waiting for him.

He stood, alert and listening, while the noise from the reef grew steadily around him.

Aloof on her mountain-top, she considered the innumerable activities of men.

In all these cases the stative retains its predicational force.

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.003 сек.