Chapter V Part 5 (and last)
IV.D.2
Non-Finite Clauses
75. Non-Finite Clauses are Minor Clauses having a Subject and a Non-Finite Verb and usually depending on a Finite Clause nearby.19 They mainly occur, like other Minor Clauses, to supply the Background in a Sentence, juxtaposed with a Major Process occupying the Foreground (cf. IV.64). The Non-Finite Verb could be a Present Participle for Active [1217] or Medial [1217] to express what is happening then; or a Past Participle for Passive [1219] to express what has happened before then. Pronouns functioning as Subject can occur in the forms of either Subject or Object [1220-21], a variation perhaps encouraged by the absence of a Finite Verb.
[1217] Seeing the peril past, all the bystanders burst into derisive laughter. (Ben Hur)
[1218] the ¡parson ar·!riving, and the
¡horses being !rea·dy, the squire departed (Jones)
[1219] The ¡work !fin·ished, the ¡dead !bur·ied and the ¡site !cleared, Batty Green revert-ed to a sullen silence (Wainwright)
[1220] he lifted a little silver crucifix
and held it out to me, ¡I being !near·est
to him (Dracula)
[1221] he called to give me advice about the old wheat, ¡me being a !widow (Middlemarch)
The preferred Prosody has Strong Stress for End Weight [1218-21], and a falling Pitch contour much like the Finite Minor Clause [1222-23].
76. A Non-Finite Clause can be loosely linked with a Finite one by ‘and’ or
‘what with’, maybe implying an ironic or distressing relation between Processes:
a Present Participle in an Active [1224] or a Medial
[1225], Past Participle in a Passive [1226], or Infinitive for what is about to
happen [1227]. Again, we see the Pronoun in the function
of Subject in the form of Subject or Object.
[1224] And here’s me
dyin’ to go and him havin’
all the chances, and him hating
books (conversation)BNC
[1225] The atmosphere is now different, what
with the cricketers playing
internationally and several fighters going
to South Africa (Daily Telegraph)
[1226] his master bolted with his place, and
him blamed for it! (Dombey)
[1227]
What! I love, I sue, I seek a wife, […] and
I to sigh for her! (Love’s
Labour’s Lost)
77.
A Non-Finite Clause can be Framed with suitable Framing Verbs for Communicative
Processes like ‘describe’ [1228], ‘declare’ [1229], or ‘proclaim’
[1230].
[1228] I described the gorgeous Babylonian harlot riding
forth in her chariots of gold (Parish)
[1229] These men declare, with alarmed countenance, the brigands to be coming (French
Revolution)
[1230]
This German Socialism […] proclaimed the German nation to be
the model nation (Manifesto of the Communist Party)
Similarly, the Object of Verbs for
Perceptive and Cognitive Processes can also be the Subject of a Non-Finite
Clause:
[1231] I beheld
the roof burning. (Volcanoes)
[1232] Bernice found her eyes
caught by flashes of light (Deceit)
[1233] Herr Nordern felt his
hand tremble. (Bury the Dead)
[1234] She knew her beloved
Catherine to have so feeling a heart
(Northanger)
[1235] she believed him to
be really taking comfort in some society (Emma)
78. A useful Non-Finite Clause makes up for the Imperative form limiting Commands to the Second Person (cf. IV.52). Here, the Command is formed with ‘let’, whose Object is also the Subject of an Infinitive expressing the Action or Event the Command is intended to motivate. ‘Let’ rates only Weak Stress, whilst End Weight mainly decides if the Infinitive rates either Strong Stress (e.g. ‘disband’ in [1236]) or Weak Stress (e.g. ‘disperse’ in [1236], ‘do’ in [1237]). The Pitch contour is usually a falling one, much as for ordinary Commands.
In a few data, the speaker commands some Second-Person Audience to perform
(or not perform) an Ergative of ‘letting do’ in the Affirmative [1238] or
Negative [1239], as distinct from ordinary ‘allowing’ [1240-41].
[1238]
most gracious Duke, with thy command let him be brought forth
(Comedy of Errors)
[1239]
Don’t let the ultrasophisticates put you off the guided
city tour. (Beaten Track)
[1240]
‘She had better go out of the room.’ ‘Let
her stay’, said Madame Merle. (Portrait)
[1241]
Look out, he’s turning! Don’t let him get away!
(Sawyer)
More
often, the plausible reading is merely a Non-Finite Command that the Direct
Object Agent should act without anyone in particular ‘letting’ them.
Affirmatives like [1242-43] are common in my data, whilst Negatives like
[1244-45] are rare.
[1242] Let the child who broke her slate come
forward! (Eyre)
[1243] Let the guilty tremble, therefore,
and the suspect, and the rich (French Revolution)
[1244] Let the Roman senator not despise
the poor Pompeian. (Pompeii)
[1245] don’t let the honourable gentleman
forget that we now have one point four million more in work in the UK
than we had ten years ago. (House of Commons)
Occasionally,
the intention is sarcastic defiance, implying it will hardly be done or else to
no purpose, and the Prosody caries louder Volume and slower Pace:
[1246] ‘Let him dare to force you!’ I cried.
‘There’s law in the land.’ (Wuthering)
[1247] Let him
do his spite. My services, which I have done the signiory, shall
out-tongue his complaints. (Othello)
And in exuberant discourse, the doing may be one the
speaker cannot realistically command at all:
[1248] let the whole of creation share this sublime happiness. (Joy Bringer)
[1249]
Let the sky rain potatoes; let it thunder to the tune of Greensleeves (Merry
Wives)
[1250] Let ugly
Darkness, with her rusty coach, smother the earth with never-fading mists (Tamburlaine)
79.
A Non-Finite ‘let’ Command may propose the audience to join the speaker in
acting together
[1251]. The unmarked Object of ‘let’ is then the First Person Plural us’
[1252], whereas I found just a few instances of ‘you and me’ [1253]. Again,
the Infinitive takes Weak Stress or Strong Stress.
[1251] ¡Let us ¡all !slip
into our !beds,
and !be ¡there
when she comes in (Pan)
[1252] ¡Don’t ¡let us !talk about it any more (Dorian)
[1253] Let ¡you
and ¡me ¡have a !story !club
all our own (Green Gables)
In
regional usage, the popular Contraction ‘let’s’ (‘let + us’) may get
additional Objects despite the contracted Pronoun, hence ‘let’s us’
(Strong Stress) [1254], or ‘let’s you and me’ [1255] and ‘let’s me and
you’ (Weak Stress) [1256].
[1254] ‘Go
‘long home and get laughed at.’ […] ‘Let’s
!us ¡go, too, Tom.’ (Sawyer)
[1255] ¡Let’s ¡me and
¡you !bunch our !com·mis·sar·y
de·!par·tments
and make a !stew (Options)
[1256] ¡Let’s ¡you and
¡me ¡go ¡down to the !cir·cus
(Punkin Center)
80.
Compared to Dependent Clauses, Non-Finite Minor Clauses generally
function more distinctly as Background. Apparently, the choice of Non-Finite
reflects an Intention to mention one Minor Process setting the scene or
circumstances for the Major Process in a Finite Clause (IV.58). However, the
Non-Finite Commands just reviewed reverse the priorities, with ‘let’ often
merely a dummy Process, and the Minor process by its form is the Major Process
by its function.
81.
Surely the most neglected among the frequent Patterns in the real Grammar of
English is the Non-Clause
,20
a discourse unit which serves the functions of a Clause without having the form
of Subject plus Verb. In speaking, it occurs as an Utterance in a distinct Tone
Group, and usually with at least one Strong Stress; in writing, it occurs as a
Sentence beginning with a capital letter and ending with a Period. School
‘grammars’ would spurn it as a ‘sentence fragment’
,
a heinous error indeed (cf. IV.67). Linguistic ‘grammars’ would re-tailor it
into a Clause that happens to be ‘subjectless’ or ‘verbless’ (or both),
or which, for obscure motives, has undergone ‘ellipsis’ but is still
‘understood’ as a Clause (cf. IV.103). Both moves obey staid notions of
English Grammar modelled on formal written English.
82.
In authentic discursive practice, Non-Clauses are essential as functional and
prosodic units. One recent survey found them
to constitute more than one third of all units in a sample of English
conversation.21 They are natural products of cooperative interaction,
as in [1257-58] (BNC data).
[1257]
Ruth:
you’ve got some imbeciles coming! Paul:
Who are they? Ruth: [laugh-ing] Well mainly the children. Paul:
Dunno them. Ruth: Your
cousins.
[1258]
Margaret:
Do
you remember that great big jumble sale they had that raised over a thousand
pounds? They had under the erm, Richard:
What
the Scouts?
Terence:
multi-storey? Margaret:
Yeah.
Richard:
Four
or five years ago now.
Written English too can produce
abundant Non-Clauses [1259], especially when representing conversation [1260].
[1259]
John Major is now being exposed for what some of us always warned that he was. A
fake. A flake. A
wimp. A phoney. (Daily Mirror)
[1260] ‘I thought
it was appalling’, she said. ‘What d’you mean, appalling?’ ‘The
noise. The dirt. The mindless, repetitive work.’ (Nice Work)
83.
In respect to position, the Look-Ahead Non-Clause points forward to a
Major Clause, as in [1261]; the Look-Back Non-Clause points backward, as
in [1262]; and the Free Non-Clause
stands alone without pointing to
any nearby Clause, as in [1263].
[1261] My noble father. He is looking down on us
now (Man and Superman)
[1262]
Something of a surprise. You
being here. And in your cab. (Suburban
Dead)
[1263] They found him in a trance. […] ‘Glorious, stirring sight!’ murmured Toad. (Willows)
84.
In the organisation of Conversational Turns among several speakers, a Non-Clause
can point ahead to the next Turn [1264]; or, far more commonly, it points back
to the previous Turn [1265]. Or again, it can share a Turn with a Clause [1266]
or with another Non-Clause [1267].
[1264] ‘ You and I —’ ‘We
shall always remember him’, I said, hastily. (Darkness)
[1265] ‘You sound very dull’, Katharine remarked.
‘Merely middle class’.
Denham replied. (Night and Day)
[1266] ‘But that’s you. Your handwriting.’ (Chung Kuo)
[1267]
‘Sorry’, I shouted. ‘My fault. Should
have spotted it myself’. (Uncle Albert)
85.
The balance favouring the Predicate over the Subject in the English Clause,
noted respecting Informativity back in IV.17, may suggest why the Subject is
more often missing in Non-Clauses than the Verb, and is easier to leave out in
context [1268-69]. Even so, Non-Clauses without a Verb, as in [1270], are no
rarity.
[1268] Gets
a bit lonely since our accident, you know. Can’t
get about. (Samaritan)
[1269] ‘What do you think they does?’ ‘Don’t know.’ ‘Gets up a grand
tea drinkin’. (Pick-wick)
[1270] But Baldwin and Mrs B. are wonderful. Never a word of bitterness or complaint. (Constitutional Texts)
86.
All four of the Major Clause Types reviewed in IV.C.1-4 have corresponding Major
Non-Clauses. A Non-Clause Statement
can
range from a single Word [1271] to an extensive Phrase [1272]. Each usually has
at least one Certain Strong Stress, often for End Weight
,
and is set off by longer Pauses conventionally marked in written English with
periods and highlighted here with double upright lines. Stylistic effects can be
quite impressive [1273-74].
[1271] She took herself off for long walks to ponder in the
ice and wind and snow. || !Cold.
||
!Chill.
||
!Freez·ing.
|| !Wet.
||
(I Believe in Angels)
[1272]
She was nothing to him. ||
Just another
!wor·ship·per
in a long string of !sub·jects. (Undo)
[1273] The !door,
her !moth·er coming. ||
!Sway·ing,
!skel·e·tal, and her face
like !snow.
|| !Clutch·ing something wrapped in !pa·per.
||
!Red on her !face and her !coat.
(Lying Together)
[1274]
The damp, yellow-brick !school·build·ing in its !cin·der·y !grounds. ||
The State !Bank,
| !stuc·co masking !wood. ||
The
!Farm·ers’ National !Bank. ||
An Ionic !tem·ple of !mar·ble.
(Main Street)
The series of Non-Clauses in [1273-74] nicely invoke
a disjointed series of visual impressions, e.g., for the spectral
materialisation of the ‘mother’ in [1273]; or for the iconic representation
of
the ‘planlessness’ of Gopher Prairie in [1274], where ‘each man had built
with the most valiant disregard of all the others’
(Main Street).
87.
Several indicators suggest that such Non-Clauses do count as Statements and not
just fortuitous leftovers. They can have their own Topics, as in news headlines:
[1275]
Baker’s hard man ‘soft’ on grammar (London Standard)
[1276] Sri Lanka rebels in sea suicide (BBC World
News)
Also,
they can have a Minor Clause depending on them (cf. IV47), though such usages
are uncommon in my data, e.g.:
[1277] A fever. Which
took Thérèse by the throat and shook her (Daughters)
[1278] The winter. When things would be quieter maybe on the farm.
(Oral history)BNC
And
they can be loosely linked with ‘and’ to a nearby Clause, much like the
Non-Finites shown in IV.69, but without any Verb form:
[1279]
He was forever ill-treating her, and she too
proud to complain. (Sherlock Holmes)
[1280] At a Labour conference you get Gerry Adams turning up at a fringe
meeting, and he the leader of Sinn Fein (Independent)
[1281] It’s funny you should be calling on her, and you a respectable young lady (Ridgeway)
88.
A simple function of a Non-Clause Statement
is
to echo or repeat, e.g., to emphasize what you just said [1282]; or to show you
have taken in what someone else has said [1283]; or to indicate some reservation
about it [1284].
[1282] ‘In
game-playing I always win. Always’, he emphasised. (My Heart)
[1283]
‘I could rent a place like this next year. In September.’ ‘September’,
she repeated and listened to the rain. (same)
[1284] ‘You
write novels?’ ‘Oh yes. That is, I want to write
them’. ‘Novels’, she repeated.
‘Why do
you write novels?’ (Voyage Out)
A
more elaborate function is to supply an Item or Pattern that might otherwise
have been integrated into a nearby Clause, such as a Modifier [1285], Direct
Object [1286] or Adverbial [1287]. But sometimes no plausible format for
integrating is readily indicated, though low Cohesion does not impede Coherence
[1288-89].
[1285] The barmaid caught my
eye in the mirror. Beautiful. (Other Country)
[1286] I have
various packets. And the tin of milk. And a plum. And a peach. (Like
Out)
[1287] It just took
off like a rocket from there. Every night.
All the time. (Living with Heroin)
[1288]
He was beautiful, your brother. Always a fair
price. Always there. (Payback)
[1289] ‘What was
the job, sir?’ ‘Secretary of a trade association. Widgets and gaskets,
that sort of thing. (Clubbed)
Common
too are Free Non-Clause Statements whose main function is to comment on
something in the communicative situation:
[1290]
They found Mr. Jarvis greasing a cat’s paws with butter. […] ‘A fine animal’,
said Psmith. (Psmith)
[1291] He took from De Gautet a bottle which he carried, and put it
to his lips. ‘Hardly
a drop!
he cried discontentedly, and flung it in the moat. (Zenda)
[1292]
Grace appeared. ‘Time for a break, boys.’
‘Ah, relief’, Byron said. (Undo)
[1293]
Mac eyed George’s retreating back till he had turned the corner. ‘A nice pleasant gentleman, Mr. Bevan’,
he said. (Damsel)
89.
Like the separated Dependent Clauses reviewed in IV.67, Non-Clause State-ments
are popular for answering Questions.
[1294] ‘Who is Glinda?’ inquired the Scarecrow. ‘The
Witch of the South’. (Oz)
[1295] ‘What’s
the matter with him?’ ‘Just crazy drunk’.
(Jungle)
[1296] ‘Are you drunk?’ ‘Tolerable
sober, my angel’, returns Mr. Bucket. (Bleak House)
[1297] ‘Where is the book?’ ‘In the
laboratory.’ (Egoist)
By contrast, full Clauses might sound
quite inappropriate. Even in carefully composed discourse like [1298], they
could create an irritable or pedantic impression; and in casual talk like [1299]
from BNC data, they could seem baldly out of place.