Part VI, NUMBER THREE
VI.61 The IMPERATIVE CLAUSE for COMMANDS is quite distinct in form by its restricted LEXICOGRAMMAR: mostly a human AGENT not expressed as SUBJECT; only SECOND PERSON; and only PRESENT TENSE. The unmarked option for the AFFIRMATIVE starts with the PROCESS VERB; the NEGATIVE starts with the AUXILIARY plus the NEGATION -- “don’t” or “do not” -- and then the PROCESS VERB. The unmarked PITCH CONTOUR is falling toward END WEIGHT [221-22]
VI.62 For either POLARITY, CERTAIN STRESS fits the WEIGHT attributed to the PROCESS (VI.17-22). A PROCESS VERB judged important or unpredictable gets STRONG STRESS and confers FRONT WEIGHT [223]; otherwise, WEAK STRESS occurs if another ITEM can take STRONG STRESS, mostly leading to END WEIGHT [224]. So in a short AFFIRMATIVE or NEGATIVE COMMAND, the VERB gets STRONG STRESS in any case [225-26].
[223] “!Stop this ¡joke!” shouts Ali. (Mother without a Mask)
[224] !Stop! !Turn! !Shout! (Fields in the Sun)
[225] Next time you get a blister, ¡don’t !stop the !game -- stop the !pain. (advert)BNC
[226] Don’t !think at all. !Sketch! (Woodworker)
VI.63 The function of soliciting compliance encourages options for emphatic COMMANDS. At LOWER WEIGHT, one option adds the SECOND PERSON PRO-NOUN “you” with WEAK STRESS to AFFIRMATIVE [227] or NEGATIVE [228]; the PROCESS VERB may get WEAK STRESS too. At HIGHER WEIGHT, another option places STRONG STRESS on the AUXILIARY “do” or “don’t” or on the “not” of “do not”, and WEAK STRESS on the PROCESS VERB [229-31]. AFFIRMATIVES with both of the options can mark a contrast between speaker and hearer, but mostly in literature [232-33].
[227] she said angrily, “Now ¡you just ¡lis·ten to !me”. (Vets Might Fly)
[228] !Don’t ¡you let her ¡know what you’re !up to, mind. (English Crime)
[229] !Do be pre·¡pared for some honest advice, though. (Hair Flair)
[230] “I’ll come round and make sure you’re all right” “No, !don’t, !don’t ¡do that!” I said, too urgently. (L-Shaped Room)
[231] Now, ¡do !not ¡let them lure you to the !hus·tings (Middlemarch)
[232] You have her father’s love, Demetrius; let me have Hermia’s; ¡do !you ¡mar·ry !him. (Midsummer)
[233] I have now told you everything. […] ¡Do !you in turn be as ¡frank with !me. (Sherlock Holmes)
At HIGHEST WEIGHT, STRONG STRESSES can be multiplied, perhaps like this:
[234] “I say, !give ¡her !your !arm!” young Newland nervously hissed (Innocence)
[235] A shrill scream sounded above me! “For God’s sake, !don’t !touch the !beam! (Fu Manchu)
VI.64 As in STATEMENTS and QUESTIONS (but not in EXCLAMATIONS) COMMANDS can join in ALTERNATIVE PITCHES, one PITCH CONTOUR rising and the other falling (cf. IV.26, 40, 55).
If the insecure Hilary doesn’t enter the room, then she should leave it [236]; if Prince Pericles doesn’t “expound” the riddle of the dastardly King Antiochus, then he should “receive the sentence” to “cancel off his days” [237], as if he were a newspaper subscription.
VI.65 Just as the QUESTION and EXCLAMATION can take on a form like DECLARATIVE, so too can the COMMAND, and again something special can be suggested (cf. IV. 39, 53). Unmarked options include “you will” [238] or “will not” [239], and “you must” [240] or “must not” [241]; and “you” are enjoined to do or not to do what is expressed by the following INFINITIVE with a STRONG STRESS.
[238] You will please to !tell her that her show of devotion for my daughter is disagreeable to me. (Dombey)
[240] You are killing her […] with your devilish moods and mysteries. You must !stop. Do you hear? You must !give her up. (Blue Flower)
[241] He attempted to pass. “You must not !go!” she exclaimed energetically. (Wuthering)
These data suggest DISEMPOWERING COMMANDS, such as would hardly be used in ordinary dealing with friends or family, and so seem fairly WEIGHTY.
VI.66 Whilst the modern IMPERATIVE is just SECOND PERSON, COMMANDS might be wanted for the other PERSONS too. In older usage we occasionally find a COMMAND as a PROCESS VERB with STRONG STRESS and a SUBJECT in FIRST PERSON [242] or THIRD PERSON [243]. Today, we mostly find unspecified AGENTS like “everybody” [244] or “somebody” [245].
[242] here !sit we down; take you your instrument, play you the whiles! (Shrew)
[243] !speak any man with us, and we will obey. (Self-Reliance)
[244] Everybody keep !still a minute. (Penrod)
[245] I could hear Susan screaming “Somebody !help me”. (Today)
Such restrictions can readily be offset by ERGATIVE COMMANDS of “making do” (in the sense of V.17) with “let” [246-47]. or, in regional usage, “leave” [248-49], which will be described later on as a PATTERN within NON-FINITE MINOR CLAUSES (see IV.141).
[246] Let everybody leave this room, while I am talking to the queen (Irish Fairy Tales)
[247] let no man go out of his place on the seventh day (Exodus 16:29)
[248] Well, leave us take the bonny bride home. (Main Street)
[249] Leave us go root for the Dodgers, Rodgers (Dan Parker)
VI.67 The TAG COMMAND is none too frequent and I haven’t found it in any “grammar”-books. The basic options are simply the PRO-VERBS “do” [250-51] in the AFFIRMATIVE, and “don’t” [252-53] in the NEGATIVE, in a separate TONE GROUP following the COMMAND CLAUSE and taking CERTAIN STRONG STRESS.
[250] Relax, Charles dear soul, and stop wilting, !do. (Phoney War)
[251] Put me down as a nutter, !do. (Lee’s Ghost)
[252] “Don’t talk to me, you aggravating thing, !don’t!” (Pickwick)
[253] “They are so beautiful!” said Mrs Kenwigs, sobbing. “Oh, dear”, said all the ladies, “don’t give way, !don’t.” (Nickleby)
The “do” in a separate TAG can add the PRO-NOUN “it” as a DIRECT OBJECT for AFFIRMATIVE [254] or NEGATIVE [255]; STRONG STRESS probably occurs on “do” or “don’t” in a falling PITCH CONTOUR.
[254] Save him, save him! […] !Do it, Heyling, !do it (Pickwick)
[255] “Oh, Tom, don’t lie — !don’t do it.” (Sawyer)
A TAG COMMAND in a later TURN by another speaker can encourage or discourage obedience [256-57], but I find very few instances.
[256] “Do sit down, Hilda,” said Connie. “!Do!” the man said. (Chatterly)
[257] “O Priam, yield not to him!” “Do !not, dear father.” (Troilus)
VI.68 The LOOK-AHEAD TAG COMMAND placed in front to anticipate a COMMAND may encourage or discourage in advance [258-59], though I found few instances. Sample [260] is a rarity with both LOOK-AHEAD and LOOK-BACK TAGS.
[258] !Do! Kill thy physician, and the fee bestow upon the foul disease. (King Lear)
[259] !Don’t, Maggie, my dear — don’t look so ugly! (Mill on the Floss)
[260] Do stop your dogs digging there! […] Oh, call them off! !Do! !do! — Oh, !don’t, !don’t! Don’t let them dig! (WouldBeGoods)
VI.69 A mild COMMAND can take a TAG QUESTION of “will you?” [261] and “won’t you?” [262]; or, in casual speech, “willya?” [263] and “wontcha?” [264].
[261] Mick and Paddy were rummaging in the back of the Land Rover. “Shine that torch over here, will you?” (Wheelbarrow across the Sahara)
[262] Do tell her how nice she looks, won't you? (Paper Faces)
[263] Explain invading Iraq again, willya? (Linkmeister)WWW
[264] Any suggestions for articles you'd like to see on the Musician site? Drop us a line or post on the forums and let us know, wontcha? (Bellaonline Musicians)WWW
These AFFIRMATIVE and NEGATIVE TAGS animate compliance to do what is commanded whilst suggest more SOLIDARITY than a plain COMMAND.
VI.70 COMMANDING is the most problematic of the four MAJOR CLAUSE TYPES because of EMPOWERING and DISEMPOWERING relations it might imply, and the loss of face if the speaker is disobeyed or for the hearer meekly obeys. PROSODY is essential for regulating the degrees between the mild COMMANDS for simple or easy compliance, with WEAK STRESSES, soft VOLUME, and a shallow falling PITCH CONTOUR in [265-66]; and forceful COMMANDS for immediate or unconditional compliance, with STRONG STRESSES, loud VOLUME, and a steep falling PITCH CONTOUR [267-68].
Besides, speakers of English have a fine repertory of outwardly polite and modest ways — British understatement, perchance — of getting you to do things without seeming to utter COMMANDS, e.g.:
[269] “Perhaps, Mary”, she said tentatively, “you wouldn’t mind giving us some tea?” (Night and Day)
[270] I wonder if you would be so kind as to cast a professional eye over the experimental laboratories for me. (Lucifer Rising)
Ironically, obedience can be made to seem an act of refined courtesy that honours the hearer.
VI.E MINOR CLAUSE TYPES
VI.71 MINOR CLAUSE TYPES do not manifest the formats of the MAJOR CLAUSE TYPES but can still sustain essential functions. They are exceedingly common in authentic discourse, but in conventional “grammars” have often been treated marginally or not at all.
VI.E.1 DEPENDENT CLAUSES
VI.72. Still, due attention has been accorded to the DEPENDENT CLAUSE: a MINOR TYPE with SUBJECT and PREDICATE, “depending on” and setting the BACKGROUND for an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE as a MAJOR TYPE which occupies the FOREGROUND in the same SENTENCE and which mainly carries some major function. Thus, [271] STATES the “falling” more than the “compassing”; [272] QUESTIONS the “dying” more than the “coming”; [273] EXCLAIMS about “being jealous” more than the “meeting”; and [274] COMMANDS the “checking” more than the “cooking”.
[271] By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. (Hebrews 11:30)
[272] Do you think he would have died if you hadn't come? (Message to the Planet)
[273] I was jealous of Domino before I even met her! (Ungoverned Passion)
[274] Always check the stove is level when you're cooking. (Outdoor Action)
Also due to FOREGROUNDING, the reactions to a STATEMENT address the MAJOR PROCESS more than the MINOR PROCESS. Thus, the reacting speakers deny the “blackballing” (hubby was in fact kicked out, as you can see) more than the “trying to join” [275]; “disagree” with the “being important” more than with her “having hope” [276]; disbelieve the “standing ready” more than the “putting” or “turning” [277]; and are “glad” about a man “being a good cobbler” more than about his “looking very young” [278].
[275] “Your husband was blackballed when he tried to join the Country Club.” “That’s not true!” (Crime)
[276] “It’s important she should have hope.” “I don’t agree.” (Woman of My Age)
[277] “These parties stand ready to take the mills off your hands at the value I put upon them when I turned them in.” “I don’t believe you!” (Lapham)
[278] “Though he may look very young he’s a good cobbler.” “Glad to hear it.” (Shoemaker’s Daughter)
VI.73. When the two CLAUSE TYPES occur together, which is of course the unmarked PATTERN for “dependency”, both a DEPENDENT CLAUSE and an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE prefer a falling PITCH and END WEIGHT. In a separated PROSODY, the weight or length of each CLAUSE may justify assigning it its own TONE GROUP, set off by a pause in between [279-80] -- no matter which comes first. Sometimes ALTERNATIVE PITCH CONTOURS, with one rising and one falling, as we have seen for MAJOR CLAUSES (cf. IV.26, 40, 66), can be shared between MINOR and a MAJOR CLAUSE [281-82]; thanks to the distinct contrast in PITCH, no pause may be needed.
[Jean Marais and Josette Day in the version by Jean Cocteau ]
One plausible effect is to invite a relation of comparison between MINOR and MAJOR PROCESS, e.g., between two AGENTS who “moved”, or between the two MEDIUMS to play the “Beauty” or the “Beast”.
VI.73a One important version of this relationship is the RELATIVE DEPENDENT CLAUSE. The JUNCTIVES “who”, “whose”, and “whom” are usually applied to persons [279a-79c], though some variations appear in regional or archaic usages [280a-80b]. Also, the form “whom” seems unstable or confusing, appearing in Internet data also as the SUBJECT form, especially in the vicinity of a VERB [280c].
[279a] That that the woman who contributes to the support of her family by giving legal opinions should be less valued than she who in the past contributed to the support of her household by bending on hands and knees over her grindstone, or scrubbing floors [is one of those] suppositions which it is difficult to regard as consonant with any knowledge of human nature (Olive Schreiner, Women and Labour)
[279b] The Band Wagon stars Fred Astaire as Tony Hunter, a movie star whose career is in a downturn. (MTV Movies)
[279c] It is the woman whom I rescued from between the deathly paws of poverty; […] the woman whom my heart has loved and at whose feet I poured affection. (Khalil Gibran, Madame Rose Hanie)
[280a] I like a man what takes his time (Mae West)
[280b] When the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. (Revelation 12:13)
[280c] The Communities' administrator defended the center's performance in caring for the woman, whom she said Wednesday had returned to Riverwalk after her hospitalization. (Central Florida News)
RELATIVES readily function like ADVERBIALS, such as TIME [281a], PLACE [281b],, MEANS [281c], or MANNER [281d].
[281a] I will wait for you at the place where the river bends (Pacbell)
[281b] It is as much a mistake to accept a thing without understanding it as to reject it without understanding it," Sculptor Jo Davidson wrote at the time when Manhattan's famed 1913 Armory Show plunged the U.S. headlong into modern art.
[281c] Association fulfils the promise of Christianity; it shows the means whereby peace on earth and goodwill among men are to be realized. (Brook Farm)
[281d] My design is to shew the manner wherein we perceive by sight the distance, magnitude, and situation of objects (George Berkeley)
These data are all IDENTIFYING RELATIVES that themselves determine who is involved, e.g., which type of “woman” in [279a]. Less common are in my data are AMPLIFYING RELATIVES that involve in a further PROCESS someone whose identity has already been established [282a, 282c, 282d] or can be easily inferred, such as the “hostess” of a “public house” [282b].
[282a] Presently the wife of one of the brothers came out with a vessel of elm-bark, and approached the spring. Hiawatha sat silent and motionless. Something in his aspect awed the woman, who feared to address him. (Iroquois Book of Rites)
[282b] Eliza turned into a small public house on the bank. […] The hostess, who was busy in various fizzing and stewing operations over the fire, stopped. with a fork in her hand. "I've got a child that's very dangerous," said Eliza. "and I've walked quite a piece today, in hopes to get to the ferry." "Well, now, that's onlucky," said the woman, whose motherly sympathies were much aroused. (Uncle Tom's Cabin)
[282c] The woman Cassy set down her lantern, and, pouring water from a bottle, raised his head, and gave him drink. […] The woman, whom long practice with the victims of brutality had made familiar with many healing arts, went on to make many applications to Tom's wounds (same)
[282d] It was no longer the landing-place. One had been made at the head of the creek […] I walked along the shore to the new landing-place, where were two or three store-houses and other buildings, forming a small depot; (Two Years before the Mast)
The standing convention, as we can see, has been to mark off this second type with a COMMA. But usage has been inconsistent, in part because the distinction between these two types is subtle and at times not firmly decidable, at least in my perception:
[281e] The young man met her at the station, took her to a saloon where he introduced her to a friend, an older woman. […] Although all efforts failed to find the young man, the woman who was his accomplice was fined one hundred and fifty dollars (Hull House) [or: the woman, who was his accomplice, was fined…]
[281f] The relations of the Indian country with the state in which its exiles had found refuge were necessarily of the closest and particularly so at this time when their return from exile was under way (The American Indian in the Civil War) [or: at this time, when their return...]
As with similarly delicate matters, most traditional grammars have tiptoed past with safe invented examples.
VI.74 Another important version of this relationship between PROCESSES in two CLAUSES is the CONDITIONAL DEPENDENT CLAUSE, which supplies some condition for the PROCESS expressed in the MAJOR CLAUSE. The ordinary CONDITIONAL co-ordinates two PROCESSES, making one contingent upon the other. Straightforward instances include the requirements for financial contributions:
[283] They continue to labor, relying on the honor and liberality of the planters for fair and reasonable pay. If they do not get these in two weeks, our correspondent writes, there will be a dead stop. (Anti-Slavery Examiner)
[284] Unless France and West Germany -- traditionally western Europe's biggest spenders on space technology -- can be persuaded to pay more, the Eumetsat project may not go ahead. (New Scientist)
Less straightforward is the CONDITIONAL COLLIGATION “if you ask me”, which consistently accompanies PEJORATIVE STATEMENT CLAUSES that haven’t actually been “asked” for:</