Some Notes on the Presentational Capacity of Hendiadys-like Verbal Configurations
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Silesian Studies in English 2012. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of English and American Studies. |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Linguistics |
| Keywords | FSP; presentation; hendiadys; verb; |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Seen from the point of view of the Firbasian theory of FSP, in addition to the existential there-construction, it is the “prototypical” configuration of the rhematic subject in preverbal position that seems to convey existence/appearance on the scene most frequently in English (A cruel smile hovered over her face.). The present corpus-based paper proposes to throw light on the structure and the function of the Pr-sentences containing the so-called hendiadys (A ruler came and knelt before him.) Such constructions, in which “a single conceptual idea is realised by two distinct constituents” (Hopper 2002: 146 qtd. in Tárnyiková 2007: 107) actually operate within the area of pseudo-coordination (Quirk et al. 1985: 978-979). The aim of the analysis will be to discuss the potential capacity of such configurations to present a context-independent subject on the scene, i.e. to express appearance/existence with explicitness or sufficient implicitness. |