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Chapter VI SENTENCE CONVERSION |
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Lesson 25 Sentence-Noun Convertor(S-N CVT): "that", "if", etc.
25-1 [Sentence-Noun Convertor(S-N CVT): "that"]
A kernel sentence(K-S), with "that" at the head of it, can change into a kind of noun(N).
(1)a. Bill told a lie.
b. I know that Bill told a lie.
c. I know the news.
The underlined parts in (1b) and (1c) are interchangeable and both are nouns. We consider that the noun(N) in (1b) is made by adding "that" to the sentence (1a). In other words,
(2) that + K-S
The above "that" can be called a convertor which converts a kernel sentence(K-S) into a noun(N). We call it a sentence-noun convertor(S-N CVT), "that". Diagram of the underlined part in (1b):
(3) (that Bill told a lie)
N
If we take all of (1b) as a kernel sentence, we can get a new sentence by adding another "that".
(4) You know that I know that Bill told a lie.
The diagram of the underlined part in (4):
(5) (that I know that Bill told a lie)
N
The underlined parts in (1b) and (4), which are made by the convertor "that", are called a noun clause.A noun clause has the following three features.
(i) It has the structure "N + V" and therefore an obligatory
expander PRS/PST.
(ii) It is embedded in a sentence(S).
(iii) It functions as a noun(N).
25-2 [Nouniness of "that + K-S"] A noun clause produced by "that" can occur almost wherever a noun word or a noun phrase can occur.
(6)a. The rumor is true.
b. That Cindy is pregnant is true.
(7)a. George told me a funny story.
b. George told me that he had met a funny girl.
(8)a. The trouble is Johnny's bad manners.
b. The trouble is that Johnny's too much mischievous.
In some cases, however, a noun clause with "that" may NOT occur where a regular noun occurs.
(9)a. I'm sure of her easy success.
b. *I'm sure of that she will succeed easily.
We claim that there is a degree of nouniness among nouns. Consider the nouniness for instance between a noun phrase with "to/-ing" and a noun clause with "that".
(10)a. I want to take the 1:30 train.
b. *I want that I take the 1:30 train.
(11)a. They enjoyed swimming there.
b. *They enjoyed that they swam there.
25-3 [Omission of "that": Reanalysis] The convertor "that" in (12a) may be omitted as in (12b).
(12)a. I think that John told a lie.
b. I think John told a lie.
From another point of view, in (12b) the OM-NI CVT, ø (cf.8-6), is included.
(13) ( ø John told a lie)
N
More informally, we have:
(14) John told a lie, I think.
Some may feel that "I think" in (14) is now an adverb(AD). If so, the diagram of (14) would be:
(15) (John told a lie, I think)
S
What occurs here is a reanalysis of structure. More examples:
(16)a. I'm afraid that it will rain.
b. I'm afraid it will rain.
c. It will rain, I'm afraid.
(17)a. Don't you think that they should stay home?
b. Don't you think they should stay home?
c. They should stay home, don't you think?
(18)a. The trouble is that our quarterback is ill in bed.
b. The trouble is, our quarterback is ill in bed.
In some cases, however, "that" can not be omitted.
(19)a. That John told a lie is obvious.
b. *John told a lie is obvious.
(20) The book argues that eventually the housing supply will
increase. (AHBEU, p.40)
If you omit "that" in (20), the scope of "eventually" becomes unclear, and so the entire sentence becomes ambiguous.25-4 [Sentence-Noun Convertor(S-N CVT): "if/whether"] Like the convertor "that", the sentence-noun convertor(S-N CVT)"if" can be added to a kernel sentence(K-S) to make a noun clause.
(21) John wonders if Mary told a lie.
Diagram:
(22) (if Mary told a lie)
N
This S-N CVT "if" is usually interchangeable with "whether".
(23) John wonders if/whether Mary told a lie.
(24) I wonder if/whether you've received my e-mail.
(25) I asked him if/whether he could speak Japanese.
However,
(26)a. Whether he made a mistake is unknown.
b. *If he made a mistake is unknown.
25-5 ["that + K-S" vs "if + K-S"] Compare the following.
(27)a. John wonders that Mary told a lie.
b. John wonders if Mary told a lie.
The convertor "that" carries the meaning {Nominalization} only, while the convertor "if" carries not only {Nominalization} but also {Yes/No Question}. Thus, the difference in meaning between the two convertors:
(i) that = {Nominalization}
(ii) if = {Nominalization} + {Yes/No Question}
Observe the difference in meaning of "that" and "if" in the following.
(28)a. Do you know that she's coming to the party?
b. Do you know if she's coming to the party?
(29)a. I don't mind that young people marry young.
b. I don't mind if young people marry young.
25-6 [Sentence-Noun Convertor(S-N CVT):"where", etc.] The underlined part in (30) is also a noun clause.
(30) I don't know where John lives.
Note that it fulfills the three conditions of a noun clause.
(i) It has the structure "N + V" and therefore PRS/PST.
(ii) It is embedded in a sentence(S).
(iii) It functions as a noun(N).
The noun clause in the above has two meanings.
(i) {Nominalization}
(ii) {WH-Q}
We consider that the sentence-noun convertor(S-N CVT) "where" has converted a kernel sentence(K-S) into a noun clause through the following steps.
(31) where + [John lives somewhere]
Some other wh-words with {Nominalization} and {WH-Q}.
(32) I wonder who drove the car to the beach and back.
(33) The astronaut talked about what space was like.
(34) Do you have any idea when he will be back?
(35) John wonders why Mary never wears a miniskirt.
Some others move to the front together with a noun phrase.
(36) Can you guess how many pockets this jacket has?
(37) Do you know whose car this is?
Thus (36), for instance, is produced in the following manner.
(38) how many + [this jacket has some pockets]
To sum up, the steps triggered by an S-N CVT wh-word:
<S-N CVT wh-word>
Step 1: Substitute a wh-word to some-word in the kernel
sentence(K-S).
Step 2: Move the wh-word to the front. (ø comes out.)
The following (39) and (40), with two wh-words added, are rather exceptional.
(39) Gee, you're twins? I can't tell which is which.
(40) A picnic? Sounds great! Let's decide who should
bring what.
Observe how wh-words correspond to some-words.
wh-words some-words
(41)a. what ... something, etc.
b. who(m) ... someone, etc.
c. whose ... someone's, etc.
d. where ... somewhere, etc.
e. when ... sometime, etc.
f. why ... for some reason, etc.
g. how ... somehow, etc.
h. which ... one or the other, etc.
i. how often ... some times, etc.
25-7 [EPD? CVT?] Compare the following.
(42)a. I don't know where John lives.
b. Where does John live?
The former "where" is a convertor(CVT) which converts a kernel sentence(K-S) into a noun(N), while the latter is an expander(EPD) which expands the same kernel sentence(K-S) into a wh-question(WH-Q-S).Diagrams:
(43) (where John lives ø )
N
In the following the convertor "what" and the expander "what" happen to make the same output.
(45)a. He asked me what followed. (CVT[S-N])
b. What followed? (EPD[WH-Q])
25-8 [S-N CVT with {Exclamation}:"how/what"] cf.21-8The convertors "what" and "how" sometimes express the meaning of {Wh-Exclamation} rather than that of {WH-Q}.
(46) It is incredible how fast she can run. (Quirk, p.1055)
(47) I remember what a good time I had at your party.
In the above the kernel sentence(K-S) to be converted should have "very" in it. Thus, the diagram of the underlined part in (46):
(48) (how fast she can run ø )
N
25-9 [Dummy "it"..."that/whether/wh-word + K-S"] When a noun clause introduced by "that/if(whether)/wh-word" is long enough, the clause often moves back to the end and the dummy "it"(cf.22-2) is placed in the place of it. Thus,
(49)a. It is a miracle that he is safe.
b. That he is safe is a miracle.
(50)a. It is doubtful whether we should sign such a contract.
b. Whether we should sign such a contract is doubtful.
(51)a. It has not been decided when the next meeting will be
held.
b. When the next meeting will be held has not been decided.
(52)a. It doesn't matter to me what has become of him.
b. What has become of him doesn't matter to me.
(53)a. It's still an open question why they built the pyramids.
b. Why they built the pyramids is still an open question.
This type of "it" is sometimes obligatory.
(54)a. It is said that he took dirty money.
b. *That he took dirty money is said.
(55)a. Is it my imagination that this baggage is heavier than
usual?
b. *Is that this baggage is heavier than usual my
imagination?
(56)a. He made it clear that he was against the proposal.
b. *He made that he was against the proposal clear.
25-10 [Summary of S-N CVTs] To sum up, there are three kinds of S-N CVTs.
S-N CVTs : {Meanings}
(i) "that" : {Nominalization}
(ii) "if/whether": {Nominalization} + {Yes/No Question}
(iii) "wh-words"(what/where/etc) : {Nominalization}+{Wh-Question}
Look at the three kinds of noun clauses introduced by three kinds of S-N CVTs.
(57)a. I wonder that the girl loves a frog.
(
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N
CVT[S-N] K-S
(that) (Bill told a lie)
Step 1: Substitute "where" for "somewhere".
[John lives where]
that + [The girl loves a frog])
b. I wonder if the girl loves a frog.
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Copyright(C) 2004 Masaya Oba. All rights reserved. |
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