What are Special Circumstances?

Special circumstances– these are members of a sentence that are highlighted by intonation and punctuation and act as functions of various circumstances. They are expressed morphologically; a) gerunds or participial phrases; b) prepositional-case forms of nouns: c) adverbs.

1. Separate member a sentence expressed by a gerund (adverbial phrase) often acts as a secondary predicate. An eagle owl hooted nearby, and Laska, shuddering, began to listen (L. Tolstoy) (cf.: ... Weasel shuddered and began to listen). In other cases, they are additionally expressed various kinds adverbial meanings (See gerunds). Then Kuzma Kuzmin, taking a fresh cinder out of his pocket, lit it and sat down next to Dasha (A.N. Tolstoy) (the value of time attached to the value of the additional action). Muromsky, tempted by the good weather, ordered his scanty mare to be saddled (Pushkin) (meaning of the reason). Tchertop-hanov, without stopping and without looking back, walked with long steps (Turg e-n e v) (meaning of the mode of action). If you had money, wouldn't you spend it? (Gorky) (meaning of the condition). Ivan Kuzmin, respecting his wife, would never have revealed to her the secret entrusted to him in his service (Pushkin) (meaning concession). The presence of these additional shades of meaning between the action expressed by the predicate verb, and the action expressed by the gerund, gives reason to see in the gerund, in relation to specific cases, not only a secondary predicate, but also various adverbial words, thereby including the isolation of gerunds and participial phrases into the category of isolated minor members offers.

2. Isolation of circumstances expressed by prepositional-case forms of nouns is optional: it depends on the semantic load of the isolated member (the combination of several adverbial meanings in it), weakened syntactic connection with the predicate verb, stylistic tasks, etc. Petya, after the decisive refusal he received, he went to his room and there, locking himself in from everyone, he cried bitterly (L. Tolstoy) (the meaning of time is added to the meaning of the reason: he left and cried not only after he received a refusal, but also because he received). As the enemy approached Moscow, the Muscovites’ view of their position not only did not become more serious, but, on the contrary, became even more frivolous (L. Tolstoi) (the meaning of concession is added to the meaning of time:

it is indicated not only when the observed phenomenon occurred, but also in spite of what). In other cases, the case forms of nouns are usually isolated if the structure includes prepositions or prepositional combinations: due to, as a result of, thanks to, due to, despite, despite, provided, in case, etc. However, due to lack of time, Let us not deviate from the subject of the lecture (Chekhov). In Elena's room, thanks to the thick curtains, it was almost dark (Kuprin). The children, due to their young age, were not assigned any positions (Turgenev). On the shore, despite the twilight, one could see red shirts (Ko-rolenko). We drove during the day, to avoid any road accidents (Prishvin).

3. Circumstances expressed by adverbs and having the nature of a passing comment are less often isolated. The music still reached us (Turg e-n e v). Misha lowered the book and, not immediately, quietly stood up (Gorky). In the spring, the peddler always stops at the gate. Egorka with Tyrolean pies (Kuprin). The next day, in the evening, Alexey (Soloukhin) came running at a trot.

Separation (separated by commas) circumstances depends, first of all, on the way they are expressed.
A) Circumstances expressed by gerunds

1. Circumstances expressed by gerunds, as a rule, are isolated regardless of the place they occupy in relation to the predicate verb:

For example: A grimy tractor driver is sleeping with his legs spread wide. Maria had dinner, spreading the tablecloth on the table.

If a circumstance expressed by a gerund and a participial phrase is in the middle of a sentence, then it is separated by commas on both sides:

For example: And then Ivan ran up to the river, leaving his tractor. The caterpillar, shuddering, pressed its paws.

Isolated circumstances, expressed by gerunds and participial phrases, are close in meaning to the secondary predicate, but they are never independent predicates! Therefore, they can be replaced by subordinate clauses or independent predicates.

For example: And then Ivan ran up to the river, leaving his tractor. – Ivan left his tractor and ran to the river. The caterpillar, shuddering, pressed its paws. – The caterpillar shuddered and pressed its paws.

1) Restrictive particles are only included inside a separate structure and are released along with it.

A spark flashed, illuminating the woman's face only for a second.

2) The participle and the participial phrase standing after the coordinating or subordinating conjunction / allied word are separated from it by a comma. Such a phrase can be torn away from the conjunction, rearranged to another place in the sentence, or removed from the sentence.

For example: She threw down her pencil and, leaning back in her chair, began to look out the window. “She threw down her pencil and began to look out the window;

3) The conjunction, allied word is not separated by a comma with the gerund and participial phrase in the event that the participial construction cannot be torn away from the conjunction, allied word, or removed from the sentence without destroying the structure of the sentence itself. This is most often observed in relation to coordinating conjunction"A".

For example: He tried to write letters unnoticed, and after writing, he hid them somewhere (impossible: He tried to write letters unnoticed, but hid them somewhere); but: He did not name the author of the letter, but, having read it, put it in his pocket. – He did not name the author of the letter, but put it in his pocket.

Two homogeneous gerunds or participial phrases connected by single coordinating or disjunctive conjunctions and, or, or, are not separated by a comma.

The waitress sat with her arms wrapped around the chair and her head resting on it.

If a conjunction connects not two gerunds, but other constructions (predicates, parts of a complex sentence, etc.), then commas are placed in accordance with the rules for placing punctuation marks for homogeneous members, in compound sentence etc.

For example: 1. I took the candy and, after looking, put it in my pocket. A single conjunction connects the predicates (took and put) and a comma is placed after the conjunction;
2. He slowed down, thinking about something, and, turning around sharply, called the watchman. A single conjunction connects two predicates (stopped and called). Circumstances - participial phrases refer to different predicates (slowed down, thinking about something; called, turning around sharply). Therefore, they are separated on both sides by commas from other members of the sentence.

2. Circumstances expressed by gerunds and participial phrases are not isolated in the following cases:

An adverbial phrase is a phraseological unit:

For example: He ran headlong. He worked carelessly;

Note. Most often, the following phraseological units are not isolated in the texts: run headlong, work with your sleeves rolled up, work tirelessly, sit with your hands folded, work like a squirrel in a wheel, listen with bated breath, lie spitting at the ceiling, rush around without remembering yourself, spend the night without sleeping eyes, listen with open ears. But if such a phraseological unit is an introductory word (to be honest, frankly speaking, frankly speaking, in short, apparently), then it is separated by commas, for example: Apparently, he was not going to help me; In short, we will have to do it ourselves.

Before the gerund there is an intensifying particle and (not a conjunction!):

You can live without showing off your intelligence;

The gerund in modern Russian is never predicate, so the verb and the gerund cannot be homogeneous members!

The participle is part of a subordinate clause and has the conjunctive word which as its dependent. In this case, a comma only separates the main clause from the subordinate clause, and there is no comma between the gerund and the conjunctive word:

For example: You are faced with the most difficult tasks, without solving which we will not be able to get out of a difficult situation;

The participial phrase includes the subject.

In this case, the comma only separates the entire phrase from the predicate, and the subject and the gerund are not separated by a comma. Such designs are found in poetic texts 19th century:

For example: A magpie perched on a spruce tree and was just about ready to have breakfast...; Example: A magpie, perched on a spruce tree, was about to have breakfast;

The participle acts as a homogeneous member with a non-isolated circumstance and is connected with it by the conjunction and:

For example: He walked quickly and without looking around.

3. Participle constructions and single participles that have lost their verbal meaning are not isolated. These are the most difficult for punctuation analysis cases. They demand special attention to the meaning of the gerund, to the context in which the gerund is used, etc.

Participles and adverbial phrases that have finally lost their verbal meaning, become adverbs, or acquired an adverbial meaning in a given context are not distinguished:

For example: He looked at her without blinking (impossible: looked and did not blink); They drove slowly (impossible: they drove and were in no hurry); The bus walked without stopping (impossible: walked and did not stop); She answered standing (impossible: she answered and sat); He walked with his back straight (impossible: he walked with his back straight).

Such single participles, less often - participial phrases, are usually circumstances of the manner of action (answer the questions how? in what way?), merge with the predicate into one whole, are not separated from the predicate by a pause and most often stand immediately after the predicate:

For example: looked silently, looked smiling, listened with a frown, chatted without ceasing, walked bent over, walked stumbling, walked with a limp, sat with a ruff, walked with his head bowed, wrote with his head bowed, entered without knocking, lived without hiding, spent money without counting etc. .d

Often such gerunds can be replaced by adverbs, nouns with and without prepositions.

For example: He spoke about it angry. - He spoke about it with anger;

In all such uses, the gerund indicates not an independent action, but an image of the action expressed by the predicate.

For example, in the sentence: He walked upright - there is one action (walked), and the former gerund (straightened) indicates the mode of action - a characteristic posture when walking.

If in this context the verbal meaning is preserved, then a single participle or participial phrase is isolated. Usually in this case there are other circumstances with the predicate verb; The participle takes on the meaning of clarification, explanation and is intonationally highlighted.

For example: He walked without stopping. “He walked hurriedly, without stopping.

The increase in verbosity in gerunds can be facilitated by the degree of prevalence of gerunds.

For example: He sat waiting. – He sat waiting for an answer.

Former gerunds that have lost connection with the verb and have become function words are not isolated: starting from (meaning “from such and such a time”), proceeding from (meaning “based on”), depending on (meaning “in accordance with "):

For example: Everything has changed since last Tuesday; the report is compiled based on your data;

However, in other contexts the phrases can be isolated:

Isolation of circumstances

A turn of phrase starting with is isolated if it is in the nature of clarification, explanation and is not associated with the concept of time:

For example: This is confirmed by the history of many countries, starting with England and the USA;

The word beginning in such contexts cannot be eliminated without damaging the meaning of the sentence;

A phrase with words proceeding from is isolated if in meaning it correlates with the producer of the action, which can “come from something”:

For example: We compiled a report based on your data (we based on your data);

A turn of phrase with words, depending on one, is isolated if it has the meaning of clarification or accession:

For example: It was necessary to act selectively, depending on the circumstances (clarification, you can insert “namely”); depending on the time of year (annexation).

B) Circumstances expressed by nouns

1. The circumstances of the concession, expressed by nouns with the prepositions “despite”, “despite”, are always isolated. Such phrases can be replaced by subordinate clauses of concession with the conjunction although.

For example: Despite the cold spring, the harvest turned out to be excellent. – Although the spring was rainy, the harvest turned out to be excellent;

2. The following circumstances may be isolated:

Reasons with prepositions and prepositional combinations such as: thanks to, for lack of, as a result of, in view of, for lack of, according to, by virtue of, in connection with, due to, on occasion, etc. (can be replaced subordinate clause with the conjunction since).

For example: Petrovich, in agreement with the opinion of the boss, advised to return. - Since Petrovich agreed with the boss’s opinion, he advised him to return; The children, due to their young age, were not given any work. – Since the children were small, they were not given any work;

Concessions with prepositions in spite of, with (can be replaced with a subordinate clause with the conjunction although).

For example: His life, despite all his misfortunes, was easier than Anton’s life. – Although the situation was difficult, his life was easier than Anton’s;

Conditions with prepositions and prepositional combinations in the presence, in the absence, in the case, etc. (can be replaced by a subordinate clause with a conjunction if).

For example: The prisoners, in case of refusal, decided to go on a hunger strike. – If the prisoners are refused, they decided to go on a hunger strike;

Goals with prepositions and prepositional combinations in order to avoid (can be replaced by a subordinate clause with the conjunction so).

For example: to avoid damage, transport the goods by mail. – To avoid damage, transport the goods by mail;

Comparisons with the union are similar.

For example: Ivan Nikolaevich was born in the north of Russia, like his older brother Anton.

However, phrases with such prepositions and prepositional combinations may not be isolated.

More often, phrases that are located between the subject and the predicate are isolated:

Petrovich, in agreement with the boss’s opinion, advised them to return.

In addition, isolated phrases are usually common, that is, they contain a noun with dependent words:

Thanks to the good weather and especially holiday, our street came alive again.

As a rule, the indicated phrases at the end of the sentence are not isolated.

For example: The prisoners, on the orders of the warden, went to their cells. - The prisoners went to their cells on the orders of the warden.

In general, the isolation of phrases with the indicated prepositions and prepositional combinations is optional.

3. Circumstances expressed by nouns, without prepositions or with other prepositions, are isolated only if they acquire additional semantic load, have an explanatory meaning, or combine several adverbial meanings. For example: temporary and causal, temporary and concessional, etc.

For example: Vova, after receiving a decisive refusal, went home.

In this case, the circumstance combines the meanings of time and reason and answers the questions when did he leave? and why did you leave? The turnover is expressed by a noun with dependent words and is located between the subject and the predicate.

Isolated circumstances expressed by nouns are always highlighted intonationally. However, the presence of a pause does not always indicate the presence of a comma. Thus, the circumstances that appear at the beginning of the sentence are highlighted intonationally.

For example: I was in Moscow last year; Last year / I was in Moscow.
However, a comma is not placed after such a circumstance!
C) Circumstances expressed by adverbs

Circumstances expressed by adverbs (with dependent words or without dependent words) are isolated only if the author wants to draw attention to them or if they have the meaning of a passing comment.

For example: After some time, a boy in a white suit, with a head black as coal, ran out into the street, from nowhere.

Isolated circumstances are expressed by participles or participial phrases.

1. The mother, looking sternly at her daughter, left the room.

2. The river, running onto the clayey bank, disappeared around the bend.

3. On the opposite bank, lights flashed.

4. The terrace was surrounded by spreading trees, shielding vacationers from the sun.

5. Having arrived in this resort town early in July, my friend and I went to the famous lake.

6. Expecting an unpleasant conversation, the boy timidly entered the room.

7. The red dog approached the little girl and licked her cheek.

8. Having opened the suitcase, the passenger was hastily looking for something.

9. Having dug up the beds, the schoolchildren planted different flowers in front of the school building.

10. Having returned home, the daughter went to bed.

First, let's figure out what a sentence is and what a separate circumstance is. A sentence is a group of interconnected words or one word that contains a specific meaning. A circumstance is a member of a sentence that answers the questions how? When? Where? where? and so on. An isolated circumstance is a circumstance limited by a comma or commas. Most often isolated circumstances are an adverbial phrase or a separate adverbial participle.

Simple sentences with isolated circumstances

Simple sentences are sentences that contain only one grammatical stem. Such proposals with isolated circumstances are often taken as complex sentences due to the presence of commas. But you need to be able to distinguish isolated circumstances from other grammatical bases.

• Ekaterina went to shopping mall, cheerfully humming your favorite song.
• My friends and I, after consulting several times, decided to give all our savings to a charitable foundation.
• Nastya, having eaten her fill, threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked away aimlessly.
• Maxim, having put his head in order, left the house.

Compound sentences with isolated adverbials

In compound sentences, each part has equal value, and these parts are connected to each other by coordinating conjunctions.

• Andrey, looking sideways at Nastya, rushed into the depths of the forest, and Nastya, looking sideways at Andrey, simply stood up like a pillar and began to cry loudly.
• Without thinking for a long time, I set off, and my roommate, approving my decision, went with me.
• She did not sing, condemning all the spectators, and these spectators continued to talk loudly, not paying any attention to her.

Complex sentences with isolated adverbials

IN complex sentence stands out main part and one or more subordinate clauses.

• Vova, thinking about this topic for a long time, forgot about the kettle, which was about to whistle.
• My friends, having satisfied their thirst, went to the forest, which was two kilometers from us.
• Gosha, forgetting about all his work, watched TV until his mother came.

A circumstance is a minor member of a sentence that denotes a sign of an action or other feature. The circumstances are explained by predicates or other members of the sentence. At parsing sentences of circumstance are underlined with a dotted line (dash, dot, dash). Circumstances must be separated by commas in three cases. Let's look at each of them in turn.

First case

Circumstances in sentences can be expressed in four parts of speech:

adverb, for example: The janitor gets up early;

participle or participial phrase, for example: The men, seeing the landowner, took off their hats;

infinitive, for example: Everyone went outside (why?) to clear the snow;

In addition, the circumstance can be expressed by an expression that is integral in meaning, for example: It rained for two weeks straight.

It is necessary to remember that It is necessary to highlight with commas the circumstances that are expressed by the participle or participial phrase. Compare: He sat leafing through a magazine and was bored And He was sitting on a bench. In the first sentence the circumstance leafing through a magazine stands out, since it is expressed by an adverbial phrase, and in the second, the circumstance on the bench is not isolated, since it is expressed by a noun with a preposition.

Second and third cases

According to their significance, circumstances are divided into the following main groups:

circumstances of a place that answer the questions WHERE? WHERE? WHERE? For example: We entered (where?) into the city;

circumstances of time that answer the questions WHEN? SINCE WHEN? HOW LONG? HOW LONG? For example: We waited for them for about two hours;

circumstances reasons that answer the questions WHY? FROM WHAT? FOR WHAT REASON? For example: I could not speak from fatigue;

circumstances of the goal that answer the questions WHY? FOR WHAT? FOR WHAT PURPOSE? For example: In the sanatorium everything is prepared for the treatment of vacationers;

circumstances of the manner of action and degree, answering the questions HOW? HOW? IN WHAT DEGREE? For example: I got a little thoughtful or My father did not let me go one step;

circumstances conditions that answer the question UNDER WHAT CONDITION? For example: With effort you can achieve success;

circumstances of the assignment that answer the question DESPITE WHAT? For example: The street, despite the frost, was crowded;

circumstances of comparison that answer the question HOW? For example: Her head is shorn, like a boy's.

In the classification of circumstances by meaning, one of the eight types are circumstances of comparison: they answer the question HOW? and begins with conjunctions AS, AS WELL or AS WHAT. For example: She had long hair, soft like linen. In some textbooks and reference guides, circumstances of comparison are also called comparative phrases. It is necessary to remember that circumstances of comparison in sentences are separated by commas.

Another type of circumstances that must be separated by commas are the circumstances of the assignment. Such circumstances answer the question DESPITE WHAT? and begin with the preposition DESPITE (or, less often, despite). For example: On the streets, despite bright sun, the lights were on.

So, you should remember three cases when circumstances need to be separated by commas:

if they are expressed by an adverbial phrase,

if they represent comparative turnover,

if they begin with the preposition DESPITE.

Look at the examples again. Sparks swirled quickly in the heights.(Lermontov) She suddenly disappeared, like a bird scared out of a bush(Lermontov). Despite unforeseen difficulties, the work was completed on time.

This rule has several important notes:

The adverbs STANDING, SITTING, LYING, SILENTLY should be distinguished from gerunds. RELUCTANTLY, JOKINGLY, WITHOUT LOOKING, PLAYING. They were formed due to the transition of words from the category of gerunds to adverbs. The circumstances expressed in such words are not isolated. For example: He stood silently.

Also not highlighted are the circumstances expressed phraseological units, For example: They worked with their sleeves rolled up or I spin around all day like a squirrel in a wheel.

In addition to the circumstances of the assignment, which are always distinguished, circumstances expressed by nouns with derived prepositions THANKS, ACCORDING TO, CONTRARY, IN VIEW, CONSEQUENCE, can optionally be isolated, for example: Thanks to good weather, we swam in the river all summer. Usually such circumstances are isolated if they are common and come before the predicate.

Exercise

In two weeks_ our employee will return from vacation.

Peter went to the library to prepare for the exam.

Running out to the podium, he quickly spoke.

Overtaking a truck, the car drove into the oncoming lane.

Despite the danger, the captain ordered to continue moving.

For the sake of victory_ they are ready to do anything.

The wet steps turned out to be slippery like ice.

The port will be closed_ in case of strong wind.

It was dark, only two stars, like two rescue beacons, sparkled on the dark blue vault (Lermontov).

- Flies_ headlong! Almost knocked me off my feet! - muttered the old woman.

On the side of the jacket_ like an eye_ stuck out gem(M. Bulgakov).

The old woman, despite her advanced age, sees and hears perfectly (A. Chekhov).

Having gone through difficult trials, he managed to preserve his human dignity (M. Sholokhov).

The stove was humming like a fire (M. Bulgakov).

He answered the investigator's questions reluctantly.

The boat dived like a duck and then, flapping its oars, as if with wings, jumped out on the surface (M. Lermontov).

Having grabbed the German major and a briefcase with documents, Sokolov gets to his people (M. Sholokhov).

Having survived severe shock _he fell asleep_ like the dead.

Everywhere and in everything he tried to emphasize his superiority, considering himself well-mannered and humane (A. Fadeev).

And then hundreds of small incendiary bombs were sprinkled on the fires like grains on freshly plowed ground (K. Vonnegut).

There are quite a few people in this world who are lonely by nature, who, like a hermit crab or a snail, try to retreat into their shell (A. Chekhov).

Some kind of bastard, Siberian-looking stray cat emerged from behind a drainpipe and, despite the blizzard, smelled the Krakow one (M. Bulgakov).

For a long time he struggled with his guess, taking it for a dream of an imagination inflamed by food supplies, but the more often the meetings were repeated, the more painful the doubts became (M. Saltykov-Shchedrin).

The isolation of circumstances is determined, first of all, by general conditions. However, particular and additional conditions are of considerable importance. Taking into account various conditions Three groups of isolated circumstances can be distinguished:

1) participles;

2) common circumstances;

3) clarifying circumstances.

1. The adverbial function is the main one for participles . Various relationships of gerunds with the predicate verb create shades of time, conditions, concessions, reasons, goals. The participle, fulfilling the function of adverbial circumstances, as a rule, does not lose the meaning of the process, which is the basis of an additional statement, an elementary message. This feature of the gerund as a specific verbal form is in itself a condition for isolation, regardless of the presence of explanatory words and its position in the text.

For example:

Mother stopped gasping for breath put her hands to her chest(M.G.);

Back at the hotel,Lopatin went to bed, I didn’t eat that day (Sim.);

Hares, fleeing from skiers, confused complex loops(Paust.)

The only reason The non-isolation of the gerund is the loss of the verbal meaning of the action. It is observed, firstly, in phraseological units that have a frozen form of participial phrase, but denote a sign of action.

For example:

He minded his own business carelessly, because the hospital was still under construction(M.-S);

We headlong rushed over deep bumps and potholes(A.S)

Secondly, single gerunds with the meaning of a qualitative characteristic of an action, which are close in semantics to qualitative adverbs or prepositional case forms of a noun, are not isolated.

Exercise:

Compare:

Yakov Artamonov did not walk in a hurry, putting your hands in your pockets(M.G.) - walked leisurely;

Mother ran without looking back and cried while running(Ch.) - ran without looking back;

Birch foliage hanging without moving (Paust.) - hanging motionless, without movement

Here we observe a partial contextual transition of gerunds into adverbs.

2. Common Circumstances in an unusual location relative to the word being defined (usually a predicate verb), they are isolated. This is observed in the position before the predicate, at the absolute beginning or at the end of the sentence, as well as in the case of a distant (disconnected in other words) location relative to the main member of the sentence. Circumstances with the meanings of cause, condition, concession, time are isolated.

For example:

So we turned left and somehow, after a lot of trouble, reached a meager shelter, consisting of two saklyas(L.);

The ship began to move more carefully, for fear of running aground (Cupr.);

Olga Nikolaevna, with all your intelligence, sincerely believed that after the explanation they would become friends(Sh.)

Isolated circumstances of this group are characterized by the use of abstract nouns, which serve as the core of an additional message (see: troubles, fear, mind). Indicators of the corresponding adverbial meanings are prepositions (causal from, from, for, because of, in view of, thanks to; conditional at, in case; concessionary in spite of, in spite of, in spite of; temporary by, after, before, during and etc.).

3. Isolation of clarifying circumstances is caused by completely different conditions than for the previously considered members of the proposal. If there are two circumstances of the same category that explain the same word, they are not equal in relation to each other. One of them directly explains the word being defined, and the other is connected with this word through the first circumstance and clarifies its meaning.

For example:

Kovrin came to the Pesotskys in the evening, at ten o'clock (Ch.) - circumstance of time at ten o'clock explains, clarifies another circumstance - in the evening; at the same time, both of them define the verb-predicate arrived (arrived in the evening, arrived at ten o'clock)

The relation of clarification forms the basis of an additional statement contained in a separate circumstance. It must be emphasized that the mere presence of two circumstances of the same category does not predetermine the isolation of one of them. Only the meaning of clarification, realized intentionally by the speaker, determines isolation.

For example:

The next day one o'clock, Litvinov went to the Osinins(T.) - in this context, two circumstances could constitute a single adverbial group without clarification relations (the next day at one o'clock)

The clarification usually consists in the fact that a separate circumstance narrows and limits the scope of the concept designated by the member being clarified.

For example:

There, in the heights, the summer sun was already shining(Paust.);

Right, right from under the wheels of the cart, ran down a cliff(IN.);

Not too long ago last spring, one of my friends showed me a rather outlandish thing(Cupr.)

As a rule, isolated clarifying circumstances have a spatial or temporal meaning.

1.3.2.2.7.4 “Separate additions”

The complement, in its essence, is a secondary member of the sentence, very closely related semantically to the verb being explained, i.e. it does not have the first of the general conditions isolation (the possibility of semantic isolation). Those constructions, which in grammar are usually called isolated additions, are restrictive and emphatic phrases with different meanings - objective, subjective or even adverbial.

For example:

I bought everything except for the notebook;

Everyone returned except Petya;

I'm always here except Saturday;

Haven't been anywhere except Moscow

These constructions are similar to an object only in form - a noun in the oblique case.

The condition for isolation is the restrictive-exclusive meaning of the phrase, which represents the basis of the additional statement.

Exercise:

Compare:

Everyone came running including neighbor. - Everyone came running including a neighbor who came running

The indicated meaning is expressed using prepositions except, apart from, instead of, including, excluding, along with and etc.

For example:

Russian literary nobles, with the exception of the omniscient Alexander Pushkin, did not pay attention to folklore, which is extremely rich in dramatic material(M.G.);

Except rivers, there are many canals in the Meshchora region(Paust.)

Comparative turnover

The specificity of this type of isolated structures is manifested both in meaning and in design; The conditions for their isolation are also special.

Comparison, assimilation as a specific meaning of a phrase is so strong and bright that it overlaps and obscures the meanings (features, circumstances) inherent in certain members of the sentence. This makes it difficult to attribute comparative turnover to a certain type secondary members of the sentence. It is more appropriate to see in it, first of all, a comparative phrase as a special syntactic phenomenon - a phrase with the meaning of a sign of an object, a sign of an action, etc.

For example:

Black, like resin, shadows lay on the grass(A. T.);

Even in big cities it becomes quiet at this time, like in a field (Paust.)

The meaning of the attribute of an object or action is expressed by comparing them (object, action, state, etc.) to others in quality, quantity, etc. The meaning of a comparative phrase depends on the word with which it is associated. But we must keep in mind that the comparative phrase, as a rule, is correlated not with one member, but with two or with the predicative basis of the sentence as a whole (cf.: black like resin - shadows like resin; quiet like in a field - in big cities like in a field).

The most striking formal indicators of comparative usage are special function words - comparative conjunctions (as if, as if, as if, exactly and etc.).

For example:

Behind, like a gigantic fire, forest warehouse burned(Cupr.);

The blades of grass spread along the bottom and constantly move, How alive(Sol.);

But suddenly the icy trees flashed with yellow fire, and often, like a hammer on an iron deck, anti-aircraft guns started firing(Paust.)

With forms comparative degree qualitative adjectives and adverbs use a phrase with a conjunction how; such a turn expresses comparison.

For example:

We need to understand- studying people is more difficult than studying books, written about people(M.G.)

In addition to conjunctions, comparative turnover can be formalized using prepositions that have a comparative-like meaning (like, like, like and etc.).