BallsOfSteel
Member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2014
- Member Type
- Interested in Language
- Native Language
- Russian
- Home Country
- Ukraine
- Current Location
- Ukraine
Hi guys!
Recently I dug up something in my grammar book that puzzles me a lot.
One simple rule says that a complex sentence contains more than one subject-predicate unit (clause) and one clause is in subordinate relation to another. Well, that's fine.
On the other hand there is another rule from more complicated grammar that describes different types of clauses(for example subject clauses). "All nominal clauses have a function approximating to that of a noun or a nominal phrase. They may fulfil the function of a basic part of the main clause: a subject clause functions as subject of the main clause which has no subject of its own".
And here comes my sentence: Whether I talked or not made little difference.
On the one hand we have one clause "Whether I talked or not"(subject+predicate) and the other being "made little difference" (incomplete with the predicate only) we get a complex sentence. On the other hand if the first clause simply takes part of the subject for "made little difference" we have a simple sentence since there are 1 subect and 1 predicate in the whole utterance.
So the sentence is both simple and complex at the same time. :crazyeye:
How shall I analyze it if I need only 1 answer? I am OK with clauses where the subject is not defficient but in this case......
P.S. some other examples: What I need is a piece of good advice. Whoever moved in next would need it more than I
Regards
Recently I dug up something in my grammar book that puzzles me a lot.
One simple rule says that a complex sentence contains more than one subject-predicate unit (clause) and one clause is in subordinate relation to another. Well, that's fine.
On the other hand there is another rule from more complicated grammar that describes different types of clauses(for example subject clauses). "All nominal clauses have a function approximating to that of a noun or a nominal phrase. They may fulfil the function of a basic part of the main clause: a subject clause functions as subject of the main clause which has no subject of its own".
And here comes my sentence: Whether I talked or not made little difference.
On the one hand we have one clause "Whether I talked or not"(subject+predicate) and the other being "made little difference" (incomplete with the predicate only) we get a complex sentence. On the other hand if the first clause simply takes part of the subject for "made little difference" we have a simple sentence since there are 1 subect and 1 predicate in the whole utterance.
So the sentence is both simple and complex at the same time. :crazyeye:
How shall I analyze it if I need only 1 answer? I am OK with clauses where the subject is not defficient but in this case......
P.S. some other examples: What I need is a piece of good advice. Whoever moved in next would need it more than I
Regards
