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SYNONYMY IN GRAMMAR

We next turn our attention to synonymy in grammar as immediately relevant to the study of potential polysemy of grammatical forms discussed above.

There is a system behind the development of grammatical synonyms in any language.

This is a universal linguistic feature and may be traced in language after language. English shares these feature with a number of tongues, but its structural development has led to such distinctive traits as merit attention. Observations in this area are most useful for insight into the nature and functioning of the language.

The very concept of synonymy implies variation. It does not mean however that we must include under grammatical synonyms absolute parallelisms which are presented by different kind of grammatical doublets such as, for instance, variant forms of degrees of comparison of adjectives: clever — cleverer — the cleverest and clever — more clever — the most clever; capable — capabler — the capablest and capable — more capable — the most capable, etc., or, say, variation in forms observed in the plural of nouns e.

g.: hoofs — hooves; wharfs — wharves, etc.

50There are no absolute synonyms in grammar. And this is to illustrate the fact that a language does not for any length of time retain side by side two means of expressing exactly the same thing. This would burden the language.

Synonymic forms in grammar are not exactly alike, they commonly have fine shares of difference in style and purpose, and students need to be alive to these differences. There is always selection in the distribution of grammatical forms in actual speech. They must harmonise with the context as appropriate to a given situation.

The change in synonymous grammatical forms is often a change in style, and the effect on the reader is quite different.

Even a slight alteration in the grammatical device can subtly shift the meaning of the utterance. Examine the following sentence:

"... Have you been wounding him?"

"It is my misfortune to be obliged to wound him", said Clara.

"Quite needlessly, my child, for marry him you must". (Dreiser)

Ellen had wrung her hands and counseled delay, in order that Scarlett might think the matter over at greater length. But to her pleadings, Scarlett turned a sullen face and a deaf ear. Marry she would! And quickly, too. Within two weeks. (Mitchell)

Cf.: Marry she would! and She would marry.

We cannot fail to see that there is a marked difference in style between the two verb forms: the former is neutral, the latter is highly expressive.

Similarly:

"But, no matter — when her foot healed she would walk to Jonesboro. It would be the longest walk she had ever taken in her life, but walk it she would". (Mitchell)

Cf.: walk it she would → she would walk it

As synonyms in grammar express different shades of the grammatical meaning, one should be careful in the choice of the right forms, the best to convey the subtler nuances of that meaning.

Knowledge of synonymic differentiation between the grammatical forms permits a systematic, objective investigation and description of style. Many of the most characteristic stylistic traits of diverse writers are, indeed, in the field of grammar. A study of grammatical synonyms can also supply a descriptive foundation for the aesthetic interpretation and comparison of diverse styles. Synonyms lend variety to language. There are different manners of writing, and these differ among themselves not only by virtue of the content or the subject matter treated but also by virtue of a host of "stylistic" elements which are present in varying degree in samples of communication.

It is most important to observe that grammatical forms may differ in connotative power; they grow in connotation in accordance with the nature of the meanings connected with them.

In the power of their connotation lies the reserve force of expressive language. To acquire a sense of their right use students of English should study them in context in the light of their relations with other grammatical devices. With this approach to the study of the distributional value of word-forms grammar takes on new life.

51The problem of synonymy in grammar has received due attention in linguistic investigations of recent years.

There is much truth in what V. N. Yartseva says about the necessity of a consistent linguistic approach to the problem of synonymy in grammar, in general. The first to be mentioned here is a conscious understanding of the organic relation between different aspects of language. The merging of morphology, syntax and vocabulary into one brings little scientific order to language learning and is always responsible for the distortion of linguistic facts.

With regard to the methodology employed in our description of synonymy in grammar there are certain observations which are pertinent tо a summary statement. It will be helpful to distinguish between a) paradigmatic synonyms and b) contextual synonyms or synonyms by function in speech.

In English morphology synonyms of the first group are very few in number. Such are, for instance, synthetical and analytical forms in the Subjunctive and Suppositional Mood, e. g.:

...'I now move, that the report and accounts for the year 1886 be received and adopted". (Galsworthy)

(be received and adopted = should be received and adopted)

Paradigmatic synonyms with similarity in function and structural features may also be exemplified by the following:

Non-emphatic Emphatic
Present Indefinite
I know I do know
He knows He does know
Past indefinite
I knew I did know
Imperative Mood
Come Do come

Analytical verbal forms with the intensive do can express a whole variety of subjective modal meanings: pleasure, admiration, affection, surprise, anger, mild reproach, encouragement, admonition, etc.,

e.

g.

Oh! darling, don't ache! I do so hate it for you. (Galsworthy) There was so much coming and going round the doors that they did not like to enter. Where does he live? I did see him coming out of the hotel. (Galsworthy)

Eagerly her eyes searched the darkness. The roof seemed to be intact. Could it be — could it be — ? No, it wasn't possible. War stopped for no-thing, not even Tara, built to last five hundred years. It could not have passed over Tara. Then the shadowy outline did take form. The white walls did show there through the darkness. Tara had escaped. Home! (Mitchell)

52But Swithin, hearing the name Irene, looked severely at Euphemia, who, it is true, never did look well in a dress, whatever she may have done on other occasions. (Galsworthy)

For the sake of stronger emphasis the principal verb may be given first and the emphatic do placed at the end. This is often the case in clauses of contrast or concession, e. g.:

When he looked up, her face wore again that strange expression.

I can't tell, he thought as he went out, but I mustn't think — I mustn't worry. But worry he did, walking toward Pall Mall. (Galsworthy)

And follow her he did, though bothered by unfamiliar words that fell glibly from her lips. (London)

Strong emphasis is also produced by using pleonastic patterns with segmentations, e. g.: He never did care for the river, did Montmorency. (Jerome)

As we have already said, there are no absolute synonyms in grammar. Synonymic forms will generally differ either in various shades of the common grammatical meaning, expressive connotation or in stylistic value. The former may be referred to as relative synonyms, the latter as stylistic ones.

Further examples of paradigmatic synonyms will be found among the so-called periphrastic forms of the English verb.

Relatively synonymous are, for instance, the Future Indefinite tense-forms and the periphrastic "to be going to" future. A simple affirmative statement of intention with no external circumstances mentioned (time, condition, reason, etc.) is generally expressed by the periphrastic form.

When a future action depends on the external circumstances the "to be going to" is rare. Cf.:

1. a) He will sell his house, (rare)

b) He's going to sell his house. (normal)

2. a) He'll sell it if you ask him. (normal)

b) He is going to sell it if you ask him. (rare) 1

To be going to with a personal subject implies a much stronger intention than the Future Tense with shall/will does. Here is an excellent example of its emotional use in expressive language:

... "I'm going to have money some day, lots of it, so I can have anything I want to eat. And then there'll never be any hominy or dried peas on my table. And I'm going to have pretty clothes and all of them are going to be silk..." I'm going to have money enough so the Yankees can never take Таrа away from me. And I'm going to have a new roof for Таrа and a new barn and fine mules for plowing and more cotton that you ever saw. And Wade isn't ever going to know what it means to do without the thing he needs. Never! He's going to have everything in the world. And all my family, they aren't ever going to be hungry again. I mean it. (Mitchell)

Further examples are:

"I never thought about what it meant to Wade", said Rhett slowly. "I never thought how he's suffered. And it's not going to be that way for Bonnie." (Mitchell)

1 See: R. W. Zandvoort. A Handbook of English Grammar. London, 1965, pp. 77—78.

53He ought to understand! "He piles up his money for me", she thought; but what's the use, if I'm not going to be happy? Money, and all it 'ought, did not bring happiness". (Galsworthy)

Darling, said Dinny, I do hope things are going to be all right. (Gals-worthy)

Dinny put her hand on his sleeve. "You are not going to lose your job. I've seen Jack Muskham". (Galsworthy)

Quivering at the thought of this long dark night with her, he yet knew

it was going to be torture.

(Galsworthy)

Patterns with the passive auxiliaries be and get will also illustrate grammatical synonyms of the first type.

The passive forms in Modern English are represented by analytic combinations of the auxiliary verb to be with the past participle of the conjugated verb. The verb to get can also function as an auxiliary of the passive, e. g.: (1) My dress got caught on a nail. (2) He got struck by a stone. these are not new usages, but ones which are spreading.

To get seems closer to the true passive auxiliary be in patterns like the following: She got blamed for everything. She gets teased by the other children.

The stabilisation of lexico-grammatical devices to indicate the aspective character of the action has also contributed to the development of synonymy in Modern English.

A special interest attaches to contextual synonyms on the grammatica1 level created through transposition of related grammatical forms, Neutralisation of the distinctive features of the opposed grammatical forms leads to situational synonymy.

Here are a few examples to illustrate the statement:

(1) Are you coming to the PPRS Board on Tuesday? (Galsworthy) (The Supposition Present — Future is neutralised; Are you coming? is synonymus with Will you come?)

Similarly:

(2) Whom do you think I travelled with? Fleur Mont. We ran up against each other at Victoria. She's taking her boy to boring next week to convalesce him. (Galsworthy) (She's taking = she will take)

Present Continuous and Present Indefinite may function as situational synonyms in cases like the following:

(3) Dicky! said James. You are always wasting money on something. (Galsworthy) (You are always wasting is synonymous with You always waste).

(4) She is continually imagining dangers when they do not exist. (She is imagining = she imagines).

(5) June read: Lake Okanagen. British Columbia, I'm not coming back to England. Bless you always.— John. (Galsworthy) (I'm not coming = = I shall not come).

(6) Fleur huddled her chin in her fur. It was easterly and cold. A voice behind her said: Well, Fleur, am I going East? (Galsworthy) Cf. Am I going East? = Shall I go East?

And here is a good example to illustrate how the situational context can neutralise the opposition "Indicative — Imperative":"Let me get in there". He tried to brush Anthony aside. But Anthony firmly stood his ground.

"I'm sorry", he said, his teeth together, "You're not going in there". (Gordon) (Cf. syn. You are not going there = Don't go = You shall not go there).

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Источник: N. M. RAYEVSKA. MODERN ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 1976

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