Participles as Means of Simultaneity Expression in English

Abstract

The study aims to identify the features of the functioning of English participles as means of simultaneity expression. Scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it determines the syntactic conditions for the representation of simultaneity meanings by participles as means of dependent predicativity and as means of independent predicativity within participial constructions. As a result, it has been proved that in the English language, the potential of expressing simultaneity by participles in polypredicative complexes is contingent both on their inclusion in a participial construction and on their position in relation to the subject being defined. Participles are involved in simultaneity representation with the same subject and different subjects. The reference to the subject of the main clause determines the dependence of the participial construction and the participle, as well as the representation of same-subject simultaneity. The Present Participle and the Past Participle express simultaneity in preposition and at the beginning of a sentence as a part of the dependent participial construction. The Past Participle cannot express simultaneity in postposition, unlike the Present Participle. Different-subject simultaneity can be expressed by the absolute participial construction, in which participles are used to denote actions performed by the subject that does not coincide with the subject of the main predicate.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: November 24, 2022.
• Published: January 31, 2023.

Keywords

• одновременность
• глагольные средства выражения
• неличные формы
• причастия
• полипредикативный комплекс
• simultaneity
• verbal means of expression
• non-finite forms
• participles
• polypredicative complex

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