Abstract
The present paper investigates nominal infinitive sentences in terms of their grammatical parsing. For this purpose, a structural-semantic method was applied. When performing structural analysis of a sentence, students often experience certain difficulties trying to distinguish its subject and predicate. The purpose of this work is to manage the challenges of defining subject and predicate in a sentence when learning Russian in school or university. Specifics of using an infinitive as a subject is substantiated; semantic groups of nouns that get in connection with infinitives are described. It was defined that in nominal infinitive sentences, the infinitive acts as a subject, while the noun performs a function of the main component of a copulative-nominative predicate. In most cases, an adjective relating to a noun that acts as a predicate is considered a part of that predicate. Nominal infinitive sentences have a limited group of special copulas functioning.
Highlights
In the Russian language, there is a group of sentences that are quite challenging in terms of performing their structural analysis
The traditional form to express a subject in the Russian language is the nominative case of the noun, but in nominal infinitive sentences it usually acts as the nominal part of a predicate, while the infinitive verb plays the role of a subject
The current Russian language experiences the increased use of syntactic constructions of an analytical nature [7, 8], including nominal infinitive sentences: И чем меньше и беззащитней населяющие дом существа, тем большим чудом покажется жить с ними под одной крышей, пить единую воду, вдыхать воздух, в который с таким старанием вплетают свои струйки резные носы кота и щенка (And the less and more vulnerable the creatures inhabiting the house are, the greater miracle would it seem to live with them under the same roof, drink the same water, inhale the air into which the carved noses of a cat and puppy are weaving their treads with such diligence)
Summary
In the Russian language, there is a group of sentences that are quite challenging in terms of performing their structural analysis. Shakhmatov attributed such sentences to the type of two-member inconsistent sentences He noted the possibility of their reversibility, which means that the change in the order of principal parts of such a sentence causes the change in their functions. The fundamental inconsistency of principal parts in such a sentence consists in the absence of matching grammatical categories in the noun and the infinitive. The terms "first member" and "second member" according to A.A. Shakhmatov nominally correlate with the modern understanding of a subject and predicate and reflect the position principal parts of a sentence. Lekant in his works expressed the similar opinion: “The infinitive belonging to a compound nominal predicate has an attitudinal meaning due to the correlation with a subject that has abstract semantics: 'assignment' (goal, task, purpose, etc.) or 'activity' (action, work, etc.)” [3]
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