Textual Properties, Nouns, and Predicates in Language
Textual Properties
1. Fundamental Principles
- Correctness
- Consistency
- Unity
- Clarity
2. Textual Adaptation and Coherence
2.1. Adaptation
Textual adaptation involves adjusting the text to the communicative situation, meeting the needs of both sender and receiver.
2.2. Coherence
Coherence ensures the meaningful transmission of information through:
- Clear internal structure (sections, chapters, titles)
- Informative consistency
2.3. Cohesion
Cohesion refers to well-formed sentences and their proper connection, closely related to grammatical aspects.
3. Connectors and Discourse
Connectors organize parts of speech or text. Dixi refers to what is said, while dictics are linguistic units indicating the speaker’s presence.
Nouns and Nominal Phrases
4. Noun Phrases
Noun phrases are organized around nouns.
5. Types of Nouns
- Abstract/Concrete: Concrete nouns are perceivable through senses (e.g., computer, chair), while abstract nouns are not (e.g., calculation, loyalty).
- Common/Proper: Common nouns refer to classes of objects (e.g., cat, dog), while proper nouns designate unique individuals (e.g., Mary, Everest).
- Countable/Uncountable: Countable nouns can be counted (e.g., cat, dog), while uncountable nouns cannot (e.g., tobacco, flour).
- Collective Nouns: Designate groups (e.g., crowd).
- Deverbal Nouns: Derived from verbs (e.g., rejection, destruction).
6. Prenominal Modifiers
These include articles, possessives, quantifiers, and demonstratives.
6.1. Articles
Provide definite or indefinite information.
6.2. Demonstratives
Indicate proximity or distance (e.g., this, that).
6.3. Quantifiers
- Numerals: Cardinal (exact amount), ordinal (order), and partitive (part of a set).
- Quantitative: Indicate quantity (e.g., a lot, a little).
- Existential: Indicate existence (e.g., some friends).
6.4. Possessives
Indicate ownership (e.g., my, our, your).
7. Nominal Phrase Complements
Noun phrases can be complemented by adjectives, prepositional phrases, or relative clauses. Prepositional phrases typically follow the noun.
8. Deverbal Nouns
Excessive use of deverbal nouns can lead to an abstract and unnatural style.
9. Adjectives within Nominal Phrases
9.1. Adjective Position
Adjectives usually follow the noun. Some subjective or evaluative adjectives can precede the noun. Placement can affect meaning.
Predicates and Sentence Structure
1. Predicates and Arguments
Sentences consist of a nominal phrase and a verb. The verb determines the required arguments (subject, direct object, indirect object, complement).
1.1. Adjuncts
Optional elements, such as circumstantial complements, are not required by the verb.
2. Predicate Types
Nominal predicates use copular verbs (e.g., be, seem) followed by an attribute. Verbal predicates use other verbs (e.g., sing, dance) and may have other complements.
2.1. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Transitive verbs require a direct object, which in Catalan typically doesn’t take a preposition, except in certain cases (e.g., with the pronoun tothom).
2.2. Indirect Object
Introduced by the preposition a, replaceable by the pronoun li. Pleonasm can occur with a duplicated weak pronoun.
2.3. Prepositional Complement
Some verbs require a complement with a specific preposition (e.g., en, amb, de).
3. Subject
Essential for predication.
3.1. Subject Elision
The subject can be implied.
3.2. Impersonal Verbs
Verbs that cannot take a subject (e.g., meteorological verbs).
3.3. Subject Postposition
The subject can appear at the end of the sentence.
4. Circumstantial Complements
Optional elements, including adverbials of time, place, manner, cause, and beneficiary. They don’t have a fixed position.
5. Predicate Complement
Agrees in gender and number with a noun phrase in the sentence. Resembles an attribute but doesn’t use copular verbs.