Linguistic Sentence Structures

[m1469]

Apparently it's time for me to take a look at sentence structure within language(s) and I'm reviewing some ideas and I am reading this page, here: https://esl.fis.edu/learners/advice/syntax.htm  -- I'm looking for commonalities between many languages, but especially ones which I think are related, like:  (English), Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Russian

In English, the basic sentence structure contains subject (what or who the sentence is about) and predicate (information about that someone or something).  

??** If you speak one of those languages and wouldn't mind answering, my question is if you could describe a basic sentence structure for these languages in the same way I did just above about English (subject/predicate)?  I would assume the answer has to be that you can, but my mind needs a confirmation.



??** Could you basically categorize sentences this same way (below) in these other languages (Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Russian):

Sentence types:  One way to categorize sentences is by the clauses they contain (clause is the part of the sentence that contains the subject and predicate):


Simple:  Contains a single, independent clause:  Ex: I don't like dogs.

Compound:  Contains two independent clauses that are joined by a coordinating conjunction (The most common coordinating conjunctions are: but, or, and, so).  Ex:   I don't like dogs, and my sister doesn't like cats.

Complex:  Contains an independent clause plus one or more dependent clauses (A dependent clause starts with a subordinating conjunction. Examples: that, because, while, although, where, if).  Ex:  I don't like dogs that bark at me when I go past.

Compound-complex:  Contains three or more clauses (of which at least two are independent and one is dependent).  Ex:   I don't like dogs, and my sister doesn't like cats because they make her sneeze.

 

[m1469]

Well, I should be practicing voice and my scenes, which meant that I couldn't keep practicing piano with a clear conscience, which meant that I stopped practicing piano and started looking up more information about languages instead of practicing voice/my scenes  .  But, at least I further clarified my Norma outfit!  

Anyway, so far it seems that there is a confirmation on Italian language, that it is fundamentally structured the same way in that it has one or more clauses (subject plus predicate).

Here is another cool and very straightforward site I found on structuring the English language this way:  https://www.criticalreading.com/simple_sentence.htm



Italian grammar:  https://www.italianlanguageguide.com/italian/grammar/sentence/
Italian Syntax: https://italian.about.com/od/linguistics/a/aa082207a.htm



Right now, these ideas are a little bit like drinking water to me ... ahhhhh ... I love water .  I had kind of given up on the idea that I might develop some mad language skills in my life, but suddenly I wonder if I might be able to develop something afterall?  We'll see, I guess .


*goes to scenes, actually!*

[j_menz]

To give you some perspective on your study, might I suggest you also look at sentence structure in morphological languages (such as Latin or classical Greek).  There is some historical relevance (germanic languages were also originally morphological) to the now largely syntactic european languages you are targetting, and the differences may prove enlightening.

[49410enrique]

if you really want to start having fun with it, try to find perfect pangrams in other languages too (i.e. a complete sentence that uses every letter of that stentences language once).


*suddenly wonders if there is such a thing as a perfect pangram that can be translated into another perfect pangram in another language....

[m1469]

To give you some perspective on your study, might I suggest you also look at sentence structure in morphological languages (such as Latin or classical Greek).  There is some historical relevance (germanic languages were also originally morphological) to the now largely syntactic european languages you are targetting, and the differences may prove enlightening.

Thanks, I read the itsiest bit about that in one of the links, I think the one about Italian syntax.  It is related to word order in English (maybe German, too?), vs. other languages and how certain words within those languages can give more information in a single word and therefore the meaning of the sentence does not depend so much on word order.  Also, related to the idea that something like the word "think" in English is not a complete idea, since it doesn't say who or what, vs. if I were to say in Spanish "pienso" (I think) it would be a complete idea.  That opened up a whole "thing" for me.  All the same, I am still also just wanting to grasp this idea of how a sentence is constructed at its basic form, because it gives me something specific and simple to look for in each sentence, though I realize single word ideas (morphological?) would be pertinent.  

I realize that it is typical for us to learn a language in a very vocabulary-related way, nearly word by word in some ways, but for me I appreciate very much the concept of an overall purpose, and to fill in with vocab and to learn more about vocab within a structure where there is a complete idea and those words each serve a purpose.  I've never quite gelled with the idea of "noun + verb + adjective = sentence" either, because that by itself was always too linear for me, I guess ... even though that very well may be true, somehow having the umbrella concept of subject/predicate and clause is much more immediate and appealing for my mind (who is hungry for all of this on behalf of musical thinking).

[Bob]

Romance languages.  Just look to Latin.

Maybe something with cases.  Noun verbs, verbs something, verbs something to someone.  Nominative, accusative, dative.  I think that's in all the languages I've seen.

[goldentone]

I have a special secret book.

[Bob]

*Bob wants to know what the secret book is now.*

[goldentone]

Voila:

https://www.amazon.com/Loom-Language-Approach-Mastery-Languages/dp/039330034X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352534161&sr=1-1&keywords=the+loom+of+language

[Bob]

1944?  Whatever... *Bob orders it.*

[cmg]

Maybe the secret lies in palindromes:  i.e.  Able was I ere I saw Elba.