- What are bimembre sentences?
- Structure of the bimembre sentence
- Examples of bimembres sentences
- Single sentences
- Pass a sentence bimembre to unimembre
We explain what bimembre sentences are, their structure and examples. Also, differences with single-member sentences.
What are bimembre sentences?
From the perspective of syntax Sentence, bimembre sentences are those that express a complete sense, along a sentence structure divisible into two phrases or sections: the subject (who performs the action) and the predicate (the action performed). Hence its name bimembres, since they have two identifiable members.
The subject, the predicate or its nuclei (noun Y verb) may be absent in the sentence. There are cases of tacit subject and elided verb, in which said information is not explicit in the prayer, but it can be inferred from the way it is constructed.
Unlike double-member sentences, single-member sentences do not have such an internal structure. In some texts and traditions a distinction is made between double-member sentences (properly called sentences) and single sentences, the latter considered as “phrases”.
Structure of the bimembre sentence
Sentences bimembres have a recognizable structure, which divides their content in two:
- Subject: It is usually composed of a noun or pronominal phrase.
- Predicate: It is made up of verb phrases and their complements.
Each one has a nucleus, a word that functions as the axis of the phrase: in the case of the subject, it is usually a noun, pronoun or substantiated word. In the case of the predicate, it is always the main verb of the sentence, which will be conjugated according to the subject, thus establishing a concordance relationship.
For example: in the sentence "My poor father gets up every morning at dawn", we have two clearly distinguishable members: "My poor father", the subject of the sentence, whose nucleus is "father", and the predicate "gets up every morning at dawn ", whose nucleus is" rises "(to get up), and also has a noun phrase (" every morning at dawn ") that fulfills the role of circumstantial complement.
Examples of bimembres sentences
We'll look at other examples below and parse them in the same way:
- Sentence: "My dog never tires of running"
Subject: My dog
Core of the subject: dog
Subject complements: Me
Predicate: never tires of running
Core of the predicate: gets tired (get tired)
Verb Complements: Never, of running
- Sentence: "Angry crowds of Italians gather in the square"
Subject: Angry crowds of Italians
Core of the subject: crowds
Subject complements: Furious, of Italians
Predicate: they are concentrated in the square
Core of the predicate: they concentrate (to concentrate)
Verb Complements: in the square
- Sentence: "I have a severe pain in my belly"
Subject: Me (tacit)
Predicate: I have a severe pain in my belly
Core of the predicate: I have
Verb Complements: severe belly pain
- Sentence: "Mary has a tattoo on her hip"
Subject: Mary
Core of the subject: Mary
Predicate: he has a tattoo on his hip
Core of the predicate: has
Verb Complements: A tattoo, in the hip
Single sentences
Contrary to two-member sentences, there are single-member sentences that lack a recognizable subject and predicate. They often consist of phrases, interjections, or words that express a partial, incomplete, but contextually understandable meaning. For example: "Hey!", "It's hot!" or "Why me?"
Pass a sentence bimembre to unimembre
Dual-member sentences have much more information than single-member sentences, so they cannot be "transformed" into one another without losing information along the way. Thus, it is possible that a very short sentence such as "I am cold" could become "It is cold", to turn it into an impersonal sentence.
However, it is impossible to do the same with “My father buys vegetables in the market”, since the structure, the sense and the meaning of the sentence would require several consecutive sentences, something like “the old man, in the market, for the vegetables ”.