M. Iriskulov, A. Kuldashev a course in Theoretical English Grammar Tashkent 2008

particular types of sentences. The concepts of configurational format are: 
“autonomous action” (автономное действие, автоном ҳаракат) –represented by
the intransitive construction configuration, as “A moves to B” in the most 
generalized 
sense, 
and 
“directed 
action” 
(направленное 
действие, 
йўналтирилган ҳаракат) – represented by the transitive construction 
configuration, as “A moves B”. Configurational format represents the linguistic 
knowledge (the knowledge of the transitive and intransitive congigurations) 
which is common for different types of sentences. Actualizational format
represents the extralinguistic knowledge – the knowledge of the different types of
events as they become verbalized in the basic configurational structures through
the 
concrete 
lexical 
content. 
The 
concepts 
of 
these 
format 
are: 
“actionality”(акциональность, акционаллик), e.g.: They moved to the city. 
(uncausative construction) , “causativity” (каузативность, каузативлик), e.g.: He 
galloped 
the 
horse 
forward. 
(causative 
construction), 
“process” 
(процессуальность, жараёнлик), e.g.: The cup cracked (decausative 
construction), “state” (состояние, ҳолат), e.g.: Cables and wires ran in all 
directions., “quality” (свойство, ҳосса), e.g.: The clothes washed well. (medial 
construction). Thus, within the actualizational format the two configurational 
structures actualize particular event types reflecting the world ontology through 
the speaker’s intentions, in other words, the transitive and intransitive 
constructions as combined with lexical units of the sentence profile various 
aspects of events and thus help to conceptualize them as particular event types 
(actions, processes, states, quality, causations). In this format extra-linguistic 
knowledge prevails.
Format of mixed type – the format combining configurational and 
actualizational ones - represent both linguistic and extra-linguistic knowledge.
This format includes configurations of combining words into sentences which are 
different from the transitive and intransitive ones. They are: there-constructions , 
e.g.: There is a house on the corner. There existed an inborn instinct of aggression;
it-constructions, e.g.: It’s so lonely here. It is raining hard; inverted constructions, 
e.g.: Now there comes another. There above him stood Fleur; elliptical 
constructions, e.g.: Are you going to write that composition for me? I have to 
know. – If I get the time, I will. If I don’t I won’t.
There-constructions verbalize the conceptual characteristics of “object 
existence”, it-constructions – those of “process orientation” or “quality 
orientation”, inverted constructions – “temporal parameters” and “spatial 
parameters”, elliptical constructions – “sense verification”. 
Thus, within syntax of the simple sentence there exist three formats of 
concepts. They are based on aspects of world ontology, speaker ontology and 
language ontology. Each of these formats is characterized by its own mode of 
knowledge coding and reflects the dynamic character of speech and thinking 

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processes. (For details see: Болдырев Н.Н., Фурс Л.А., 2004, стр. 67-74; Фурс 
Л.А., 2004, стр. 166-181). 
One of the basic arguments of cognitive approach to syntax says that
grammatical constructions provide alternative imagery (conceptualizations) for 
the same event or situation. The idea of imagery function of grammatical 
constructions was formulated as a principle of conceptual alternativity by L.Talmy 
and became the basis in his investigation of conceptual content of syntactic 
structures.
L.Talmy brings into focus a certain type of event complex which can 
acquire alternative conceptualizations through different syntactic structures. 
The different ways of conceptualization of the same content is viewed in the 
following examples:
a) The guy left the room because they had laughed at him (complex 
sentence).
b) They laughed at him and he left the room (compound sentence). 
c) They laughed the guy out of the room (simple sentence). 
On the one hand, the event complex can be conceptualized as composed of 
two simple events and relation between them and expressed by a composite 
sentence. On the other hand, the event complex can be conceptualized as a single 
event and expressed by a simple sentence. L. Talmy proposed the term “event 
integration” to identify the process of conceptual fusion of distinct events into a 
unitary one. 
L.Talmy studies complex events that are prone to conceptual integration and 
representation by a single clause. L. Talmy calls this type of complex events a 
macro-event and distinguishes several event- types: Motion, Change of State, 
Action Correlation and some others, e.g.:
Motion - The bottle floated into the cave. I kicked the ball into the box; 
Change of State (this event-type involves any process or activity which determines 
the dynamics of the macro-event and causes a change in some of its property) – 
The door blew shut. I kicked the door shut; 
Action Correlation (involves two or more activities associated with each other and 
performed by different agents)- I jog together with him. I jog along with him. I 
outran him.
L.Talmy observes the conceptual structure of these event-types and linguistic 
means of its representation. The general idea of the macro-event as Motion, 
Change of State, etc. is expressed in the syntactic structure of the sentence by
satellites (verb particles, prefixes, resultatives (adjectives), prepositional phrases 
containing a “locative noun”), e.g.: The coin melted free (from the ice).; He waved 
us into the hall. The main verb in the predicate position in such like sentences 
expresses the idea of circumstance event within the macro-event, such as Manner, 
Cause, Constitutiveness, etc., e.g.:
Manner – I rolled the pen across the table (Motion); I eased him awake gently. He 
jerked awake (Change of State); 
Cause – I blew the pen across the table (Motion); I shook him awake (Change of 
State); 

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151 
Constitutiveness – I ate with Jane. I ran after Jane. I outcooked him (Action 
Correlation). 
Thus, L.Talmy has studied the conceptual structure of the event complexes as 
it appears mapped onto the linguistic forms. (For details see: Talmy L. Toward a 
cognitive semantics. 2000; Further Readings on English Syntax (this book, pp. 65-
73).
Summing it all up, it is necessary to note that the study of the concepts 
represented by the syntactic structures is centered around the following principles:
- syntactic structures reveal a concept-structuring function in the language, i.e. 
syntactic structures provide alternative conceptualizations of the event; 
-conceptual content expressed in the linguistic forms integrates linguistic and 
extra-linguistic knowledge; 
- syntactic categories are viewed as categories organized in accord with the 
prototypical principle of category structuring. 
The observation of the recent studies shows that the linguists have examined
practically the same syntactic structures, but from slightly different angles. As a 
result, various facets of the conceptual content of the syntactic structures have been 
profiled. The further investigation of the syntactic concepts and the linguistic 
means of their representation is more likely to be based on the elaboration and 
unification of the recent cognitive linguistic findings of syntax study.