11 receiving the order http:www.simplypsychology.orgobedience.html retrieved
on February 10, 2014.
2. Sentence Types and Moods
Celce_Murcia, et al 1999 suggest that English sentences have three main moods, they are declarative indicative, interrogative, and imperative, and two
minor moods; exclamatory and subjunctive. Mood conveys the speaker‟s attitude toward the factual content of the sentence. There are three main options in the
English mood system correspond to the three main communicative functions of language: telling someone something, asking someone something, and getting
someone to do something. However, a sentence type does not necessarily match its function. It is possible to ask someone to do something using the three types.
For example, someone can ask other to do something using the imperative, the declarative or the interrogative.
1 Take the litter
2 I want you to take the litter.
3 Would you take the litter?
The three sentences are expressed in different moods, however, they have similar functions of telling the hearer to take the litter.
In the discussion of moods, Halliday 1994 identifies three kinds of mood, they are declarative, imperative, and interrogative. Each of them has their own
characteristics, which is essentially identified by the existence of subject and finite in the sentence, as described in Figure 1 below.
12 Figure 2.1: The Mood System Thomson, 2004:58
Thomson 2004:53 further explained that in functional grammar “Subject is the entity on which the validity of the clause” while “Finite makes it possible to argue
about the proposition”. Changes of Subject in a proposition will change the meaning of the proposition. Examples given by Thomson are
She was sacked last week by NatWest. Thomson, 2004:52 is different from
No, NatWest didn‟t sack her, Barclays did. Thomson, 2004:53 The first proposition is about „she” while the second is about “NatWest”, therefore
changing in subject will make new complete message. Finite enables a speaker to signals three basic claims of the validity of a proposition which can be accepted or
rejected by the listener. First, tense will show whether a proposition is valid for the present time or for other time or for unreal situation. Second, polarity will
show whether the validity is positive or negative. Third, modality will show to what extent the proposition is valid.
13 The examples on proposition validity are
She was a brilliant actress. She still is. Thomson, 2004:53 You know what I mean. No, I don‟t, as a matter of fact. Thomson,
2004:53 It could be a word meaning “inferior”. Oh, yes, it must be, because the rest
is an anagram. Thomson, 2004:53
In an exchange or a conversation, the fundamental types of speech role are giving and demanding Halliday, 2004:107. The commodity that is being given
or demanded could be goods and services or information. When the commodity is in the form of goods and services, such as an object or an action, then language is
only help the process. However, when the demanded is information then the answer would be verbal.
Figure 2.2. Giving or demanding, goods--services or information Halliday, 2004:107 Role in exchange
Commodity exchanged agoods--services
b information i
Giving „offer‟
Would you like this teapot?
„statement‟ He‟s giving her teapot
ii Demanding
„command‟ Give me that teapot
„question‟ What is he giving her?
3. Context
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