Psychology of feelings 

Isolated members of a sentence and how they stand out in writing. Isolated secondary members of the sentence

You can simply say that this is highlighting sections of text in writing. But, as with everything, there are many nuances here. In particular, there is different types separation.

Isolation of minor members of a sentence

In writing, almost any part of speech can stand out, including minor ones.
First of all, highlighting circumstances with commas depends on how they are expressed. The following cases are possible.

The circumstance is expressed by a gerund

The circumstance is isolated regardless of the place it occupies in relation to the predicate expressed by the verb. That is, the isolation of phrases, including participles, occurs together with the isolation of circumstances.

For example: Frightened by the thunderstorm, he returned to the house.

If a circumstance is located in the middle of a sentence, then it must be separated by commas on both sides. This once again confirms that the answer to the question of what separation is is simple. This is highlighting a piece of a phrase in a letter.

In the fall, after leaving home, he felt longing for his native land.

A circumstance that is expressed by a gerund or participial phrase, can be replaced subordinate clause or predicate, since it is close in meaning to the secondary predicate.

Wed: In the autumn, having left the house, he felt longing for his native land. - In the autumn he left the house and felt longing for his native land.

1. Particles only are included in a separate structure and are also distinguished:

The light came on, illuminating everything around for only a moment, and then went out again.

That is, this is an example of the isolation of minor members of a sentence, which include particles.

2. If the participial construction comes after the coordinating / or conjunction word, then it must be separated from the conjunction by a comma.

Wed: She opened the window and, leaning out into the air, began to watch the rising sun. “She opened the window and began to watch the rising sun, leaning out into the air.

3. A conjunction does not require separation using a comma with a gerund or participial phrase in the event that the gerund construction is inseparable from the conjunction or conjunction word, that is, it cannot be removed without violating the structure of the sentence.

Wed: He loved to do unusual gifts, and having congratulated his friend, he burst into a smile of satisfaction (impossible: He loved to give unusual gifts, but he congratulated his friend...). But! The teacher did not announce the grades for the test, but, having collected the diaries, put them there. - The teacher did not announce the grades for the test, but put them in the diaries.

Homogeneous gerunds and participial phrases that are connected by single coordinating or dividing unions and, or, either, There is no need to separate with a comma.

The linguist worked on the translation by reading the text and listening to a recording of it.

But if the conjunction connects not two gerunds, but other constructions, commas are added:

I took the letter and, having printed it out, began to read.

When is this part of speech not isolated?

1. The participial construction is represented by phraseological units:

He sat with his hands folded.

But if a phraseological unit is an introductory word in a sentence, it is highlighted using commas.

2. The adverbial construction is preceded by an intensifying particle and:

You can achieve success without having wealth.

3. The participle is included in and has a dependent conjunction word which(a comma separates the main clause from the subordinate clause):

The state faces critical issues, without understanding which it will not be able to reach new level in economics.

4. The participle phrase includes the subject (a comma separates the entire phrase from the predicate):

Crow perched on a spruce tree and was just about ready to have breakfast.

5. A participle is a homogeneous member with a non-isolated circumstance and is connected with it through the conjunction and:

He ran quickly and without looking around.

When else is separation of revolutions not required?

Single gerunds that:

1. Having finally lost their verbal meaning, they moved into the category of adverbs:

We walked slowly. (No: We walked and were in no hurry).

2. Lost connection with the verb and moved into the category of function words: n starting from, based on, depending on:

The documents are compiled based on the results of the study. However, in other contextual situations, turns can sometimes be isolated.

1) turnover from beginning with is isolated if it is of a clarifying nature and is not related to time:

She speaks many languages, ranging from English and German.

2) turnover from based is isolated if in meaning it correlates with the one who performs the action:

We have compiled documents based on the results of your research.

3) turnover from depending on is isolated if it has a clarifying or connecting meaning:

I had to act carefully, depending on the circumstances.

Isolation if the circumstance is expressed by a noun

The circumstance of concession, expressed by a noun with a preposition, is always isolated despite/despite(easily replaced by subordinate clauses of concession with a conjunction word Although).

Wed: Despite bad weather, the vacation was a great success. - Although the weather was bad, the holiday was a great success.

Special cases of isolation

In the following cases, circumstances may be separated by commas:

1. Reasons with prepositions thanks to, for lack of, as a result of, by virtue of etc. (easily replaced by a subordinate clause with a conjunction word because).

Wed: The son, in agreement with his father’s opinion, entered the Faculty of Law. - Since the son agreed with his father’s opinion, he entered the law faculty.

2. Concessions with pretexts contrary to, with Although).

Wed: Contrary to the advice of his father, the son entered Faculty of Medicine. - Although the father gave advice, the son entered the medical faculty.

3. Conditions with prepositional constructions if present, if absent, in case etc. (easily replaced by a subordinate clause with the conjunction If).

Wed: Employers, in the event of a decrease in profits, decided to reduce their headquarters. - If employers' profits decrease, they decide to reduce their headquarters.

4. Goals and prepositional combination to avoid(easily replaced by a subordinate clause with a conjunction to).

Wed: To avoid inconvenience, make payment by card. - To avoid inconvenience, pay by card.

5. Comparisons with a conjunction word like.

Wed: Tanya graduated from school with excellent grades, like her older sister.

In general, the isolation of phrases with the above prepositions and prepositional constructions is variable.

What is isolation when acquiring meaning?

Circumstances that are expressed by nouns without prepositions or with other prepositions are isolated only if they acquire additional semantic load, explanatory meaning or the combination of several adverbial meanings.

Katya, after the negative answer she received, left the living room.

Here the circumstance combines two meanings (time and reason, i.e. when did he leave? and why did he leave?)

Please pay Special attention that which are expressed by nouns should always be emphasized intonationally. But the presence of a pause does not always indicate the presence of a comma. Thus, it is always intonationally necessary to highlight the circumstances located at the beginning of the sentence with isolation.

However, there is no need to place a comma after such a circumstance.

The circumstance is expressed by an adverb

If circumstances are expressed by adverbs (the presence of dependent words does not matter), then they are isolated only when the author wants to pay more attention to them, when they have the meaning of an accompanying comment, etc.:

A minute later, no one knows how, he reached the village.

In this sentence, with the help of isolation, the surprise and strangeness of the action performed is emphasized. However, such distinctions in the Russian language are always of an authorial, optional nature.

We hope that in the article we were able to reveal the answer to the question of what separation is.

Separate members sentences and how they behave in the text, you need to understand the meaning of the words themselves that make up the term.

Clarification of the term

To set apart means to make something special, different from something else, to highlight. Isolated members of a sentence are words that are highlighted in a sentence, separated from others. Isolation occurs using commas or dashes.

Along with the word “separation” the word “separation” can be used. Both have the right to exist.

With the term “members of a sentence” everything is more or less clear; these are, in fact, the words that make up the sentence. The members of a sentence are divided into main and secondary.

It is precisely minor members offers. Namely, addition and circumstance. Separately, it makes sense to consider also, which is a type of definition.

Separation of definitions

Definitions can be agreed upon or inconsistent. Agreed definitions are usually expressed as or. Inconsistent ones - by names in oblique cases.

Separating add-ons

Additions are not always isolated, but only if required by the context. Usually, phrases with the words “except”, “instead”, “besides”, “except”, etc. are separated by commas. However, there may be options that do not require separation.

In other words, the isolation of additions is optional.

For example, “Nothing but imaginary difficulties darkened the path.” But: “In addition to the distant cloud, there was sun in the sky.”

Isolation of circumstances

Such a member of a sentence as an adverb can be expressed by an adverbial phrase and an adverb.

Participial phrases are usually separated by commas. For example, “We must move forward, regardless of fatigue.”

Circumstances expressed by nouns in indirect cases with dependent words are isolated if this is necessary for clarification or semantic highlighting in the context. For example, “People, after hearing kind words, walked more cheerfully.”

Adverbs are often used as adverbs. They can also be separated if required by the meaning of the text or for clarification. For example: “And then, unexpectedly for everyone, the horizon cleared.” “It is very important to reach the goal, together or alone.”

Separation of minor members

Punctuation in sentences with isolated members

Separation- this is the selection of any constructions with two characters (commas or dashes). It is precisely by two signs that separation differs from separation, for example, homogeneous members, where the sign is not double.

Secondary members differ from the “primary” ones (subject and predicate) in that they are not included in the grammatical basis. That is, without them, a sentence as a unit of message can exist. Usually, the distinction between the main and minor members of a sentence does not cause difficulties. However, there are cases when a seemingly “completely minor” member turns out to be actually part of the predicate or subject, since without it the sentence is uninformative and meaningless.

Planes stand ready for takeoff.

Telepathy is an unsolved and alluring phenomenon.

Type Basics Planes are standing or Telepathy is a phenomenon do not allow us to understand what the speaker wanted to say, so it is necessary to expand the composition of the predicate. In this case, there are no secondary members in the sentence, and there is simply nothing to apply the rules for their isolation.

So, if we managed to separate the basis of the sentence from the minor members, then the next task is to determine which of the minor members is in front of us: definition(or its variation - an application), addition or circumstance. Eat typical methods expressions of minor members: definition- this is usually an adjective or participle, addition- noun, circumstance - adverb. However, one part of speech does not always play only a single syntactic role.

For example, a noun can also be a modifier ( checkered dress, house around the corner), and addition (letter to sister), and circumstance ( I'm writing to the village).

The members of a sentence are reliably determined only by the following questions:

definition: which one? whose?

application: which one? (expressed as a noun)

addition: who? what? and other questions of indirect cases

circumstance: where? Where? When? Why? for what purpose? no matter what? How? how? in what degree? to others

Why is there reliability here? Then, in order to accurately select the necessary rule: for a circumstance - the rule for isolating precisely the circumstances (and not additions, for example).

Considering that the isolation of additions is optional in most cases, we will dwell on the rules for the isolation of the remaining minor members.

Definitions can be agreed upon (red dress, flying birds) And inconsistent (what kind of dress? - polka dots, man - what? - in Hat). Inconsistent definitions are separated optionally, the absence of a sign, as a rule, is not classified as an error. For agreed definitions, the rule is more stringent. It is difficult to imagine a text, for example an essay, in which there would be no separate definitions. Therefore, knowledge of this rule is absolutely necessary.



1. To decide whether to isolate or not, two factors (or conditions) are most relevant:

1) the position of the definition in relation to the word being defined;

2) how the definition and the word being defined are expressed.

After the word being defined, the following are separated:

a) common definitions;

b) single homogeneous definitions.

Compare: The dawn that broke out in the east was covered with clouds. The dawn that broke out in the east was covered with clouds. The world, sunny and fragrant, surrounded us. A sunny and fragrant world surrounded us.

Notice how the punctuation changes depending on the position of the definition in relation to the word being defined.

2. Always (i.e., regardless of position) the following are separated:

a) definitions related to the personal pronoun;

b) definitions “torn off” from the word being defined (there are other members of the sentence between them);

c) definitions that have additional meaning, for example reasons (you can ask a question about them from the predicate verb Why?)

Excited by the experiences of the day, I haven't slept for a long time. Them, exhausted, I didn’t even want to talk. Narrow and transparent, hatches in the sky for a month. Blinded by the darkness, the old man stood motionless for a long time. (Why?)

Separation- This semantic and intonation highlighting of sentence members in order to give them a certain semantic and syntactic independence in a sentence.

IN oral speech they are distinguished by intonation, and in writing they are separated or highlighted by punctuation marks.

Various members of a sentence are isolated By various reasons. In one case, the minor members of the sentence are isolated because in terms of their meaning in a sentence they are close to the predicate. In other cases they are isolated because they are used in a sentence as something additional, introduced to clarify any member of the sentence or to communicate something additional about it.

All isolated members are divided into two groups: isolated members with the value of an additional predicate And isolated members with qualifying value .

I. The meaning of an additional predicate can have separate definitions, applications and circumstances.

These sentence members can be easily replaced with a predicate.

Compare: 1) The sea, which had calmed overnight, was now barely splashing in the rocks. - The sea calmed down overnight and now it was barely splashing in the rocks; 2) Great mechanic, he easily fixed the problem with the motor. - He easily fixed the problem in the motor, because he was an excellent mechanic; 3) Having passed several stations without stopping, the train stopped only in Lyubertsy. - Electric train drove through several stations without stopping and stopped only in Lyubertsy.

Separate definitions are expressed by participle phrases, single and homogeneous participles and adjectives, as well as phrases consisting of adjectives or nouns with dependent words.

For example: Books, read in childhood, are remembered all my life; And the forest, silent, dark, stretched for many miles around(Bunin) ; I've lived my life full of surprises (Paustovsky) ; Kolya, in his new jacket with gold buttons, was the hero of the day(Turgenev).

Special circumstances can be expressed by participial phrases, single gerunds, as well as nouns with prepositions despite, according to, thanks to, in spite of, because of and etc.

For example: Large drops of rain crashed onto the ground, turning into dust and tiny splashes (Soloukhin); Despite the weather, we decided to perform(Obruchev).

Standalone Add-ons most often expressed by nouns with prepositions except, apart from, over, except for, including and etc.

For example: Except wild birds and animals, not a single soul appeared near the monastery(Chekhov).

All isolated members of a sentence can also be expressed by comparative phrases with conjunctions as if, as if, as if and etc.

For example: You walk through dry pine forests, like walking on a deep expensive carpet; The room was filled with even light, like from a kerosene lamp (Paustovsky).

II. Various isolated members of a sentence can have the meaning of clarification, which specify the preceding refined members. A member of a sentence will be considered clarifying if, located after its syntactic analogue, it will narrow the conveyed concept or limit it in some respect.

In other words, the clarifying circumstance of time should come after the circumstance of time, the definition - after the definition, but the meaning of the second should be narrower and more specific than the first. The role of clarifying members is the circumstances of place, time, mode of action, definition and application.

For example: From South, from the steppe ridge, warm and wet snow was falling; On the second day, in the evening, Razmetnov ran to Davydov(Sholokhov). These sentences specify the circumstances of place and time (the most common cases).

Connecting structures that contain additional notes are highlighted. or clarifications , introduced in the middle or at the end of a sentence. Such constructions are usually joined with the words even, especially, especially, for example, in particular, mainly, including, moreover, and moreover, and(meaning “and moreover”), yes, yes and, yes and in general and etc.

For example: It was very warm, even hot(Chakovsky); There is a lot of nobility in people, a lot of love, selflessness, especially in women (A. Ostrovsky); And Rudin started talking about pride, and spoke very intelligently (Turgenev); What’s a sculptor, and a bad one at that, to do?(Turgenev); Already in the Caucasus I learned and not from the captain that he was seriously wounded four times...(L. Tolstoy); There was only one road and, moreover, wide and furnished with milestones, so it was impossible to get lost(Korolenko); Let these people and many others, they will remember what happened. It seemed that everything including forests and fields, moves to the west, but it is impossible to go and go to the east(Kazakevich)

Conditions of separation

In order to understand why some minor members of the sentence are isolated , but others don’t, why in some cases separation mandatory, and in others optional, it is necessary to take into account the conditions separation .

Conditions of separation- these are the factors that favor the semantic and intonation emphasis of sentence members.

The most common and most prerequisite possibilities separation is the absence of a close connection between the secondary member and the main word. First of all, this is manifested in the fact that only “optional” members of a sentence are allowed to be isolated - those that are not necessary with the main word: definitions, applications, circumstances. On the contrary, those members of the sentence that are associated with the transfer of basic, rather than additional content, are not subject to isolation.

For example, definitions are not isolated, without which a noun is unable to fully designate an object or circumstance: Instead of a cheerful life in St. Petersburg, boredom awaited me on the sidelines deaf and distant (A. Pushkin). Additions, which most often act as an obligatory part of the sentence, closely related to the main word, are also not subject to isolation.

Thus, conditions of separation- this is all that helps to weaken the connection with the main word and strengthen the semantic significance of the most minor member.

On separation influenced by syntactic, morphological and semantic conditions.

Syntactic conditions:

1. Word order:

There is a usual (direct) and an unusual (reverse) word order (inversion). Yes, when in direct order words, the agreed definition stands before the word being defined, and the inconsistent one - after the word being defined, an additional action, called a gerund, - after the main one, indicated by the predicate. If a minor member of a sentence is placed in an unusual place for it in the sentence, then it stands out, is especially emphasized - its semantic significance is enhanced.

Therefore, among the agreed definitions, those that stand after the word being defined are usually isolated, and among the circumstances expressed by single gerunds, those that stand before the predicate.

For example: He, do not stop, ran and He ran do not stop.

2. Distant position of the secondary member of the sentence in relation to the main word (separation of the secondary member of the sentence from the main word) .

For example: And again, cut off from tanks by fire, infantry lay down on a bare slope(M. Sholokhov).

Such a separation of the definition from the word being defined is unusual and leads to an increase in its semantic weight. And this makes it necessary to isolate such a definition.

3. Volume of the isolated member (common members of a sentence are isolated more often than non-common ones) or the presence of two or more homogeneous minor members .

For example: I brought a bucket full of dew from the forest(S. Marshak) and I spared no effort to fill the bucket full(S. Marshak).

, unusual for a given minor member of the sentence (the appearance of an additional meaning in the minor member), when the minor member explains not only the word to which it is directly subordinate, but also some other member of the sentence.

For example, an agreed definition is isolated, standing even before the word being defined (direct word order), if this definition has an additional adverbial meaning: AND exhausted by effort and hardship, the old man went to bed(the participial phrase standing before the word being defined is isolated here because it also has a circumstantial (causal) meaning).

Morphological conditions of isolation

Sometimes separation depends on the presence in the composition of the allocated member of the sentence of a certain grammatical form or a function word of a certain lexical-grammatical category, i.e. separation in this case, it is associated with the morphological way of expressing the secondary member.

Participles, short forms adjectives and participles that act as a definition, combinations with comparative conjunctions (comparative phrases), some combinations of nouns with prepositions, the presence of introductory words usually form separate secondary members.

For example: When the letter was ready and I was about to seal it, I came in, apparently angry, headman(V. Korolenko). In this sentence, the single (non-extended) agreed definition angry, standing before the defined noun, is isolated, since it refers to introductory word apparently (which, by the way, is not separated by a comma from the definition).

Almost always (except for some special occasions) circumstances expressed by gerunds and participial phrases are isolated.

Short forms of adjectives and participles in modern Russian have become entrenched in the function of the predicate. Relatively rarely (mainly in poetry) they are used as definitions (which relate to the subject), retaining the meaning of the additional predicate, which makes them separation mandatory, regardless of location.

For example: The air vibrates transparent and clean (N. Zabolotsky); Rich, good looking, Lensky was accepted everywhere as a groom(A. Pushkin); Awakened at the usual hour, she got up by candlelight(A. Pushkin).

comparative union, How as a rule, requires intonation highlighting of the phrase: The stuffy air is still, like the water of a forest lake (M. Gorky).

Semantic conditions of isolation

The absence or presence of a close semantic and syntactic connection between a minor member of a sentence and the word to which it refers is sometimes determined by the semantics of the word being explained. The more specific and definite the meaning of a word, the less it needs to be disseminated, the weaker are the connections with it of secondary members, which are therefore easily isolated.

For example, personal pronouns “do not recognize” the usual definitions; one cannot say: I'm attentive, he's angry(compare: attentive student, angry man). Therefore, definitions related to the personal pronoun are always isolated.

For example: And he, the rebellious one, asks for a storm...(M. Lermontov).

If the word being defined is a proper noun or refers to kinship terms (mother, father, grandfather, grandmother and similar), then this can also contribute to the isolation of the definition.

For example: Grandfather, in grandma's katsaveyka, in an old cap without a visor, squints, smiles at something(M. Gorky).

Vice versa: with nouns that are too general in meaning ( person, thing, expression, matter and similar), the definitions form a single whole, because a noun without a definition cannot participate in the formation of a statement.

For example: This misconception is common even to people smart and educated; Things happened funny, touching and tragic (V. Astafiev) - definitions in these sentences are necessary to express the main (and not additional) message.

Thus, isolated minor members with the value of an additional message have :

semantic features: they introduce additional meaning into the sentence and, in terms of their semantic role in the sentence, approach the predicate, the subordinate clause;

grammatical features: are only minor members of the sentence (separate definitions, circumstances and additions);

intonation features: pronounced with a special emphatic intonation (intonation of isolation);

punctuation marks: The letter is highlighted with commas on both sides.

What are isolated members of a sentence? What are they? When are members of a sentence generally isolated, and when not? In this article we will understand what isolated members of a sentence are, what categories they are divided into, as well as what rules of isolation exist.

The concept of isolated members of a sentence

So, let's start, as we should in such cases, with a definition. Isolated members of a sentence are those minor members that are distinguished by intonation and meaning. The emphasis is made so that they acquire “independence” within the entire phrase.

How are individual members of a sentence identified?

Emphasis during oral conversation occurs through intonation. If we talk about writing, then the situation is somewhat different. To highlight isolated members of a sentence in the text, commas are used.

Comparison of detached members with non-detached members

It is worth noting one simple fact: the syntactic weight of isolated members is much greater than that of their opposites. Consequently, stylistic expressiveness also increases. One cannot fail to mention logical selection.

What can be distinguished in the Russian language?

Of all the members of a sentence, only minor ones can be isolated. The main members in the proposal have never been isolated, and this is not expected in the near future.

Why is separation necessary?

It allows you to draw attention to a particular piece of information. In addition, the fragment can be presented in more detail by resorting to isolation. As mentioned earlier, isolated secondary members of a sentence have greater weight and greater independence. Let us immediately note that the separations can be very different. These are additions, circumstances, and definitions. Next we will try to understand each of these categories, bring specific examples for each group.

Separating clarifications

First of all, let's figure out what separate clarifying members of a sentence are and why they are needed. As the name implies, such minor members of the sentence serve to specify and clarify. They are inextricably linked by a syntactic function with one or another member of the sentence, the meaning of which they, in fact, explain.

When are clarifying members of a sentence isolated?

1. Isolated clarifying members of a sentence can be expressed by a definition. Example: “It was dark around, even very dark, I would say. So much so that it seemed like someone in this world had simply turned off all the lights.” IN in this case the phrase “even very dark” has a clarifying meaning and is separated by commas on both sides.

It is worth noting that definitions with a clarifying meaning can be highlighted when written using a dash. Example: “There were a lot of things in the house - both his personal ones and those that clearly did not belong to him.”

2. Circumstances of relevant significance are identified. They can be expressed by nouns with prepositions, as well as adverbs. For example:

  • “Only a second passed - and an explosion thundered somewhere nearby, right behind him.”
  • “Once upon a time, life flowed here, in a quiet, unfamiliar village.” Third example: “This happened quite recently, just a couple of days ago.”

Explanation: in the first and second examples, the clarification is in the nature of place. The third is the nature of time. Often the isolation of clarifications depends on the author of the passage.

3. Specifications added using the words “or”, “that is”, “namely” are distinguished. For example:

  • “Whatever his name was. There were rumors that he was either a wizard, a magician, or a superman.”
  • “It was a balanced, individual decision, that is, not imposed on him by anyone.”
  • “A lot spoke about the terrible battle that took place here, namely: helmets and scraps of uniforms, craters from artillery shells, shell casings.”

4. Clarifying members of the sentence are isolated, which are added using words such as “even”, “especially”, “including”, “in particular”. For example:

  • “Everyone remembers that no one was able to defeat the magician, even those who tried to do it in a crowd.”
  • “The victory was a joy for everyone, especially for those who sacrificed a lot for this.”
  • “Another second - the squad went for a breakthrough, including him.”
  • “Many countries accept Russian tourists with great joy, in particular, Türkiye is doing this now.”

Separating add-ons

Types of isolated members of a sentence include a group of additions. This is nothing more than case forms, applied to nouns. They are used with such combinations as “except”, “instead of”, “except”, “along with”, “excluding”, “besides”. Thus, it can be noted that phrases in such use have meanings corresponding to substitution and inclusion, exclusion.

Separation occurs depending on what semantic load is present, whether the author has a desire to highlight this fragment:

  • “He already felt more or less stable, except that his leg still hurt a little.”
  • “In addition to the rain promised the day before, the sky lit up with branches of purple lightning, which for a moment left their bright mark on the retina.”
  • “Along with the issues that were waiting to be resolved at work, it was necessary to do something about household matters.”
  • “Besides all this, there was one more significant flaw in the product, which decisively deterred the purchase.”
  • “And everything was fine, except, of course, for some points.”

Note that if the preposition “instead” is used in the meaning “instead”, then it is not isolated. Example: “In return for all the money he thought was promised by his friends, he received only promises, words and nothing more.”

Isolation of circumstances

Isolated members of a sentence are, as we found out earlier, secondary members that are distinguished by intonation and with the help of punctuation marks. When do circumstances become isolated? This is what we will talk about next.

  1. The circumstance is separated by commas on both sides, regardless of its location in the text, if it is expressed by an adverbial phrase. Example: “The two of them, holding their breath and holding their breath, waited for the shadow to slip further past them.” Explanation: here “hidden and holding your breath” are homogeneous and isolated members of the sentence, expressed by the adverbial phrase. There is an exception to this rule. An adverbial phrase is not isolated if it is a phraseological unit.
  2. The circumstance is separated by commas on both sides, regardless of its location in the text, if it is expressed by a single type gerund. Example: “He left without turning around, although he understood what he had just done.” Explanation: here “without turning around” acts as a single gerund. There is also an exception here. A single gerund is not isolated if it merges with an adverb in its meaning. Example: “While someone was telling me something, I stood thoughtful.”
  3. Usually two participle phrases connected by the conjunction “and” (as well as two single participles) are isolated as one phrase. Example: “I, despite the mistakes of others and not listening to common sense, continued to persistently trample down his path.” Explanation: here “despite the mistakes of others” and “without listening to common sense” are homogeneous adverbial phrases. Moreover, they refer to the same word, so they are equal. Therefore, there is no comma between them.
  4. A circumstance is isolated if it is presented as a comparative phrase. Usually in comparative phrases words like “exactly”, “as if”, “as” are used. There are some exceptions to the isolation of comparative turns; they are not isolated in all cases. In general, the isolation of comparisons and comparative phrases refers to the isolation of secondary members of sentences only sometimes, so we will not talk much about this in this article. Example: “My head hurt, as if something massive had been walked on it.”

There is such a concept in Russian syntax - optional. This means “at the discretion of the author.” So, circumstances are optionally isolated in two cases:

  1. If the circumstance is presented in the form of a noun. In this case, there may or may not be a pretext. But most of all there are cases when circumstances are isolated that are expressed by a combination of nouns with certain prepositions. These are: “thanks to”, “despite”, “contrary to”, “in accordance with”, “depending on”, “to avoid”, “in view of”. Examples:

    “Thanks to the availability of free time, he was able to solve almost all his problems.”
    - “Despite the rain, they still decided to go on a picnic.”
    “Despite the threats, he has not changed his policy one bit.”
    - “In accordance with the plan, all tasks were completed within the specified time frame.”
    “Depending on what decision was made, a different fate awaited him.”
    - “To avoid a fight, the people nearby separated them into different corners.”
    “Due to unforeseen circumstances, something had to be decided quickly, but thoughtfully.”

  2. If there is clarification of place and time. Example: “And yet it was impossible not to notice that here, in this room forgotten by civilization, some company once worked and flourished.”

How can you find isolated circumstances in the text? To do this, you must first find an ordinary circumstance. And then see if it is really separated by punctuation marks. After this, you can begin to analyze the question of how the isolated circumstance is expressed. The easiest way to start your search is with participial phrases, as well as single gerunds. Comparative phrases are no less visible, which, as you remember, are also separate circumstances along with clarifications of place and time, the manner of action of a person. There is a questionnaire called “Test “Isolated members of a sentence”. It usually gives tasks to search for isolations. There is a task in which you need to find a separate circumstance in the text, expressed by an adverbial phrase. It is logical that there will be not just one gerund, but a certain set of dependent words. Clarifying circumstances can be found just as easily. To do this, simply search for words that are expressed by nouns in indirect cases. Next to them there should be adverbs and prepositions. These, in most cases, are isolated circumstances, expressed by clarifications of place and time.

Signs of isolation

According to the rules of the Russian language, the signs of isolated members of a sentence can be divided into four groups. The first group is semantic features. The second is grammatical. The third is intonation (that is, pauses and emphasizing intonation). And the last, fourth group is punctuation signs. As mentioned earlier, most often punctuation marks such as commas act as punctuation marks. But it is possible that the separation will be done using a dash. Author's punctuation marks are still a rather complicated thing.

The role of isolation in the Russian language

Isolation often makes it possible to endow a particular fragment of text or phrase with some special meaning, to give it an informational weight that is different from that of other parts of the sentence. That is, due to isolation, a peculiar emphasis is placed on certain facts. During a conversation, we often, when talking about something, without noticing it ourselves, highlight some words and even phrases with intonation. Accordingly, we are trying to draw attention to these fragments; they play some special role in a given situation. This may introduce some clarifications as well. Thus, to summarize, we can say that the role of isolated members of the proposal lies in increasing the information load.

Test “Isolated members of a sentence”

Before moving on to the final part of the article, where we will summarize its results, I would like to write my own unique test with sentences to help the reader consolidate the knowledge gained about the isolation of minor members. Perhaps the test may seem easy to some, but in fact, it is precisely this type of task that is used to identify knowledge among secondary school students. educational institutions. Next there will be a task to which you need to answer, then answer options, and after that an explanation for those who answered the task incorrectly and the correct answer.

1. Which numbers correctly indicate ALL commas that should appear in the text? “He came to a lake (1) which was overflowing sunlight(2) and went somewhere further.”

Options: a) only 1; b) only 2; c) 1 and 2.

Explanation: “which shimmered in the sunlight and went somewhere further” - a construction consisting of two participial phrases. The participial phrase is one example of a separate definition. “Shimmered in the sunlight” and “went somewhere further” are two equal participial phrases that refer to the same word. This means there is no comma between them.

Correct answer: a.

2. In all the following cases, a sentence will be immediately written in which you need to place the commas correctly. “Everything was fine (1) except (2) that on the horizon there was already looming (3) a group of clouds gathered into one whole (4) predicting a thunderstorm (5) and heavy rain.”

Options: a) 1, 2, 5; b) 1, 3, 4; c) 2, 5; d) 1, 2, 4.

Explanation: “except” is an example of a separate object. It is not at the beginning of the sentence and not at the end, so it is isolated on both sides at once. “A group of clouds gathered into one whole” is a common definition, which is expressed by a participial phrase. There will be no separation at the pass location (3). But between “clouds” and “predicting” there is a necessary comma. “Thunderstorm” and “rain” are two equal additions that refer to the same word. Therefore, there is no need for a comma between them.

Correct answer: Mr.

3. “The sky (1) gradually (2) darkened (3) occasionally illuminated by the branches of lightning (4) and somewhere in the distance (5) peals of thunder (6) were heard, foreshadowing bad weather.”

Answers: a) 1, 2, 5; b) 2, 3, 4, 5; c) 3, 4, 6; d) 1, 5, 6.

Explanation: gaps 1 and 2 will not contain a comma, because there is no clarification there. “Occasionally illuminated by the ramifications of lightning” is a common isolated circumstance expressed by an adverbial phrase. It will be separated on both sides. “Foretelling bad weather” is a participial phrase at the end of a sentence. It is isolated on one side.

Correct answer: c.

Conclusion

So, what did we find out during this article?

  • Firstly, the use of isolated members of a sentence is done with the aim of giving the isolated fragment independence and increased information load.
  • Secondly, for isolation, commas and dashes are used in punctuation, and intonation is used in conversation.
  • Thirdly, isolated members of a sentence can only be secondary.

Isolated members of a sentence, a table for which will be presented below, may have the purpose of clarifying the time and manner of action, place. They are often also expressed by gerunds, participles and phrases. Cases with comparisons are not excluded at all.

One of the sections of syntax is the isolated members of a sentence. The Russian language presupposes the presence of such minor isolated members as: additions, circumstances, definitions, clarifications and comparisons.