Analysis of the indefinite-personal sentence in the novel “Master and Margarita” by Bulgakov M.A.

Terskikh T. F.

The article deals with the semantic and structural properties of the indefinite-personal sentences, in which the subject, indicating the 3d person in plural, may express in the discourse not only the plurality, but the singularity of the subject. Indefinite-personal sentences in the modern Russian are related to a certain range of situations, when the acting one is not seen by the speaker, and its action are perceived by ear; when the common reaction of people or actions of governmental bodies are described. It is known, that the predicate of the indefinite-personal sentence is always in the plural form and may correlate with various quantitative constitution of subjects (from an undefined multiplicity to the one). The article analyzes the indefinite-personal sentences in the novel “Master and Margarita” by Bulgakov M.A., where the predicate of the indefinite-personal sentences is always in form of the 3d person in plural. The absence of the expressed subject in the indefinite-personal sentences does not violate its semantic integrity, as there is no element in the language system, which could apply for this role. There are also considered the ways of subject interpretation, its singularity or plurality, distancing of the subject of speech from the subject of action, unnamedness of the subject. All this helps M. Bulgakov to express the relation to the world with help of the indefinite-personal sentences, not imposing his opinion on the reader.

Keywords:indefinite-personal sentences, subject, certainty/ uncertainty, subject zero, subject stance of distance.