One of the means of expressing the author’s attitude to the topic of the text is the use of a certain type of speech, which has its own compositional features. The main types of speech are description, narration And reasoning.
Description depicted any phenomenon of reality by listing it permanent or simultaneously present signs or actions(the content of the description can be conveyed in one frame of the camera).
In the description, words denoting qualities and properties of objects (nouns, adjectives, adverbs) are most often used. Verbs are often used in the form of the imperfect past tense, and for special clarity and descriptiveness of the description - in the form of the present tense. Synonyms are widely used - definitions (agreed and uncoordinated) and denominative sentences.
For example:
The sky was clear, clean, pale blue. Light white clouds, illuminated on one side by a pink shine, floated lazily in transparent silence. The East was red and flaming, shimmering in some places with mother-of-pearl and silver. From beyond the horizon, like giant outstretched fingers, golden stripes stretched up the sky from the rays of the sun that had not yet risen. (A.I. Kuprin)

Description helps to see the object, to imagine it in the mind.

Narration- this is a type of speech that is used to talk about any events in their time sequence; sequential actions or events are reported (the content of the narrative can be conveyed only in a few frames of the camera).

In narrative texts, a special role belongs to verbs, especially in the imperfect past tense form ( I came, I saw, I developed etc.).
For example:
And suddenly... something inexplicable, almost supernatural, happened. The mousey Great Dane suddenly fell onto his back, and some invisible force pulled him off the sidewalk. Following this, the same invisible force tightly engulfed the astonished Jack's throat... Jack planted his front legs and shook his head furiously. But an invisible “something” squeezed his neck so tightly that the brown pointer lost consciousness. (A.I. Kuprin)

Narration helps to visualize the actions, movements of people and phenomena in time and space.

Reasoning- this is the type of speech with which any position or thought is proven or explained; talks about cause and effect events and phenomena, assessments and feelings (about what cannot be photographed).

In argumentative texts, a special role belongs to introductory words, indicating the connection of thoughts and the sequence of presentation. (firstly, secondly, so, thus, therefore, on the one hand, on the other hand), as well as subordinating conjunctions with the meaning of cause, effect, concession ( in order to, in order that, since, although, despite the fact that etc.).
For example:
If a writer, while working, does not see behind the words what he is writing about, then the reader will not see anything behind them.
But if the writer clearly sees what he is writing about, then the simplest and sometimes even erased words acquire newness, act on the reader with striking force and evoke in him those thoughts, feelings and states that the writer wanted to convey to him. (K. G. Paustovsky)

Attention! The boundaries between description, narration and reasoning are quite arbitrary. At the same time, the text does not always represent any one type of speech. Much more common are cases of their combination in various versions: description and narration; description and reasoning; description, narration and reasoning; description with elements of reasoning; narration with elements of reasoning, etc.

The school curriculum necessarily includes the topic: “Types of speech: description, narration, reasoning.” But after a while, knowledge tends to be erased from memory, so it would be useful to consolidate this important issue.

What are types of speech? What functions do they perform?

Types of speech: description, narration, reasoning - this is how we talk about the subject. For example, let's imagine an ordinary table in the office or at home in the kitchen. If you need to describe this item, you should describe in detail what it looks like and what is on it. Such text will be descriptive in nature, therefore, we are talking about description. If the narrator begins to reason about what this table is for, whether it is too old, whether it is time to change it to a new one, then the chosen type of speech will be called reasoning. A text can be called a narration if a person tells the story of how this table was ordered or made, brought home and other details of the appearance of the table in the apartment.

Now a little theory. Types of speech are used by a storyteller (author, journalist, teacher, announcer) to convey information. Depending on how it is presented, the typology is determined.

Description is a type of speech whose purpose is a detailed story about a static object, image, phenomenon or person.

Narration informs the developing action by conveying certain information in a temporal sequence.

With the help of reasoning, the flow of thought regarding the subject that caused it is conveyed.

Functional and semantic types of speech: description, narration, reasoning

Types of speech are often called functional-semantic. What does it mean? One of the meanings of the word “function” (there are many others, including mathematical terms) is role. That is, speech types play a certain role.

The function of description as a type of speech is to recreate a verbal picture and help the reader see it with inner vision. This is achieved through the use of adjectives in various degrees of comparison, participial phrases, and other speech means. This type of speech can most often be found in artistic style. A description in a scientific style will differ significantly from an artistic one in the unemotional, clear flow of the story, the obligatory presence of terms and

A narrative is characterized by a depiction of an action, situation, or specific incident. Using verbs and short, succinct sentences, this type of speech is often used in news reporting. Its function is notification.

Reasoning as a type of speech is characterized by a variety of styles: artistic, scientific, business and even colloquial. The pursued goal is to clarify, reveal certain features, prove or refute something.

Features of the structure of speech types

Each type of speech is characterized by a clear structure. The following classical form is typical for the narrative:

• string;
• developments;
• climax;
• denouement.

The description does not have a clear structure, but it differs in such forms as:

• a descriptive story about a person or animal, or an object;
• detailed description of the place;
• description of the condition.

Similar examples are often found in literary texts.

Reasoning is fundamentally different from previous types of speech. Since its goal is to convey the sequence of a person’s thought process, the reasoning is structured as follows:

• thesis (statement);
• arguments, along with examples given (proof of this statement);
• final conclusion or conclusion.

Speech types are often confused with styles. This is a grave mistake. Below we will explain how styles differ from types.

Types and styles of speech: what are the differences?

In Russian language textbooks the concept appears: What is it and are there any differences between styles and types?

So, style is a complex of certain speech means used in a specific area of ​​communication. There are five main styles:

1. Colloquial.
2. Journalistic.
3. Official business (or business).
4. Scientific.
5. Art.

To see, you can take any text. The type of speech which will be presented) is present in both scientific and journalistic styles. we choose for daily communication. It is characterized by the presence of colloquial expressions, abbreviations and even slang words. It is appropriate at home or with friends, but upon arrival at an official institution, for example, a school, university or ministry, the style of speech changes to businesslike with scientific elements.

Newspapers and magazines are written in a journalistic style. News channels broadcast using it. The scientific style can be found in educational literature; it is characterized by many terms and concepts.

Finally, the art style. He wrote books that we read for our own pleasure. He is characterized by comparisons (“the morning is beautiful, like the smile of a loved one”), metaphors (“the night sky showers gold on us”) and other artistic expressions. By the way, description is a type of speech that is quite often found in fiction and, accordingly, in the style of the same name.

The difference is this: you can describe, reflect or narrate using different styles. For example, when talking about a flower in an artistic style, the author uses a lot of expressive epithets to convey to the listener or reader the beauty of the plant. A biologist will describe the flower from a scientific point of view, using generally accepted terminology. You can reason and narrate in the same way. For example, a journalist will write a feuilleton about a carelessly plucked flower, using reasoning as a type of speech. At the same time, the girl, using a conversational style, will tell her friend how a classmate gave her a bouquet.

Using Styles

The specificity of speech styles makes their successful juxtaposition possible. For example, if the type of speech is description, then it can be supplemented by reasoning. The same flower can be described in a school wall newspaper, using both a scientific or journalistic and artistic style. This could be an article about the valuable properties of a plant and a poem praising its beauty. In a biology lesson, the teacher, using a scientific style, will offer students information about the flower, and after that he can tell a fascinating legend about it.

Type of speech description. Examples in the literature

This type can be conventionally called an image. That is, when describing, the author depicts an object (for example, a table), a natural phenomenon (thunderstorm, rainbow), a person (a girl from a neighboring class or a favorite actor), an animal, and so on ad infinitum.

Within the description, the following forms are distinguished:

Portrait;

Description of the condition;

Examples of landscapes can be found in the works of classics. For example, in the story “The Fate of Man” the author gives a brief description of the early post-war spring. The pictures he recreated are so vivid and believable that it seems as if the reader sees them.

In Turgenev's story "Bezhin Meadow" landscapes also play an important role. Using a verbal image of the summer sky and sunset, the writer conveys the powerful beauty and power of nature.

To remember what a description is as a type of speech, it is worth considering another example.

“We went on a picnic outside the city. But today the sky was gloomy and became increasingly unfriendly towards evening. At first the clouds were a heavy gray hue. The sky was covered with them, like a theater stage after a performance. Although the sun had not yet set, it was already invisible. And then lightning appeared between the dark curtains of the clouds...”

The description is characterized by the use of adjectives. It is thanks to them that this text gives the impression of a painting, conveys to us color and weather gradations. For a descriptive type story, the following questions are asked: “What does the described object (person, place) look like? What signs does it have?

Narration: Example

Discussing the previous type of speech (description), it can be noted that it is used by the author to recreate the visual effect. But the narration conveys the plot in dynamics. This speech type describes events. The following example tells what happened to the heroes of a short story about a thunderstorm and a picnic later.

“... The first lightning did not scare us, but we knew that this was just the beginning. We had to pack our things and run away. As soon as the simple dinner was packed into the backpacks, the first drops of rain fell on the blanket. We rushed to the bus stop."

In the text, you need to pay attention to the number of verbs: they create the effect of action. It is the depiction of the situation in the time period that are signs of the narrative type of speech. In addition, to a text of this kind you can ask the questions “What came first? What happened next?

Reasoning. Example

What is reasoning as a type of speech? The description and narration are already familiar to us and are easier to understand than a text-reasoning. Let's go back to the friends who got caught in the rain. One can easily imagine how they discuss their adventure: “...Yes, we were lucky that a summer resident motorist noticed us at a bus stop. It's good that he didn't pass by. It's good to talk about a thunderstorm in a warm bed. It wouldn’t be so scary if we were at the same stop again. A thunderstorm is not only unpleasant, but also dangerous. You can't predict where lightning will strike. No, we will never go to the country again without knowing the exact weather forecast. A picnic is good for a sunny day, but in a thunderstorm it’s better to drink tea at home.” The text contains all the structural parts of reasoning as a type of speech. In addition, you can ask him questions characteristic of reasoning: “What is the reason? What follows from this?

Finally

Our article was devoted to types of speech - description, narration and reasoning. The choice of a specific speech type depends on what we are talking about in this case and what goal we are pursuing. We also mentioned characteristic speech styles, their features and close relationship with types of speech.

Types of speech are varieties of language depending on what we want to convey in the text: tell, depict or prove something.

There are three types of speech: narration, description, reasoning. As a rule, speech types are rarely found in their pure form; they are usually combined.

Thus, for example, a narrative may include elements of description, or a description may include elements of reasoning.

Narration

To the texts of the narrative, you can ask the question: what happened?

The purpose of narrative texts is to tell about an event, a fact of reality. The narrative texts reflect several episodes and events interconnected.

Narrative texts are structured according to the following scheme: exposition, plot, development of action, climax, denouement. One of the properties of storytelling is dynamism. The leading part of speech is a verb, which allows you to convey dynamics, as well as special words with the meaning of time (first, then, then, in the morning, in the evening, etc.).

The basis of the narrative is the unity of the temporal plan, that is, the verbs must be in the same tense and be of the same type. Narration is typically used in literary or conversational texts.

Description

For description tests, you can ask the question: what (what) is the subject?

The purpose of description tests is to describe objects. An image of an object or a description of a phenomenon is created by listing its characteristics. The object of description is static, there is no dynamics in the description.

The compositional scheme of the description text is as follows: beginning, main part, ending. At the beginning, as a rule, the subject of description is named, then the characteristics of the subject are listed, on the basis of which a complete image of the subject of description is formed, and at the end a conclusion is drawn - a general assessment of the subject.

The characteristics of an object are conveyed by adjectives, participles or predicate verbs. Just like narration, the unity of the types of time plan is important in the description. As a rule, simple sentences are used in the description, although often complex ones are used.

Description is used in texts of any style.

Reasoning

For reasoning tests, you can ask the question why? The purpose of description tests is to affirm or deny any fact, phenomenon, concept; in addition, the reasoning texts reveal cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena.

The texts of the argument are constructed according to the following scheme: thesis, arguments, conclusion. The thesis is the main idea that is proven in the text, the arguments are the evidence with which the thesis is proven, the conclusion is the result of reflection.

Texts of reasoning can be divided into reasoning-proof (why?), reasoning-explanation (what is it?), reasoning-reflection (how to be?). Any vocabulary is used in reasoning; the unity of the species-time plan is not important for reasoning. Reasoning is used in texts of any style.

Types of visual and expressive means

Tropes (based on the lexical meaning of the word)

Epithet- a word that defines an object or phenomenon and emphasizes any of its properties, qualities, characteristics. Typically an epithet is used to describe a colorful definition:
Your thoughtful nights are transparent twilight (A.S. Pushkin).

Metaphor- a trope in which words and expressions are used in a figurative meaning based on analogy, similarity, comparison:
And my tired soul is enveloped in darkness and cold (M. Yu. Lermontov).

Comparison- a trope in which one phenomenon or concept is explained by comparing it with another. Usually comparative conjunctions are used:
Anchar, like a formidable sentinel, stands alone - in the entire universe (A.S. Pushkin).

Metonymy- a trope based on the replacement of one word with another of similar meaning. In metonymy, a phenomenon or object is denoted using other words or concepts, while their connections and characteristics are preserved:
The hissing of foamy glasses and blue flames of punch (A.S. Pushkin).

Synecdoche- one of the types of metonymy, which is based on the transfer of meaning from one object to another based on the quantitative relationship between them:
And you could hear until dawn how the Frenchman (meaning the entire French army) rejoiced (M. Yu. Lermontov).

Hyperbola- a trope based on excessive exaggeration of certain properties of the depicted object or phenomenon:
For a week I won’t say a word to anyone, I keep sitting on a stone by the sea (A. Akhmatova).

Litotes- trope opposite to hyperbole, artistic understatement:
Your Spitz, your lovely Spitz, is no bigger than a thimble (A. Griboyedov).

Personification- a trope based on the transfer of properties of animate objects to inanimate ones:
Silent sadness will be consoled, and joy will be playful and reflective (A.S. Pushkin).

Allegory- a trope based on replacing an abstract concept or phenomenon with a concrete image of an object or phenomenon of reality:
Medicine is a snake wrapped around a cup, cunning is a fox, etc.

Periphrase- a trope in which the direct name of an object, person, or phenomenon is replaced by a descriptive expression that indicates the characteristics of a not directly named object, person, or phenomenon:
The king of beasts is the lion.

Irony- a technique of ridicule that contains an assessment of what is being ridiculed. Irony always has a double meaning, where the truth is not what is directly stated, but what is implied:
Count Khvostov, a poet beloved by heaven, was already singing in immortal verses the misfortunes of the Neva banks (A.S. Pushkin).

Stylistic figures

They are based on a special syntactic structure of speech.

Rhetorical appeal- giving the author’s intonation solemnity, pathos, irony, etc.:
O you, arrogant descendants... (M. Yu. Lermontov).

A rhetorical question- a structure of speech in which a statement is expressed in the form of a question. A rhetorical question does not require an answer, but only enhances the emotionality of the statement:
And will a beautiful dawn finally rise over the fatherland of enlightened freedom? (A.S. Pushkin)

Anaphora- repetition of parts of relatively independent segments, otherwise anaphora is called unity of beginning:
It’s as if you curse the days without light, as if the gloomy nights frighten you (A. Apukhtin).

Epiphora- repetition at the end of a phrase, sentence, line, stanza.

Antithesis- a stylistic figure based on opposition:
And day and hour, both in writing and orally, for the truth, yes and no... (M. Tsvetaeva).

Oxymoron- combination of logically incompatible concepts:
Living corpse, dead souls, etc.

Gradation- grouping homogeneous members of a sentence in a certain order: according to the principle of increasing or decreasing emotional and semantic significance:
I do not regret, do not call, do not cry. (S. Yesenin)

Default- deliberate interruption of speech in anticipation of the reader’s guess, who must mentally complete the phrase:
But listen: if I owe you... I own a dagger, I was born near the Caucasus. (A.S. Pushkin)

Nominative themes (nominative representations)- a word in the nominative case or a phrase with the main word in the nominative case, which stands at the beginning of a paragraph or text and in which the topic of further discussion is stated (the name of the subject is given, which serves as the topic of further discussion):
Letters. Who likes to write them?

Parcellation- deliberate breaking of one simple or complex sentence into several separate sentences in order to draw the reader’s attention to the highlighted segment and give it (the segment) additional meaning:
The same experience has to be repeated many times. And with great care.

Syntactic parallelism- identical construction of two or more sentences, lines, stanzas, parts of text:
The stars shine in the blue sky,
The waves splash in the blue sea.
(sentences are constructed according to the following scheme: adverbial place with attribute, subject, predicate)
A cloud is walking across the sky, a barrel is floating in the sea. (A.S. Pushkin)
(sentences are constructed according to the following scheme: subject, adverbial place, predicate)

Inversion- violation of the generally accepted grammatical sequence of speech:
A lonely sail whitens in the blue fog of the sea. (M. Yu. Lermontov)
(according to the rules of the Russian language: A lonely sail whitens in the blue fog of the sea.)

Means of connecting sentences in the text

Lexical means:

• Lexical repetition- repetition of a word or use of a word with the same root. For scientific and official business texts, word repetition is the main means of communication. Quite often used in descriptions.
• Synonymous replacement- replacing a word in one sentence with a synonym or synonymous expression in another. It is usually used where colorful speech, its imagery, expressiveness are needed - journalistic, artistic styles.
• Two sentences can be related generic relations: genus as a broader concept, species as a narrower one.
  There are many trees in this forest. But first of all, you notice the trunks of your favorite birch trees.
• Using antonyms.
• Using words from the same thematic group.
  There are many Karamazovs in Russian life, but still they do not direct the course of the ship. Sailors are important, but even more important for the captain and the sailboat is the tiller and the star towards which the ideal is oriented.

Functional and semantic types of speech (description, narration, reasoning)

It is customary to distinguish three main types of speech: narration, description and reasoning.

Narration- a story, a message about an event, action, phenomenon occurring in time.

In a narrative, it is usually possible to determine the place and time of action, the character, and the chronological sequence of what is happening. This is the story of what happened. The use of perfective verbs in the past tense is typical (though not mandatory) for narration.

Nikolka locked the safety and put the revolver in his pocket. He climbed over a pile of broken bricks, and then, like a fly along a sheer wall, inserting socks into such holes that in peacetime not even a penny would fit.(M.A. Bulgakov. “The White Guard”)

This passage lists the hero's sequential actions. This is storytelling.

Description- this is a type of speech with the help of which any object or phenomenon of reality is depicted by listing its constant or simultaneously present signs or actions.

Werner was short, thin, and weak, like a child; one of his legs was shorter than the other, like Byron; in comparison with his body, his head seemed huge: he cut his hair into a comb, and the irregularities of his skull, discovered in this way, would strike a phrenologist as a strange tangle of opposing inclinations. His small black eyes, always restless, tried to penetrate your thoughts. Taste and neatness were noticeable in his clothes; his thin, wiry and small hands showed off in light yellow gloves. His coat, tie and vest were always black.

(M.Yu. Lermontov. “Hero of Our Time”)

This passage depicts the appearance of the hero. This is a description.

Description can be contrasted with narration in the sense that description represents a static picture of reality, and narration tells about the dynamics of events.

Most often, the appearance or personal qualities of the character, landscape, interior, place and time of action (for example, city and era) are described.

If the text talks about regularly repeated actions (for example, describing a character's typical day), then it is a description, not a narrative.

In the morning he drinks two glasses of cold milk: he takes a jug from the cupboard, pours it and drinks without sitting down.

(Y.K. Olesha. “Envy”)

Although this passage lists the character's actions, it is a description, not a narrative, because these actions are regular and repeated every morning.

Reasoning- a series of thoughts on any topic. Such a text sets out the speaker’s point of view and provides arguments for or against this point of view.

The reasoning expresses the point of view of the author or characters, sets out the cause-and-effect relationships of events or phenomena, justification, proof or refutation of any idea. Often the reasoning ends with a conclusion.

The latest statistical census determined the population of the Union republics at one hundred and forty-three million people. If we discard the ninety million peasants who prefer benches, beds, heaps to chairs, and in the East - worn carpets and rugs, then there are still fifty million people left in whose household chairs are essential items.

(I. Ilf and E. Petrov. “Twelve Chairs”)

This passage provides initial information - the population size, from which a conclusion is drawn through logical conclusions - an estimate of the minimum possible number of chairs in the country. This is reasoning.

All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

(L.N. Tolstoy. “Anna Karenina”)

One passage of text and even one sentence may contain several types of speech at once. Quite often there is a narrative with elements of description.

Footsteps were heard at the front door, and Princess Betsy, knowing that it was Karenina, looked at Vronsky. He looked at the door, and his face had a strange new expression. He joyfully, intently and at the same time timidly looked at the woman entering and slowly rose up. Anna entered the living room. As always, keeping herself extremely straight, with her quick, firm and easy step, which distinguished her from the gait of other society women, and without changing the direction of her gaze, she took those few steps that separated her from her hostess, shook her hand, smiled, and with that smile looked back at Vronsky. Vronsky bowed low and pulled out a chair for her.

This task tests your knowledge of functional and semantic types of speech; to put it simply, you must distinguish between description, narration, reasoning, and see their elements in the text.

To the legitimate question “why?” I will answer: in addition to understanding the text, you must construct the text, and for this, imagine what types of speech to use for this or that text.

What types of speech are there?

There are three of them: narration, description and reasoning.

They are recognized by several characteristics:

• purpose of information transfer;
• text structure;
• linguistic means (words, parts of speech, syntactic structures).

Narration

This is the simplest thing it can be. The purpose of the message is to tell about EVENTS that occur in time, therefore the narrative is characterized by a PRESENTATION of actions sequentially: got up, walked, came, then sat down, and so on. If there is dialogue and perfect verbs most often in the past tense, then this is a narrative.

Description

The purpose of the description is to GIVE AN IMAGE about an object, phenomenon, process. Linguistic means can be any, here you need to carefully look at the function of the text: if there is a story about the sides of the subject, aspects of the phenomenon, then this is a description. Quick question: what type of speech is this? Demosthenes strove to become a good orator. To do this, he went to the seashore and shouted for hours, training the power of his voice. Sometimes he would stuff his mouth with stones and pronounce words, trying to perfect his diction. Yes, there are a lot of verbs here, but this is a description! Only the process, not the subject.

Reasoning

You will laugh, but this is NOT a narrative or a description. Yes, reasoning is identified by excluding the first two; for the sake of order, I will give a definition from the textbook: reasoning is the presentation of thoughts in a logical sequence. Such a text contains a certain thought (thesis), evidence (arguments) and a conclusion.

It is important to remember that it is almost impossible to find “pure” types of texts, so in the assignment you will see such formulations as “elements of reasoning”, “contains a description”, etc.

Let's look at a version of this task from the 2015 demo:

Which of the following statements are true? Please provide answer numbers.

1) Sentences 4–5 contain description.

2) Sentences 22–23 contain reasoning.

3) Sentences 24–25 contain narration.

4) Sentences 37–41 contain descriptive elements.

5) Sentence 43 contains an element of description.

Let's start in order:

(4) During the day, the fifth company was actually cut off from the rest of the regiment. 5) Supply and communication with the rear occurred only at night.

There are events that happen sequentially (during the day, then at night), this is a narrative.

(22) We didn’t find Konakov in his dugout. (23) On a rusty bed, obtained from nowhere, a senior sergeant was snoring, covering his head with an overcoat, and a young signalman was sitting hunched over in the corner with a receiver hanging from his ear.

The 22nd is narration, the 23rd is description. There is no reasoning here.

(24) Konakov soon appeared, pushed the foreman, and he, hastily putting his hands into the sleeves of his overcoat, took the captured machine gun from the wall and crawled out of the dugout.

(25) The captain and I sat down by the stove. Konakov appeared, pushed, he took off, got out, we sat down - the actions take place in time, this is a narrative.

We walked the entire front line from the left flank to the right, saw trenches, single cells for soldiers with small niches for cartridges, rifles and machine guns laid out on the parapet, two light machine guns on the flanks - in a word, everything that should be on the front line. (38) There was only one thing missing - there were no soldiers. (39) Throughout the defense we did not meet a single soldier. (40) Only the foreman. (41) Calmly and leisurely, with earflaps pulled down over his eyes, he moved from rifle to rifle, from machine gun to machine gun, and fired a burst or a single shot at the Germans... The descriptive elements are sentence 37, which gives an idea of ​​what the trench looks like, although the rest is narrative.

This is how this task is solved.

The material was prepared by Karelina Larisa Vladislavovna, teacher of the Russian language of the highest category, honorary worker of general education of the Russian Federation