Transcript adverbial

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME GRAMMAR OVERDOSE?
CHILDHOOD’S END
CLAUSE  SENTENCE
CHILDHOOD’S END 
Phrases perform certain
functions: S, V, O, C & A
Phrases: NP, VP, AP, AdvP, PP
Individual words: N, V, Aux, Det, P, A, Adv…
ADVERBIALS
…and all about them!
ADVERBIALS – general info
 An ADVERBIAL is a sentence element which gives extra
information about the time, place, manner, etc. of the
event/state described by the rest of the clause.
 The adverbial differs from the other four sentence
elements (S, V, O, C) in several ways:
 it has a wider range of meanings (time, place, manner, etc.)
 it has a wider range of forms (AdvP, NP, PP, clause)
 it has a wider range of positions (initial, medial, final)
 it has the possibility of multiple occurrences (This time last year
Angelina and I were hiking for many days over beautiful Peruvian
mountains.)
ADVERBIALS – syntactic classes
 There are THREE SYNTACTIC CLASSES of adverbials,
depending on how integrated they are into the structure of
the clause.
PERIPHERAL to the structure of the clause,
they have a CONNECTIVE FUNCTION
CONJUNCTS
DISJUNCTS
PERIPHERAL to the structure of the clause,
they convey the SPEAKER’S COMMENT
ADJUNCTS
INTEGRATED into the structure of the clause
ADVERBIALS – syntactic form
ADVERBIALS
PHRASES
AdvP
NP
CLAUSES
PP
finite
non-finite
verbless
ADVERBIALS – syntactic classes
 There are 7 syntactic tests for showing that adjuncts are
more integrated into the structure of the clause,
unlike disjuncts or conjuncts:
Yes, adjuncts ARE integrated into the
clause structure – EVIDENCE #1
 ADJUNCTS CAN BE FOCUSED BY CLEFT SENTENCES:
 However, John is dating Angelina this week.
 However, it is this week, that John is dating Angelina.
 DISJUNCTS AND CONJUNCTS CANNOT BE FOCUSED
BY CLEFT SENTENCES (SOUNDS ODD):
 However, John is dating Angelina this week.
 It is however, that John is dating Angelina this week.
Yes, adjuncts ARE integrated into the
clause structure – EVIDENCE #2
 ADJUNCTS CAN BE THE FOCUS OF A QUESTION
(CONSTITUENT QUESTION):
 However, John is dating Angelina this week.
 When is John dating Angelina? (A: This week.)
 DISJUNCTS AND CONJUNCTS CANNOT BE THE
FOCUS OF A QUESTION:
 However, John is dating Angelina this week.
 ??? is John is dating Angelina this week? (A: However.)
Yes, adjuncts ARE integrated into the
clause structure – EVIDENCE #3
 ADJUNCTS CAN BE THE FOCUS OF A QUESTION:
 However, John is dating Angelina this week.
 Is John dating Angelina this or next week? (A: This week.)
 DISJUNCTS AND CONJUNCTS CANNOT BE THE
FOCUS OF A QUESTION:
 However, John is dating Angelina this week.
 Is John is dating Angelina this week however or whatever?
(A: However.)
Yes, adjuncts ARE integrated into the
clause structure – EVIDENCE #4
 ADJUNCTS ARE CONTAINED IN PREDICATION
ELLIPSIS:
 However, John graduated in 1999.
 However, John graduated in 1999 and so did Angelina?
 DISJUNCTS AND CONJUNCTS CANNOT BE
CONTAINED IN PREDICATION ELLIPSIS:
 However, John graduated in 1999.
 However, John graduated in 1999 and so did Angelina. (≠:
However, John graduated in 1999 and however Angelina
graduated in 1999?
Yes, adjuncts ARE integrated into the
clause structure – EVIDENCE #6
 MOST ADJUNCTS CANNOT APPEAR IN THE INITIAL
POSITION IN NEGATIVE DECLARATIVE CLAUSES:
 However, John left quickly.
 Quickly John didn’t leave.
 DISJUNCTS AND CONJUNCTS CAN APPEAR IN THE
INITIAL POSITION IN NEGATIVE DECLARATIVE
CLAUSES:
 To my regret, John left quickly.
 To my regret, John didn’t leave quickly.
ADVERBIAL POSITIONS
ADVERBIALS: their position and order
She was killed WITH A KNIFE / IN HER APARTMENT / AROUND 3 O’CLOCK IN THE
MORNING / YESTERDAY. < STILL TERRIBLE, BUT GRAMMATICALLY OK
She was killed AROUND 3 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING / IN HER APARTMENT /
YESTERDAY / WITH A KNIFE /. < TERRIBLE, AND GRAMMATICALLY WRONG
ADVERBIALS: their position
What can we learn from this sentence:
At that time, he somehow used to sort of be always
seeking, I don’t know how to say it, a religiously valid
reason, I guess, to attack him as soon as possible.
A language of an uneducated person?
Think again!
You’re looking at the sentence uttered by this man:
ADVERBIALS: their position
AL GORE, US presidential candidate and Nobel prize winner (and the narrator of the
Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
ADVERBIALS - position
 Compared to other syntactic constituents, the adverbial can be placed
with relative freedom in several positions in a sentence.
 For example, the adjunct by then can be inserted in seven different
positions in the following sentence:
MEDIAL
FINAL
The book should have been returned to the library .
INITIAL
INITIAL
↓ The book
MEDIAL
↓ should ↓ have ↓ been
FINAL
↓ returned
↓ to the library ↓ .
INITIAL POSITION
 INITIAL POSITION: before the subject:
 By then, the book should have been returned to the library.
 Sometimes we go hiking at weekends.
 Last year we organized a huge party for her birthday.
 Today we are going to talk about adverbials.
MEDIAL POSITION
 MEDIAL POSITION: in or around the VP.
 Depending on the complexity of the VP, there may be several available medial
positions:
M1: after the subject, before the first auxiliary (no modal) or
modal, before the lexical verb (in a simple VP)
e.g. This HARDLY is my business. I SIMPLY do not understand you.
M2: after BE as a lexical verb (in a simple VP), between two
auxiliaries (if there are only two), between the auxiliary (the only
one) and the lexical verb
e.g. They have JUST been arrested. She is STILL your friend.
M3: between the second and the third auxiliary
e.g. The book should have BY THEN been returned to the library.
M4: between the third auxiliary and the lexical verb
e.g. The book should have been BY THEN returned to the library.
FINAL POSITION
 FINAL POSITION: after the lexical verb and other obligatory
elements.
F1: immediately after the lexical verb or after an
obligatory complement
e.g. I paid immediately for the book. I haven’t finished my report yet.
F2: after a non-obligatory element or, simply, at the end of
the sentence
e.g. I paid for the book immediately.
SO, NOW WE KNOW ABOUT THEIR
POSITIONS…
LET’S BUILD UPON THAT
FOUNDATION
MORE PROPERTIES OF ADVERBIALS
ADVERBIALS – OPTIONALITY
 Adverbials are often said to be OPTIONAL sentence
elements, i.e. “the adverbial is the optional constituent; it can
be left out of the clause; all others are obligatory.” (David
Crystal)
 However, that is not always the case, as you will see in the
next slide.
ADVERBIALS - OPTIONALITY
 Compare the following sentences:
 Anne is Scottish.
 Anne is a Scotswoman.
WHAT IS ANNE (LIKE)?
 Anne is from Scotland. WHERE DOES ANNE COME FROM?
 Anne is in Scotland.
WHERE IS ANNE?
THE FIRST TWO EXAMPLES CONTAIN A LINKING/COPULA VERB “BE” FOLLOWED
BY A SUBJECT COMPLEMENT. THE VERB “BE” CANNOT BE REPLACED WITH ANY
OTHER VERB, I.E. THE SENTENCE CANNOT BE PARAPHRASED WITH ANY OTHER
VERB.
THE LAST TWO EXAMPLES CONTAIN AN INTRANSITIVE VERB “BE” FOLLOWED BY
AN ADVERBIAL. THE VERB “BE” CAN BE REPLACED WITH OTHER VERBS, I.E. THE
SENTENCE CAN BE PARAPHRASED WITH E.G. COME, STAY OR LIVE. THESE
ADVERBIALS ARE OBLIGATORY.
FACEBOOK IS WHERE YOU TALK TO THE WALL.
*FACEBOOK IS.
ADVERBIALS - OPTIONALITY
 Of course, adverbials are also obligatory in
sentences that follow the SVOA pattern
(COMPLEX TRANSITIVE VERBS):
 He put the book on the shelf.
 She put the cheese back.
 He threw the paper in the bin.
ADVERBIALS
ADVERBIALS
 Generally, a RAG-BAG category in linguistic systems:
 usually negatively defined as sentence elements which are not
VERBS and DO NOT have a participant function in the clause
 Sometimes positively defined as sentence elements that provide
answers to the questions how/why, where and when. (Crystal)
 Somehow adverbials that answers to the questions how/why,
where and when seem PROTOTYPICAL.
ADVERBIALS: Their Meaning
ADVERBIALS
 Etymology: from Latin adverbium:
ad (“to”) + verbum (“word”)
Therefore they are also sometimes defined in the following way
(Sinclair 1990): “An adverbial is a word or a group of words that you
add to a clause when you want to say something more about the
circumstances of an event or a situation, for example, when it
occurs, how it occurs, how much it occurs or where it occurs.”
 These definitions present adverbials as sentence elements with a
secondary importance.
 Some idea of the actual frequency of adverbials and their
importance in communication can be had from the following
example:
David sat /silently/ /in the grass/, watching the insects which lay /at
different angles from one another/ /on numerous blades of grass/,
/like ships out in the roadstead/. A caterpillar started to wriggle
/towards him/, /peering/ /this way and that/ /with interrogatory
antennae/. A large cricket jumped /to the handrail of the old bench/,
/swaying/ it /slightly/ and cleaning its face /like a cat/. / Only then
/ did David realize that a large tarantula climbed / onto his arm / / looking
for a nice place /to bask/ /in the afternoon sunshine/.
ADVERBIALS
 Actually, ADVERBIALS are the most important sentence
elements from the point of view of
COMMUNICATION.
 They are the sentence elements which contain THE
MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF INFORMATION
AND THE CRUCIAL DETAILS ABOUT THE STATE
OR ACTIVITY EXPRESSED BY THE VERB.
 Look at the previous passage with adverbials omitted:
David sat. A caterpillar started to wriggle. A large cricket jumped. David realized
that a large tarantula climbed onto his arm (obligatory adverbial).
TIME
(HYPOTHETICAL)
PURPOSE
 In another life, I would
make you stay, so I don’t
have to say you were the
one that got away.
 I would make you stay.
REASON
 I should’ve told you
what you meant to me,
‘cause now I pay the
price.
 I should’ve told you
what you meant to me.
EVOLUTION:
MANNER
CAUSE
 Populations of organisms gradually change in response to
their environment.
 Populations of organisms change.
 You could CONDITION
be doing
(HYPOTHETICAL)
many wonderful things,
if you were not sitting at
your computer.
 You could be doing
many wonderful things.
ADVERBIALS: their meaning
You will get killed.
CONDITION
(REAL POSSIBILITY)
You will get killed IF YOU DON’T DRIVE CAREFULLY.
ADVERBIALS:LOCATION
their meaning
They camped AT THE BEACH.
They camped.
TIME-WHEN
ADVERBIALS:
their meaning
WHEN HE WAS A BOY, he used to dream of owning a sailboat.
He used to dream of owning a sailboat.
INSTRUMENT
ADVERBIALS: their meaning
The scientist examined the sample WITH A MICROSCOPE.
The scientist examined the sample.
ADVERBIALS:MANNER
their meaning
They walked HAND IN HAND.
They walked.
ADVERBIALS
He ran.
 A sentence without adverbials.
Naturally, when he saw an
Albertosaurus, he ran as
fast as he could.
 A sentence with adverbials.
ADVERBIALS: their other meanings









If possible (A), ring me later. [contingency]
Although he's young (A), he's good. [concession]
While she slept (A), I worked. [contrast]
I would go, except I can't (A). [exception]
Knowing her (A), I chose a red one. [reason]
I fed the stray, to gain its trust (A). [result]
The dog obeyed, as instructed (A). [comparison]
I would fight, rather than quit (A). [preference]
Ankara, I believe (A), is the capital. [comment = disjunct]
IN OTHER WORDS…
 WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO.
 WELCOME TO THE BEAUTIFUL,
INTRICATE, SOMETIMES COMPLEX
AND ALWAYS FUZZY WORLD OF
SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION OF
ADVERBIALS.
SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION OF
ADVERBIALS (i.e. their meanings)
ADJUNCTS
SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION
SEMANTIC TYPES OF ADJUNCTS
Process
Space/
Place
Subjuncts
Respect/
Viewpoint
Time
Adjuncts
Modality
Contingency
Degree/
Intensifier
Focusing
1. ADJUNCTS – PROCESS
 They favor the FINAL position
 Some can take the MEDIAL position
 Co-occurrence possible:
She was accidentally struck with a racket by her partner.
2. ADJUNCTS – SPACE / PLACE (1/2)
 Co-occurrence is possible. Relative order is fixed:




distance + position: He swam a mile in the open sea.
direction + position: He fell into the water near that rock .
distance + direction: She walked a few steps towards him.
two of the same subtype: position smaller/more specific + position bigger/less specific
 Many people eat in restaurants
in London.
 goal + source or source + goal (depending on information structure):
 We flew from Cairo to Istanbul. We flew to Istanbul from Cairo.
 Only adverbials of same meaning can be coordinated:
 I drove down Gower Street and into University College /*several miles.
2. ADJUNCTS – SPACE / PLACE (2/2)
Position of SPACE ADJUNCTS in the sentence:
 Normally, they take FINAL positions
 If they are clustered, the order is:
DISTANCE – DIRECTION – POSITION
She walked [a few steps] [towards him] [in the dark]
 SPACE ADJUNCTS OF POSITION can be moved to INITIAL
position:
On the top of the building, two men were gesticulating wildly.
Some space adjuncts denoting POSITION AND DIRECTION cause
subject-operator inversion (LOCATIVE INVERSION) when they are
placed initially:
Here he is!
There was the book.
Down swooped the hawk.
3. ADJUNCTS – TIME (1/5)
 They typically favor the FINAL position.
 However, they can often take the INITIAL position:
In 1982, the economy started to recover.
For many years, no one wanted to buy the house.
 Some, especially short adjuncts (such as: always, often, just, recently,
already) take the MEDIAL position:
She often arrives late.
You could then take a train to London.
3. ADJUNCTS – TIME (2/5)
TIME ADJUNCTS – SUBCLASSIFICATION
TIME ADJUNCTS
TIME
WHEN/POSITION
DURATION
(backward/forward
span)
FREQUENCY
OTHER TIME
RELATIONSHIP
3. ADJUNCTS – TIME (3/5)
 TIME ADJUNCTS – SUBCLASSIFICATION:
 TIME WHEN/POSITION – answers the question WHEN?
See you tomorrow / then.
 Two of the same type: more specific + less specific
I’ll see you [at nine] [on Monday].
 However, if one of the two adjuncts is very long, the order is: shorter + longer
I lived there in the fifties when my first child was born.
 DURATION (backward/forward span) – three subtypes:
 Duration of specific or indefinite length: answers the question HOW LONG?
He walked for 6 hours.
He waited from 1 to 5.
He worked all day.
 Duration – forward span: answers the question TILL WHEN?
He will arrive till / until five o’clock. He didn’t arrive until 5. (till + negation)
 Duration – backward span: answers the question SINCE WHEN?
He will arrive till / until five o’clock. He didn’t arrive until 5. (till + negation)
3. ADJUNCTS – TIME (4/5)
 TIME ADJUNCTS – SUBCLASSIFICATION:
 FREQUENCY
 Frequency of occasion: answers the question HOW MANY TIMES?
He did it twice. He sent that message three times.
 Frequency of period: answers the question HOW OFTEN?
He is paid daily/monthly.
 Definite frequency: TWICE, DAILY
 Indefinite frequency – four subsets on the scale:
 UNIVERSAL FREQUENCY: always
 HIGH FREQUENCY: often, frequently
 USUAL OCCURRENCE: usually, generally
 LOW FREQUENCY: seldom, hardly ever, never
o low frequency time adjuncts sometimes cause NEGATIVE INVERSION when
they are in the initial position:
Never have I seen such a play.
 OTHER TIME RELATIONSHIPS: previously, again, already…
3. ADJUNCTS – TIME (5/5)
 When time adjuncts co-occur, their relative order is:
1. DURATION – 2. FREQUENCY – 3. POSITION
I was there [for a short while] [every day or so] [last year].
4. ADJUNCTS – CONTINGENCY
 Mostly occur in the INITIAL and FINAL positions.
 When they co-occur in the FINAL position, the order is:
1. RESPECT – 2. PROCESS – 3. SPACE – 4. TIME – 5. CONTINGENCY
Many people died [in Africa] [in the 20th century] [from malnutrition].
IMPORTANT NOTE: CAUSE vs. REASON
CAUSE (no subject’s control): She died of cancer.
REASON (subject’s control): Working hard, she got promoted.
5. ADJUNCTS – FOCUSING
 They don’t favor any position in particular.
 The general rule for their position is that they are placed before the
focused element:
She had also questioned only her patients only the previous week also.
 If the whole predication is focused, they take medial position:
She had only questioned her patients the previous week.
HOWEVER, not all focusing expressions are really adjuncts:
He only wants to help. (ADJUNCT)
Only he wants to help. (MODIFIER OF NP)
6. ADJUNCTS – DEGREE/INTENSIFIER
7. ADJUNCTS - MODALITY
8. ADJUNCTS – RESPECT/VIEWPOINT
9. ADJUNCTS - SUBJUNCTS
 Very similar to MANNER adjuncts.
 They favor the INITIAL position:
Nervously, he answered the phone. (SUBJUNCT)
He answered the phone nervously. (MANNER ADJUNCT)
THE END OF ADJUNCTS
HOWEVER, THERE ARE ALSO
DISJUNCTS AND CONJUNCTS
DIGRESSION: frequent words
 The most frequent words in English are:








THE
A
IS
ARE
WAS
WERE
DID
DO
 However, these are just INDIVIDUAL WORDS.
 We know that language actually operates on UNITS LARGER THAN
WORDS: PHRASES and CLAUSES
 So, what do you think, what is the most frequent phrase/clause in the
English language?
THE MOST FREQUENT
PHRASE/CLAUSE IN ENGLISH:
IMPORTANT NOTE:
THIS REFERS TO
SPOKEN ENGLISH
YOU KNOW /j’ nou/
Closely followed by:
I mean, I suppose, You see, Sort of and
similar expressions.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOU SEE…
AN EXAMPLE
IS THIS GOOD
ENGLISH?
 When
my sister and I were children, we had a small, ahm, a little,
sort of, patch, you know, cunningly a bit tucked away at the
back of somewhere at our place and we used to grow tomatoes
and the odd vegetable.
 I mean, I've always felt that's an important part of , you know,
one's connection with nature and the soil, and so, I suppose, that
was part of it.
 But
thenWANT
whenTO
I, you
know, when I came down here, and I just
IF YOU
SOUND
wanted
stuck in and I'd always wanted
to do a bit of farming
LIKEto
ANget
EDUCATED
OFFICIALLY, THIS IS
- PERSON,
I'm not YOU
very SHOULDN’T
good at it but fortunately there
are lots of other
REALLY BAD
LIKEto
THIS.
peopleTALK
around
help.
ENGLISH!
WHO IS, THEN, THIS PERSON?
 Who is this person that tortures and abuses the beauty of the
language of Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, Joyce, etc?
 Who is this uneducated scum of the earth who dares ruin the
perfection of English as it has evolved over two millennia?
 What is his walk of life, education and social background?
 PRINCE CHARLES > heir to the throne of England and the
man married to a Camel
YOU KNOW, YOU SEE, I MEAN…
 ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE DISJUNCTS, ACTUALLY.
DISJUNCTS
RELEVANT POINTS
DISJUNCTS
DISJUNCTS
STYLE
DISJUNCTS
Comment the style, form,
conditions of speaking
CONTENT/
ATTITUDINAL DISJUNCTS
(comment the truth value of an
utterance)
CERTAINTY
EVALUATION
DISJUNCTS: more info
 Disjuncts are typically PPs and CLAUSES.
 STYLE DISJUNCTS convey either:
 Speaker’s assertion of truth (truthfully), or
 Speaker’s indication of generalization (broadly).
 ATTITUDINAL DISJUNCTS comment on:
 TRUTH VALUE OF THE SENTENCE (CERTAINTY)
 General: certainly
 General + perception: obviously
 General + comment on reality of content: really
 CONTENT OF COMMUNICATION (EVALUATION)
 General: understandably
 General + comment on clause subject: wisely (similar to subjuncts)
CONJUNCT
RELEVANT POINTS
CONJUNCTS (1/2)
 They have a CONNECTIVE FUNCTION between SENTENCES
(sometimes, they are called SENTENCE LINKERS)
 Most typically, they take the INITIAL POSITION, but they are not
restricted to it.
 Sometimes, they can take the MEDIAL and FINAL position:
CONJUNCTS (2/2)
 There are many classifications of conjuncts, below there is a
list of THE MOST FREQUENT classes of conjuncts (there
are many other classes, which are not given here):
CONJUNCTS: add-on
 According to most textbooks there are two more groups:
 INFERENTIAL CONJUNCTS:
 They convey an inference from what is implicit in the preceding sentence
or sentences:
 Else, otherwise, then, in other words, in that case
 TEMPORAL TRANSITION CONJUNCTS:
 They convey that the temporal ordering is simultaneous with the previous
sentences (similar to TIME ADJUNCTS):
 In the meantime, in the meanwhile…
CONJUNCTS: add-on
 Also, according to most textbooks there are four subtypes of
CONTRASTIVE CONJUNCTS:
 REFORMULATORY CONTRASTIVE CONJUNCTS:
 BETTER, RATHER, IN OTHER WORDS…
 REPLACIVE CONTRASTIVE CONJUNCTS:
 AGAIN, ALTERNATIVELY, RATHER, BETTER, WORSE, ON THE OTHER
HAND
 ANTITHETIC CONTRASTIVE CONJUNCTS:
 CONTRARIWISE, CONTRASTINGLY, CONVERSLY, INSTEAD,
OPPOSITELY, ON THE CONTRARY, IN CONTRAST, IN COMPARISON,
ON THE OTHER HAND…
 CONCESIVE CONTRASTIVE CONJUNCTS:
 ANYHOW, ANYWAY, BESIDES, ALSE, HOWEVER, NONTHELESS,
NEVERTHELESS, NOTWITHSTANDING, STILL,YET, IN ANY CASE, AT
ANY RATE, FOR ALL THAT, ALL THE SAME…
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!
CU SOME TIME IN APRIL!
THE END