Transcript EDUC 5658 Adjectival and adverbial function

Adjectives and
adjectival
function: adverbs
and adverbial
function
Sandra Powell
What’s the difference between
adjective and adjectival? Adverb
and adverbial?
Word class: Adjectives and adverbs are single
words. When we analyze parts of speech, we’re
looking at a word and asking, “What can I do
with this word? What kinds of slots does it fill in a
sentence?”
Functions: Sometimes, bigger units... phrases
and clauses... function the same way as singleword adjectives or adverbs. We say these
bigger units have adjectival or adverbial
function in a sentence.
What’s the difference between
adjective and adjectival? Adverb and
adverbial?
Grammar terminology:
Not all grammars use the terminology “adjectival”
and “adverbial.” Here are some key terminology
differences:
Adverbial prepositional phrase = prepositional phrase
(function not named)
Adverbial clause = adverb clause
Adjectival clause =adjective clause = relative clause
What is adjectival function?
Function: refers to relationships between the parts of
a sentence.
Different structures may perform the same function.
Adjectival function: When a word, phrase, or
clause (these are all types of structures)
characterizes or modifies or describes one of the
noun phrases in a sentence, it is functioning as an
adjectival.
An adjectival is closely associated with, and
dependent on, a noun.
Examples of adjectivals
In the passage
on the right,
everything in
colour is
adjectival
Red: adjectives
Light blue:
adjective
(relative)
clauses
Green:
Participial
phrases
Dark blue:
adjectival
prep.phrase
I bought an expensive pair of
shoes. I went to the store to
replace an old, worn-out pair of
sneakers, but I ended up buying some
open-toed sandals with really high heels.
Most of the shoes lying on the floor of
my closet are much cheaper than my
new shoes. These are the most
expensive shoes that I have ever owned.
I never used to care about my shoes,
but recently, I’ve become obsessed with
shoes...…obsessed with fashionable,
good-looking shoes that cost an arm and
a leg!
Adjectives: word class
In a sentence, single-word adjectives have 2
typical positions:
1. Before a noun
Adjectives come after determiners (articles,
possessive determiners) and before the noun: my
new pair of shoes, a cold day
2. After a copular/linking verb ( S V SC)
Adjectives function as Subject Complement
(the defining feature of a copular verb is that it can be
followed by an adjective that modifies/ describes/
characterizes the subject)
That coffee smells good.
I became angry.
The weather has been mild this year.
Adjectives: inflections
There are 2 inflections that can be attached to adjectives (but
not to other kinds of adjectivals… only to actual adjectives):
-er (comparative) My dad is nicer than your dad!
-est (superlative) My dad is the nicest guy I know.
However, adjectives that are longer than 2 syllables (difficult,
expensive, probable) don’t take these inflections. Instead,
they use extra words “more” and “most” to form
comparatives and superlatives:
more: These shoes are more expensive than my old shoes.
most: These shoes are the most expensive shoes in the shop.
Teaching: Comparative and
superlative
-er My dad is nicer than your dad!
-est My dad is the nicest guy I know.
more: These shoes are more expensive than my old shoes.
most: These shoes are the most expensive shoes in the
shop.
At beginner to low intermediate levels, a PPP-type lesson on
comparative and superlative forms, focused on a context
where we COMPARE things, greatly expands the range of
things that ELLs can express in English.
Teaching: Comparative and
superlative
Some contexts for comparison that might be relevant to your
ELL’s lives:
Life before the Internet and our life now.
City life and country life.
Your old school and your school now.
Dogs and cats.
Winter and summer.
Sports activities and arts activities.
Compare and rate some movies that you’ve seen.
Compare and rate your favorite school classes.
What other contexts can you think of?
Adjectives: sentence analysis
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell whether a word
should be classified as a VERB, or ADJECTIVE, when
it is used adjectivally.
Verb (participle), or adjective?
The student sleeping in the back of the classroom has
begun to snore. How embarrassing.
“Sleeping” has adjectival function in this sentence, but
is it an adjective?
Adjectives: word class
One test (relying on intuition/implicit knowledge) is that
adjectives can be modified with VERY, but verbs cannot:
Adjectives: intensifier “very”
I am very sleepy
a very sleepy girl.
Verbs: don’t use “very”
XX I am very sleeping.
XX a very sleeping girl
“Sleeping” is adjectival when we say “a sleeping girl”, but it
is not an adjective… it is a participle of the verb “sleep.” The
–ing participle can be used in slots where we might expect a
NOUN or ADJECTIVE
-ing used as a noun: Often called GERUND
-ing used adjectivally: Often called a PARTICIPIAL or VERBAL
Adjectives: word class
Another test, relying on implicit grammatical
knowledge, to check whether a word that comes after
BE is an adjective or a verb:
Test #2: Adjectives after BE: don’t change form in
simple past: I am sleepy
I was sleepy yesterday
Verbs after BE: can be changed to simple past:
I am sleeping
I slept yesterday.
(This test also determines whether BE is a
copular/linking verb or an auxiliary. If we can change
the form of the word after BE to simple past, then BE is
an auxiliary)
Adjectives: learner language
Learners may make errors because they do not have
this implicit knowledge of the difference between what
we can do with adjectives and with verbs:
XX Yesterday, I was very sleeping in class. Sorry.
XX I became wake up at 6:00 this morning.
XX The weather was colded yesterday.
In error correction or feedback, don’t introduce
complex grammar terminology like “adjectival” or
“participial.” Keep it simple….
Adjectives: learner language
XX Yesterday, I was very sleeping in class. Sorry.
“You can’t say ‘very sleeping’ because ‘sleeping’ isn’t an
adjective. You can say ‘ I was very sleepy’ or ‘I was
sleeping.’”
XX I became wake up at 6:00 this morning .
“You can’t say ‘I became wake up’ because you need an
adjective after ‘become.’ You can say ‘I woke up.’”
XX The weather was colded yesterday.
“’Cold’ is an adjective, so you can’t add –ed to it. You
can say ‘the weather became/got cold yesterday.’”
Adjectives: learner language
Some other typical learner problems from 1st language
interference:
In many languages, the words that are similar to English
adjectives are inflected to agree with the noun they describe:
XX those expensives shoes (No plural form for adj)
XX a tall man, a talle woman (No feminine form)
The typical position for adjectives may be after a noun:
XX those shoes expensive, a man tall
Learners from many 1st language backgrounds may put
the adjective before determiners:
XX dear my teacher, cold this weather
In many languages, Noun – Adjective is a complete,
grammatical sentence so learners don’t use linking verbs:
XX My shoes expensive.
Everyone very happy.
Adjectives versus other adjectivals:
position in a noun phrase
Adjectives come BEFORE the noun in a noun phrase.
However, other kinds of adjectivals (adjective clauses,
participial phrases, prepositional phrases… any
adjectival that is more than 1 word) usually come
AFTER the noun they modify:
(adjectives) fantastic new black shoes
(adjective clause) the shoes that I bought last week
(participial phrase) the shoes advertised in the flyer
(prep. phrase) shoes with really high heels
Adjectival function: participles
VERBS in English have 4 inflected forms:
(For the irregular verb ‘take’)
Base+s: takes Ving (present participle): taking
Simple past: took
Past participle: taken
For REGULAR verbs, there are really only 3 forms, because
the simple past is the same as the past participle.
(For the regular verb ‘close)
Base+s: closes Ving (present participle): closing
Simple past: closed
Past participle: closed
The participle forms can be used adjectivally, to
describe a noun.
Adjectival function: participles
Why is this important for understanding
adjectivals?
The 2 participle forms - Ving and past participle –
are always used WITH AN AUXILIARY if they are used
as verbs (verb function). The auxiliary carries tense.
The children are shouting. They have shouted some
really bad words! The words that were shouted
echo unpleasantly in my ears.
Adjectival function: participles
Why is this important for understanding
adjectivals?
The 2 participle forms used WITHOUT an auxiliary can
be adjectival… they describe/modify/characterize
nouns.
The shouting children ran away. Their shouted
words echo unpleasantly in my ears!
(note that there is a different verb in the sentence,
filling the verb slot. The participle is not a verb here.
It is adjectival, describing a noun.)
Teaching: multi-word adjectives after noun, and
especially participles, cause problems in
reading/listening comprehension
When there is a long adjectival after a subject
noun, ELLs can lose track of what the sentence
means:
Those shoes with really high heels lying
on the floor of my closet…..
(ELL thought process: “whoa… what`s
the subject here? Is ‘lying’ the verb in the
sentence?” )
Those shoes with really high heels lying on the
floor of my closet.... cost a lot of money.
(“Huh? What cost a lot of money? The floor? The
closet? The heels? NO... The shoes!”)
Teaching: multi-word adjectives after subject
noun, and especially participles, cause problems
in reading/listening comprehension
Look for complicated noun phrases with long
adjectivals in reading materials, and focus attention
on them to help students process the grammar in
these sentences:
For example, in a news article:
A new virus with alarming similarities to the SARS
virus that caused several deaths in 2009 has been
found in ducks in China.
Ask a question to focus attention on this sentence:
What has been found in ducks in China? Deaths? The
SARS virus? Similarities? (correct answer: a new
virus)
Teaching: multi-word adjectives after subject
noun, and especially participles, cause problems
in reading/listening comprehension
Use whiteboard to show the sentence structure,
with the goal of improving reading
comprehension:
with alarming similarities to the SARS virus that
caused several deaths in 2009
A new virus
has been found in ducks in China.
Adverbs and adverbial
function
 Adverbial
function:
OPTIONAL parts of
a sentence that
add information
about where,
when, why, how,
how much....
Of course, I understand
you.
Of course, I understand
you when you speak
English.
Of course, I usually
understand fairly well
when you speak English.
The blue parts are all
adverbials
Adverbs and adverbial
function
Adverbs and
adverbials can
modify...
... The VERB
... An ADJECTIVE
I walked quickly
I was completely happy.
.... Another ADVERB
I walked really quickly.
Or the adverb can
apply to the whole
sentence
Of course, I understand
you.

Adverbs and adverbial
function
The one thing we can say for sure is that
adverbials do not modify a noun. It’s a very
miscellaneous function!
Structure of adverbials
Adverbials can be...
 A single word
adverb
 An adverb phrase
 A prepositional
phrase
 A clause
I love you passionately.
I love you very passionately.
I love you with all my heart.
I love you because you are
my soul mate.
Adverbs and adverbial
function
 Most
prepositional
phrases are
adverbial.
 It’s common to
have several of
this kind of
adverbial in one
sentence.
I walked in the park
with my friends
for a long time.
Before class,
as a homework
assignment,
please read chapter 10.
Adverbs and adverbials:
position in a sentence


Of all the sentence
elements,
adverbials are most
flexible in their
position. Adverbs
can usually be
moved around a
little in a sentence.
This is a good test of
whether it’s
adverbial or not.
I walked in the park
with my friends
for a long time.
I walked for a long time
with my friends in the
park.
Before class, as a
homework assignment,
please read chapter 10.
Please read chapter 10
before class as a
homework assignment.
Position in a sentence: Frequency
adverbs that go inside the verb phrase

Adverbs that tell “how
often?” usually go in the
middle of the verb phrase.

BEFORE single-word verb
other than BE
AFTER copular/linking verb BE
BETWEEN auxiliary and main
verb


ELLs need a lot of practice with
these adverbs . They may put
the adverb at the beginning or
end (also possible) to avoid the
problem of placement within
the verb phrase.
Children usually like
ice cream
Children always resist
going to bed early.
Children are seldom
quiet. Children are
sometimes annoying.
Children can never sit
still for a long time.
Children have often
been misunderstood.
Adverbial clauses
Begin with a subordinating conjunction:
when, if, because, while, since…..
 Contain a complete sentence, including
Subject and Verb (with tense).
 Can be moved around in the sentence. The
clause is not attached to a specific word or
phrase in the sentence, unlike an adjective
clause.
 For some practice in distinguishing between
Adverbial and Adjective/relative clauses, see
Sandra’s Powerpoint Adverbial and Adjective
clauses

Questions
about the
Powerpoint?
I’d be happy to talk
grammar with you!
Sandra Powell