Major components of the noun-head phrase 5 page

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 389.

The high frequency of prepositional phrases as adverbials is due to their common use as circumstance adverbials (by far the most common class of adverbials). Prepositional phrases are particularly suited to use as circumstance adverbials because they allow a wide range of meanings of this sort to be expressed. The prepositions themselves can convey a wide variety of relationships and the complement of the preposition can be selected to express the specific content of the phrase. Even a small number of examples can illustrate the widely variable uses for prepositional phrases as circumstance adverbials. Identification of location: You're not from this areathough are you ? (conv) Specification of the respect in which action of the verb is relevant: I wish they'd stop going on about Christmas.(conv); Identification of an agent: French astronomers report that a vast, hitherto-unknown galaxy at the very edge of the universe has been purchased by Japanese investors.(news); Expression of result: Two patients died as a consequence of the complications.(acad) Unlike circumstance adverbials realized by a prepositional phrase, many stance and linking adverbials have a more fixed meaning. For example, the same single adverbs expressing comments of certainty/doubt and style are repeatedly used as stance adverbials in clauses with very different content: That's probablywhy I've been getting low. (conv) If he had shouted class or guilt after it, it would probablyhave answered. (news ) These factors are probablyimportant in the development and regeneration of the nervous system. (acad) Well that's true of course.(conv) There must be a limit to how much cloth you can cram into any one house, but of courseit's disposable. (fict) I do not, of course,wish to argue that the writing of the authors discussed in this book represent the only significant streams of social thought. (acad) Frankly I think that's very bad. (conv) Frankly I don't know why I sit here drinking with you. (fict) Frankly, few societies would have tackled even the choreography of this week's presentation. (news)

Interestingly, the finite clauses and prepositional phrases realizing stance adverbials also tend to be more fixed expressions than the prepositional phrases realizing circumstance adverbials: If you want my opinion, the old boy's a terrifically distinguished Wales. (fict) Egypt, it seems,is not preparing or more realistically, does not haveme resources to change the environment. (news) Yet many of the crowd were kept interested by the possibility of victory,which is, I suppose,what derbies are about. (news) In factI might not even need to vacuum the floor. (conv) By any reckoning,Alun has done some good things. (fict)

The particularly strong preference of linking adverbials for single adverbsreflects their relatively fixed nature and more restricted repertoire. The saw relationship (exemplified below with contrast or concession) is often markedwith a single linking adverbial in texts with very different content. These fixed linkingadverbials tend to be single adverbs (including some multi-word expressions which have become single words, such as nevertheless): A further $13 a week goes on fuel. Nevertheless,families still manage to setaside Ј40.90 a week for leisure goods and services. (news) The 29 other defendants were found not guilty and acquitted. Only eight werereleased, however,because the other 21 face a second trial for "economic crimes". (news) Prepositional phrases used as linking adverbials, like those for stance adverbials, also tend to be more fixed phrases than those used as circumstance adverbials:"Gossip is mischievous, light and easy to raise, but grievous to bear and hard to get rid of." In other words,mud sticks. (news) While further compounding the small numbers problem, there were interesting differences between the two course types. For example,specialist students of control were almost twice as likely to be in work than those pursuing control n conversion mode. (acad) The promiscuous princess quickly becomes a pawn.As a result,the aging princess becomes bitter and cynical about men. (acad)

Positions of adverbials in the clause. An important characteristic of adverbials is that they can occur in a variety of positions in a clause. Four major positions can be distinguished, with some positions including more than one variant. It is also possible for more than one adverbial to occur at each of the positions.

Initial position.The adverbial is in the first position in the clause, occurring before the subject or other obligatory elements of the clause: In the nature of things, a good many somebodies are always in hospital. (fict) [Generally], [however], the plants under consideration have been annuals, seedlings or cuttings of perennials grown under controlled conditions. (acad)

Medial position.This includes all positions between obligatory initial and final clausal elements. Several more specific positions can be distinguished. First, adverbials can be placed between the subject and the beginning of the verb phrase: Jean neverput anything away. (conv) Mr. Chris Patten, the environment secretary, yesterday moved to mitigate the effects of the inland revenue revaluation. (news) When an operator is present, the adverbial can be placed after the operator before the main verb: Carrie had oftendreamed about coming hack. (fict) The utilisation of computers is not of courselimited to business. (acad)

Adverbials can also be placed after the main verb but preceding other obligatory elements of the clause, such as obligatory adverbials, subject predicatives, and direct objects. When this placement occurs with he as a main verb, it can be considered a special case of placement immediately after the operator: It is stillthree weeks away. (conv) For it is no longera casino. (fict) However, adverbials are also occasionally placed after other main verbs: Kathy Acker's off-the-shoulder dress displayed to advantageher collection of off-the-shoulder tattoos. (news) In this example the adverbial precedes the direct object of displayed. The adverbial is in the final position in the clause, after all obligatory elements (though it may not be the last element if there are other final adverbials in the same clause): And he's trailing some [in the hack window] [as well].(conv) There was an extensive literature on agriculture in Roman times which maintained a pre-eminent position until comparatively recently.(acad) In conversation and occasionally in dialog in fiction, speakers will co-construct clauses or clarify each others' speech so that one speaker adds an adverbial to another speaker's utterance, for example: A: I mean you don't have to pay for those. B: Oh for the films (conv) In these cases, when the second utterance is clearly an adverbial relating to the first speaker's utterance, the position is identified as other speaker main clause. In some cases, particularly due to the fragmented nature of conversation, adverbials occur without a main verb in a clause. In the following excerpt, for example, the meaning clearly is “your potato fork is on the table” but it is impossible to assign a precise position to the adverbial: Are you gonna have a potato fork? There you are. On the table.(conv) In overall frequency, final position is by far the most common position of adverbials. Initial and medial positions are relatively common, while adverbials connected to other speakers' main clauses are rare. Adverbials are expressed by an adverb (She sings beautifully), a noun (Wait a moment ), a gerund (Switch off the light before leaving the house), an infinitive phrase (We've come Britain to study the language), a participle (Sighing, Roberta told him the truth). It may also be expressed by a phrase (We met ten years ago), a predicative complex (There having been no rain, the earth was dry), or a clause (We stayed at home because it rained).

1.Circumstance adverbials.Semantically, adverbials are divided into seven major categories with several of the major classes having subclasses within them:

· Time:position in time, duration, frequency, temporal relationship;

· Place: distance, direction, position;

· Process:manner proper, comparison, accompaniment; means, instrument, agent;

· Contingency:reason,/cause, purpose, concession, condition, result;

· Extent/degree:amplifier, diminisher;

· Adition/restriction:addition, restriction;

· Recipient:

· Other:

Time adverbialsare used to convey four time-relatedmeanings. First, these circumstance adverbials can indicate position in time, telling when an event took place. Answering the question (when?), they express time proper: We'll meet tomorrow night(conv) Perhaps we can put that right in June. (news) It is not uncommon nowadaysto have many hundreds of cattle in one building. (acad)Another meaning of time adverbials is duration,describing how long an event lasted: Have you been here long? - A couple of hours. It was still raining.(conv) It lasted years. (conv)Time adverbials can also convey frequency, describing how often an event occurs: We often see each other (conv) Occasionally she would like to gaze out the window. (fict) Soon he was working once or twice a week round the local pubs. (news) Furthermore, the term register is sometimes used to refer to … (acad)Finally, time adverbials can convey the temporal relationship between two events/states: I want to clean the floor before I take a load of stuff in. (conv) After this the conversation sank for a while into mere sociability. (fict) Note that the store location accessed still contains a copy of the information. (acad)

Place adverbialsconvey distance, direction, or position. Place proper adverbials typically answer the question (where?), direction or destination - (where to? where from?), distance - (how far?) and include both general descriptions of distance and specific measurements: I had to go a long wayto put the camp behind me. (fict) John was born in Australia, but lives far from his parents, in England (fict) He had traveled some miles, his horse and he. (fict) A woman who fell 50 feetdown a cliff was rescued by a Royal Navy helicopter. (news)

Direction adverbials describe the pathway of an action. Some give a general orientation of the direction, for instance, southwards, while others describe direction from a point of origin, for instance, from here or towards a destination, for instance, to the capitol: And they went from here about - nine-ish, I suppose? (conv) You will admit that when you bring dung into the field it is to return to the soil something that has been taken away. (acad)

Position adverbials occur most often with stative verbs. However, as the following examples illustrate, they also occur with communication and activity verbs, e.g. discuss, build up:It would be cold up there. (conv) A Panamanian passenger bus lay in a ditch. (news) In the process an information model is nuilt up on a computer database.(acad)

Process adverbialscover a wide range of semantic roles and are a less unified group than place or time adverbials. The most common subcategory of process adverbials ismanner,which describes the way in which something is done.They characterize the action by indicating the way it is performed or by what means it is achieved (how? in what way? by what means?): We were franticallydoing that painting. (conv) I found myself writing slowly, and rewriting, [piecemeal], [endlessly].(fict) This is blue-sky country where they play their music in that western way.(news)

Adverbials of comparisoncan also be considered manner adverbials, comparing the manner of a state or action relative to another. Adverbials of comparison are introduced by the conjunctions than, as, as if, as though or the preposition like: A mountain is higher than a hill. Tom speaks French like a Frenchman. There are few better exponents of the art of looking as though life is a complete grind. (news) Then I would go through the refrigerator like a vacuum cleaner,sucking in whatever there was. (fict) The lip curled like a snail's foot,the left nostril gaped. (fict) Those adverbials that show accompaniment are also included under the category of manner. As the following examples illustrate, these adverbials lie along a continuum from clearly conveying manner to encompassing more ambiguous meanings: 1. I had dinner with Claythe other night. (conv) 2. I would feel safer leaving with somebody elseanyway. (conv) Such occurrences, as examples 1 and 2, contain adverbials that show physical accompaniment. Though they are not always obvious answers to a 'How?' question, they can be replaced with the opposite manner adverbials such as independently or by myself and thus fit the manner category most clearly. Process circumstance adverbials also include the subcategory of means - that is, adverbials telling the means by which an activity or state was accomplished: The US, as the country of origin for the uranium, had originally insisted that shipments be made by air.(news) We examined this question by excluding birds for 3 years from experimental plots. (acad) Thoughts are expressed by means of words (conv). Further, process adverbials include instrumentadverbials, describing the item used to undertake a task: Well you can listen to what you've taped with headphones.(conv) She tried a bottle; when it could not suck from the bottle she fed it with a teaspoon (fict) Finally, agentive adverbials specify the agentof an action and are used with passive constructions corresponding to the subject of an active voice construction: The naked crooks of his knees were plump, caught and scratched by thorns. (fict) Empirical data show that similar processes can be guided quite differently by users with different views on the purpose of the communication. (acad)

Contingency adverbialsshow how one event or state is contingent upon another, including: cause, reason, purpose, concession, condition,and result.

Despite the diversity in the category, several of the subcategories are closely related. In particular, cause and reason both answer the question 'Why?' Traditionally, cause has been associated with a relatively objective statement, as in 1, while reason has implied a more subjective assessment, as in 2: 1. He was buried under bricks, and died of head injuries.(news) 2. He's quite frightened cos he doesn't know you.(conv) In the majority of cases, however, it is difficult to judge the level of objectivity and thus to discern between cause and reason, as with the following examples: Well I can imagine other people wearing big earrings because they're super confident. (conv) Because Allitt opted not to go into the witness box, the defence case lasted just two and a half days. (news)

Purpose adverbials answer the identifying questions “What for?” “For what purpose?” They can be paraphrased as “for the purpose of”, as in the following examples: I've got to talk to you to explain what we're doing.(conv) They were pussy cats, and although some of them carried weapons, the knives were just for show. (fict) Other life insurers sought to increase their distribution networks, either increasing their branches or their personnel in a variety of ways in order to market their products in increasingly competitive environments. (news) Purpose adverbials are also closely related to reason adverbials. It is possible, for instance, to paraphrase the first example above as 'The reason I've got to talk to you is to explain what we're doing.' Concessive circumstance adverbials are used to express material that runs counter to the proposition of the rest of the clause or, in the case of adverbials realized as clauses, counter to the proposition in the main clause: 1700 miners have been out for seven months and, despite intimidation,no one has gone back to work. (news) Although it has been used by others, this book is written for beginning students who have had no previous college science courses. (acad) I suppose I wanted her timeless, though there is no such thing on earth. (fict)

Conditional adverbials express the conditions which hold on the proposition of the main clause, including both positive and negative conditions: And if you were in the moodwe could at least go. (conv) These people cannot operate unless they receive support.(news) Adverbials of condition answer the questions in what case? on what condition?: But for you I wouldn't be here in time. (conv) Without faith there can be no cure. (news) I would have done better to be followed my first thought. (fict)

Adverbials of result (consequence) expressed by an infinitive, an infinitive phrase or complex refer to an adjective or an adverb accompanied by an adverb of degree, such as too, enough, sufficiently, so...(as): It is too cold to go out. He spoke slowly enough for us to take notes. (conv)

Adverbials of concession express some idea that is in contradiction with what is stated in the modified part of the sentence: In spite of his anger John listened to me attentively.(conv) With all his faults, I like his way of speaking (fict). Though a bad painter, he had a delicate feeling for color. (news)

Adverbials of attendant circumstances express some fact at accompanies the event presented by the modified part of the sentence: We walked three miles without meeting anyone. "No," said Lisa, turning to his son.(conv)

Adverbials of subsequent events point out an event modifying the event presented in the modified part of the sentence: They said something to her, receiving no answer.(conv)

Extent/degree circumstance adverbials tell the extent to which a proposition holds, answering questions such as 'How much/many?' and 'To what extent?'Adverbials of degree modify various parts of the sentence expressed by verbs, adjectives, adverbs and statives, characterizing functions, states and quality from the viewpoint of their intensity: The story is extremely long. All was planned in the split second. Now you may read to your heart's content.(conv) Extent/degree adverbials can show amounts, either in exact terms or more generally: She's getting on a bit now. (conv) The government had predicted that rateable values would rise by about seven times. (news) They can either amplify the intensity of the clause proposition, sometimes called amplifiers or intensifiers, or lower the intensity, also called diminishers: In places the grass was gone altogether, (fict) She looked very much like her mother. (fict) The idea is for them eventually to be restored completely. (news) You know, I think you can fix it by pulling the prongs out a little bit. (conv) He hardly dared to look at what was framed in the hole in the sheet. (fict) The land tenure system varies slightly from place to place. (acad)

Additive adverbials show that a current proposition is being added to a previous one: 1. Someday you'll be old, too, Carol. (conv) 2. Known in Bolivia as the 'Minister of Cocaine', Mr. Arce Gomez alsohas a grisly human rights reputation. (news) 3. The tycoon, who is also chairman of Dublin-based independent newspapers, now has a 1.3 shareholding. (news) It is important to note that these additive circumstance adverbials have a slightly different focus from linking adverbials of addition. Unlike linking adverbials, additive circumstance adverbials do not serve primarily to link units of discourse; their primary purpose is to show that one bit of propositional content is being added to a previously mentioned idea or entity.

Restrictive adverbials emphasize that the proposition is true in a way which expressly excludes some other possibilities: The villagers say jokingly that onlya sick man would choose such a remote place to build. (fict) That is, the time taken to access a store location in order to store or retrieve information is constant and in particularis independent of the particular location being accessed. (acad) In some cases, adverbials combine qualities of both the restrictive and extent/degree categories. Particularly the adverb just, common in conversation, often seems to have qualities of both restricting the action and lessening the intensity: Ijustwant to show you the tape I bought. (conv) It's justthat he wanted to see Jenny in front of everyone else (conv) Well they just fell behind you know. (conv)

By the way, the word just is one of the very common adverbials in conversational discourse. It not only fulfils the primary semantic purpose of restriction, but also has more subtle functions that are especially useful in face-to-face interactions. The primary semantic role as a restrictive adverb is clear in the following examples, where just is used to focus on the part of the clause for which the truth value of the proposition is most important: I just can't believe it. (conv) It's just crazy! (conv) When used with imperatives, just has a somewhat different function, conveying a strong sense of “I'm not asking so much, only this one thing” or Don't argue; simply do as I say:

Just stay here! (conv) Just give me some water! (conv) However, in another context, just has the effect of softening what is being said. This occurs particularly when people are justifying their or others' actions, or making a claim on another's attention: I'm just correcting her! (conv) Let me just show you this. (conv) As these examples show, the slightly different impacts that just can have make it a useful adverbial for a variety of contexts in conversation. A feature shared by additive and restrictive adverbials is that, unlike many other adverbials, they often cannot be moved without affecting their meaning in the clause. The position of the adverbial is important in determining what element of the clause is the focus of the addition or restriction. Thus, the following pairs of sentences are not equivalent: A heart born especiallyfor me, Jackie used to tease. (fict) Especially a heart born for me, Jackie used to tease. Mr. Arce Gomez alsohas a grisly human rights reputation. (news) Also Mr. Arce Gomez has a grisly human rights reputation. (fict)

Recipient adverbials (including what are sometimes called benefactiveadverbials, typically expressed by for-phrases) identify the target of an action. In the majority of cases, the recipient is a person or group of people: 1. Did you hear what happened to me? (conv) 2. Okay and then I'll just write the check for you. (conv) 3. OHA will present the referendum results to the Democrat-controlled Legislature. (news) However, other animate and even inanimate objects can occur in recipient adverbials: 4. Special cages have been developed for wild mice.(acad) 6. I think we're getting that for our house.(conv) Recipient adverbials occur both in contexts that show volition and those that do not.

Adverbials of exception are expressed by nouns or preposition phrases: I looked everywhere except in the bedroom.(conv) Our cat eats nothing but fish. Your composition is good apart from spelling.(conv)

From the point of view of their connection with the headword, adverbials are divided into non-detached and detached. Detached adverbials being more loosely related to the modified parts of the sentence than non-detached adverbials are ever obligatory. They are separated from the rest of the sentence by intonation in speaking and by commas in writing. Owing to their structure and meaning, absolute constructions are nearly always detached: We saw the ship, its decks broken(fict). Participial phrases as adverbials tend to be detached: She then returned to her empty house, not having spoken a word. Any adverbial may be detached if the speaker wishes to emphasize its meaning. “She is my mother,” said Florance, happily. Independent elements are not grammatically dependent on any particular part of the sentence, but as a rule refer to the sentence as a whole. They are optional elements: they can be added to or removed from the sentence without the rest of the construction being affected. They may occur in different positions in the sentence, conveying different kinds of nuance and emphasis.Epistemic stance markers can also be used for emphasis: I need the person to go with because definitelyyou need a person to go with. (conv) In this example the reason clause does not give a reason; it simply restates the idea of the main clause with a stance adverbial conveying certainty. The above examples serve to illustrate the point that stance adverbials can be multi-functional in discourse. Though these functions can be important in all registers, they are often most obvious in conversation.

Although many circumstance adverbials clearly fit only one of the seven major semantic categories, not all occurrences of circumstance adverbials are so clear cut. First, there are many cases in which adverbials fit primarily into one category, but have secondary roles that fit another semantic category. Manner adverbials in particular often include aspects of another semantic category; for example, slowly and quickly in the examples below are not only descriptions of the manner of an action, but can also be interpreted as describing duration: I've started but it's going rather slowly.(conv) They evidently expected him to go quickly.(fict) Other manner adverbials can include a meaning of extent/degree: They have no desire to investigate this matter properly.(news) The disease pattern has changed radically.(acad) In addition, certain adverbials have extremely ambiguous meanings. The ambiguity in the use of just as restrictive and extent/degree was noted above. ing-clauses often present an even greater problem for interpretation. These clauses typically have an implicit and somewhat ill-defined relationship with the main clause. Consider the following: 1.Watching him as the days went by, the guilty collector had noticed signs of physical and moral decline. (fict) 2. Three weeks ago Swedish and Scottish police searched Talb's flat in Uppsala, removing fifteen bags of clothing.(news) 3. The result of the operation is placed in the accumulator, destroying its previous contents. (acad) In 1, the adverbial clause could be interpreted as showing a concurrent time relationship (i.e. while watching him, the collector noticed the decline) or as giving a reason (i.e. because he watched him, the collector noticed the decline). In 2 and 3, the adverbial clause could be interpreted as describing a result, a concurrent time relationship, or an event that happened in a time sequence. Circumstance adverbials can also serve functions similar to linking adverbials. Much of the information in circumstance adverbials creates cohesion with information that has come before. For example, the time adverbials then and meanwhile show the connection between the events in the previous clause and the subsequent clause: He plonked the bottle on the table, and shambled muttering round the corner. Then he put his head back into sight. (fict) The 21 sambas originally submitted were whittled to one. Meanwhile, seamstresses and tailors all over Rio made costumes. (news) With adverbials such as these, the connective function is made semantically, through the circumstantial information which indicates time relationships. Thus, they are still categorized as circumstance adverbials. Place, time, process, and contingency are the four most common categories of adverbials in all four registers; however, their order of frequency varies across registers: