Comprehensive Study of English Adverbials: Conjunts, Disjuncts, and Adjuncts

1. Time adjuncts are used to specify various temporal characteristics of the event or situation represented by the clause, such as its location or extension in time. Thus we can recognize time adjuncts which refer to definite points in time or limited periods of time, as in He first met her in 1982. Other time adjuncts specify a time span in relation to the speech moment, either backward in time or forward in time, as in the example: I’ve been here since last Friday, and I’m staying until Tuesday. Time adjuncts expressing duration, by contrast, are not oriented towards the speech moment: Mary lived in Sheffield for eight years. Time adjuncts can also be used to indicate frequency, that is, how often something happens, as in They go to Brighton every summer.

2. Place adjuncts are used to specify the location of an event or a situation, as in They live in a small village, or to specify various features of movement, such as source (or starting-point), path, distance, and goal. In the example: They walked from the church along the river to the market square. We find three space adjuncts expressing source, path, and goal, respectively.

3. Under the heading process adjuncts we may gather several subcategories which specify various important characteristics of the action expressed by the verb phrase. Thus within the category of process adjuncts we find adjuncts expressing manner, instrument, means, and agent, as in the following examples:

He wiped his hands carefully on the towel. (manner)
By spreading some nasty rumours he tried to discredit his opponent. (means)
He signed the letter with a leaking fountain-pen. (instrument)
Last year, 16 sheep were killed by wolverines here. (agent)

Manner adjuncts are obligatory after normally transitive verbs (ergative verbs) when these are used intransitively to ascribe a permanent property to the referent of the subject (cf. lecture 14), as in Her skin bruises easily. The poem reads well.

4. Similarly, under the heading contingency adjuncts we may gather four important categories, namely adjuncts of reason, purpose, condition, and concession. These adjunct types are usually realized as subclauses: finite, non-finite, and verbless (more about these clause types in lectures 19–22). The characteristic subordinating conjunctions that signal these adjunct types are because, since, and as for reason, in order to + infinitive (or just a to-infinitive) for purpose, if or unless for condition, and although or though for concession:

Sue stayed at home, because she had a cold. (reason)
John stopped to catch his breath. (purpose)
If necessary, repeat the procedure. (condition)
It was cold, though the sun was shining. (concession)

5.

Degree adjuncts are used to indicate what we may call the intensity of the verbal action, either strengthening it or weakening it. This strengthening effect, or scaling upwards, is found with adverbs such as much, fully, highly, badly, as in John needed the money badly.

The weakening effect, or scaling downwards, is found with adverbs such as little, slightly, somewhat. Little can be fronted, in which case the clause must undergo Subject-Auxiliary inversion, as in Little did he know what the future held in store for him.

6.

Focusing adjuncts are used in order to focus attention on a particular part of the clause, or to restrict the reference of the focused element. There is a fairly small class of adverbs that can be used as focusing adjuncts, e.g.: restrictive: alone, exclusively, just, merely, only, solely; chiefly, especially, mainly, notably, primarily, specifically
additive: also, equally, even, likewise, similarly, too. The focused element often receives nuclear stress, as in Even Jòhn appreciated the smoked oysters.

Viewpoint adjuncts are used to specify a particular point of view from which the proposition is to be seen. In the example Scientifically, the project was a huge success. the adverbial scientifically can be paraphrased as ‘from a scientific point of view’. Adverbs formed by adding the suffix -wise to a noun are commonly used as viewpoint adjuncts in informal English, especially American English:

How are you doing, moneywise?

8.

Respect adjuncts are realized by prepositional phrases or subordinate clauses of the type as far as X is concerned. They serve to indicate in what respect the action described in the clause is/was/will be carried out, or in what respect a characterization is true. These adjuncts are easily moved to initial position.

As far as travelling facilities are concerned, we have obviously made a popular decision; but with respect to the date, many people are expressing dissatisfaction.
He was in a thoroughly sound condition as regards intellect.

1.

Fact-evaluating disjuncts are used to express the speaker’s evaluation, in emotional terms, of an event or situation that is taken to be a fact, as in Fortunately, no lives were lost in the fire. Sadly, they never met again after the war.

2.

Modal disjuncts, on the other hand, are used to express the speaker’s views on how likely it is that the proposition is true; hence they are sometimes called truth-evaluating disjuncts. The meaning of modal disjuncts comes close to the meaning of modal auxiliaries expressing epistemic modality (cf. lecture 12). Typical examples would be:

Apparently, they never received your letter.
Obviously, he must have misunderstood you.
She may possibly be at home.

As the last two examples show, it is possible for a modal, or truth-evaluating, disjunct to co-occur with a modal auxiliary expressing the same epistemic modality.

3.

Subject-evaluating disjuncts are used to express the speaker’s subjective evaluation of the actions of the referent of the subject:

He sensibly refrained from further comments.

Adverbs used as subject-evaluating disjuncts can be related to adjectives functioning as subject Predicatives with a clausal subject:

S

V

sP

That he refrained from further comments

was

sensible.

4.

Style disjuncts are used to express the speaker’s comment on how the message is worded or how the utterance is to be interpreted. As examples of the first use we may find expressions such as briefly, to put it gently, not to put too fine a point on it, and so on. Examples of the second type would be frankly, honestly, seriously, etc.

5.

The term comment disjunct will be used here for those disjunct types that lack a label in EGTU: comment clauses and sentential relative clauses. Both clause types will be taken up in greater detail in later lectures; for our present purposes we may note that both types allow the speaker to insert a clause element that provides a comment on the content of the rest of the clause. Comment clauses are often short, formulaic expressions:

You know, I don’t think this is correct.
Why are you so late? Well, you see, my car broke down, so I had to walk.

A clause introduced by as can be used to comment on the communicative status of the utterance (already known to hearer, already stated by speaker, etc.):

John has resigned, as you may have heard.
As I keep saying, we can’t solve these problems without increased funds.

A sentential relative clause, finally, allows the speaker/writer to insert any kind of comment on the content of a clause:

John said he couldn’t help me, which is ridiculous. She forgot to sign the letter, which she was to regret later.

Most of the children wanted to go to the beach,

but Mary preferred to stay at home. (conjunction)

Most of the children wanted to go to the beach.

However, Mary preferred to stay at home. (conjunct)

Mary, however, preferred to stay at home.

Mary preferred to stay at home, however.