Nghiên cứu về trạng từ tiếng Anh với chức năng bổ nghĩa (So sánh đối chiếu với tiếng Việt

ix List of table Table 1 Types of Item Subjuncts 21 Table 3 Types of circumstantial elements 23 Table 4 Correspondence between experiential and interpersonal functions 24 Table 6 Englis

Vietnam national university, Ha noi College of foreign languages Post-graduate department

Le Thi Minh Hien

A study on English adverbs as modifiers

(A contrastive analysis with Vietnamese

equivalents)

Nghiên cứu về trạng từ tiếng Anh với chức năng bổ nghĩa

(So sánh đối chiếu với tiếng Việt)

M.a Minor-Thesis

Field: English linguistics Code: 60.22.15

Hanoi, 2009

iv

Table of contents

05 Design of the study 3

Chapter I: theoretical preliminaries 4

I.2.1 The complex/ derived group 5

I.2.4 Morphonology of Vietnamese adverbs 7 I.3 Classification of adverbs 7 I.3.1 Syntactic classification of English adverbs 7 I.3.2 Syntactic classification of Vietnamese adverbs 7 I.3.3 Semantic classification of English adverbs 8 I.3.3.1 Circumstantial adverbs 8

v

I.3.3.6 Conjunctive adverbs 10 I.3.4 Semantic classification of Vietnamese adverbs 10

I.3.4.3 Adverbs of frequency 10 I.3.4.4 Adverbs of manner 10 I.3.4.5 Adverbs of cause/ reason 11 I.3.4.6 Adverbs of purpose 11 I.3.4.7 Adverbs of modality 11

I.3.4.9 Adverbs of conjunction 11 I.3.5 Position classification of English adverbs 11 I.3.5.1 Circumstantial adverbs 11 I.3.5.2 Adverbs of manner 12

I.3.5.4 Adverbs of degree and focusing adverbs 12 I.3.5.5 Conjunctive adverbs 12 I.3.5.6 Adverbs in initial position 13 I.3.6 position classification of Vietnamese adverbs 13 I.4 Functions of English adverbs 14 I.4.1 What is considered to be “modifier”? 14 I.4.2 Main functions of adverbs 14

I.4.2.2 Modifier of adjectives 15 I.4.2.3 Modifier of other adverbs 15 I.4.2.4 Modifier of nouns/ noun phrases 15 I.4.2.5 Modifier of participles, prepositions and prepositional phrases 16

vi

I.4.2.6 Modifier of (pre)determiners, cardinal numerals,

indefinite pronouns/quantifiers 16 I.4.2.7 Modifier of sentences 16

I.4.3.2 Intensifying modifier 18

I.4.3.3 Attenuating modifier 18

I.4.3.4 Quantifying modifier 18

I.4.3.5 Descriptive or attitudinal modifiers 18

I.4.3.6 Focusing or reinforcing modifiers 18

I.5 Adverbs and Adverbials 18

I.5.1 What is an adverbial? 18

I.5.2 Units realizing adverbial functions 18

I.5.3 Classes of adverbials 19

I.5.4 Types of adverbials forming sentence elements 20

I.5.4.1 What is an adjunct? 22

I.5.4.2 What is a disjunct? 26

I.5.4.3 What is a conjunct? 26

Chapter II: English adverbs as modifiers and their vietnamese

II.1 Contrastive analysis with teaching and learning of foreign languages 29

II.2 Modifying function of English adverbs and their Vietnamese equivalents 29

II.2.4 Modifier of particles, prepositions and prepositional phrases 31

II.2.5 Modifier of (pre)determiners/ cardinal numerals/ indefinite pronouns 31

vii

II.3 Mobility in positions of English and Vietnamese adverbs 32

II.4 Similarities and differences between English adverbs as modifiers and Vietnamese

Chapter III: Implications to teaching adverbs as modifiers 35

III.1 Errors made by Vietnamese learners in using adverb 35

III.3.1 Errors in confusing adjectives and of adverbs 35

III.3.3 Errors in choosing adverbs of degree (=intensifiers) 37

III.4 Suggestions for teaching and learning English adverbs as modifier 38

2 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 40

* Unacceptable/ Ungrammatical structures

[ ] the number of the example used

ix

List of table

Table 1 Types of Item Subjuncts 21

Table 3 Types of circumstantial elements 23 Table 4 Correspondence between experiential and interpersonal functions 24

Table 6 English adverbs of degree and their Vietnamese equivalents 29 Table 7 Types of adverbs modifying verbs and their Vietnamese equivalents 30

in bringing people from different cultures closer with greater mutual understanding

In recent years, in Vietnam, this language has become a compulsory subject in schools, colleges and universities thanks to its importance to the work force in the future

However, in learning process, quite a lot of Vietnamese learners find English grammar, especially the role and position of word classes difficult to master This obstacle may partly due to teaching process, lack of practice and sometimes their mother tongue interference In a try to offer a remedial suggestion to this problem, this topic has been chosen for the three following reasons:

- Adverb is one of word classes in English Nevertheless, it used to be regarded as a

“dustbin” word-class since it has a complicated morphological classification as well as

a variety of semantic and syntactic functions However, in theory, adverb will be definitely clarified if the different types of adverbs and their functions are fully focused

on in a detailed study

- Adverb is a language phenomenon, generally found in both English and Vietnamese Since these two languages originate from different language families, there certainly exist similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese in this linguistic category

As a result, Vietnamese learners of English have great trouble in understanding, identifying and using adverbs in general and their different functions in particular

- It’s commonly believed that contrastive analysis is considered a device for predicting points of difficulty and possible errors that learners will make R Lado (1957) states:

“We can predict and describe the pattern that will cause difficulty by comparing systematically the language and the culture to be learnt with the native language and culture of the learners”

2 aims of the study:

The aims of the study on English adverbs as modifiers in contrast with their Vietnamese equivalents are:

- To provide a clear classification on English adverbs in terms of their morphological features as well as their semantic and syntactic functions

- To study the positions and roles of English adverbs as modifiers in relation with other word classes (i.e verbs, adjectives, ) or other words

- To show the linguistic characteristics of English adverbs in contrast with the Vietnamese equivalents, chiefly basing on the function of modification

- To find out similarities and differences of adverbs as modifiers in English and Vietnamese

- To suggest some types of exercises and activities on the adverbs as modifiers in English with an aim to help Vietnamese learners avoid errors and negative interference

3 Scope of the study:

This study examines English adverbs as modifiers compared with Vietnamese equivalents to point out the distinctive features of English adverbs and possible difficulties that Vietnamese learners may meet when studying English adverbs Therefore, attention paid to English will far outweigh to Vietnamese as this study will be used in teaching English adverbs

as modifiers to Vietnamese learners

In general, English adverbs have two syntactic functions: modifiers and adverbials As the study requires, more focus will be on the modifying function

4 methods of the study:

As the study sets its main objectives of investigating and contrasting the syntactic and semantic functions and the classification of adverbs in general and adverbs as modifiers in particular , in English and Vietnamese, the research method is mainly based on microlinguistic

CA

On the basis of CA, an experiment is done on certain obstacles that Vietnamese learners may encounter when learning adverbs The data for analysis is based on the experiment and examples are collected from the grammatical materials and reference books written by contemporary English and Vietnamese linguists The source of materials is taken from English texts in different genres: novels, short stories, books and the like

5 Design of the study:

This study is composed of three parts:

Part one, entitled “Introduction” outlines the background of the study

Part two with the title of “Investigation” comprises three chapters:

Chapter I discusses the theoretical preliminaries with a focus on the characteristics of the adverbs as modifiers Chapter II presents and describes cases of adverbs with the modifying function as compared to Vietnamese translation equivalents The last chapter shows the findings and implications for teaching and learning English adverbs extracted from the study Part three is “Conclusion” provides the recapitulation, limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies The study ends with the “Bibliography”

Part two

investigation

Chapter I: theoretical preliminaries

I.1 Definition of the adverb:

Like other parts of speech in English grammar, adverb is considered to be basic and complicated one However, not any satisfactory definitions for adverb have been reached yet

It may due to the fact that many modern grammarians recognize words traditionally grouped together as adverbs to serve a number of different semantic and syntactic functions Therefore, each scholar considered them from his own point of view Briefly, we would like to present some English and Vietnamese linguists’ viewpoints on adverbs and then draw out common ideas about adverbs in English and Vietnamese

According to G David Morley (2000; 40) ‘Traditionally in grammar, adverbs have been seen as performing a so-called modifying role in relation to verbs This role is associated with circumstantial adverbs, which are single words marking circumstances – how, why, when,

where – of the verbal process’ For instance: [1] He learns English fast.

Sharing the same viewpoint, Bergman, Carol Ann (1986) agreed that, “As it is proved that an adjective adds more information to a noun or a pronoun whereas an adverb adds

preciseness to a verb, an adjective or another adverb” That is to say, adverbs take the

modifying role of strengthening or weakening the force of those adjectives/ adverbs in:

[3] They are extremely happy

[4] Ann walks rather slowly

Furthermore, an adverb may also modify a noun or pronoun and a sentence, emphasizing or qualifying the statement expressed as in:

[5] The rooms upstairs have not been cleaned for ages

[6] He saw an accident and immediately he contacted the police

In short, adverb is a modifying word which gives extra meaning to a verb, an adjective,

another adverb, a noun or a pronoun and even a sentence They express some additional circumstances attending an action or a quality: time, place or manner of an action, the degree

of a quality, etc

Let us change to some Vietnamese researchers’ opinions about adverbs

According to Diep Quang Ban (1992; 167), ‚adverb is a supplementary sentence element Syntactically, it can be one word or co-coordinative or subordinative phrase.‛

As for Hoang Trong Phien (1980; 124), ‚adverb is a supplementary sentence element and it is the most popular one among others, it has the meaning of place, time, reason and purpose ‛

The scope of meaning of adverb as a supplementary sentence element are commonly expressed as followed:

a Time, place: [7] Mïa hÌ n¨m Êy, nhµ t«i chuyÓn vÒ thµnh phè

- In the summer that year, we moved into the town

b Manner: [8] G· nãi víi t«i b»ng giäng mÒm m¹i vµ tr¬n tuån tuét

- He said to me with a soft and very smooth voice

c Means, reasons, purpose, : [9] Mét h«m do bËn trùc ë c¬ quan nªn t«i vÒ muén

- One day, I came home late due to being on duty (Nguyen Huy Thiep, 2004)

In conclusion, both English and Vietnamese’s researchers share the same viewpoint about adverb:

- It is a supplementary sentence element

- It serves to give additional meaning to other elements in the clause, depending on types of adverbs and their positions in the clause which will be clarified in the following parts I.2 Features of adverbs:

The most common characteristic of the English adverb is morphological Therefore, morphologically, we can classify adverbs according as their lexical stems

Angela D (1992; 549) states ‚English adverbs are either complex, compound or simple‛

According to Howard, Jackson (1992; 61), there are three sets of adverbs: -ly adverbs, simple adverbs and adverb particles Considering the two viewpoints above, the writer would like to present adverbs morphologically as follows:

I.2.1 The complex/ derived group:

The first and largest of the sets contains adverbs which typically, though not

exclusively, end in -ly and are derived from adjectives by means of this suffix, i.e slow –

slowly Although most words in –ly are adverbs, it should be noted that many others ending in

–ly are not adverbs at all, they are adjectives formed from nouns as princely, husbandly,

motherly… or from other adjectives as goodly, kindly….Particularly, some words take both

adjectival and adverbial role such as: back, early, deep, right,

Other adverbs are derived from nouns by means of the suffixes: wise/ ward(s) and ways -> expressing the locative circumstance of direction as clockwise, skyward, eastwards, sideways They are used with the meaning ‚as far as….is concerned‛

-Added to this group, a lot of adverbs are formed with the prefix a-: abroad, aside, again, ahead,… but again this prefix is also found in adjectives like ashamed, asleep, awake,

Another small set of adverbs has be- as first syllable, also indicating position or direction: before, behind, beneath, besides, between, beyond

I.2.2 The compound group:

Some of these are shortened forms of preposition groups: downstairs, overnight, Others are combinations of other classes of words: however, moreover,

I.2.3 The simple group:

Finally, there are adverbs with simple lexical stems They are one-syllable or

two-syllable words of native origin which are not marked for class: up, often, there, very, yet…

Here, we may wish to divide this set into two subgroups as followed:

+ One is a restricted group of mainly temporal adverbs, which have a simple

(non-derived) form expressing temporal position or frequency; yesterday and tomorrow (may also included)

+ The other is a restricted group of words referring mainly to the locative circumstances

of position and direction including in, on, below, before… adverb particles of this type may

often be viewed as a kind of abbreviated expression of a locative circumstance as:

[10] Have you let the cat out?- usually the interpretation is possible either from the

generally understood situational context or from some previous sentences in the discourse of text

I.2.4 Morphonology of Vietnamese adverbs:

As we all know, Vietnamese is not an inflectional language with no change in form Therefore, Vietnamese adverbs do not have such morphological features as compared to those

in English

[11] Anh ta lµm g× còng cÈn thËn - He does anything carefully

[12] Anh ta là một con ng-ời cẩn thận – He is a careful man

I.3 Classification of adverbs:

I.3.1 Syntactic classification of English adverbs:

According to Quirk R & Green Baum S (1987; 125), there are two types of syntactic functions that characterize adverbs, but an adverb need have only one of these: adverbial and modifier of a verb, an adjective and another adverb

(1) Adverbial: An adverb may function in the clause itself as an adverbial, as a constituent distinct from S, V, O and C It is usually an optional element and peripheral to the structure of the clause It takes the functions of adjuncts, disjuncts and conjuncts

[13] I spoke to him outside (an adjunct)

[14] Perhaps my suggestions will be accepted (a disjunct)

(2) Modifier: the principal function of an adverb is to modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs

or other units in the clause

Furthermore, according to Downing, Angela (1992; 556), adverbs, whether simple or complex realize the syntactic functions as elements of group and clause structures:

+ In group structures: modifier in adverbial groups; modifier in adjective groups; modifier in

nominal groups; modifier of determiners; modifier of preposition

+ In clause structures: Adjunct; Disjunct; Conjunct

However, in addition to the two functions above, English adverbs realize two more functions:

+ Subject predicative: [15] We were outside when it started to rain

+ Object predicative: [16] Shall I throw the letter away?

I.3.2 Syntactic classification of Vietnamese adverbs:

Vietnamese adverbs are regarded as words with both notional (thực từ) and functional (h- từ) role Like English adverbs, they are also used to modify verbs, adjectives, as well as the predicative and the whole sentence For example:

[17] The capacity to develop tea plants in Vietnam is still very great, but it has not

been fully exploited yet because

- Khả năng phát triển cây chè ở Việt Nam còn rất lớn nh-ng ch-a đ-ợc khai thác triệt

để vì

[18] In the field of commerce, Japanese TOYOTA has made a rather successful start

- Trên lĩnh vực th-ơng mại, Hãng TOYOTA của Nhật Bản đã có sự khởi đầu khá thành công

[19] The competition with favored North American beer is certainly very harsh

- Việc cạnh tranh với các loại bia hợp ‚gu‛ Bắc Mỹ chắc chắn là rất khốc liệt

[20] Besides, HYUNDAI and KIA of Korea are easily consumed because of

- Ngoài ra, HYUNDAI Và KIA của Hàn Quốc cũng là những nhãn hiệu dễ tiêu thụ vì

(Minh Thu-Nguyen Hoa, 2006)

I.3.3 Semantic classification of English adverbs:

According to A.J Thomson and A.V Martinet (1985; 52), adverbs are classified into six types: adverbs of manner, adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of frequency, adverbs

of degree

and sentence adverbs

As for M Swan (1995; 22), adverbs are divided into such types as: connecting adverbs, focusing adverbs, adverbs of certainty, adverbs of completeness, adverbs of manner, adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of frequency, emphasizing adverbs

Meanwhile, Angela D (1992; 551), states that ‘adverbs express six broad types of meaning in clauses and groups: circumstantial, process, modal, degree, focusing, conjunctive

Although each researcher has reasons to classify adverbs into different types with quite different names, they share the same semantic classification of those types Basically, adverbs consist of six main types, each of which is made up of several subtypes, which are exemplified

by lexical exponents in the following subsections:

I.3.3.1 Circumstantial adverbs:

+ Adverbs of time: used to denote the time of an action, they refer to definite time,

duration of time and indefinite time They primarily answer the question: ‘When?’, ‘Since when?’ and ‘How long?’

+ Adverbs of frequency: used to denote the frequency of the action either definitely or

indefinitely They mainly answer the question ‘How often?’

+ Adverbs of place: used to denote the location, position or the direction of an action

Denoting location or position answers the question ‘Where?’ Denoting direction answers the questions ‘Where to?’ and ‘Where from?’

According to Howard Jackson (1992; 47), ‚ circumstances can not generally be said

to be necessary for the completeness of a proposition Circumstances are usually additional information about a situation‛ There are six types of circumstance with a number of subdivisions as the following diagram:

Path (Which way?) Goal (Where to?) Distance (How far?)

Position (When?)

Frequency (How often?)

Orientation

General (How long?)

Backward (Since when?) Forward (Until when?)

PROCESS (How?)

Manner (In what way?) Means (By what means?) Instrument (What with?) Agentive (By whom?) RESPECT – Respect (In respect of what?)

CONTINGENCY

Cause (Why? What cause?) Reason (Why? For what reason?) Purpose (Why? What for?) Result (With what result?) Condition (Under what conditions?) Concession (Despite what conditions?) DEGREE (How much?) Amplification

Diminution Measure

I.3.3.2 Process adverbs (=adverbs of manner): used to denote the mean or method of an action, and very often they answer the question ‘how?’ In many cases, they can be expressed

by prepositional phrases: by bus; in a loud voice,

[21] He spoke to me in a loud voice (=quietly)

They are subdivided into two kinds:

+ adverbs of manner: [22] He searched everywhere carefully

+ adverbs of respect/ comment: used to give the speaker’s opinion of an action:

[23] He generously paid of us all

I.3.3.3 Modal adverbs (=sentence adverbs)

A.J Thomson and A.V Martinet (1985; 58) claimed ‘these adverbs modify the whole sentence and normally express the speaker’s/ narrator’s opinion’ They are divided into two types:

(A) Adverbs expressing degrees of certainty include: actually, probably, undoubtedly, etc

[24] He is undoubtedly a great leader

(B) Other sentence adverbs: (un)fortunately, frankly, honestly, naturally, officially, etc

[25] Honestly, Tom didn’t get the money

I.3.3.4 Adverbs of degree (= intensifiers): used to denote the degree to which the

action is performed and they broadly answer the question „to what extent?‟

[26] The very fast car is running smoothly

[27] The fast car is running very smoothly

I.3.3.5 Focusing adverbs: pointing to a particular part of a sentence, the meaning conveyed

often depends upon their position Common examples are: also, even, only, Let’s compare:

[28] Only John helped me to buy the house (= Only John and no one else helped me.) # John only helped me to buy the house (= John didn't actually buy it for me.)

I.3.3.6 Conjunctive adverbs: performing conjunctions, and serving to connect sentences, as well as to express some circumstance of time, place, degree, or the like

[29] He fell down the stairs; consequently, he will not be attending school tomorrow

I.3.4 Semantic classification of Vietnamese adverbs:

Nguyen Kim Than (1996; 190), defines the main types of adverbs in Vietnamese:

I.3.4.1 Adverbs of time:

[30] Hôm qua, anh đi đâu? – Where did you go to yesterday?

I.3.4.2 Adverbs of place:

[31] Các bạn đang họp ở trên lầu – They are having a meeting upstairs

I.3.4.3 Adverbs of frequency:

[32] Năm năm Đại hội họp một lần – The Congress is held every five years

I.3.4.4 Adverbs of manner:

[33] Chúng tôi đi tàu thuỷ đến HP – We went to HP by ship

[34] Chị ta chạy vội vào trong nhà - She ran into the house hastily

I.3.4.5 Adverbs of cause/ reason:

[35] Tại anh, tôi đến muộn - Due to your fault, I came late

I.3.4.6 Adverbs of purpose:

[36] Anh ta hét to để chúng tôi có thể nghe rõ

- He shouted so that we could hear him clearly

I.3.4.7 Adverbs of modality:

[37] Hy vọng cậu đến kịp - Hopefully, you come there in time

I.3.4.8 Adverbs of degree (intensifiers):

[38] Mặc áo khoác vào đi, ngoài trời rất lạnh - Put on the coat, it is very cold outside

I.3.4.9 Adverbs of conjunction (=sentence adverbs):

[39] Be careful! Otherwise, you may fall

I.3.5 Position classification of English adverbs:

According to C.E Eckersley (1970; 261), ‘there are three positions for adverbs in the sentence’:

(a) Front-position, i.e as the first in a sentence

(b) Mid-position, coming after the subject The location of adverbs in the middle position varies depending on the type of verb used

(c) End-position, i.e as the last words in a sentence

[40] Now it is time to leave - It is now time to leave.- It is time to leave now

While R Quirk and S Green Baum (1987; 208) also distinguish ‚three positions of adverbs for the declarative form of the clause‛: (a) Initial position (i.e., before the subject)

(c) Final position: after an intransitive verb, or after any object or complement

I.3.5.1 Circumstantial adverbs:

Mostly, they are placed at the very end of the clause Initial position is also common if the adverb is not the main focus of the message or for purpose of emphasis Some can go in

mid-position, especially with adverbs of indefinite frequency (often, ever, etc )

[41] We are always on time

[42] She read those books silently in the library all day

However, adverbs of time is very flexible and may occupy any of the three positions in

a clause to serve the purpose of their modification The adverbs of negative: never, seldom, rarely, hardly ever, are occasionally fronted and followed by subject-operator inversion for

purposes of emphasis

[43] Never in my life I have seen such a big tomato

Similarly, adverbs of place are sometimes placed at the beginning of a clause, for emphasis

[44] On the hilltop an old castle stood majestically

I.3.5.2 Adverbs of manner:

They derive from value adjectives qualifying the activities referred to the clause; they

are placed most frequently in final position

[45] He washed the clothes well - * He well washed the clothes

In contrast, a manner adverb derived from a human propensity adjective refers just to

the state of the subject; it can occur in I, M or E position, especially if the adverb is not important to the meaning of the verb

[46] He had been washing the clothes happily and He had happily been

[47] Angrily, she tore up the letter.

I.3.5.3 Modal adverbs:

As clause adjuncts, they are typically placed in mid-position or after be, since they tend

to focus on the process expressed by the verb

[48] They will probably get married next month

However, perhaps and may be are exceptions to this rule They usually go at the

beginning of a clause as in: [49] Perhaps she will come

I.3.5.4 Adverbs of degree and focusing adverbs:

It is best to place them in front of and next to the word(s) modified by them

[50] She’s done everything- she’s even been a soldier

I.3.5.5 Conjunctive adverbs:

They are often placed at the beginning of a clause, serving to provide a link between the present clause with the previous one(s)

[51] I would like to go skiing However, I have too much work to do

However, when the clause contains no adverb of frequency, some connecting adverbs may be placed in the M position of a clause

[52] I am, nevertheless, anxious to continue

I.3.5.6 Adverbs in initial position:

When an adverb is placed at the beginning of a clause, its meaning extends to the whole clause and not simply to the predication or to an element of the predication In this position, the meaning may be of two broad kinds:

(a) it may function as an element within the clause and have the same status as the

other elements as in: [53] Slowly, the rising sun appeared over the distant horizon

In this way, the scope of the adverb ranges more widely over the clause than it would

do in mid- or end-position

(b) other adverbs occur in initial position but are considered, both syntactically and semantically, to be outside the clause, and are usually called Disjunct and Conjunct:

[54] Frankly, I don’t believe you

[55] As a result, they are going to buy a smaller car

In short, the choice of position is determined by its type (circumstantial, modal, degree, etc.), the scope of its meaning (whole clause or part of a clause), the degree of emphasis the speaker wishes to give to it, and the general information structure of the clause

I.3.6 Position classification of Vietnamese adverbs:

As far as the position of adverbs is concerned, Hoang Trong Phien (1980; 126) says:

‚Adverbials (functioning as adverbs) can occur at the beginning, in the middle and at the end but the most popular position is at the beginning of a sentence‛

However, according to Nguyen Kim Than (1964; 212), ‚in Vietnamese, adverbs have two main positions in a sentence: initial and final positions‛

That is to say, Vietnamese adverbials can take three positions in a sentence: before subject-predicate, after subject-predicate and between subject and predicate

[56] Năm ấy, mẹ tôi còn khoẻ - That year, my mother was still in good health

[57] Cách mạng đã do Việt Bắc mà thành công (Hồ Chủ Tịch)

- The revolution, thanks to Viet Bac, was successful

[58] Chị công tác ở đây à?- Do you work here?

I.4 Functions of english adverbs:

As mentioned above, English adverbs are realized through two syntactic functions: an adverbial and a modifier As the main aim of the study, we should focus on the second function, that is the role of modifying

I.4.1 What is considered to be “a modifier”?

According to Jackson, Howard (1992; 125), the class of items which realize meanings

associated with the classification and description of participants, we will call modifiers In

other words, a modifier (or qualifier) is a word or sentence element that limits or qualifies

another word, a phrase, or a clause In English, there are two common kinds of modifiers:

adjectives, participles and nouns which modify nouns and pronouns, and adverbs, which

modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, nouns, other words or even sentences

The modifier term are usually subdivided into two types:

- A premodifier is a modifier placed before the head (the modified component)

- A postmodifier is a modifier placed after the head as in:

[59] "a very great (pre-modifier) party last night (post-modifier)"

In addition, adverbial clauses (or particle phrases) such as of course, luckily, therefore, etc , commenting on the rest of the sentence or what has gone before in a previous sentence,

may also be classed as modifiers, as in: [60] Luckily, they didn’t recognize us

G David Morley (2000; 131) states that ‚the element occurring between the determiner

and the headword element is the modifier and its function is determined by this position‛

In short, modifiers are not usually required by a clause's syntax; they are optional, and help clarify or limit the extent of the meaning of the word or phrase they modify

I.4.2 Main functions of adverbs:

As it can be seen in many cases, an adverb basically functions as a modifier of a verb,

an adjective, another adverb However, adverbs are not restricted to the those three functions They can also act as modifiers of a preposition, a noun/ a noun phrase, a determiner, a numeral, a pronoun and a whole sentence Furthermore, not all adverbs that modify adjectives will also modify adverbs As such, not all adverbs occur with all the functions We would like

to analyze the modifying function of adverbs explicitly and separately as followed:

I.4.2.1 Modifier of verbs:

According to G David Morley (2000; 40) ‚adverbs have been seen as performing a called modifying role in relation to verbs This role is associated with circumstantial adverbs‛

so-[61] He came yesterday/ here

[62] Residents must quickly and quietly exit the building during the fire drill

Besides, many degree adverbs can be used with gradable verbs which refer to things

that can happen more or less completely, fully, strongly, etc as in: [63] I entirely agree

However, certain degree adverbs generally go together with certain verbs For example,

we can say I fully understand and I firmly believe but not *I fully like and *I firmly think

I.4.2.2 Modifier of adjectives:

The gradability of adjectives may be exploited and expressed by means of modifying adverbs Most commonly, the modifying adverb is an intensifier, whether an emphasizer,

conveying primarily emphasis and not scaling as really, actually, clearly, indeed,

[64] She is really kind to me

or an amplifier, denoting a high degree as very, absolutely, in all respects, badly, deeply, well

[65] She took a very small piece of the cake

or a downtoner, suggesting an incomplete or low degree as quite, slightly, nearly

[66] I quite enjoyed the film

and viewpoint adverbs as theoretically, dramatically, musically,

I.4.2.3 Modifier of other adverbs:

Adverbs also operate in relation to other adverbs, where they indicate the degree of the adverbial circumstance Adverbs modifying other adverbs can only be intensifiers

[67] My use of adverbs is almost always perfect

However, some intensifiers are restricted to a small set of lexical items, i.e deeply (anxious), highly (intelligent), strikingly (handsome) whereas many intensifiers can modify

adjectives, adverbs, and verbs alike Basically, they pre-modify gradable adjectives and adverbs to increase or decrease the meaning of the word modified However, enough is an exception to this rule as in: [68] He spoke clearly enough

I.4.2.4 Modifier of nouns/ noun phrases:

Adverbs are also found in many cases to modify the whole nominal and prepositional phrases by focusing on and heightening the entity/ relator/ processor concerned They thus are

known as intensifying adverbs as:

[69] He is rather a nuisance

[70] He ran just behind you

The noun phrase is perhaps postmodified by an adjective or adverb in a number of phrases of measure as:

[71] John is ten years old

[72] They stayed up all night long

Some adverbs signifying place or time postmodify noun phrases take on what might be thought of as the ‘adjectival role’ within the nominal phrase:

Place: the way ahead, the direction back, the hall downstairs, that man there, his return home

Time: the meeting yesterday, the meal afterwards, the day before,

However, in some of the phrases, the adverbs can also be used as a premodifier within

the noun phrases e.g.: the downstairs hall, his home journey, the above photo

I.4.2.5 Modifier of particles, prepositions and prepositional phrases:

The few intensifying adverbs that can premodify particles in phrasal verbs can also premodify prepositions or (perhaps rather) prepositional phrases It is called the adverbial function:

[73] He made his application well within the time

[74] It's immediately inside the door

I.4.2.6 Modifier of (pre)determiners, cardinal numerals, indefinite pronouns/ quantifiers:

Intensifying adverbs (including downtoners) can be used in this way

[75] Nearly everybody came to our part

With the ordinals and superlatives, a definite determiner is obligatory for premodification

[76] We counted approximately the first thousand votes

Some intensifiers such as too, so, very, rather, can be used to modify such indefinite quantifiers as much, many, little and few

[77] We’ve got very little time left

[78] His firm does quite a lot of business in Egypt

I.4.2.7 Modifier of sentences:

Lastly, adverbs can modify the whole sentence, though the concept of modification here needs to be interpreted in an increasingly liberal way Indeed, the relationship is no longer one of modification at all but rather one of interrelationship with the rest of the clause

G David Morley (2000; 42) listed three subgroups of adverb modifying a whole sentence:

+ In the first group, known in traditional grammar as ‘sentence adverbs’, are those which have the function of providing a connective link between the preceding clause and the

present one A more contemporary term is conjunctive adverbs

[79] Therefore, the performance should now be better

+ In the second group of adverbs relating to the rest of the clause are those which express different facets of the speaker’s perspective on the sentence and which have been

labeled as modal or disjunctive adverbs

- the speaker’s assessment of the degree of certainty or doubt surrounding the factual

content of the clause as in: [80] Jill have probably gone by bus

- the speaker’s comment on/ reaction towards the clause content as in:

[81] Luckily, no one was hurt

- the speaker’s terms of reference for the clause:

[82] Briefly, it doesn’t meet our demand

+ The third group of sentential/ interclausal adverbs embraces expressions regularly

used in social discourse and can thus be labeled as interpersonal adverbs, though strictly

speaking

some of the examples below involve more than one word:

Politeness/ courtesy adverbs as : please,

Continuity markers as: well, now then,

Greeting and farewells as: Hello, hi,

Polarity and agreement responses as: yes, no, okay

Approval formulae as: Hurrah, cheers,

As it can be concluded in many cases, adverbs primarily serve to modify or qualify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs, even sentences In other words, their appearance is mainly

aimed at giving preciness to the word/ the clause modified

I.4.3 Types of modifiers:

According to Downing, Angela (1992; 585), the modification usually takes the form of grading, intensification or attenuation, quantification, description or simply of focusing and reinforcement as they are exemplified below:

I.4.3.1.Grading modifier:

Adverbs are graded by the same words as adjectives: more, least, too often,

[83] He visits his hometown too often

I.4.3.2 Intensifying modifiers:

As with adjectives, intensification to adverbs may be (a) high, or (b) medium:

(a) very soon; quite recently; right now; extremely naturally; soon after; close by; (b) quite softly; fairly well; pretty easily; rather badly;

I.4.3.3 Attenuating modifiers: somewhat, partly, scarcely, not fully, slightly, a little, hardly,

[84] I’m afraid this man hardly ever comes on time

I.4.3.4 Quantifying modifiers:

As with adjectives, this refers to circumstantial adverbs of space and time and may be

(a) exact: [85] The airport is at least ten miles away

(b) non-measurable quantity: expressed by the deictic items so and that

[86] A: The fool must have been driving at 100mph!

B: Surely he couldn’t have been driving so crazily!

Under this type of quantifier, we may also include modifiers such as: soon after, long

before,

I.4.3.5 Descriptive or attitudinal modifiers: surprisingly, hopelessly, unexpectedly

Adverbs of space or time are often preceded by modifiers which reinforce or describe them more explicitly; such modifiers are often themselves more descriptive adverbs of space

and time: back home; up above; early today; out there; late yesterday; down below; in here; I.4.3.6 Focusing or reinforcing modifiers: precisely, mainly, solely, just, chiefly, only

[87] You say that just for the sake of arguing

I.5 Adverbs and Adverbials:

I.5.1 What is an adverbial?

In Long Man Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (1992), Jack Richard defines an adverbial as ‚a word (an adverb) or a group of words (an adverbial phrase or an adverbial clause) that functions in the same way as an adverb‛ As such, it modifies or provides us with additional information about the sentence or the verb

According to R Quirk and S Green Baum (1987; 126), an adverb may function as adverbial, a constituent distinct from subject, verb, object and complement Three classes of adverbials are established: adjuncts, disjuncts and conjuncts

I.5.2 Units realizing adverbial functions:

According to Quirk et al (1985), the functions of adverbials can be realized through

such units as: adverb phrases, i.e phrases with adverbs as head or sole realization; noun

phrases (less common); prepositional phrases; finite verb clauses; non-finite verb clauses or verbless clauses

I.5.3 Classes of adverbials:

There are three major classes of adverbials: circumstance, stance and linking

The first class relating to circumstantial adverbials which are commonly used to mark circumstance (e.g place, time, process ) of the activity or state

The second class is those of stance which are shown as follows:

According to Biber D et al (1999), ‚In addition to communicating propositional content, speakers and writers commonly express personal feelings, attitudes, value judgments,

or assessments; that is, they express a ‘stance’ Stance meaning can be expressed in many ways and two common devices used to express a stance relative to another proposition are

adverbials and complement clauses with verbs and adjectives Stance adverbials express the

attitude or assessment of the speaker/ writer with respect to the proposition contained in the main clause‛ First, let’s examine some major grammatical devices used to express stance: + Stance adverbials:

- single adverbs and adverb phrases: [88] Luckily, we arrived in time

- prepositional phrases: [89] In actual fact, only a fraction of this number

actually occurs

- adverbial clauses: [90] As one might expect, he didn’t appear again

- comment clauses (a sub-class of finite adverbial clauses):

[91] You just have to deny it, I guess

+ Premodifying stance adverb (stance adverb + adjective or noun phrase):

[92] Honestly, I am so depressed He is such an idiot (Biber, 1999)

However, adverb premodifiers are incorporated into a phrase and have local scope only within that phrase, rather than reporting a stance towards an entire proposition

In many cases, the proposition is given in the main clause, with the stance marker occurring in some peripheral or embedded structure This relationship holds for stance marker

with adverbials as in: [93] Sadly, she left the party

Furthermore, in terms of position view, adverbials are much more flexible in their ordering,

but the large majority of stance adverbials occur in initial or medial positions

Second, some major semantic distinctions conveyed by stance markers are examined: + Epistemic stance: Epistemic stance markers are used to present speaker comments on the status of information in a proposition They can mark certainty/ doubt, actuality, precision,

or limitation; or they can indicate the source of knowledge or the perspective from which the

information is given Adverbials of this type are: definitely, possibly, according to , from

+ Attitudinal stance: Attitudinal stance markers report personal attitudes/ evaluations or

feelings such as fortunately, amazingly, sadly,

+ Style of speaking stance: These presenting speaker/ writer comments on the communication itself Stance adverbials are the primary grammatical de

vice such as: single adverbs and adverb phrases (honestly, quite frankly); prepositional phrases or adverbial clauses (to be honest, strictly speaking )

In short, stance adverbials are most plentiful in conversation, especially single adverbs and, to lesser extent, adverbial clauses The large majority of single adverbs are epistemic, with

the forms such as actually, really and probably being particularly frequent

[94] Probably the petrol price will go up in some months

Adverbial clauses in conversation commonly mark a proposition as shared background

or indicate the manner of speaking as in: [95] To be honest, I really like her personality

The third class is linking adverbials which serve to link the present clause with the previous one in terms of different aspects of meaning (e.g.: reason, condition, concession, )

I.5.4 Types of adverbials forming sentence elements

According to Quirk et al (1985), ‘adverbials may be integrated to some extent into the structure of the clause or they may be peripheral to it If integrated, they are termed Adjuncts

If peripheral, they are termed Disjuncts and Conjuncts and basically divided into four types‛:

+ adverbial complements (i.e obligatory adverbial): can definitely render a sentence

ungrammatical and meaningless if removed as in: [96] John put the flowers in a vase

+ adjuncts: are part of the core meaning of the sentence, but if omitted, still leaving a

meaningful sentence as in: [97] John helped me with my homework

+ disjuncts: making comments on the meaning of the rest of the sentence

[98] Surprisingly, he passed all of his exams

+ conjuncts: linking two sentences together

[99] John helped so I was, therefore, able to do my homework

Jackson, Howard (1992; 150), states ‘In many cases, the Adverbial slot is filled by syntactic elements with the semantic role of circumstance: such Adverbials are said to have the function of Adjunct There are three further types of Adverbials – Subjunct, Disjunct and

Conjunct’

However, Jackson regarded the role of Adjunct in the clause to be obligatory or optional as in: