§ 5. Most adverbs are invariable. But certain adverbs of manner change for degrees of comparison. The degrees of comparison of adverbs are formed in the same way as those of adjectives.
Monosyllabic adverbs and the adverb early form the comparative and the superlative degrees by adding the suffixes -erand -est.
e.g. hard — harder — hardest soon — sooner — soonest early — earlier — earliest
The degrees of comparison of all other adverbs are formed by placing more and most before them.
e.g. beautifully —-more beautifully — most beautifully cleverly — more cleverly — most cleverly
A few adverbs have irregular degrees of comparison.
e.g. well — better — best badly — worse — worst much — more — most little — less — least
Note that it is only the comparative degree of adverbs that is actually found in English.
e.g. He ran faster than the wind.
Little Martha danced even more beautifully than her sister.
In the combinations most successfully, most wisely and the like, most is an adverb of degree denoting 'very'. It is only the superlatives best, most, worst and least that are actually used.
e.g, John's sister Marian was very nice to me, and I liked her best of them all.
None of us played well, but Tom played worst that day.
Syntactic Functions of Adverbs
§ 6. Adverbs may modify single words, phrases and sentences. When they modify verbs, they can serve as adverbial modifiers of time, frequency, place, manner and degree.
e.g. He was then only fifteen years old. (time)
During my walks I occasionally met people I knew, (frequency) I went back inside, (place)
I loved her passionately, (degree)
The father held the boy tightly in his arms, (manner)
When adverbs modify adjectives or other adverbs, they serve as adverbial modifiers of degree (as intensifiers).
e.g. My English was too poor to allow me to make speeches. I led a very pleasant life there.
She left the room so quickly. It's going to rain pretty soon.
Adverbs of degree can also modify certain kinds of prepositional phrases.
e.g. They lived nearly on the top of the hill. I'm almost through with my work.
His remarks were not quite to the point.
There are a few adverbs in English which can function as attributes modifying nouns.
e.g. He was fully master of the situation. She was quite a child.
Can you see the man over there?
Nobody could explain the noise backstage.
Note. In some combinations the adverbs modifying a noun become adjectivized, e.g. the then Prime Minister, in the above examples, in after years and some others.
Some groups of adverbs, namely viewpoint, attitudinal and formulaic ones, modify whole sentences.
e.g. He felt sure that, politically, the proposal might have serious consequences.
Luckily, I came just in time. Will you kindly step aside?
Conjunctive adverbs connect what is being said with what was said before, establishing between two or more statements relations of enumeration, equality, contrast, result, inference, replacement, concession, opposition, time and the like.
e.g. He felt ill, yet he didn't stay in.
Paul went away for three days. Meanwhile his family were to do the packing.
He got wet in the rain and fell ill as a result.
I know you are not a doctor. Nevertheless (still) you could have bandaged his cut.
Place of Adverbs in the Sentence
§ 7. There are generally four possible positions for adverbs in the sentence:
1)at the head of the sentence,
2)between the subject and predicate or, if the predicate is a complicated form, the adverb appears after the first auxiliary verb, link-verb or a modal verb,
3)before the word the adverb modifies,
4)at the end of the sentence.
Different semantic groups of adverbs tend to appear in different positions.
Thus, many adverbs of time and frequency prefer Position 2.
e.g. Mother is now busy in the kitchen. He will soon be back.
He never sleeps late.
She is already typing the letter.
He can sometimes be seen in the library.
However, some of time adverbs appear in Position 4.
e.g. He arrived yesterday. He hasn't called yet.
I haven't heard from him lately.
If any adverbs of time and frequency are found in positions other than those characteristic of them, it means that these adverbs are intended for special emphasis.
Cf. He usually comes early, (common)
: PRESSI ( HERSON )
Usually he comes early, (emphatic) They are never ready in time, (common) They never are ready in time, (emphatic)
Adverbs of place and direction usually occur in Position 4. e.g. The young people were enjoying themselves outside.
On Sunday they didn't go anywhere.
Adverbs of manner commonly appear in Position 4, after the predicate verb.
e.g. They welcomed us warmly.
He explained the problem very simply. His uncle supported him lavishly.
Some adverbs of manner may occasionally be found in Position 2.
e.g. She knew she had deeply hurt her husband.
The girl bent down and gently scooped the butterfly into the palm of her hand.
Occasionally adverbs of manner may be found in Position 1. In that case the adverb does not only modify the predicative verb, but also the subject.
e.g. Stiffly she began to get out of the car. (= she was stiff when she began to get out of the car)
Anxiously she watched the butterfly. (= she felt anxious when she watched the butterfly)
Adverbs of degree (or intensifiers) are usually placed in Position 3, before the word they modify.
e.g. I quite forgot her birthday.
He definitely saw me in the corridor. It was a really stupid thing to do.
I know almost nothing about it. He came back so soon.
The adverb enough, when it modifies an adjective or an adverb, is placed in post-position to them.
e.g. He is old enough to understand it. He spoke frankly enough.
However, adverbs of degree (intensifiers), if they modify verbs, may also be found in Position 4, at the end of the sentence.
e.g. I don't know him well.
He ignored me completely.
Focusing adverbs occupy Position 3 — most of them precede the word they refer to (a) and only some of them follow it immediately (b).
e.g. a) Shall we just exchange the books?
It was only proper that the girl should give up her seat to an elderly lady.
He also bought a can of raspberry jam.
b)Ann alone knew my secret. I, too, want a cup of tea.
Viewpoint adverbs are usually found in Position 1 and marked off by a comma.
e.g. Morally, they have won a victory. Theoretically, I have no objection to his proposal.
Note. A change in the position of an adverb may bring about a change in its meaning.
Cf. The expedition was planned scientifically, {an adverb of manner meaning 'using scientific methods')
Scientifically, the expedition was a success, (a viewpoint adverb meaning 'from a scientific point of view')
You may answer the question generally, (an adverb of manner meaning 'not in detail')
You generally answer the questions in too much detail, (an adverb of frequency meaning 'usually')
Attitudinal adverbs mainly tend to appear in Position 1, at the head of the sentence (a): they may also occur in Positions 2
and 4 (b).
e.g. a) Perhaps they knew that she was coming today. Unfortunately, we didn't find him in the office. Honestly, we knew nothing about it.
b)My brother, unaccountably, had very few friends.
It was possible of course that Meg would deny everything. I honestly don't remember it.
Conjunctive adverbs may be found in Positions 1, 2 and 4.
e.g. She did not expect her husband to meet her. However, when the train had stopped, she saw him standing on the plat-
form.
She felt she ought to find a job. She was nevertheless too
tired to do it.
The corridor was full of people anyway. Besides he was too exhausted to wait.
The Adverb so
§ 8. Note the peculiarities in the use of the adverb so. It is generally used as an adverb of degree or a conjunctive adverb, but may also be used to stand for a previous statement. This is found in the following cases:
1) When so is used to express agreement with a preceding statement, especially after the verbs to be afraid, to believe, to expect, to imagine, to hear, to say, to suppose, to tell, to think. (Compare it with the pronoun it when it is used instead of a previous sentence or clause or phrase. For this see "Pronouns", § 5.)
e.g. "Will he do it?" "I think so." (I expect so. I believe so.) "Is he ill?" "I'm afraid so."
"Are we on the right road?" "I hope so." "Why do you say so?"
Disagreement with a previous statement may be expressed in two ways: by using not after an affirmative verb or by using so after a negative verb. Only the first way is possible with the verbs to hope and to be afraid.
e.g. "Can you come and see us tomorrow?" "I'm afraid not." "Will you have to do it yourself?" "I hope not."
As to the other verbs, both ways are possible with them, the second being more common, however.
e.g. "Will they ask you to do it?" "I don't think so."
"Are your parents going to stay with you when they come?" "I don't suppose so."
: PRESSI ( HERSON )
2) When so expresses agreement and refers to a previous statement it is also found in the following two patterns:
e.g. a) "It was hot yesterday." "So it was." "We've all worked well." "So we have."
b)"It's going to rain soon." "If so, what are we going to do?" "I'm afraid I've lost my purse." "If so, how are you going to get home?"
3)When so is used with to do to refer to a preceding verb.
e.g. I told him to come and see me the next day, and he did so. If they want me to help you, I will do so.
4) When so meaning 'also' is used in the following sentence patterns:
e.g. My wife likes having visitors and so do I.
My brother is fond of pop-music and so is his wife. The negative counterpart of that is neither.
e.g. I haven't seen him for a long time and neither have they.
The Adverbs already and yet
§ 9. Already is generally found in affirmative sentences, e.g. They've already left. (They've left already.)
In interrogative sentences it is used with an element of surprise or if one is sure of a yes-answer.
e.g. "Have they left already?" (' ?') "Yes, a minute ago."
Yet is found in negative sentences and in interrogative sentences when the speaker really does not know the answer.
e.g. They haven't left yet. (They haven't yet left.) Have they left yet?
The Adverbs still and yet
§ 10. Still may be used in all kinds of sentences with an implication of an action (positive or negative) continuing.
e.g. He is still asleep. (' .') Is he still asleep? (' ?')
is still not asleep. (' .')
Yet may also be used in all kinds of sentences with an implication that an action (positive or negative) has not started yet.
e.g. He is asleep yet. (' .') Is he asleep yet? (' ?')is not asleep yet. (' .')
Compare also the following pairs:
Do it while it is still light, (' ')
Do it while it is light yet. (' ') Is it still light? (' ?')
Is it light yet? (' ?') It is still not light. (' .')
It is not light yet. (' .')
The Adverbs much, far and long
§ ll. The use of the adverb much is similar to the use of the indefinite pronoun much: it is mainly found in interrogative and negative sentences (see also "Pronouns", § 32).
e.g. He doesn't care much what happens to him. Did he travel much?
The adverbs far, far off, far away and long are also mainly used in interrogative and negative sentences. Their counterparts for affirmative sentences are a long way, a long way off, a long way away and a long time respectively,
e.g. Did you have to walk far? I've got a long way to go. I couldn't stay there long.
He talked with us for a long time.
§ 12. Special attention should be paid to a striking point in the use of English adjectives and adverbs: what a Russian student of English would expect to find expressed by an adverb modifying the predicate verb (Cf. .) is replaced in English by an adjective modifying a noun in the sentence.
e.g. He gave a careful look round the room. (= He looked round the room carefully.)
He pays us occasional visits. (= He visits us occasionally.) His friends shrugged cynical shoulders. («•= His friends shrugged
their shoulders cynically.)
PREPOSITIONS
§ 1. Prepositions are structural words which are used with a noun (or a noun-equivalent, e.g. a pronoun or an ing-form)to show its relation to some other word in the sentence (a verb, another noun, an adjective and occasionally an adverb).
e.g. The face of his visitor was so distasteful to him that he could scarcely bear to look at it
The stream was very shallow because of the drought but still it was active, hurrying over the pebbles.
The question, thrown at her so vehemently, took from her the power of thought for a moment.
They agreed to his proposal independently of each other.
Prepositions may be single words, e.g. in, for, below, behind, across, inside, within, etc., and also phrases consisting of more than one word, e.g. because of, thanks to, due to, in front of, owing to, but for, etc. Besides, there are a large number of combinations in English based on the pattern preposition + noun + preposition (e.g. in addition to, on top of, on account of, in view of, in accordance with, in contrast with, with respect to, etc.). They are on the way to becoming prepositions.
Note. Some ing-forms are also used as prepositions, e.g. concerning, including, etc.
: PRESSI ( HERSON )
§ 2. Prepositions may have a lexical meaning of their own.
e.g. Her sister appeared, carrying a wine-glass in which there was a raw egg, with a little sherry on it.
The path felt springy beneath his feet.
He dropped into a chair beside his mother. She arrived before lunch.
Prepositions may indicate position in space or direction (e.g. on, in, under, over, at, near, to, into, out of, from, towards, etc.), time (e.g. after, before, during, for, in, on, at, etc.), various abstract relations (e.g. by, with, at, on, for, against, because of, instead of, owing to, according to, etc.).
Most prepositions are polysemantic.
e.g. I've been here for two weeks. He's brought a letter for you. Did you pay him for his work?
I was punished for my little joke. They went out for a walk.
They sent for a doctor.
The letters MP stand for Member of Parliament.
But the meaning of prepositions is often weakened and sometimes becomes even difficult to trace.
e.g. There is a man waiting for you in your office.
The success of the operation depends entirely on your consent. Who is responsible for this decision?
There is nothing wrong with him.
§ 3. The choice of prepositions is determined by different factors. Sometimes it is quite free, i.e. it entirely depends on the meaning the speaker wishes to convey.
e.g. There was a photograph of a young girl on his desk. There was a photograph of a young girl in his desk. There was a photograph of a young girl over his desk. There was a photograph of a young girl under his desk.
But more often the choice of the preposition is determined by the head-word.
e.g. No one could account for his objection to our plan.
He should be ashamed of himself. You shouldn't rely on him.
Who is going to look after your children while you are away? Your brother was cruel to him.
I've been dependent on both of you so long. She was treated for diabetes.
He was proud of his elder son.
Everyone is conscious of the change in the man.
He is quite good at painting. There is no point in arguing.
It is in this case that the meaning of the preposition often becomes weakened.
The choice of the preposition may also depend on the noun that follows the preposition.
e.g. Who was the first to speak at the meeting? He went there on business.
He is now on a concert tour in Europe. I'm planning to finish it in February.
He woke up at 8 o'clock.
We discussed it in detail.
No one could help him under the circumstances.
In this case the preposition and the noun often become set phrases (e.g. in the evening, at dawn, by day, by taxi, etc.). The meaning of the preposition is also weakened here.
§ 4. Although prepositions serve to express various relations between the noun (or noun-equivalent) following it and other words in the sentence, they sometimes get separated from the noun (or noun-equivalent). This occurs in:
a) special questions,
e.g. What are you looking for? Who(m) did you speak with? What conclusion did you come to?
b) certain subordinate clauses,
e.g. What he is waiting for is not likely to happen. That is what he wanted to begin with.
I know who(m) he is worried about.
I'm expecting a letter my plans for the future depend on. c) certain passive constructions,
e.g. He loved the dogs and they were taken good care of.
They found him so ill that a doctor was immediately sent for. His marriage was very much talked about.
d) certain functions of the infinitive or infinitive phrase, e.g. He hated to be made fun of.
When he retired he went to live in Dorset, in a charming place his wife had bought for him to retire to.
You have a lot to be thankful for. You've done nothing to be ashamed of. There is nothing more to worry about.
Sometimes one and the same noun is associated with two or more different prepositions. The noun itself need not be repeated after each preposition and is usually placed after the last one.
e.g. It is a book for and about children.
The pronoun much is used of and with uncountable nouns. He cared for and looked after his ageing mother.
It follows from the above examples that the prepositions in this case are retained by the preceding head-word.
§ 5. The prepositions of, by and to may become entirely devoid of lexical meaning and serve to express mere grammatical relations. This occurs in the following constructions:
e.g. Anne was the wife of a miner.
They were followed by their two daughters. They offered the job to Hawkins.
The prepositions are said to be grammaticalized in this case.
: PRESSI ( HERSON )
CONJUNCTIONS
§ 1. Conjunctions are structural words that serve to connect words or phrases as well as clauses or sentences (see the examples
below).
Conjunctions may be single words (e.g. and, as, because, but, or, though, while, etc.)> phrases consisting of more than one word (e.g. in order that, on condition (that), in case, as soon as, as long as, for fear (that), as if, as though, etc.) and also correlative conjunctions, i.e. conjunctions that are always used in pairs (e.g. as...as, both.,.and, either...or, not only...but also, etc.).
Note. Some ing-formsand participles are also used as conjunctions (e.g. supposing, seeing, given (= on condition, if), providing or provided).
§ 2. Conjunctions have a lexical meaning of their own.
e.g. He came to see me because he felt happy. He came to see me though he felt happy. He came to see me when he felt happy. He came to see me if he felt happy.
Note. The lexical meaning of the conjunction that is vague. It serves to introduce different kinds of clauses.
e.g. That I was not going to be popular with the other children soon became clear to my parents, {subject clause)
The probability is that he refused to cooperate, (predicative clause) He believed that his father was an innocent man. (object clause)
I was sure that many would follow his example, (object clause)
My father then sold everything that he might have the money for my education, (adverbial clause of purpose)
He was so shabby that no decent landlady would take him in. (adverbial clause
of result)
He agreed with the assertion that his results fell short of the requirements.
(appositive clause).
§ 3. According to their role in the sentence, conjunctions fall into two groups: coordinating conjunctions (e.g. accordingly, and,
besides, both...and, but, either,..or, hence, likewise, moreover, nevertheless, or, still, therefore, yet, etc.) and subordinating conjunctions (e.g. after, as, as,..as, as long as, because, before, if, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whether, etc.).
Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences which are independent of each other.
e.g. His light-brown hair was fine and thick.
She took a piece of cake and a cup of tea. She flung the door open and entered.
She felt jealous because there was someone who knew what was so closely connected with her father and what she herself had not known.
Meg ordered a fresh pot of tea and they settled down to discuss the new complication.
Just now I can't think of anything but of how you were made to suffer.
She looked scornful but she was secretly pleased.
She could no longer think clearly or speak with decision.
She was furious at me, yet I didn't care.
It was hard to get the story clear from her cousin's answers, nevertheless she found out everything.
Subordinating conjunctions serve to join a subordinate clause to the principal clause.
e.g. When the play was over he asked her if she would let him see her home.
He felt marvellously happy as though everything he did were a marvel.
The two girls were silent till he left the room. He winked at me as he passed.
The old man said to the boy: "If you don't like me you may go home whenever you choose."
Subordinating conjunctions may occasionally introduce a word or a phrase within a simple sentence.
e.g. When a child, he often had to run errands for his elders. His father was sharp with his children, while at home. He promised to sell the car if necessary.
There was a dry, pungent smell in the air, as though of dry vegetation, crisped by the sun.
He looked happy though somewhat tired.
Note. It should be pointed out that a number of conjunctions (a) have homonyms among prepositions (b) and adverbs (c).
e.g. a) He had not heard himself called that name since his mother died. b)Everything has gone wrong since that night.
c)He had his last meal in the restaurant car and hasn't had anything to eat since.
a)He found himself in his mother's arms before he saw her.
b)I talked to him before the conference. c)I've never seen him so angry before.
a)They spoke little until they reached the less busy road. b)He stayed up until dawn, reading and writing.
a)After he had taken all the things out, she started the car. b)After lunch they all went to their rooms.
INTERJECTIONS
§ 1. Interjections are words expressing emotions, such as surprise, anger, pleasure, regret, indignation, encouragement, triumph, etc. They are used as exclamations.
§ 2. Some interjections are special words which are not associated with any other parts of speech, e.g. oh , ah , eh ,
aha , alas , fie , humph , hum ,
phew , pshaw , pooh , tush , bravo , hurrah , etc.
Some of these interjections serve to express quite definite feelings. Thus alas is a cry of sorrow or anxiety; bravo is a cry of approval, meaning 'well done, excellent'; hurrah is a cry of expressing joy, welcome; fie, pooh and pshaw express contempt; aha expresses triumph.
Other interjections, according to the tone of the voice, may express emotions of different character, e.g. ah may show sorrow,
