7.5.2. Adverbs denoting circumstances

Adverbs denoting circumstances in which an action is performed are further divided into groups: a) adverbs of time, b) adverbs of place and direction, c) adverbs of cause and purpose.

Adverbs of time denote the time of an action, thus answering the question when? They are as follows: yester­day, today, tomorrow, soon, late, now, then, before, just, already, still, yet, shortly, hitherto.

Besides to this group belong some set expressions like at present, in the past, by day, at night, in the begin­ning, in the end, from morning till night, etc.

Adverbs of place and direction indicate the place of the action or its direction, thus answering the question where? They are as follows: inside, outside, here, there, southward, northward, homeward, ashore, around, where, somewhere, nowhere, everywhere.

This group includes also such set expressions as back and forth, to and from, hither and thither, up and down, etc.

Adverbs of cause, purpose and consequence include why, therefore, consequently, finally, eventually, accor­dingly, as well as set expressions like in consequence, as a result.

7.4. Prepositional adverbs

Prepositional adverbs (or adverbial prepositions), namely about, around, down, in, off, on, out, over, up, and

so on form a special class of words which may function

both as units of full meaning or adverbs, and syncategore-matically, i.e. as prepositions. The double nature of prepo­sitional adverbs is accounted for by their position in a sentence.

When the prepositional adverb functions as a prepo­sition it is syntactically connected with both the preceding verb and the following noun. As an auxiliary word it is unstressed. For example: Get in the car, and we'll go for a drive.

When the prepositional adverb performs an adverbial function it is syntactically linked to and modifies the preceding verb. As a word of full meaning the preposi­tional adverb is always stressed. For example: I'll hold the car door open for you while you get in.

Examine the following pairs of sentences:

1. / looked round the station but couldn't see my friend anywhere.

2. / looked round but couldn't find my friend anywhere.

1. The boy climbed the wall and then jumped off it.

2. The boy climbed the wall and then jumped off.

1. The child was not tall enough to look over the wall.

2. The boy pulled himself to the top of the wall and looked over.

1. It is so difficult to deal with frer.

2. She is so difficult to deal with.

1. They have sent for the doctor.

2. The doctor has been sent for.

1. The country depends on its tourist trade.

2. What does the economy of the country depend on?

In the first sentences of each pair prepositional ad­verbs are used as prepositions while in the second sen­tences they function as adverbs.

Prepositional adverbs in the prepositional function regularly reproduced with a particular verb form preposi­tional verbs: abstain from, comment on, depend on, deal with, rely on, etc. Some verbs may associate with a num­ber of prepositional adverbs and thus reveal their poly­semantic character. For example: look at, look for, look after, look into, agree to, agree on, agree with, listen to, listen for, and so on.

Prepositional adverbs used syncategorematically find themselves in a fixed syntactic position: they always pre­cede an object. For example: She was looking for the lost books. I often listen to classical music. Phrases like She was looking the lost books for and I often listen classical music to are ungrammatical. (Compare with the patterns in which for and to are used as adverbs: What is she looking for? What kind of music do you often listen to?)

Combinations of verbs with prepositional adverbs in the adverbial function regularly reproduced in speech and functioning as equivalents of one word are usually termed phrasal verbs: bring up (educate), call up (shout), find out (discover) carry out (perform), put on (dress), etc. Their second component is a word in its own right and its position in a sentence may sometimes vary. For example: He put on his coat. — He put his coat on. The case is full, I can't pack in any more clothes. — I can't pack any more clothes in.

In most of phrasal verbs both verbs and prepositional adverbs no longer preserve their literal meanings, and thus the meaning of the whole is different from the meanings of the separate words, i.e. idiomatic. For example: She made up her face, (used cosmetics) You can just make out the farm in the distance, (see clearly) The washing ma­chine seems to have broken down again, (failed to work) The boy took in all those present, (deceived) When in doubt look up the word in a dictionary, (search for) Where can we put up tonight? (find food and lodging)

Some idiomatic phrasal verbs have their non-idiomatic counterparts in which both the verb and the prepositional adverb are used in their direct meanings. Compare: The boat is taking in water. I was buried in my book; when I looked up. he had gone. Put up your hand if you know the answer. (See also 6.2.)

7.5. Interrogative and connective adverbs

There are 2 more groups of adverbs that stand aside: interrogative and connective adverbs. The interrogative adverbs are used to introduce special questions: where, when, why, how. For example: Where and when were you born? Why didn't you come yesterday? How can I get to the town centre?

The same adverbs used in a complex sentence to connect its clauses are called connective adverbs. Besides their auxiliary function, as words in their own right, they perform an independent syntactic function in a clause they introduce.

Connective adverbs are subdivided into relative and conjunctive.

Relative adverbs where, when and sometimes why in­troduce attributive clauses. For example: This is the buil­ding where_I_work. (Where is adverbial modifier of place.) I remember the day when he left. (When is adverbial mo­difier of time.) Is there any reason why you can't come? (Why is adverbial modifier of cause.)

Conjunctive adverbs how and why introduce subject, predicative and object clauses: How he got in here is still a mystery for me. (Subject clause, how is adverbial modifier of manner.) This is why she did it. (Predicative clause.) / can't see why it shouldn't work. (Object clause, why is adverbial modifier of cause.)

When an adverb introduces an adverbial clause, it turns into the conjunction proper, i.e. a syncategorematic word that is used only to connect parts of a complex sentence and thus cannot be regarded as part of sentence: Things were different when I was a child. Crossing the street he at once saw her where he had left her.