Syntactic functions and patterns of combinability

§ 242. Adverbs may perform different functions, modifying different types of words, phrases, sentences. Some adverbs are restricted in their combinability whereas others may modify different words, for instance enough, which may be used in to work enough, not quickly enough, quick enough. The most typical function of the adverb is that of adverbial modifier.

The combinability and functions of the adverbs are as follows:

1. Adverbs may function asadverbial modifiers of manner, place, time, degree to a finite or non-finite form of the verb:

He spokealoud; I quite forgot about it; he spokewell.

Some adverbs of time though synonymous, are used in different syntactical patterns. Thus, already is used in affirmative sentences, and yet - in interrogative and negative sentences:

They have already finished.

They haven’t finished yet.

Have they finished yet?

However, already may occur in interrogative and negative sentences when there is an element of surprise or the question is suggestive, that is the speaker expects an affirmative answer.

Have they finished already? (The speaker is surprised at their having already finished.)

In the same way still, meaning “continuously, up to this moment”, is used in affirmative sentences and any more in negative sentences. If any more is used in a question, it implies that the speaker expects a negative answer.

He still works at the library.

He does not work there any more.

Does he take music lessons any more? - No, he doesn’t.

2. Adverbs may function asadverbial modifiers to an adjective or another adverb. Usually the modifying adverb is an intensifier:

very, rather, awfully, so, terribly, extremely, most, utterly, unusually, delightfully, unbelievably,

amazingly, strikingly, highly, that, etc.

The same applies to composite adverbs, such as

kind of, sort of, a good bit of, a lot of, a hell of, a great deal of, etc.

She isterribly awkward; they arevery happy: Meg is cleverenough;you speak so slowly; they settled in arather quiet street; the boy isunbelievably fat; she wasstrikingly handsome; we did itsort of proudly;quite definitely, too much,right there,a great deal too much.

Some adverbs - still, yet, far, much, any combine with comparative adjectives: much worse, not any better, still greater, etc.

He could not speakany plainer.

You could do itfar more neatly.

She ismuch wittier than her friend.

Comparative adverbs are used inclauses of proportional agreement,that is, parallel clauses in which qualities or actions denoted in them increase or decrease at an equal rate. (See Syntax § 177)

The longer I think about it the lessI understand your reasons.

To express the idea that a quality or action decreases or increases at an even rate the comparative may be repeated, the two identical forms being connected by and:

He ran faster and faster.

3. There are some adverbs which may modify nouns or words of nominal character, functioning asattribute, as in:

the way ahead, the trip abroad, the journey home, his return home, the sentence above (below), my friend

here, the house opposite, the day before, etc.

A few adverbs can premodify nouns without losing their adverbial character:

the then president, in after years, the above sentence, the now generation.

Their combinability with prepositional phrases can be illustrated by the following:

right up to the ceiling.

Positional characteristics

§ 243. As adverbs modify words of different classes, they accordingly occupy different positions in the sentence. In comparison with other words, adverbs may be considered as the most movable words. However, adverbs are not identical in their ability to be moved to another position in the structure. Thus,adverbs of manner anddegree are very closely attached to the word they modify and cannot be moved away from it. He sings well – is the only possible arrangement of the three words, unless the change of position is caused by inversion and a general shift of the communicative focus: Only well does he sing (он поет только хорошо). If such an adverb is put in other positions this may result in a change of meaning in which case it is no longer an adverb (it has already been mentioned that adverbs are often defined by position rather than form): well, he sings when nobody is in.

If the predicate is an analytical formadverbs of frequency and indefinite time are usually placed between its parts:

Have you ever seen him?

You are always laughing at me.

Adverbs of degree usually premodify adjectives or verbs:

awfully painful, terribly unjust, really pretty, so nice, to thoroughly understand, etc.

The most mobile areadverbs of time andplace, which can occupy several positions without any change in their meaning, as in:

Usually he sings well.

He usually sings well.

He sings well usually.

The initial position of theadverb of manner always makes it emphatic.

Proudly he showed his diploma to his parents.

Carefully he signed his name.

In these sentences, despite the detachment of the adverbial modifier, its connection with the verb is evident (showed proudly, signed carefully).

Note:

Care should be taken not to confuse adverbs of manner and modal words, which may have the same word-form and occur in the same position. The only guide in these cases is punctuation and the relation between the words:

Naturally I wanted him to answer - modal word.

I wanted him to answer naturally - adverb.

They wanted to live naturally - adverb.

They wanted to live, naturally - modal word.

MODAL WORDS

§ 244.Modal words express the speaker’'s attitude to what his utterance denotes. The speaker’s judgement may be of different kinds, that is, the speaker may express various modal meanings.

Modal words are an invariable part of speech. They may refer to a word, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence. Their syntactical function is that of a parenthesis, they may also be a sentence in themselves, in which case they are used to answer a general question:

Will you help me? Certainly.

Precisely this.

Except this man, of course.

Semantically modal words fall into three groups, denoting:

1.Certainty/doubt (certainly, of course, indeed, surely, decidedly, really, definitely, naturally, no doubt,

etc.).

Certainly, it was astonishing that she should be preoccupied with her schemes for the welfare of

Constance.

Of course, it would have been different if they had married.

In answers the meaning of these words is weakened.

2.Supposition (perhaps, maybe, probably, obviously, possibly, evidently, apparently, etc.).

Manson’s nature was extraordinarily intense. Probably he derived this from his mother.

You have come quickly to a resolution. But perhaps you have been considering this question for a long

time?

Obviously you didn’t read it.

3.Estimate proper (good/bad) – (luckily, fortunately, happily, unfortunately, unluckily, etc.).

Fortunately there were few people at the morning surgery.

Unhappily a terrible storm broke out before the travellers had reached their destination.

THE PREPOSITION

§ 245. A preposition is a function word indicating a relation between two notional words. Its semantic significance becomes evident when different prepositions are used with one and the same word, as in:

to goto the park, to goacross the park, to goround the park, to go out of the park, to gothrough the

park, etc.

A preposition may altogether change the meaning of the verb:

he shot the officer (he aimed at him and hit him),

he shot at the officer (he aimed at him but probably missed).

Although the tradition of differentiating prepositions from other word classes (conjunctions, and in some cases adverbs) is well established, it is not always easy to draw the border-line; nearly all one-word prepositions can also function as adverbs or as conjunctions, their status being determined only syntactically. A few words - after, before, since, for (with the change of meaning), behind - may function not only as adverbs, adverbial postpositions, or conjunctions, but also as prepositions. Compare the following groups of sentences:

They sailed up (postposition).

They sailed up the river (preposition).

Everybody was up at the sound of the bell (adverb).

The milk boiled over (postposition).

He presided over the meeting (preposition).

I can’t tolerate such men as him (preposition).

As he was passing the door he turned back (conjunction).

No one saw him but me (preposition).

But no one saw him (conjunction).

He is stronger than me (preposition).

He is stronger than I am (conjunction).

Morphological composition

§ 246. Most of the common English prepositions aresimple in structure:

out, in, for, on, about, but (в значении кроме, исключая), against.

Derived prepositions are formed from other words, mainly participles:

excepting, concerning, considering, following, including, during, depending, granted, past, except.

There are also manycompound prepositions:

within, outside, upon, onto, throughout, alongside, wherewith, whereof, whereupon, herein, hereafter, withall.

Composite orphrasal prepositions include a word of another class and one or two prepositions, as in by virtue of, but for, because of, by means of, instead of, in lieu of, prior to, on account of, abreast of, thanks to, with reference to, opposite to, in front of, for the sake of, in view of, in spite of, in preference to, in unison with, for the sake of, except for, due to, in addition to, with regard to, on behalf of, in line with, at variance with.

A composite preposition is indivisible both syntactically and semantically, that is, no element of it can be varied, abbreviated, or extended according to the normal rules of syntax. Thus in the composite preposition for the sake of neither the definite article nor the preposition can be re­placed by words of similar meaning.

Semantic characteristics

§ 247. Semantically prepositions form a varied group of words. Most of them are polysemantic (in, to, for, at, from), their original meaning having become vague, others have retained their full meaning and are accordingly monosemantic (down, over, across, off, till, until, save, near, along, among, despite, during, etc.). This also applies to prepositions borrowed from Latin: versus, via, plus, minus.

Relations expressed by prepositions may be of various types:

1) agentive - the letter was sentby a friend of mine;

2) attributive - a drawingin crayon, the peoplein question (люди, о которых идет речь);

3) possessive and partial relations - one of my friends, the roof of the house, a glassof brandy, a declinein

waste, a risein production;

4) relation indicating origin, material, or source - agirl from Brighton, made of gold:

5) objective relation – don’t be angrywith me, I'II lookinto the matter, to workat a book, to speakon the

matter(about the matter,of the matter);

6) relation indicating to whom the action is directed - to show ittohim, to give lessons to the children;

7) instrumental relation - to writewith a pencil, to cutwith a knife;

8) relation of subordination - to be secretaryto a Minister;

9) relation defining the sphere or field of activity - the country depends on exportsfor its food; Tom is good

at football;

10) relation of involvement or association - to cooperatewith some­body; coffee with cream, to compare this

with that, to get involved in a discussion;

11) respective relation - he is bigfor a youngster, I did not know I had a blackguard for a son;

12) relation of resemblance - he islike his father;

13) relation of dissociation and differentiation - to disburden oneself of one’s past; to be devoid of

something, to disentangle oneself from something; to know something from something, to deduce from

something;

14) various adverbial relations:

a) of manner, means, style and language -with diligence,bytelegram,in slang,in bad print,in a neat

hand.

in good style,inbrief;

b) of purpose or aim - to sendfor the doctor, he did itfor fun, the police wereafter the criminal;

c) temporal relations. These may be subdivided into those denoting precedence, sequence, duration, etc. -

in good time,at 5 o’clock, before the dawn;

d) of cause or reason - I did itout of fear,through his negligence, I despise youfor this;

e) spacial relation, including directional relation -past the gate, by the window,across the river,at the

gate;

f) concessive relation -in spite of the bad weather,despite ourprotests,for all his attempts,with all her

diligence.

The relations enumerated above to a great degree depend on the meaning of the words connected by prepositions. Sometimes the relation indicated by a preposition is too abstract to be defined in words, as its use is often figurative or metaphorical, as in:

He broke awayfrom themon some vague pretext.

The role of the preposition is difficult to define when it introduces predicatives, when its meaning is

‘in the capasity of’, ‘in the role of’, ‘having the quality of’.

As a friend he was admirable, but one cannot praise him as a husband.

His careeras a lawyer was short.

We regard himas a fool.

She went to the ball with her auntas chaperone.

When a preposition is used figuratively, the concept expressed by the preposition may be so blurred or weak that one preposition may be replaced by another without any essential alteration to the relation between the words. Thus the following words may be used with different prepositions without change of meaning:

aversion from, to

disgust against, at, towards

repugnance against, for, to

along, down, over the centuries

Words of the same root can be used with different prepositions:

to pride oneself on, to be proudof, pridein;

to confidein, confidencein, to be confidentof.

Combinability of prepositions

§ 248. As a rule a preposition governs a noun. However it may also be followed by a pronoun, a gerundial phrase or a clause with nominal function, as in:

for advantage,atfive o’clock,at taking measures, he was surprised at what he saw.

As prepositions indicate only the relationship between two words their position is clearly defined.

Many prepositions tend to form a phrase called aprepositional phrase,often combining either with the preceding verb or adjective, or with the following noun. Such prepositions cannot be replaced by others.

Phrases comprising verbs with prepositions to laugh at, to call for, to refer to, to look for (at, after) very often function as idioms, making one whole, so that the verb retains the preposition even if its complement is transferred, as in the passive construction:

quick action was calledfor, the book is often referredto.

With some polysemantic verbs the preposition often indicates its meaning, as in:

Some verbs are used with or without a preposition, with but slight difference as to content. Thus no preposition is used in the boy climbed the tree, but it is found in he climbedup the tree.

Similarly a preposition is often so closely connected with the adjective or stative it follows, that it has practically no separate meaning, and may be said to be nothing but a formal means of connecting the word with its complement:

She was afraidof the dog; The country is richin minerals.

Prepositions with nouns or clauses may modify a preceding noun, as in:

menat work, methodof teaching, the novelabout which we've been speaking.

Positional characteristics

§ 249. Normally a preposition stands between two words to express the relation between them. However, there are cases when one of the two words with which the preposition combines either takes the initial position or is not used at all. In these cases the preposition is attached to the remaining word. It occurs in:

1) special questions, both direct and indirect:

What are you drivingat?

Who shall I send itto?

What train shall I goby?

I asked him who the flowers werefor.

However, the preposition may precede the interrogative or relative words. In this case the sentence sounds more formal.

To whom shall I send this?

By what train shall I go?

He did not knowto whom he should turn for help.

The preposition precedes the interrogative when the preposition forms a stock phrase with a noun.

In what respect was he suspicious?

To what extent is this true?

In abbreviated sentences and clauses consisting only of a preposition and an interrogative word the preposition normally precedes it.

- Butto whom?

In colloquial style the preposition is at the end.

- Who by?

- “Apologize?” she said. “Whatabout?”

2) some clauses beginning with conjunctive and relative pronouns and in subordinate contact clauses:

What I am thinkingof is how he got there.

The man I told youabout is my relative.

The girl he is in lovewith studies at the University.

It is his talents he relieson.

In formal style however, the preposition precedes the connective:

The manabout whom I told you is a relative of mine.

3) exclamatory sentences:

What a nice place to livein!

4) passive constructions:

The doctor was immediately sentfor.

How strange it is to be talkedto in this way.

5) some syntactical patterns with the infinitive or gerund:

He is difficult to dealwith.

It is not worth worryingabont.

This is not a suitable house to livein.

Note:

If two or more prepositions refer to one word, the second (third) preposition may be used absolutely:

Holly thought of the lashesabove andbelow Val’s eyes, especiallybelow.

His wife was attachedto, and dependenton, him.

THE CONJUNCTION

A conjunction is a function word indicating the connection between two notional words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Morphological composition

§ 250. According to their morphological structure conjunctions fall into the following types:

1. Simple conjunctions:

and, or, but, till, after, that, so, where, when.

2. Derived conjunctions;

until, unless, seeing, supposing, provided.

3. Compound conjunctions:

whereas, wherever.

4. Composite conjunctions:

as well as, in case, for fear, on condition that, on the ground that, as long as, etc.

Several conjunctions form correlative pairs, though strictly speaking the first element is not a conjunction:

both ... and, either ... or, neither ... nor, not only ... but (also), whether ...or.

Semantic characteristics

§ 251. Unlike prepositions, most conjunctions usually retain their specific meaning,

No one was pleased when he came.

No one would be pleased if he came.

No one was pleased because he came.

No one was pleased though he came.

Exceptions are those conjunctions which may be used in more than one function (that, if, whether, as). Of these the conjunction that possesses the most vague semantic content.

According to their meaning (or rather the semantic relation they express) all conjunctions fall into two types:coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions expresscopulative, disjunctive, adversativeandcausative-consecutive connections. These four main types of coordinative connection allow of different shades of meaning,* depending on the context. Thuscopulative conjunctions (and, nor, as well as, both ... and) denote not only simple addition, but sometimes express opposition, explanation, consequence. Nor expresses copulative connection and negative meaning at the same time, it very often correlates with negation in the preceding clause.

* See also the paragraph on conjuncts which are more specialized connectors, expressing a more specific connection.

He didn't doubt it for a moment, nor had he any fears about the possible turn of the events.

Note 1:

The coordinating conjunction and may be used in a somewhat different function if it joins the same nouns;

the effect may be to suggest that different types of persons or objects should be distinguished:

There are teachers and teachers. (There are good and bad teachers.)

If the noun is repeated more than once, the effect is to suggest a large number:

There were faces and faces and faces all around him.

The repetition of verbs produces an effect of continuous action or of increase in degree:

He talked and talked and talked.

Note 2:

If the pronouns you and I, or their case forms are joined by the conjunction and, conventions of politeness require that you should always come first:

you and I; you or me; you and they; you and them.

Thedisjunctive conjunctions or, otherwise denote a choice between two alternatives.

I’ll call on you on Saturday or on Sunday.

Did it matter where he went, what he did, or when he did it?

Theadversative conjunctions but, not that denote contrast or contradiction.

He was tall but did not look it because of his broad shoulders.

They were silent, but there was no resentment on their faces.

There is only onecausal conjunction for, which denotes reason or cause, and oneresultative conjunction so.

He was never in the know of things, for nobody told him anything.

It was Saturday, so they were back from school early.