Modifiers

4 Key excerpts on "Modifiers"

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  Linguistic Analysis

  From Data to Theory

  • Annarita Puglielli, Mara Frascarelli(Authors)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter Mouton

    (Publisher)

  5. Adverbial modification 5.1. Adverbs and adverbials: Preliminary considerations From a formal point of view, adverbs are usually described as invariable lexemes whose function is to modify predicates, other Modifiers (adjectives or adverbs) or larger syntactic units, including clauses. Adverbs are thus undoubtly Modifiers (a second-level function; see § 1.5.) but, unlike adjec- tives, they do not operate on nominal constituents. This is an important difference, as it determines an immediate categorial distinction on a distributional basis for those languages in which adverbs and adjectives are formally identical, e.g. German: (1) a. Diese Arbeit war sorgfältig. (GERMAN) DEM.NOM work.NOM be.PST.3SG accurate ‘This work was accurate.’ b. Der Mann arbeitet sorgfältig. DET.NOM man.NOM work.PRES.3SG accurate ‘The man works accurately.’ As is shown, while in some languages adverbs are often identified through a specific derivational suffix (e.g., -ly in English, -ment in French, -mente in Italian, etc.), in German (predicative) adjectives and adverbs are distinguished on a purely distributional basis. However, the function of adverbial Modifiers is not limited to these invariable lexemes. Let us consider the following examples: (2) a. I have just arrived. b. I arrived one minute ago. c. I arrived in time. d. I arrived right after you came. Noun phrases (2b), prepositional phrases (2c) and whole sentences (2d) may modify a predicate as well as an adverb proper (2a), conveying very similar meanings. Adverbial modification 178 Furthermore, in other languages such as German, this function can also be fulfilled by particles, 1 i.e.

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  The Cambridge Handbook of Generative Syntax

  • Marcel den Dikken(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  13 Adverbial and adjectival modification Artemis Alexiadou 13.1 Introduction Adjectives and adverbs are generally considered as “highly complex and significantly less studied than other major categories” (McNally and Kennedy 2009:1). These authors reiterate similar such statements found in other recent collections or overviews on related matters (see, e.g., Alexiadou 2002a, Delfitto 2006, the introduction in Lang et al. 2003, and more recently Maienborn and Scha ¨ fer 2011). The reason why linguists are intrigued by the behavior of these elements has to do primarily with the puzzles these pose for both syntax and semantics, and the ways these components interact with one another which make it problematic to articulate a comprehensive theory of modification. In this chapter, I will address some of the issues that have been in the center of the discussion on adjectival and adverbial modification, and point out a number of sources where the reader can find further informa- tion on the specific question he/she is interested in. The chapter is struc- tured as follows. Section 13.2 is devoted to a discussion on the lexical status of Modifiers. Section 13.3 presents certain distributional and semantic classifications of adjectives and adverbs that have been proposed in the literature. Section 13.4 discusses a number of proposals concerning the licensing of Modifiers. Section 13.5 focuses on one influential proposal that adjectives and adverbs are specifiers of designated functional projec- tions and the problems this faces. Section 13.6 concludes. 13.2 Lexical status Although by now there is a relatively rich literature on adjectives and adverbs, it is surprising that it is still very difficult to come up with a definition of what these elements actually are. Criteria that work for one language prove ineffective for other languages regardless of whether they are syntactic, morphological, or semantic.

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  A Student's Introduction to English Grammar

  • Rodney Huddleston, Geoffrey K. Pullum, Brett Reynolds(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  8 Adjuncts: Modifiers and Supplements 8.1 Introduction In this chapter we provide a brief overview of the ways in which clause structure may be elaborated or embellished by constituents in adjunct function. We divide adjuncts into two kinds: Modifiers, which are thoroughly integrated into the syntactic structure of clauses, and what we call supplements, which are much more loosely connected to the sentences in which they’re found. You’ll find considerable disagreement on terminology between different gram- mars. Adjuncts in general, and particularly Modifiers in clause structure, are often called ‘adverbials’. This is a misleading term, because it suggests some connection to the adverb category, though there is none (adjuncts can be NPs or PPs or AdjPs or clauses). And supplements are often called ‘parentheticals’ because of the way they are quite often (like this one) printed in round parentheses. The last five chapters have been structured around categories, but now we’re focusing on a single very general syntactic function with a broad array of subtypes, realized by a wide range of constituents of different categories. We’ll be mainly concerned with semantics: there is some correlation between semantic roles and syntax, which allows us to make a number of general syntactic observations, but meaning contribution is the primary way in which adjunct types differ. The present chapter may be helpful in working out how particular ideas can be expressed. Three difficulties complicate the task of completing a comprehensive survey of all the kinds of adjuncts. • The boundary between adjuncts and complements is not perfectly sharp.

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  Linguistic Perspectives on English Grammar

  • Martin J. Endley(Author)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Information Age Publishing

    (Publisher)

  Additionally, I will briefly touch upon two further potential difficulties in relation to ad- jectives, namely participles and compound forms. After this, I will turn to adverbs, limiting my discussion to two main issues: first, the similarities and differences between adjectives and adverbs; and second, the functions per- formed by adverbial expressions. The Adjective Word Class: Morphosyntactic Characteristics In some languages, the adjective class is a small, closed class. And some lan- guages lack such a class entirely, with the meanings expressed by adjectives in English being expressed by other syntactic categories. However, modern Adjectives and Adverbs in Linguistic Perspective  79 English has a rich range of adjectives and they are ubiquitous in the speech and writing of EUEs. Like nouns and verbs, adjectives belong in the open class of words in English and it is not uncommon for new adjectives to be added to the language. What, then, is an adjective? Students are often taught that an adjective is a word that “describes” or modifies a noun. This is a reasonable start- ing point, insofar as many adjectives are found in close association with nouns, but, once again, there is a great deal more that needs to be said. In fact, as we will see shortly, only some adjectives are Modifiers. Others are better understood as complements. The use of such labels is not always a straightforward matter. For our purposes, we can say that a modifier is an optional element; on the other hand, a complement is grammatically required. The Position of Adjectives: The Prenominal Position In English, there are two main positions that an adjective may occupy in a construction. One position is within a noun phrase, immediately pre- ceding the noun. I will follow the conventional designations, referring to adjectives in the prenominal position as attributive adjectives, and adjectives in post-verbal position as predicative adjectives.

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