adverbials
An
adverbial is an adverb, adverbial phrase or adverbial
clause which gives us additional information about e.g. the
time, place, or manner of the action which is described
in the rest of the sentence:
- We
have been living here in this house for over twenty years.
- We
were sleeping peacefully in our beds when the earthquake struck.
From
these examples, you can see that the most common position for adverbials
is at the end of the sentence Place adverbials (here in this
house) come before time adverbials (for over twenty years).
Manner adverbials (peacefully) come before place adverbials
(in our beds).
They
do not always follow this pattern. This applies particularly to
adverbial clauses. In the above example we could begin with the
adverbial clause, if it was important to highlight it at this stage
in the discourse:
- When
the earthquake struck, we were sleeping peacefully in our
beds.
Thus,
adverbials answer questions such as:
Where? |
When?
|
How?
|
Why? |
How
often? |
How
long? |
How
much? |
|
Where
did you arrange to meet him? ~
I arranged
to meet him outside the bank.
Why
did you arrange to meet him there?
So
that he could give me the money.
How long did you wait for him?
I waited
for half an hour but he didn't arrive.
When did you first meet him?
We first
met when he became the manager of the bank.
How often have you been seeing him since then?
Once
a week, usually. More frequently, if his wife was away.
Note
from the above examples that adverbs of frequency are often
placed in mid-position in the sentence, as well as at end-position.
Placing them before the subject is sometimes also possible:
- I
sometimes call on my younger sister when I'm in London
- I
never see my older sister, but occasionally I call
my younger sister.
- Yes
I see her from time to time. We get together once in
a blue moon.
|