The other two form classes, adjectives and adverbs, like nouns and verbs, can usually be recognized by their form and/or by their position in the sentence.
Ihe inflectional endings th at identify adjectives and some adverbs arc -er and -est, known as the comparative and superlative degrees:
A djective A dverb
big near bigger nearer biggest nearest
W hen the word has two or more syllables, [he comparative and superlative markers are generally more and most rather than the suffixes:
beautiful quickly more beautiful more quickly most beautiful most quickly
A nother test o f w hether a w ord is an adjective or adverb, as opposed to noun or verb, is its ability to pattern with a qualifier, such as very:
very beautiful very quickly
You’ll notice that these tests (the degree endings and very) can help you differentiate adjectives and adverbs from the other two form classes, nouns and verbs, but they do not help you distinguish the two word classes from each other.
There is one special clue about word form that we use to help us identify adverbs: the -ly ending. However, this is not an inflectional suffix like -er or -est. W hen we add one o f these to an adjective— happier, happiest— the word remains an adjective (just as a noun with the plural inflection added
Chapter 2: Words and Phrases 23
is still a noun). In contrast, the -ly ending that makes adverbs so visible is actually added to adjcctives to turn them into adverbs:
A djective A dverb
quick + ly = quickly pleasant + ly = pleasantly happy + ly = happily
Rather than inflectional, the -ly is a derivational suffix: It enables us to
derive adverbs from adjectives. Incidentally, the -ly means “like”: quickly
quick-like; happily = happy-like. And because we have so many adjectives th at can m orph into adverbs in this way— m any thousands, in fact— we arc not often m istaken when we assume th at an -ly w ord is an adverb. (In Chapter 12 you will read about derivational suffixes for all four form classes.)
In addition to these “adverbs o f m anner,” as the -ly adverbs are called, we have a selection o f other adverbs that have no clue o f form; am ong them are then, now, soon, here, there, everywhere, afterivard, often, some
times, seldom, always. O ften the best way to identify an adverb is by the
kind o f inform ation it supplies to the sentence— inform ation of tim e, place, manner, frequency, and the like; in other words, an adverb answers such questions as where, when, why, how, and how often. Adverbs can also be identified on the basis o f their position in the predicate and their movability.
As you read in the discussion o f noun phrases, the slot between the determiner and the headword is where we find adjectives:
this new rccipe an enormous crowd
Adverbs, on the other hand, modify verbs and, as such, will be part o f the predicate:
Some residents spoke passionately tor the ordinance. M ario suddenly hit the brakes.
However, unlike adjectives, one o f the features o f adverbs th at makes them so versatile for writers and speakers is their movability: 'Ihey can often be moved to a different place in the predicate— and they can even leave the predicate and open the sentence:
Mario hit the brakes suddenly. Suddenly Mario hit the brakes.
Bear in m ind, however, th at some adverbs are m ore m ovable than others. W e probably d o n ’t w ant to move passionately to the beginning o f its sentence. And in m aking the decision to move the adverb, we also w ant to consider the context, the relation o f the sentence to the others around it.
24 Part IT: 'the Grammar of Basic Sentences
2.1
Your job in this exercise is to experiment with the underlined adverbs to discover how movable they are. How many places in the sentence will they fit? Do you and your classmates agree?
1. I have finally finished my report.
2. Maria has now accumulated sixty credits towards her degree. 3. The hunters moved stealthily through the woods.
4. The kindcrgartncrs giggled quietly in the corner. 5. Mv parents occasionally surprise me with a visit.
6. O ur soccer coach will undoubtedly expect us to practice tomorrow.
7. I occasionally iog nowadays.
8. Ihe wind often blows furiously in lanuarv.
PR EP O SI TI O N AL PHRASES
Before going on to sentence patterns, let’s take a quick look at the prepo
sitional phrase, a two-part structure consisting of a preposition followed
by an object, w hich is usually a no u n phrase. Prepositions are am ong the most com m on words in our language. In fact, the paragraph you are now reading includes nine different prepositions: before, to, at, o f (three times), by, among, in, throughout, and as (twice). Prepositional phrases show up throughout our sentences, sometimes as part o f a noun phrase and sometimes as a modifier o f the verb. Because prepositional phrases are so comm on, you m ight find it helpful to review the lists o f prepositions in Chapter 13 (pp. 274, 276).
As a modifier in a noun phrase, a prepositional phrase nearly always follows the noun headword. Its purpose is to make clear the identity of the noun or simply to add a descriptive detail. Several o f the noun phrases you saw in Rxercise 1 include a prepositional phrase:
O ur new neighbors across the hall became our best friends.
Chapter 2: Words and Phrases 25
Here the across phrase is part of the subject, functioning like an adjective, so wc call it an adjectival prepositional phrase; it tells “which neighbors” we’re referring to. In a different sentence, that same prepositional phrase could function adverbially:
O u r good friends live across the hall.
Here the purpose of the across phrase is to tell “where” about the verb live, so we refer to its function as adverbial. H ere’s another adverbial preposi tional phrase from Exercise 1:
The students rested after their long trip.
Here the preposicional phrase tells “when”— another purpose of adverbi- als. A nd there’s one more clue that this prepositional phrase is adverbial. It could be moved to the opening of the sentence:
i Jeer their long trip , the students rested.
R em em ber th at the nouns adjective and adverb nam e w ord classes: They nam e forms. W hen we add th at -al or -ial suffix— adjectival and
adverbial— they become the names o f functions— functions that adjec
tives and adverbs normally perform. In other words, the terms adjectival and adverbial can apply to structures other than adjectivcs and adverbs— such as prepositional phrases, as we have just seen:
Modifiers o f nouns are called adjectivals, no matter what their form. Modifiers o f verbs are called adverbials, no matter what their form.
In the following sentences, some of which you have seen before, identify the function o f each of the underlined prepositional phrases as either adjectival or adverbial:
1. A huge crowd of students lined the streets for the big parade. 2. Mickey’s roommate studies in the library on the weekends. 3. Some residents of the community spoke passionately for the
ordinance.
4. The merchants in town were unhappy. 5. In August my parents moved to Portland.
2 6 Part II: The Grammar o f Basic Sentences
2.2
A. Make each list of words into a noun phrase and then use the phrase in a sentence. Compare your answers with your classmates’— the NPs should all be the same (with one exception); the sentences will vary.
1. table, the, small, wooden 2. my, sneakers, roommate’s, new 3. cotton, white, t-shirts, the, other, all 4. gentle, a, on the head, tap
5. books, those, moldy, in the basement 6. the, with green eyes, girl
Did you discover the item with two possibilities?
B. Many words in English can serve as either nouns or verbs. Here arc some examples:
T made a promise to my boss, (noun) I promised to be on time for work, (verb) He offered to help us. (verb)
We accepted his offer, (noun)
Write a pair of short sentences for each of the following words, dem onstrating that they can be either nouns or verbs:
visit plant point feature audition
T H E S T R U C T U R E CLASSES
In addition to the form classes, so far in this chapter you have learned labels for three o f our structure classes:
1. Determ iner, a word that marks nouns. In the section headed
“The N o u n Phrase,” you learned that the function o f articles
(a, an, the), possessive nouns and pronouns (his, M ary’s,
etc.), dem onstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those), and
indefinite pronouns (some, both, each, ctc.) is to introduce
noun phrases. In other words, when you see the or my or this or some, you can be very sure that a noun is coming.
2.
Qualifier,
a word that marks— qualifies or intensifies— adjectives and adverbs: rather slowly, very sure.3. Preposition, a word, such as to, of, for, by, and so forth, that combines with a noun phrase to produce an adverbial or adjecti val modifier. Prepositions are listed on pages 274, 276.
Chapter 2: Words and Phrases 2 7
In contrast to the large, open form classes, the structure classes are small and, for the most part, closed classes. As you read in the description o f the form classes, those open classes constitute 99 percent o f our language— and they keep getting new members. However, although the structure classes may be small, they are by far our most frequently used words. And we couldn’t get along w ithout them.
In C hapter 3 you will be introduced to several other structure classes as you study the sentence patterns. You will find examples o f all o f them in Chapter 13.
CHAPTER 2