Describing persons, things and circumstances: Adjectival and Adverbial groups

Module 51: Adjectives and the adjectival group 475

51.1 Structure and characteristic uses of the adjectival group 476 51.2 Simple, derived and compound adjectives 477 51.3 Participles and participial adjectives 478 51.4 Semantic classes of adjectives 480

51.4.1 Descriptors 480 51.4.2 Classifiers 480 51.4.3 Degree emphasisers 481 51.4.4 Non-adjectival words used as modifiers 481

51.5 Syntactic functions of the adjectival group 481 51.6 Central and peripheral adjectives 482

Module 52: Degrees of comparison and intensification 484 52.1 Comparative and superlative degrees 484

52.1.1 Functions of comparatives and superlatives 486 52.1.2 The -er and -er construction 487 52.1.3 The nice and construction 487 52.1.4 The degree of sufficiency 487

52.2 Intensifying the attribute 488

52.2.1 High intensification 488 52.2.2 Medium intensification 489 52.2.3 Attenuation 490

52.3 Quantifying modifiers 491 52.4 Descriptive modifiers 492 52.5 Submodifying the adjective 492

Module 53: Complementation of the adjective 494 53.1 Adjectival complements 494

53.1.1 Complementation by finite clauses 495 53.1.2 Complementation by non-finite clauses 496

53.2 Degree complements 499

53.2.1 Discontinuous degree complements 500

Module 54: Adverbs and the adverbial group 502

54.1 Structure and general characteristics of the adverbial group 502 54.2 Forms of adverbs 503 54.3 Types of meanings expressed by adverbial groups 505

Module 55: Syntactic functions of adverbs and adverbial groups 508

55.1 Summary of the syntactic functions of adverbs and adverbial groups 508 55.2 Positions of adverbs in the clause: initial, middle and final 509

55.2.1 Adverbs in initial position 510 55.2.2 Scope of reference of adverbs as adjuncts 510 55.2.3 Adverbs of place, time and manner 511 55.2.4 Adverbs of modality, evidence and degree 512 55.2.5 Function and type 514

Module 56: Modification and complementation in the adverbial group 515

56.1 Comparative and superlative uses 515 56.2 Intensifying the adverbial meaning 516 56.3 Complementation of adverbs 518

56.3.1 Complements of comparison and excess 519 56.3.2 Adverbs taking direct complements 520

Further reading 521 Exercises 521

SUMMARY

1 AdjGs and typical AdvGs have potentially the same structure: head (clear, clearly), pre-modifier (very clear, very clearly) and post-modifier (very clear indeed, very clearly indeed).