Adverbs and Adverbials

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ADVERBS AND ADVERBIALS Adverbs and adverbials may be one or several words that offer information on circumstances connected to the state or activity named by the verb. Adverbs are one-word items that modify verbs. Adverbials may be single words or else phrases that provide information about when, where, how, or why things happen. So adverbs fall into the category of adverbials. The difficulties around them have to do with where we should place adverbs. Adverbs and the wider category of adverbials belong to the predicate, and there they may be placed next to the verb or after the object (at the end (). But they may be found at the beginning of a sentence (, provided they do not separate the subject from the verb. A general idea which may be useful is this: elements in a sentence organize around the heart of the sentence, S + V, in a hierarchical manner: the more important they are, the closer they are to the heart. For instance, an object (O) is more important than an adverbial of time because it is closer to the verb, so the adverbial of time can never interfere between the V and its O, and must be placed after. (Of course, adverbs are sometimes very close to the verb, see the case of Frequency Adverbs.) Another general idea is: when an element that usually comes before another is long, the shorter element may come before. But you needn’t think about this because you’ll probably do it intuitively. Do you go out with your friends EVERY WEEKEND? Do you go out EVERY WEEKEND with all of those really noisy friends of yours?! 1. Manner: How? ( Adverbs and adverbials of manner go after the verb or the object, if there is one. They are not placed between V and O. They worked HARD ( She danced BEAUTIFULLY ( They did it VERY WELL ( They worked IN A GREAT RUSH ( They did it WITH A GREAT DEAL OF NOISE ( The exception is

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