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TOPIC 15. EXPRESSION OF MANNER, MEANS AND INSTRUMENT, manner is gradable,…
TOPIC 15. EXPRESSION OF MANNER, MEANS AND INSTRUMENT
2.2. EXPRESSION OF MANNER,
describe the style/way in which an action is performed. They provide additional information about the verb in a sentence, often answering the question "how?
A) REALISATIONS
ADJectives describe actions in their predicative function and also refer to the manner in which the action is performed. "The slow movement of my eyes stopped to focus on her eyes"
VERBs: differ in the denotation of the manner in which the action is performed (see, observe, glare, stare)
Adverbial clauses can be of different types: similarity/comparison/dynamic. Their meaning expresses manner. "As I do".
PREPositional phrases: manner can be expressed by with, (in)transitive verbs, unlike, as/like
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How Questions: adverbs as manner adjuncts often serve as response to these: How was my pretty girlfriend dressed that so amused the waiters? Oh, wedding-like.
N phrases with way, manner and style as head tend to have a definite article: She speaks in a way I love
B) POSITION
- Neutral: end-position: "she closed the door quietly"
- Emphatic: medial position bc they accompany other adjuncts: "she was accidentally struck with a leg by her partner"
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The answer to how? includes info about manner, means and instrument, which contributes to a wider meaning of process of an action.
- Its formal exponents are mostly adverbials, defined by
Quirk & Greenbaum as a syntactic function in a clause that realises 3 notions (manner, means and instrument). Adverbials can be realised by different words classes/phrases: ADV/prep/N phrases.
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Quirk, R. & Greenbaum, S. (1990). A Student's Grammar of the English Language.
2.1. PROCESS ADJUNCTS are a subclass of adverbials co-occurring with verbs that allow the progressive (on-going activity)
4 subclasses: MMIA
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instrument (*with a, using a, by means of)*
Manner (casually, carefully, slowly, like, as)
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A) REALISATION OF THE PROCESS ADJUNCTS
4 types can be realised by prepositional phrases
- Manner and means adjuncts can be realised by noun phrases (with no prep: playing wireless, send the photo air mail).
- manner & instrument adjuncts are realised by adverb phrases (She did it with a computer/unlike me)
- Manner adjuncts can be expressed by clauses (I'll do it as Chinese do)
B) SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF PROCESS ADJUNCTS:
they normally are predicational; they can come within the scope of predication pro-forms or predication ellipsis (My mom became a teacher so did I as well).
- They can be emphasised or the focus of also and of only (Only because she's pretty did Mineta helped her happily).
when manner adjuncts are realised by adverbs, they :red_cross: cannot be the focus of a cleft sentence, but their acceptability increases if they're modified or in the interrogative/negative: It was categorically that they were told that no more oil could be bought from me.
Means, instrument and agent adjuncts can readily become focus of a cleft sentence, even as realised by single adverbs (it was with a kiss that I was surprised by her)
manner adjuncts adverbs can be the focus of clause comparison: (she writes more clearly than I do) and can be pre-modified by How(ever) and so: How beautifully she speaks in comparison with my mum
D) RESTRICTIONS ON PROCESS ADJUNCTS: adv that function only as process adjuncts cannot co-occur with verbs in stative use (know, believe, love, own). Nor can process adjuncts be used as adverbials with copular verbs (be, seem).
C) POSITION OF PROCESS ADJUNCTS: process-place-time
- They are flexible in terms of their placement but typically follow the verb they modify. However, for emphasis or stylistic reasons, they can be moved to other positions.
- They favour final position since they receive the information focus. However, with passive they are commonly placed in middle position: "Pepper spray was immediately sprayed on the protesters".
- Those realised by units other than adverb phrases often occur initially: By pressing this button you can pause the game.
3 principles can change this order: to make the sentences clearer, more natural and to emphasise the most important info
clause comes after other structures for readability: "He's been working at school the whole morning using his laptop"
longer adjuncts follow shorter adjuncts to avoid awkard/clunky sentences: "I've been studying in the library with my beautiful girlfriend".
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- Rossiter, A. (2021). "The Importance of Grammar".
- Jespersen, O. (2006). "Essentials of English Grammar".
manner is gradable, means and instrument are objective thus non-gradable.
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