Place of Adverbs in the Sentence

§ 7. There are generally four possible positions for adverbs in
the sentence:

1) at the head of the sentence,

2) between the subject and predicate or, if the predicate is a
complicated form, the adverb appears after the first auxiliary
verb, link-verb or a modal verb,

3) before the word the adverb modifies,

4) at the end of the sentence.

Different semantic groups of adverbs tend to appear in differ-
ent positions.

Thus, many adverbs of time and frequency prefer Position 2.

e.g. Mother is now busy in the kitchen.
He will soon be back.
He never sleeps late.
She is already typing the letter.
He can sometimes be seen in the library.

However, some of time adverbs appear in Position 4.

e.g. He arrived yesterday.
He hasn't called yet.
I haven't heard from him lately.

If any adverbs of time and frequency are found in positions
other than those characteristic of them, it means that these ad-
verbs are intended for special emphasis.

Cf. He usually comes early, (common)
Usually he comes early, (emphatic)
They are never ready in time, (common)
They never are ready in time, (emphatic)

Adverbs of place and direction usually occur in Position 4.

e.g. The young people were enjoying themselves outside.
On Sunday they didn't go anywhere.

Adverbs of manner commonly appear in Position 4, after the
predicate verb.

e.g. They welcomed us warmly.

He explained the problem very simply.
His uncle supported him lavishly.

Some adverbs of manner may occasionally be found in Position 2.

e.g. She knew she had deeply hurt her husband.

The girl bent down and gently scooped the butterfly into the
palm of her hand.

Occasionally adverbs of manner may be found in Position 1. In
that case the adverb does not only modify the predicative verb,
but also the subject.

e.g. Stiffly she began to get out of the car. (= she was stiff when

she began to get out of the car)

Anxiously she watched the butterfly. (= she felt anxious
when she watched the butterfly)

Adverbs of degree (or intensifiers) are usually placed in Posi-
tion 3, before the word they modify.

e.g. I quite forgot her birthday.

He definitely saw me in the corridor.
It was a really stupid thing to do.
I know almost nothing about it.
He came back so soon.

The adverb enough, when it modifies an adjective or an ad-
verb, is placed in post-position to them.

e.g. He is old enough to understand it.
He spoke frankly enough.

However, adverbs of degree (intensifiers), if they modify
verbs, may also be found in Position 4, at the end of the sentence.

e.g. I don't know him well.

He ignored me completely.

Focusing adverbs occupy Position 3 ■— most of them precede
the word they refer to (a) and only some of them follow it imme-
diately (b).

e.g. a) Shall we just exchange the books?

It was only proper that the girl should give up her seat to

an elderly lady.

He also bought a can of raspberry jam.
b) Ann alone knew my secret.

I, too, want a cup of tea.

Viewpoint adverbs are usually found in Position 1 and marked
off by a comma.

e.g. Morally, they have won a victory.

Theoretically, I have no objection to his proposal.
Note. A change in the position of an adverb may bring about a change in its
meaning.

Cf. The expedition was planned scientifically, {an adverb of manner meaning 'us-
ing scientific methods')
Scientifically, the expedition was a success, (a viewpoint adverb meaning 'from

a scientific point of view')
You may answer the question generally, (an adverb of manner meaning 'not in

detail')
You generally answer the questions in too much detail, (an adverb of frequency

meaning 'usually')

Attitudinal adverbs mainly tend to appear in Position 1, at
the head of the sentence (a): they may also occur in Positions 2
and 4 (b).

e.g. a) Perhaps they knew that she was coming today.
Unfortunately, we didn't find him in the office.
Honestly, we knew nothing about it.
b) My brother, unaccountably, had very few friends.

It was possible of course that Meg would deny everything.
I honestly don't remember it.

Conjunctive adverbs may be found in Positions 1, 2 and 4.
e.g. She did not expect her husband to meet her. However, when
the train had stopped, she saw him standing on the plat-
form.
She felt she ought to find a job. She was nevertheless too

tired to do it.

The corridor was full of people anyway. Besides he was too
exhausted to wait.

The Adverb so

§ 8. Note the peculiarities in the use of the adverb so. It is
generally used as an adverb of degree or a conjunctive adverb, but
may also be used to stand for a previous statement. This is found
in the following cases:

1) When so is used to express agreement with a preceding
statement, especially after the verbs to be afraid, to believe, to ex-
pect, to imagine, to hear, to say, to suppose, to tell, to think. (Com-
pare it with the pronoun it when it is used instead of a previous
sentence or clause or phrase. For this see "Pronouns", § 5.)

e.g. "Will he do it?" "I think so." (I expect so. I believe so.)
"Is he ill?" "I'm afraid so."
"Are we on the right road?" "I hope so."
"Why do you say so?"

Disagreement with a previous statement may be expressed in
two ways: by using not after an affirmative verb or by using so
after a negative verb. Only the first way is possible with the
verbs to hope and to be afraid.

e.g. "Can you come and see us tomorrow?" "I'm afraid not."
"Will you have to do it yourself?" "I hope not."

As to the other verbs, both ways are possible with them, the
second being more common, however.

e.g. "Will they ask you to do it?" "I don't think so."

"Are your parents going to stay with you when they come?"
"I don't suppose so."

2) When so expresses agreement and refers to a previous
statement it is also found in the following two patterns:

e.g. a) "It was hot yesterday." "So it was."

"We've all worked well." "So we have."

b) "It's going to rain soon." "If so, what are we going to do?"
"I'm afraid I've lost my purse." "If so, how are you going
to get home?"

3) When so is used with to do to refer to a preceding verb.

e.g. I told him to come and see me the next day, and he did so.
If they want me to help you, I will do so.

4) When so meaning 'also' is used in the following sentence
patterns:

e.g. My wife likes having visitors and so do I.

My brother is fond of pop-music and so is his wife.

The negative counterpart of that is neither.
e.g. I haven't seen him for a long time and neither have they.

The Adverbs already and yet

§ 9. Already is generally found in affirmative sentences,
e.g. They've already left. (They've left already.)

In interrogative sentences it is used with an element of sur-
prise or if one is sure of a yes-answer.

e.g. "Have they left already?" ('Они уже ушли?') "Yes, a minute

ago."

Yet is found in negative sentences and in interrogative sen-
tences when the speaker really does not know the answer.

e.g. They haven't left yet. (They haven't yet left.)
Have they left yet?

The Adverbs still and yet

§ 10. Still may be used in all kinds of sentences with an im-
plication of an action (positive or negative) continuing.

e.g. He is still asleep. ('Он все еще спит.')
Is he still asleep? ('Он все еще спит?')
Не is still not asleep. ('Он все еще не спит.')

Yet may also be used in all kinds of sentences with an im-
plication that an action (positive or negative) has not started yet.

e.g. He is asleep yet. ('Он еще не проснулся.')
Is he asleep yet? ('Он еще не проснулся?')
Не is not asleep yet. ('Он еще не уснул.')

Compare also the following pairs:
Do it while it is still light, ('пока еще светло')
Do it while it is light yet. ('пока еще не стемнело')
Is it still light? ('Все еще светло?')
Is it light yet? ('Еще не стемнело?')
It is still not light. ('Все еще темно.')
It is not light yet. ('Еще не рассвело.')

The Adverbs much, far and long

§ ll. The use of the adverb much is similar to the use of the
indefinite pronoun much: it is mainly found in interrogative and
negative sentences (see also "Pronouns", § 32).

e.g. He doesn't care much what happens to him.
Did he travel much?

The adverbs far, far off, far away and long are also mainly
used in interrogative and negative sentences. Their counterparts
for affirmative sentences are a long way, a long way off, a long
way away and a long time respectively,
e.g. Did you have to walk far?

I've got a long way to go.

I couldn't stay there long.

He talked with us for a long time.

§ 12. Special attention should be paid to a striking point in the
use of English adjectives and adverbs: what a Russian student of
English would expect to find expressed by an adverb modifying the
predicate verb (Cf. Он внимательно оглядел комнату.) is replaced
in English by an adjective modifying a noun in the sentence.

e.g. He gave a careful look round the room. (= He looked round

the room carefully.)

He pays us occasional visits. (= He visits us occasionally.)
His friends shrugged cynical shoulders. («•= His friends shrugged

their shoulders cynically.)

PREPOSITIONS

§ 1. Prepositions are structural words which are used with a
noun (or a noun-equivalent, e.g. a pronoun or an ing-form) to show
its relation to some other word in the sentence (a verb, another
noun, an adjective and occasionally an adverb).

e.g. The face of his visitor was so distasteful to him that he

could scarcely bear to look at it
The stream was very shallow because of the drought but still

it was active, hurrying over the pebbles.
The question, thrown at her so vehemently, took from her

the power of thought for a moment.
They agreed to his proposal independently of each other.

Prepositions may be single words, e.g. in, for, below, behind,
across, inside, within, etc., and also phrases consisting of more
than one word, e.g. because of, thanks to, due to, in front of, ow-
ing to, but for, etc. Besides, there are a large number of combina-
tions in English based on the pattern preposition + noun + preposi-
tion (e.g. in addition to, on top of, on account of, in view of, in
accordance with, in contrast with, with respect to, etc.). They are on
the way to becoming prepositions.

Note. Some ing-forms are also used as prepositions, e.g. concerning, including, etc.

§ 2. Prepositions may have a lexical meaning of their own.

e.g. Her sister appeared, carrying a wine-glass in which there was

a raw egg, with a little sherry on it.
The path felt springy beneath his feet.
He dropped into a chair beside his mother.
She arrived before lunch.

Prepositions may indicate position in space or direction (e.g.
on, in, under, over, at, near, to, into, out of, from, towards, etc.),

time (e.g. after, before, during, for, in, on, at, etc.), various ab-
stract relations (e.g. by, with, at, on, for, against, because of, in-
stead of, owing to, according to, etc.).
Most prepositions are polysemantic.

e.g. I've been here for two weeks.
He's brought a letter for you.
Did you pay him for his work?
I was punished for my little joke.
They went out for a walk.
They sent for a doctor.
The letters MP stand for Member of Parliament.

But the meaning of prepositions is often weakened and some-
times becomes even difficult to trace.

e.g. There is a man waiting for you in your office.

The success of the operation depends entirely on your consent.
Who is responsible for this decision?
There is nothing wrong with him.

§ 3. The choice of prepositions is determined by different fac-
tors. Sometimes it is quite free, i.e. it entirely depends on the
meaning the speaker wishes to convey.

e.g. There was a photograph of a young girl on his desk.
There was a photograph of a young girl in his desk.
There was a photograph of a young girl over his desk.
There was a photograph of a young girl under his desk.

But more often the choice of the preposition is determined by
the head-word.

e.g. No one could account for his objection to our plan.
He should be ashamed of himself.
You shouldn't rely on him.

Who is going to look after your children while you are away?
Your brother was cruel to him.
I've been dependent on both of you so long.
She was treated for diabetes.
He was proud of his elder son.
Everyone is conscious of the change in the man.

He is quite good at painting.
There is no point in arguing.

It is in this case that the meaning of the preposition often be-
comes weakened.

The choice of the preposition may also depend on the noun

that follows the preposition.

e.g. Who was the first to speak at the meeting?

He went there on business.

He is now on a concert tour in Europe.

I'm planning to finish it in February.

He woke up at 8 o'clock.

We discussed it in detail.

No one could help him under the circumstances.

In this case the preposition and the noun often become set
phrases (e.g. in the evening, at dawn, by day, by taxi, etc.). The
meaning of the preposition is also weakened here.

§ 4. Although prepositions serve to express various relations
between the noun (or noun-equivalent) following it and other
words in the sentence, they sometimes get separated from the
noun (or noun-equivalent). This occurs in:

a) special questions,

e.g. What are you looking for?
Who(m) did you speak with?
What conclusion did you come to?

b) certain subordinate clauses,

e.g. What he is waiting for is not likely to happen.
That is what he wanted to begin with.
I know who(m) he is worried about.
I'm expecting a letter my plans for the future depend on.

c) certain passive constructions,

e.g. He loved the dogs and they were taken good care of.

They found him so ill that a doctor was immediately sent for.
His marriage was very much talked about.

d) certain functions of the infinitive or infinitive phrase,

e.g. He hated to be made fun of.

When he retired he went to live in Dorset, in a charming
place his wife had bought for him to retire to.

You have a lot to be thankful for.
You've done nothing to be ashamed of.
There is nothing more to worry about.

Sometimes one and the same noun is associated with two or
more different prepositions. The noun itself need not be repeated
after each preposition and is usually placed after the last one.

e.g. It is a book for and about children.

The pronoun much is used of and with uncountable nouns.
He cared for and looked after his ageing mother.

It follows from the above examples that the prepositions in
this case are retained by the preceding head-word.

§ 5. The prepositions of, by and to may become entirely devoid
of lexical meaning and serve to express mere grammatical rela-
tions. This occurs in the following constructions:

e.g. Anne was the wife of a miner.

They were followed by their two daughters.
They offered the job to Hawkins.

The prepositions are said to be grammaticalized in this case.

CONJUNCTIONS

§ 1. Conjunctions are structural words that serve to connect
words or phrases as well as clauses or sentences (see the examples

below).

Conjunctions may be single words (e.g. and, as, because, but,
or, though, while, etc.)> phrases consisting of more than one word
(e.g. in order that, on condition (that), in case, as soon as, as
long as, for fear (that), as if, as though, etc.) and also correlative
conjunctions, i.e. conjunctions that are always used in pairs (e.g.
as...as, both.,.and, either...or, not only...but also, etc.).

Note. Some ing-forms and participles are also used as conjunctions (e.g. suppos-
ing, seeing, given (= on condition, if), providing or provided).

§ 2. Conjunctions have a lexical meaning of their own.

e.g. He came to see me because he felt happy.
He came to see me though he felt happy.
He came to see me when he felt happy.
He came to see me if he felt happy.

Note. The lexical meaning of the conjunction that is vague. It serves to intro-
duce different kinds of clauses.
e.g. That I was not going to be popular with the other children soon became clear to

my parents, {subject clause)

The probability is that he refused to cooperate, (predicative clause)
He believed that his father was an innocent man. (object clause)
I was sure that many would follow his example, (object clause)
My father then sold everything that he might have the money for my educa-
tion, (adverbial clause of purpose)
He was so shabby that no decent landlady would take him in. (adverbial clause

of result)
He agreed with the assertion that his results fell short of the requirements.

(appositive clause).

§ 3. According to their role in the sentence, conjunctions fall
into two groups: coordinating conjunctions (e.g. accordingly, and,

besides, both...and, but, either,..or, hence, likewise, moreover, never-
theless, or, still, therefore, yet, etc.) and subordinating conjunctions
(e.g. after, as, as,..as, as long as, because, before, if, since, so that,
than, that, though, unless, until, when, whether, etc.).

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, clauses, or
sentences which are independent of each other.

e.g. His light-brown hair was fine and thick.

She took a piece of cake and a cup of tea.

She flung the door open and entered.

She felt jealous because there was someone who knew what
was so closely connected with her father and what she
herself had not known.

Meg ordered a fresh pot of tea and they settled down to dis-
cuss the new complication.

Just now I can't think of anything but of how you were
made to suffer.