§6.3 Modifiers and supplements^796.1 Semantic kinds of adjunct
Grammars traditionally classify adjuncts on the basis of meaning - as
adjuncts of place, time, reason, and so on. Because this classification is based on
meaning rather than grammatical form, it is inevitably open-ended and the bound
aries between the different kinds are often quite fuzzy. There isn't really an answer
to questions about exactly how many kinds of adjunct there are. In [30] we illustrate
a number of the most frequent and obvious categories:
[30] MANNER
U PLACE
iii TIME
iv DURATION
V FREQUENCY
VI DEGREE
VU PURPOSE
viii RESULT
ix CONDITION
X CONCESSION
He drove quite recklessly.
They have breakfa st in bed.
I saw her last week.
We lived in London fo r five Years.
She telephones her mother every Sunday.
We very much enjoyed your last novel.
I checked all the doors to make sure they were shut.
It rained all day, with the result that they couldn 't work.
/fit rains the match will be postponed.
Although he's rich. he lives very simply.6.2 The fonn of adjuncts
The adjunct function can be filled by expressions belonging to a range
of different categories, as illustrated in [31]:
[ 3 1] ADVERB (PHRASE)
ii pp
iii NP
iv FINITE CLAUSE
V NON-FINITE CLAUSE
He thanked us profusely. We quite often have tea together.
I cut it with a razor-blade. I'll help you after lunch.
We saw her several times. They arrived this morning.
I couldn 't do it, however hard I tried.
I kept my mouth shut, to avoid giving any more o@nce.Adverbs, or AdvPs, and PPs are found in adjuncts belonging to more or less all
of the semantic types of adjunct.
NPs, by contrast, occur in a very limited range of adjunct types. The semantic
type depends heavily on the head noun: several times, for example, indicates fre
quency, this morning indicates time. NP adjuncts cannot have the form of pro
nouns: we couldn't replace those in [iii], for example, by them and it -and we
couldn't question them with what.
For adjuncts with the form of subordinate clauses, see Ch. 10, §4.4, Ch. 13, §3.6.3 Modifiers and supplements
We use the term adjunct to cover both modifiers of the verb or VP and
supplements. Modifiers are tightly integrated into the structure of the clause,
whereas supplements are only loosely attached. In speech the distinction is marked
by intonation. Supplements are set apart intonationally from the rest of the clause:
they are spoken as separate units of intonation, typically marked off by what is