Herb,
I agree-adverbs do seem to be a grab bag.
And where did we get this eight-parts-of-speech notion?
Christine
_____
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Stahlke, Herbert F.W.
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 8:18 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Conjunctive Adverbs
Adverb is, and has always been, a grab bag. If it doesn't work as a noun,
adjective, verb, etc. call it an adverb and be done with it, and then don't
be too careful in defining what an adverb is. Part of the problem here is
the, usually unconsidered, decision to limit ourselves to eight parts of
speech or to accept traditional definitions. But the deeper problem lies in
the notion category itself, the idea that a word is one part of speech or
another and that those categories are discrete. The fact is that the
categories have fuzzy edges, or, better, the categories represent
prototypical sets of morphological, syntactic, semantic, and functional
characteristics that define a small class of words, and words that share
some of these characteristics are then assigned to the class as well. Since
a lot of students, and a lot of teachers, won't ask the difficult questions
about received wisdom, the names and the misconceptions persist. Klammer is
right in distinguishing "always" etc. from adverbs. I'm not sure calling
them qualifiers is a step forward though, since it simply establishes
another category and labels it with a term that already has a meaning, if a
questionable one, in traditional grammar ("adjectives qualify, adverbs
modify").
Herb
_____
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Christine Gray
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 9:57 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Conjunctive Adverbs
Peter,
Thomas Klammer would disagree with you. and after using his book for years,
I now too disagree with you about these words as adverbs.
In his book Analyzing English Grammar, Klammer labels "always," "sometimes,"
"never," etc. qualifiers, I think.
I believe he points out that one of the tests of an adverb is whether "one"
can put very or another intensifier in front of it. He uses frame sentences
as a way to identify a word as/check whether a word actually is a noun,
verb, adjective, or adverb.
I really really like his book. Get a copy from your Longman rep.
Christine
_____
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Adams
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 7:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Conjunctive Adverbs
In a message dated 9/10/06 5:55:25 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:
Peter, I know what you mean about conjunctive adverbs. They are "mobile,"
as are adverbs.
However, conjunctive adverbs cannot be intensified, which is, I think, a
property adverbs have: very suddenly, for example. Nor are conjunctive
adverbs able to modify verbs.
Good points, Christine, but consider the following. Some adverbs also
cannot be intensified: always, sometimes, now, today, never. I don't think
anyone would argue these are not adverbs.
Also, take a look at these:
Christine likes adverbs, but Herb, nevertheless, prefers conjunctions.
Ed believes in innate knowledge, and Phil, therefore, agrees with him.
In these two, it seems clear that the so-called conjunctive adverb is not
joining the two clauses; the coordinating conjunctions are serving that
purpose. So would we still call them conjunctions in sentences like these?
Or how about in a simple declarative sentence.
Roger Federer won the US Open, for example, in four sets.
Why would we want to consider for example to be a conjunction in a sentence
like this. Or would we?
Peter Adams
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface
at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave
the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface
at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave
the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV
list, please visit the list's web interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the
list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/