CONTRASTIVE SPANISH-ENGLISH SYNTAX

MSc. Pablo Mejía Maldonado, Esp.

Professor of Contrastive Linguistics

CONTRASTIVE SYNTACTIC FUNCTION OF THE ADVERB

SPANISH: FUNCIÓN SINTÁCTICA DEL ADVERBIO

Las funciones sintácticas del adverbio son, aparte de la de núcleo del sintagma adverbial, las de
complemento circunstancial del verbo, la de cuantificador, grado o complemento del adjetivo («muy bueno»,
«recién hecho») y las de cuantificador de otro adverbio («bastante lejos»).

El adverbio es una clase heterogénea de palabras, con una función sintáctica predominante (complemento
circunstancial), pero no exclusiva, puesto que puede cumplir otras funciones.

La palabra adverbio viene del latín adverbium, construida con el prefijo <ad-> («hacia»,
«junto»), <verbum> («palabra», «verbo») y el sufijo nominal <-ium>. El término implica que la función
principal de los adverbios es actuar como modificadores o complementos de un verbo o frase verbal.

Un adverbio es una palabra que complementa a un verbo, un adjetivo, otros adverbios e incluso oraciones.
Los adverbios expresan circunstancias, como pueden ser modo, lugar, tiempo, cantidad, afirmación, duda,
etc., respondiendo a preguntas como ¿cuándo?, ¿dónde?, ¿cómo?, ¿de qué manera?, entre otras. Esta
función es llamada función adverbial, y puede ser llevada a cabo por palabras aisladas (adverbios) o por
grupos de dos o más palabras (locuciones adverbiales).

Es un tipo de palabra invariable que actúa como núcleo del sintagma adverbial, complementando a un verbo,
un adjetivo u otro adverbio. Las funciones sintácticas del adverbio son, aparte de la de núcleo del sintagma
adverbial, las de complemento circunstancial del verbo, la de cuantificador, grado o complemento del
adjetivo (muy bueno, recién hecho) y las de cuantificador de otro adverbio (bastante lejos). Algunos
adverbios pueden funcionar como predicado dirigido hacia un sujeto y junto a una cópula verbal (está
divinamente).

Clases de adverbios en Español

Tradicionalmente los adverbios se han dividido en las siguientes categorías:
 Adverbios de ubicación, tiempo y espacio, modo y cantidad.

 Adverbios de lugar: aquí, allí, ahí, allá, acá, arriba, abajo, cerca, lejos, delante, detrás, encima,
debajo, enfrente, atrás, alrededor.

 Adverbios de tiempo: antes, después, luego, pronto, tarde, temprano, todavía, aún, ya, ayer, hoy,
mañana, siempre, nunca, jamás, próximamente, prontamente, anoche, enseguida, ahora,
mientras, anteriormente.

 Adverbios de modo: bien, mal, regular, despacio, deprisa, así, tal, como, aprisa, adrede, peor,
mejor, fielmente, estupendamente, fácilmente, negativamente, responsablemente —todas las que
se formen con las terminaciones «mente»—.

 Adverbios de cantidad o grado: muy, poco, mucho, bastante, más, menos, algo, demasiado, casi,
solo, solamente, tan, tanto, todo, nada, aproximadamente

 Adverbios que cumplen la función de epistémicos:

Compiled material for Academic Purposes only. 1 de 6
 CONTRASTIVE SPANISH-ENGLISH SYNTAX
MSc. Pablo Mejía Maldonado, Esp.
Professor of Contrastive Linguistics

 Adverbios de afirmación: sí, también, cierto, ciertamente, efectivamente, claro, exacto, obvio,
verdaderamente, seguramente, asimismo, etc.
 Adverbios de negación: no, jamás, nunca, tampoco.

 Adverbios de orden: primeramente, últimamente.

 Adverbios de duda o dubitativos: quizá(s), acaso, probablemente, posiblemente, seguramente, tal

vez, puede, puede ser, a lo mejor.

 Adverbios interrogativos/exclamativos y relativos: las formas usadas ortográficamente en

oraciones interrogativas y exclamativas son cuándo, cómo, cuántoy dónde (las formas relativas
son idénticas aunque se escriben sin tilde).

 Otros adverbios: solo/solamente, aún, inclusive, además, únicamente, incluso; mismamente,

propiamente, precisamente, concretamente; viceversa, contrariamente, siquiera,
consecuentemente.

Función.

El adverbio se caracteriza porque es un elemento dependiente: puede modificar a una oración entera, a un
verbo, a un adjetivo, o a otro adverbio.

 Complemento Circunstancial de un Verbo, dentro de un predicado nominal o verbal (CC). Ej:

o Los alumnos llegaron tarde a clase.
o Mi padre estuvo ayer enfermo.

 Modificador Directo de un Adjetivo, en un sintagma adjetival. (MD).Ej:

o Estaban bastante cansados de jugar.

 Modificador Directo de otro Adverbio, en un sintagma adverbial (MD). Ej:

o Jugaron aceptablemente bien.

 Modificador de una Oración (Proposición). Ej:

o Afortunadamente, no ha pasado nada.
o Me dijo ayer que quizá hoy no vendría.
A continuación otros ejemplos:

 Lo dejamos aquí (aquí modifica el verbo dejamos, indicando lugar)

 Yo trabajé ayer (ayer modifica el verbo trabajé, indicando tiempo)
 Tú cometes errores frecuentemente (frecuentemente modifica la frase verbal cometes errores,
indicando modo)
 Indudablemente él lo hizo (indudablemente modifica el verbo hizo, indicando certeza)

Los adverbios también se usan como modificadores de adjetivos, y de otros adverbios, generalmente para
indicar grado. Ejemplos:

 Esta paella está muy sabrosa (el adverbio muy modifica al adjetivo sabrosa)

Compiled material for Academic Purposes only. 2 de 6

 CONTRASTIVE SPANISH-ENGLISH SYNTAX
MSc. Pablo Mejía Maldonado, Esp.
Professor of Contrastive Linguistics
 Mi casa está bastante lejos (el adverbio bastante modifica otro adverbio – lejos)

References:
http://mimosa.pntic.mec.es/ajuan3/lengua/adverbio.htm
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverbio.

ENGLISH: SYNTACTIC FUNCTION OF THE ADVERB

Adverbs are traditionally defined as “words that describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.” Adverb
phrases are defined as phrases that consist of an adverb plus any modifiers such as another adverb. Adverb
phrases including adverbs perform eight main grammatical functions within sentences in the English
language. The eight functions of adverbs and adverb phrases are: Adverb phrase head, Adjective phrase
modifier, Adverb phrase modifier, Verb phrase modifier, Prepositional phrase modifier, Adjunct adverbial,
Disjunct adverbial, Conjunct adverbial.

There are five kinds of adverbs expressing different meaning. The following are some of the common ones.
Adverb of time
An adverb of time tells us when something is done or happens. We use it at the beginning or at the end of a
sentence. We use it as a form of emphasis when we place it at the beginning. Adverbs of time
include afterwards, already, always, immediately, last month, now, soon, then, and yesterday.
Examples:

 He collapsed and died yesterday.

 His factory was burned down a few months ago.
 Last week, we were stuck in the lift for an hour.

Adverb of place
An adverb of place tells us where something is done or happens. We use it after the verb, object or at the end
of a sentence. Adverbs of place include words such as above, below, here, outside, over
there, there, under, upstairs.
Examples:

 We can stop here for lunch.

 The schoolboy was knocked over by a school bus.
 They rushed for their lives when fire broke out in the floor below.

Adverb of manner
An adverb of manner tells us how something is done or happens. Most adverbs of manner end in –ly such
as badly, happily, sadly, slowly, quickly, and others that include well, hard, fast, etc.
Examples:

 The brothers were badly injured in the fight.

 They had to act fast to save the others floating in the water.
 At the advanced age of 88, she still sang very well.

Compiled material for Academic Purposes only. 3 de 6

 CONTRASTIVE SPANISH-ENGLISH SYNTAX
MSc. Pablo Mejía Maldonado, Esp.
Professor of Contrastive Linguistics
Adverb of degree

An adverb of degree tells us the level or extent that something is done or happens. Words of adverb of degree
are almost, much, nearly, quite, really, so, too, very, etc.
Examples:

 It was too dark for us to find our way out of the cave. (Before adjective)
 The referee had to stop the match when it began to rain very heavily. (Before adverb)
 Her daughter is quite fat for her age.
 The accident victim nearly died from his injuries.
 After all these years, she is still feeling very sad about her father’s death.

Adverb of frequency
An adverb of frequency tells us how often something is done or happens. Words used as adverbs of
frequency include again, almost, always, ever, frequently, generally, hardly ever, nearly, nearly
always, never, occasionally, often, rarely, seldom, sometimes, twice, usually, and weekly.
Examples:

 They were almost fifty when they got married.

 He hardly ever says something nice to his wife.
 While overseas, he frequently phoned home.
 She is not nearly always right although she thinks she is always right.
 He complained that she never smiled back.
 We only write to each other very occasionally.
 Peter seldom reads the Bible.
 Sometimes he stays late in the office to complete his work.
 Our cat was bitten twice by the same dog.
 The man usually proposes marriage.

Adverbs as Adverb Phrase Heads

The first grammatical function that adverbs perform is the adverb phrase head. An adverb phrase consists of
an adverb plus any modifiers. For example, the following italicized adverbs function as adverb phrase heads:

 quickly
 quietly
 however
 unfortunately
 amazingly fast
 deceptively well
 very loudly
 rather insultingly

Adverb Phrases as Adjective Phrase Modifiers

The second grammatical function that adverbs perform is the adjective phrase modifier. An adjective phrase
modifier is a word or phrase that that modifies or describes an adjective or adjective phrase. For example, the
following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases function as adjective phrase modifiers:

Compiled material for Academic Purposes only. 4 de 6

 CONTRASTIVE SPANISH-ENGLISH SYNTAX
MSc. Pablo Mejía Maldonado, Esp.
Professor of Contrastive Linguistics

 The boldly brave toddler climbed onto the table.

 Your newborn baby daughter is very tiny.
 Students who are clearly sick may not attend class.
 Habitually absent employees will be fired.

Adverb Phrases as Adverb Phrase Modifiers

The third grammatical function that adverbs perform is the adverb phrase modifier. An adverb phrase
modifier is a word or phrase that modifies or describes an adverb or adverb phrase. For example, the
following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases function as adverb phrase modifiers:

 The music from next door is blaring extremely loudly.

 Olympic runners can sprint very quickly.
 Your suspiciously mysteriously strange behavior tipped off the police.
 My use of adverbs is almost always perfect.

Adverb Phrases as Verb Phrase Modifiers

The fourth grammatical function that adverbs perform is the verb phrase modifier. A verb phrase modifiers is
word or phrase that modifies or describes a verb or verb phrase. For example, the following italicized
adverbs and adverb phrases function as verb phrase modifiers:

 My pets wake promptly at sunrise.

 She would not testify against her attacker.
 Residents must quickly and quietly exit the building during the fire drill.
 Her husband almost always forgets to take out the trash.

Adverb Phrases as Prepositional Phrase Modifiers

The fifth grammatical function that adverbs perform is the prepositional phrase modifier. A prepositional
phrase modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies or describes a prepositional phrase. For example,
the following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases function as prepositional phrase modifiers:

 You seem rather under the weather.

 Your drawing looks very much like a dog.
 His directions are not very much like the original.
 That painting is not unlike one I saw in New York.

Adverb Phrases as Adjunct Adverbials

The sixth grammatical function that adverbs perform is the adjunct adverbial. An adjunct adverbial is a word,
phrase, or clause that modifies or describes an entire clause by providing additional information about time,
place, manner, condition, purpose, reason, result, and concession. For example, the following italicized
adverbs and adverb phrases function as adjunct adverbials:

 Stubbornly, the little girl refused to eat her vegetables at dinner.

 Eagerly, my baby brother told me what he wanted for Christmas.
 James answered my call immediately.

Compiled material for Academic Purposes only. 5 de 6

 CONTRASTIVE SPANISH-ENGLISH SYNTAX
MSc. Pablo Mejía Maldonado, Esp.
Professor of Contrastive Linguistics
 Quietly, the thief snuck into the vacant building.

Adverb Phrases as Disjunct Adverbials

The seventh grammatical function that adverbs perform is the disjunct adverbial. A disjunct adverbial is
word or phrase that provides additional information to frame an entire clause. A disjunct adverbial denotes
the attitude of the speaker toward or judgment of the proposition such as truthfulness of manner of speaking.
For example, the following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases function as disjunct adverbials:

 Truthfully, adverbs are not one of my favorite grammatical forms.

 Surprisingly, none of the children failed the test.
 Honestly, I have no idea.
 Clearly, the mail did not come today due to it being a national holiday.

Adverb Phrases as Conjunct Adverbials

The eighth grammatical function that adverbs perform is the conjunct adverbial. A conjunct adverbial is a
word or phrase that expresses a textual relationship. A conjunct adverbial serves to link two or more clauses.
For example, the following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases function as conjunct adverbials:

 First, wash your hands.

 Noun phrases and prepositional phrases, however, can also function as adverbials.
 Do you like to write about grammar too?
 Nevertheless, students must turn in all assignments before the next class.

The eight functions of adverbs and adverb phrases are adverb phrase head, adjective phrase modifier, adverb
phrase modifier, verb phrase modifier, prepositional phrase modifier, adjunct adverbial, disjunct adverbial,
and conjunct adverbial.

References:

http://www.linguisticsgirl.com/grammatical-functions-of-english-adverbs-and-adverb-phrases/

http://www.myenglishgrammar.com/lesson-4-adverbs/1-types-of-adverbs.html.

Compiled material for Academic Purposes only. 6 de 6