Adverbial modifier (AM)

Adverbial modifier (adjunct or adverbial, as it is sometimes called) is an optional,

peripheral syntactic element in a verb phrase, clause or sentence which modifies, comments on
or expands the circumstances of the action or event in terms of such entities such as time, place,
manner, degree, intensity, reason, frequency etc. Adverbial modifier can occupy different
positions in a verb phrase or clause and while it may be useful, it may also be potentially
confusing that the name of this constituent is so similar to the name of the word class of adverbs
and adverbial phrases. Very often adverbial modifier is realized by adverbs and adverbial
phrases but it can be realized, as we shall see later, by a wide range of other syntactic elements.
We have already established that adverbial modifier is an optional element in all verb
phrases and types of complementation. This syntactic process of adding adverbials to basic
sentence and phrase structure is called verb modification.
There can be more than one adverbial modifier in a verb phrase and there is some flexibility
in the possible positioning of adverbial modifiers which highlights their potential of mobility.

1) The train very slowly pulled away from the station.

AM1 AM2
(The train pulled very slowly away from the station.)
(The train pulled away very slowly from the station.)
(The train pulled away from the station very slowly.)
(Very slowly the train pulled away from the station.)1

2) We have been working in the garden all morning.

AM1 AM2
3) She died peacefully in Chicago General Hospital on Sunday.
AM1 AM2 AM3
4) Eve unwillingly gave me her number yesterday.
AM1 AM2
5) I have never been in Spain.
AM

1
In this sentence, adverbial modifier is said to modify the whole sentence and it is sometimes referred to as
sentence modifier. In phrase structure rules it is labelled as AM but unlike other adverbial modifiers which are
analysed as part of a predicate, this type of adverbial modifiers, which assumes the initial position in a sentence in
front of a subject, has its own representation in a sentence structure at the same level as subject and predicate
(SentAM + S + P).
 As we can see from the sentences above, adverbial modifiers can assume initial, medium or
final position within verb phrases. In the possible positioning of adverbial modifier in the first
sentence we have seen that even though some permutations are possible, some of them sound
odder than others, but at least the optional adverbial can move into positions between other
clause elements, and sometimes even interrupt clause elements (e.g. by occurring between the
auxiliary and the lexical verb)2.
Adverbial modifiers indicate how, when, why or where the activity or situation expressed by
the main verb took place and it is very useful as a memory aid to consider them to be answering
the implicit questions introduced by these words.3
Adverbial modifiers are often referred to as enlargements (as opposed to complements) in
order to emphasize the fact that these constituents are not obligatory elements in a phrase,
clause or sentence structure.
The most common realizations of adverbial modifiers after intransitive, transitive and
copulative verbs (in this order) are presented in the table below.
We usually eat around seven o’clock.
The company officially denied all responsibility.
Adverb I’ve been very tired lately.
They tried really hard.
Adverbial phrase She cleaned the house quite cheerfully.
She gets nervous too often.
He sat beside me.
Prepositional phrase She pressed the flower between the pages.
The party will be over by that time.
Infinitive He went there to die.
She came to check the facts.
Infinitive phrase He bought a yacht to prove them wrong.
She is being brazen to make me uncomfortable.
Participle Come dancing!
Participial phrase He rode away whistling.
I resigned the week before last.
Noun phrase Sue read your book this morning.
It sounded impossible last year.
Direct object (DO)
2
Verb phrases in which adverbial modifier is positioned in the middle, between auxiliary and main verb are
identified as endocentric, subordinate constructions with discontinuous centre and such phrases (have never been,
will always love, is certainly trying, etc.) are analysed as follows: VP Vaux + AM + Vm.
3
We could add questions that may start with how long, for what reason, because of what, how much, etc. to the
short list mentioned above.
 In semantic terms direct object is defined as a constituent that refers to entities that undergo
the activity or process denoted by the verb.4
In syntactic terms direct object is a construction that follows transitive verbs to which it is
closely related. A simple way of determining direct object in a particular sentence is to ask
`What or who is affected by the action denoted by the main verb? `.
Eric lost his keys two days ago.
We met Sallie on our way here.

If we ask `What is affected by the process of losing? ` or `What did Eric lose? `, the answer
is his keys. This noun phrase is therefore the direct object in the first sentence. In the second
sentence, we can identify the direct object if we ask ourselves a question `Who is affected by
the process of meeting? ` or `Who(m) did we meet? `. The answer is Sallie and therefore we
may say that this proper noun functions as direct object.
Direct object is a syntactic unit which appears in monotransitive, ditransitive and complex
transitive complementation. In broad terms, since direct object completes the meaning of the
verb it follows, it is a kind of verb complement even though this term is in most textbooks
limited to object complement.
As for the position of direct object in verb phrases, when direct object follows
monotransitive verbs it is placed immediately after the verb. When direct object occurs with
indirect object in ditransitive constructions, it always comes after indirect object. When it is one
of the constituents in complex-transitive complementation, it follows the verb and precedes the
object complement.
George O. Curme in English grammar5 refers to direct object as an accusative object
specifying that since accusative has lost the concrete form which it once had, we must now
indicate the accusative (and dative) relations by word order i.e the position of object in a
complex verb phrase6.
Direct object is typically said to be realized by nouns or noun phrases but as the table below
shows, it can be realized by other words, phrases and clauses as well.

4
Direct object typically has the role of patient/undergoer.
5
George O. Curme, English grammar, p.132
6
Indirect object is sometimes referred to as dative object.
 Noun He met Julia last week.
Noun phrase William lit the barbecue.
Personal pronoun (objective) I don’t remember her.
Gerund I really hate skiing.
Gerund phrase She dreads getting old.
Infinitive Stop fidgeting!
Infinitive phrase I regret to say that you have failed your exam.
Maggie doubts that her boyfriend will ever
Noun clause change.
I’m just wandering what to say to you.
Numeral Give me five!
Indirect object (IO)

In addition to direct object there is a minor verb phrase element known as indirect object.
The typical role associated with indirect object is that of a goal/receiver or beneficiary. In
syntactic terms indirect object is recognized as a constituent within ditransitive constructions
(verb phrases with two objects), which immediately follows the head verbs and precedes direct
object.

Ditransitive verbs

allow leave save

ask lend send
bring make serve
charge offer show
envy order spare
find owe teach
fine pay tell
forgive promise throw
give read wish
grant refuse etc.
hand reserve
 Many textbooks insist on the fact that indirect object cannot occur without a direct object
following it.7 Even though it can be said that indirect object in most clauses and phrases does
not occur without direct object, this is not always the case. Consider the following sentences:

The book Bridget gave him is very compelling.

What Max told her is none of your business.

In both these sentences within the underlined verb phrases objective personal pronouns him
and her function as indirect objects but they are not followed by direct object, which proves that
the rule that indirect object is always followed by direct object is not applicable in all contexts.
Some linguists do not consider such units (which appear after verbs that are normally
ditransitive but without direct object after them) to be indirect objects any more but direct
objects since the main verbs of such phrases are followed by one object and are therefore
monotransitive8 but this claim is arguable. In the above sentences, indirect objects occur within
subordinate clauses (adjective clause in the first sentence and noun clause in the second
sentence) and the implication i.e. the deep structure of these clauses is that `Sara gave him the
book` (whoever he might be) and that `John told her something`. In both cases we can easily
infer that he and she are recipients or beneficiaries and we may therefore claim that these
pronouns function as indirect object. Hardly can we formulate a rule out of these two sentences,
but we might dare to say that indirect object can occur without direct object in clauses in which
direct object even though not directly implied, can be easily traced in the deep structure.
Another disputable question regarding indirect object as a verb phrase constituent is:
`Should we regard prepositional phrases appearing after certain ditransitive verbs as indirect
objects or adverbial modifiers?` Are the prepositional phrases to Raphael and to adults in the
following sentences indirect objects or adverbial modifiers?
Lucy handed a letter to Raphael.
I thought English to adults.
In Cambridge grammar of English9 the construction `object noun phrase + prepositional
phrase with to` is named transitive oblique and this term refers to `a type of ditransitive
complementation in which the recipient of the direct object is obliquely put in a focus`.
The above sentence: Lucy handed a letter to Raphael can be easily transformed into Lucy
handed Raphael a letter where there so no doubt whether Raphael is indirect object or not.

7
One more example of a definite statement, among a number of those previously mentioned, which can be
questioned.
8
And as we have already discussed in chapter 2.3.1a, monotransitive verbs are verbs that are followed by one
object direct object.
9
Ronald Carter and Michael McCarthy, op.cit, p.927
 The choice between using an `indirect + direct object` structure or an `object +
prepositional phrase (oblique complement) ` depends on what the speaker wishes to focus on in
the message.
As end position in English is generally associated with greater focus, either the direct object of
the verb or the recipient of the direct object can be put into focus:

George gave William the bottle.

(end-focus on the bottle)
George gave the bottle to William.
(end-focus on William)

However, where two pronouns are involved, the prepositional (oblique) construction is often
preferred to an `indirect object + direct object`:

She wrote her name and address on the card and gave it to me.
(She wrote her name and address on the card and gave me it.)
(more informal: She wrote her name and address on the card and gave it me.)10

I think my mother gave them to them.

(preferred to: I think my mother gave them them.)

However, some traditional linguistics insist on the fact that prepositional phrase cannot
function as object (direct or indirect) and they regard these constructions as adverbial
modifiers.
Indirect objects are very restricted in their realizations and they can be realized by nouns,
noun phrases, personal pronouns or clauses, as the table below shows.

Noun We allowed Steve to stay.

Noun phrase They sent the committee an angry letter.

Personal pronoun (objective) I’ll throw you the ball.

Clause Sam told whoever wanted to hear it his story.

Predicative (Pred)

Predicative or subject complement is a constituent which is limited to copular constructions,

since it is a syntactic term used to describe an obligatory element of a phrase or clause which

10
Ibid, p. 521
follows and completes the meaning of copulative verbs. As we have elaborated before,
copulative verbs are incomplete if they are not followed by some other construction and they
merely serve as a link between subject and predicative and do not have the capacity of standing
alone and forming predicate by themselves. They are heads in verb phrases which consist of
predicator (copulas; finite or non-finite), predicative (compulsory element) and possibly
adverbial modifier as an optional element.
Copulative verbs

appear lie sound

become look stand
come loom stay
fall prove taste
feel rank turn
get remain turn out
go rest etc.
grow run
happen seem
Most common realizations of Predicative are listed in the table below.

Object complement (OC)

Object complement is a syntactic term which refers to constructions that follow a direct

Noun phrase It became a liability.

Adjective He fell silent as he tried to understand her.
Adjective phrase They don’t seem very honoured.
Adverb We’re here!
Adverbial phrase She was right there.
Personal pronoun This is she.
Possessive pronoun Those shoes are mine!
Gerund Her hobby is painting.
Gerund phrase That is excellent singing.
Prepositional phrase I’m in front of your suite.
Infinitive To see is to believe.
Infinitive phrase She appears to be modest.
Noun clause It seems that she is still not ready.
Numeral The loneliest number is one.
object within verb phrases with complex-transitive verbs as heads. Complex-transitive verbs, ,as
stated before, require some further specification to make their meaning complete and such
constructions, which are essential to the meaning of a sentence, are called object complements.

Carlos thought Jessica immature.

Sam’s training made him a doctor.
The secretary left all the letters unopened.
Complex-transitive verbs

Complex-transitive verbs are verbs that are followed by direct object and object
complement.
The most common verb which belongs to this subclass of transitive verbs is verb consider
therefore these verbs are in some textbooks referred to as Vc verbs. Complex-transitive verbs
are incomplete and they require further specification to complete their meaning.

They consider the Rolling stones old fashioned.

Direct object Object complement

The most common complex-transitive verbs are listed in the table below.

appoint get proclaim They declared the festival a great success.

baptize have pronounce
All that made you a slightly different person.
call hear rate
consider help see I had him mend the fence for me.
christen hold send
The girl next door overheard them talking
crown keep think
declare leave turn about breaking into her apartment.
deem let vote
I must keep her dinner warm
drive like want
elect make watch
entitle name etc.
feel notice
find overhear
get prefer

If we try to omit object complements from the above sentences, the sentences will be
incomplete or even ungrammatical:

Carlos thought Jessica.

 Sam’s training made him.
The secretary left all the letters.

That is why object complements are said to be an obligatory part (with direct object to which
it is closely related) in complex-transitive complementation of verbs.
As the table below shows, object complement can be realized by different parts of
speech.

Noun They named the baby Emma.

Noun phrase Larry judges the Head of the department a genius.
Adjective Kate thinks us clever.
Adjectival phrase I find her very superficial.
Prepositional phrase His threats filled him with terror.
Infinitive They expected Robert to win.
Infinitive phrase She used to watch me bake cakes.
Participle She heard someone walking up the stairs.
Adverb I want you out.