Adverbial

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Remember the previous lesson? It's about Adverbs. Once adverb adds information to a clause, it's called an Adverbial which gives extra information about the time, place, and manner of the event described by the rest of the clause.

You may undertand what abverbial is. Now let's learn about its' forms, meanings, and positions.

1. Forms of adverbials

Adverbial can be: (a) a single word, (b) a phrase, and (c) a clause.

(a) a single word

Example: I'll do it tomorrow. [adverb of time]

(b) a phrase

Example:

I'll do it on Sunday. [Prepositional phrase]

She completed her job last month. [Noun phrase]

His father played tennis very recently. [Phrase]

(c) a clause

Example: I did it before my wife drove to work. [Adverbial clause]

2. Meanings of adverbials

Meanings of adverbials are related to Adverbs and Adverbial clause. Furthermore, to find out other meanings, just see the lessons: Degree, Distance, Frequency, Instrument, Length of Time, Manner, Means, Motion, Place, Purpose, Reason and Cause, and Time.

3. Positions of adverbials

In order to find out the positions of adverbials, see Adverb in section 3.

Both adverbial phrases and clauses can go in the same positions as adverbs.

A. Front position

Example: Because of the strike, the President has stopped the conference.

B. Middle position

Example: The President, because of the strike, has stopped the conference.

C. End position

Example: The President has stopped the conference because of the strike.

Note: Adverbial phrases and clauses do not usually go in middle position as in a and b below. But unlike other adverbs, they can go before the first auxiliary or be as in B above.
Example:
a. The President has, because of the strike, stopped the conference. [rare]
b. The President is, in spite of the strike, still doing conference. [rare]

Some adverbial phrases and clauses can go in all three postions like because of the strike in the examples above. But some can't be moved.
Example: Sam sings very well. [end position only].

For more information about the positions of adverbial clauses, see the lesson Adverbial clause in section 3.

D. General rule

1. The most common types of adverbial are adverbs and prepositional phrases.


2. The most common position for adverbials is end position.


3. If we write adverbial in front position, we can separate it from the rest of the clause by a comma.
   Example: To my opinion, no one will come to the party.
   Always use a comma when the adverbial is a phrase.


4. When more than one adverbial is at end position, we prefer to place shorter ones (especially one-word adverbs) before longer ones.
   

   main clause	short adverbial	long adverbial
   I bought new books	yesterday (adverb)	at London Bookstore. (prepositional phrase)
   Sam went	to the town (prepositional phrase)	to buy some books. (clause)



Note: This is called the principle of End Weight.


5. An adverbial phrase or clause is rarely used in middle position. If it is, we separate it from the rest of the clause by two commas.
   Example: You can, if you prefer, answer the second question before the first one.


6. When there is more than one adverbial at the end position, just remember to place:
   A. adverbials of manner or means before adverbials of place,
   B. adverbials of place before adverbials of time.
   
   Let's see the preferred order of adverbials (M P T).
   M stands for Manner and motion (or movement).
   P stands for place, and
   T stands for time, including frequency and length of time.
   Example:
   a. All students are studying quietly in the class. (M + P)
   b. Sam met his friend in town yesterday. (P + T)
   c. They negotiated peacefully for two hours. (M + T)

Note: These rules are only for guidance. We can change the order ot the adverbials for special emphasis. On the whole, the adverbial with the most important information shoud be placed at the end.

We hope this article can help you understand about adverbials. If you have any questions, just leave a comment below.