ADJUNCTS, DISJUNCTS AND CONJUNCTS NOUNS IN ENGLISH

InternationalJournalofLinguistics andLiterature(IJLL)

ISSN(P):2319-3956;ISSN(E):2319-3964

Vol.11,Issue2,Jul-Dec2022;15–22

©IASET

ADJUNCTS,DISJUNCTSANDCONJUNCTSNOUNSINENGLISH

Dr.HadhirH.Abood

AssistantProfessor,DepartmentofEnglishLanguage/CollegeofEducation,UniversityofSamarra,Iraq

ABSTRACT

Thisresearchshedslightonthetypesoftheadverbialclasses:adjuncts,disjunctsandconjuncts,andthisresearchalso mentionsthefunctionsoftheseclasses,becausetheseclassesplayamajorroleinthelinguisticstructuresgenerallyandin grammaticalstructuresspecifically.Theclassesareclassifiedintomanygroupsandthegroupsalsoappeartobethe fundamentalstructuresinthelinguisticandgrammaticalsentences.Theresearcherpresentstheseclassesandgroupswith examplesandclarifiesthesesentencestobeclearandconcise.

KEYWORDS:Adjuncts,Disjuncts,Conjuncts,NounPhrases,AdverbialPhrases,NominalPhrases

ArticleHistory

Received:16Sep2022|Revised:21Sep2022|Accepted:03Oct2022

INTRODUCTION

ThreesectionsmakeuptheAdverbialClass.Adjuncts,Disjuncts,andConjunctsallexist.Anadverbcanmodifyanoun phrase,aprepositionalphrase,aclausewithafiniteverb,aclausewithanindefiniteverb,oraclausewithnoverbatall.In contrast,neitherclausalprocesshasanyeffectonadisjunctoraconjunct.Thereareeightdifferentcategoriesforadjuncts’ subclassifications.

Prepositionalclausesorphrasesmakeupthemajorityofdisjuncts.Styledisjunctsandattitudinaldisjunctsarethe twobasicgroupsthatcanbedistinguished.Adverborprepositionalphrasesmakeupthemajorityofconjuncts.Forthe majorityofconjuncts,initialistheusuallocation.Ifanadverbislogicallypositionedwithinthesentence,itisanadjunct. Whenanadverbisseparatedfromtherestofthephraseandservesasasortofevaluatorforit,itisreferredtoasadisjunct. Lastbutnotleast,anadverbcanconnecttwoconceptsifitisseparatedfromaphrasebyacommaandworksasaconjunct.

Thephrases“conjuncts”and“disjuncts,”whicharethesubjectofthisinquiry,refertothegrammaticalusesof adverbs.Afurtherdivisionbetween“adjuncts”and“subjects,”withfoursubcategoriesthateachofferadistinctivesetof grammaticalcharacteristics.Thekeydistinctionbetweenthesequalitiesishowtheycomparetosentencecomponentslike thesubject,object,andcomplement.

Accordingly,“adjuncts”areseenashavingthemostincommonwithsentenceelementsintermsoftherolethey playwithinasentence,while“subjects,”forexample,aresaidto“lackthegrammaticalparitywithothersentence elements”and“haveasubordinateandparentheticrole”incomparisontoadjuncts.

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BASICDEFINITIONSOFCONCEPTS

DefinitionsofAdjuncts

Adjuncts,accordingtoSailor&Schütze(2013:2),areanessentialcomponentofthesentenceandgivethereader informationbeyondwhatisinthesubject,verb,object,orcomplement.Theycommunicatewhere(locationanddirection), when,andhow(time,duration,frequency).

AccordingtoNinio(2019:3),anadjunctisaword,phrase,orclausethatcanbeeliminatedfromasentence withoutthesentencebecominggrammaticallyincorrect.Adverbsarefrequentlyemployedasadjunctstomodifyverbs.An adjunctwilltypicallysuggestatime,away,aplace,afrequency,areason,oradegreewhenemployedasanadverb.An adjunctadverbialingrammarisaword,phrase,orclausethatmodifiesanentireclausebyaddingdetailsconcerningtime, place,manner,condition,purpose,cause,consequence,andconcession,accordingtoMirzahoseinietal.(2015:125). Sometimesnounsandnounphrasesserveasadjunctadverbials.

DefinitionsofDisjunct

Disjunctsareadverbialwords,phrases,andclauses,accordingtoBrinton&Donna(2010:55),whichallowthespeakeror writertocommunicatebeliefsorthoughtsregardingwhattheyarecommunicating.Theyconveythespeaker’sorwriter’s attitude.Asanillustration,certainly,regrettably,personally,undoubtedly,inmyjudgment,whichiscertain,evenifthisis obviouslyinaccurate

AccordingtoCrystal(2004:84),disjunctsareaclassofoptionalstructurethatservetoofferparenthetic commentarytotheclauseinwhichtheyappear.Theyarecrucialinensuringthefluidityandnaturalflowofdialogue.

DefinitionsofConjuncts

Theyareaclassofwords,accordingtoCrystal(2004:207),whoseprimarypurposeistoconnectseparategrammatical components,suchasclauses,phrases,andparagraphs.Adverbswerethenamegiventothesewordsinconventional grammar.

Conjuncts,accordingtoBiberetal.(2000:133),arecrucialtoolsforestablishingtextualcohesivenessbecause theyconveythenatureoftheconnectionbetweenphrases.Theyarenotacomponentofthesentenceandarelesscentralto theremainderofthephrasestructureinwhichtheyappearthanadjunctadverbials.Insteadofprovidingmoreinformation totheclause,theyserveasamajorconnective.

TYPESANDFEATURESOFADJUNCTS,CONJUNCTSANDDISJUNCTS

Disjuncts

Disjunctsareatypeofoptionalstructurethatprovideparentheticcommentarytotheclauseinwhichtheyareused,as describedbyCrystal(2003:84).Theyarevitalinensuringthefluencyandorganicflowofspeech.Tipping(1959:231) arguesthattheseadverbshaveagreaterimpactonthemeaningofthephraseasawholethanonanygivenwordwithinit (e.g.verb,object,etc.).Thisiswhywerefertothemasadverbsandadverbialsinsentences.

Thecommonadverbialexpression:hurryup.

Anadverbinasentence:Herewehaveastorythatactuallyhappened.

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ItisfurtherconfirmedbyNash(1986:37),whodescribesdisjunctsasbeingparenthetical,astheyarenotpartof theclausewhosemeaningtheyclarify.Hegivestwoexamplestodifferentiatebetweentheadverbialanddisjunctiveuses oftheword“amazingly”:

Tohiscredit,heaccomplishedtheremarkablefeatofcyclingacrosstheSahara.(thatis,inanincredibleway)

HerodehisbikeacrosstheSahara,whichisanincrediblefeat.Ican’tbelieveit!

TypesofDisjuncts

AccordingtoCrystal’sclassification(2003:229),disjunctscanbebrokendownintotwobroadclasses,eachofwhichcan befurthersubdivided.

AsymmetriesinStyleb.Disjointedmaterial(b)

DiscordantElementsofStyle1.

Disjunctiveexplanationsofstyleshedlightonthecontextinwhichaphraseshouldbeunderstoodbythelistener. ThefollowingisanillustrationprovidedbyGreenbaumandQuirk(1991:181):

Mr.Forsterisabadfatherbecausea.

Inmyopinion,Mr.Forsterisabadfathersincehedoesn’tspendenoughtimewithhiskids.

QuirkandGreenbaum(1989:242)giveotherexamplesoftheuseofstyledisjuncts:

You’vegottobekiddingmeifyouplanonresigning.

Ican’tsaythatI’mafanofhers.

Guestsarenotpermittedhereunderanycircumstances.

Amatchingsentencewithaverbofspeakinganditssubjectastheobjectofthedisjunctivestylecanexpressthe relationbetweenthetwoclauses.Thus,thedisjunctmighthaveawholeclausalform,asintheexamplesentence: “Frankly,Iamexhausted.”

Justas“Itellyoucandidly”or“Isayfrankly”meanthesamething,“frankly”doesaswell.Thedisjunctmaybe uncleariftheclauseisaquestion.Inotherwords,“Iaskyouplainly”and“Tellmefrankly”arebothpossibletranslations oftheadverb(Quirk,etal,1985:615).

Thefollowingcategoriesofadverbsarefrequentlyemployedasstyledisjuncts:(Quirk,etal,1985:615–16).

Type(a)Modeandprocedure

Thefollowingdisjunctsareorganizedaccordingtotheirmodeandstyle:candidly,flatly,honestly,gravely, rigorously,sincerely,trustfully,confidentially,roughly,inshort,andsimply.

Idon’tneedthemoney,forinstance.

Prepositionalphrasesandsentencesareanothercommonformofthesedisjunctsinstyle.

Forinstance:Tosumup,heiselatedbutenraged.

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Inotherwords,hedoesn’treallyamounttomuchinthemarketplace.

Type(b):Respect:

Disjunctadverbialsofthistypeincludethefollowing:

Figuratively,generally,literally,metaphorically,andstrictly.

Forexample:Generally,therainyseasonhasalreadybegunbySeptember.

Frequentlyrespectdisjunctscancomeintheformoflongerphrasesorclauses.

Forexample:Generallyspeaking,therainyseasonhasalreadybegunbySeptember

Withduerespect,Imuststatethatnoneofyouarequalifiedtomakethenecessarylegaldetermination.

AccordingtoQuirk,etal.(1985:617),thereisasenseanalogoustosomeadverbphrasesinotherstructural contexts.

Forexample,inplaceof“frankly”in:Frankly,hehasnotachance.

1.ContentDisjuncts

AccordingtoQuirk&Greenbaum(1989:243),ContentDisjuncts(alsoknownasAttitudinalDisjuncts)indicatethe speaker’scommentonthecontentofwhatheissaying.Theyoftenonlyhaveaplaceindeclarativeclauses:Nobody anticipatedthatIwouldbeheretoday,ofcourse.AccordingtoEastwood(2000:276),wordslike“surprise,”“fortunately” and“thankfully”maybeusedto“evaluate”and“comment”onwhatwearesaying.

Thenewspaperwasnotinterestedinthestory,surprisingly.

Contentdisjunctscanalsoberealizedbyprepositionalphrasesandclauses: Tomyregret,hedidnotacceptouroffer.

Whatisevenmoreremarkable,hemanagestoinspireconfidenceinthemostsuspiciouspeople.(ibid).

DISCREPANCIESINSTYLEANDCONTENT

Aswasstatedbefore,“conjuncts”areagrammaticalrepresentationofoneoftheadverbialfunctions.Havingacommon

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understandingoftheterm“function”beforeproceedingisoftenbeneficial.

AccordingtoGreenbaum(1969),anitem’s“function”is“thesumofitssyntacticproperties”(ibid.:3).Hegoesontosaythat syntacticqualitiescanbebothpresentandpotentialforaniteminthephrasethatisbeingevaluated,usingtheterm“potential”toreferto bothpositiveandnegativefeatures(ibid.).Thecharacteristicsof“conjuncts”canbesummedupasfollows:

First,ithasnopremodifiersorpostmodifiers;phraseslike“trulyhowever”or“moreoverenough”arenotallowed sincetheymodifythemeaningoftheconjunction“conjunct.”

Patternsofoccurrenceinclausetypes:

Directqueries,suchas“yes”or“no,”and“what?”

Most“conjuncts”canrespondtobothopen-endedanddirectionalquestions.Unlike“immobileconjuncts,”which arelimitedtotheirinitiallocationandthereforeunacceptableinindirectquestions,“mobileconjuncts”areperfectly acceptableinsuchqueries.Yes/noquestionsandwh-questionsareexamplesofstraightforwardquestions.It’sworth noting,nevertheless,thattherecouldbeexceptionstothisruledependingonthebroadersemanticclassoranarrower “conjunct.”Thus,concessivenonethelessisappropriateinanindirectquestion,whereasconcessivehoweverisnot.A similarcomparisoncanbemadebetweentheresultsthataregenerallyacceptedandthosethataregenerallynotaccepted. Readthefollowingcaseinpoint:

Andyet,we’reallcuriousastowhetherornotshe’llactuallycomeclean.

TheywantedtoknowifIshould*thusdisagreewithitornot.

Itshouldbehighlightedatthispointthatalltheexamplesusedtoillustratethepositiveandnegativefeaturesof theadverbialsinquestionweremadeuponthespot.Id.at44(Greenbaum,1969).

TypesofAdjuncts

Adjunctscanbeusedinavarietyofwaystochangethewordsinthesentence.Adjunctsusuallyelaborateonthe frequency,place,time,degree,reason,orstyleofthewordorphrasetheyarealteringinasentence.Examplesofadjuncts thatcanbeusedtochangeallofthesethingsareasfollows:

1.Regularity:“Theyoungsterandhisbuddyplayedbasketballeveryday.”

Thefarmermowedhislandonceaweek.

2.Location:“Thevisitorsexploredthecityanditsmanylandmarks.”

ThereareseveralstunninglakesinNorthCarolina.

3.Time:“At5:00o’clockintheevening,thedogwenttocheckonhisfooddish.”

Rightasclassletout,thegamestarted.

4.Degree:Heleapedashighashecould.

Inspiteofhisstature,hewasunabletoopentheuppercupboard.

5.Justification:“Theplantsgrewlargebecausetheygotalotofsunlight.”

Sheputinalotofwork,soit’snosurprisethatsheexcelledinmathematics.

6.Sense:“Thegazellegallopedacrossthefield.”

Fastcurrentscarrieddebrisandboatsdowntheriver.Thisisaccordingtoanumberofresearchers(Biberetal., 2000:45).

CharacteristicsofAdjuncts

 Adverbsarefrequentlyusedasoptionalpartsofclauses.Adverbsthatareoptionalprovidethephrasewithfurther detailandcanhaveawiderangeofmeanings,includingplace,time,style,extent,andattitude.

 Optionaladverbialscanbeaddedtoclauseswithanytypeofverb.

 Theyareusuallyprepositionalphrases,adverbphrases,ornounphrases

 Theycanbeplacedindifferentpositionswithintheclause,infinal,initial,ormedialpositions.

 Morethanoneofthemcanoccurinasingleclause.

 Therestoftheclauseisonlytangentiallyconnectedtothem.Theadverbialislargelyperipheralin comparisontotheverbphrase,whichisprimary(exceptinthoseclausepatternsthatrequireadverbials), (Richard,2020).

ConjunctsVersusDisjunctsandAdjuncts

Greenbaum(1969:24)establishesthreediagnosticcriteriatodifferentiate“adjuncts”from“conjuncts”and“disjuncts.”

Thefollowingaresomeexamples:

One,whenthisisastandalonetoneunitandtheclauseisnegated,‘adjuncts’arenotoftenseenintheinitial position,although‘conjuncts’and‘disjuncts’are.

Second,“adjuncts”mayserveasthefocalpointofclauseinterrogation,but“conjuncts”and“disjuncts”cannot.

Third,whereas‘conjuncts’and‘disjuncts’cannotbethetargetofclausenegation,‘adjuncts’may.

Afterdistinguishing“conjuncts”and“disjuncts”from“adjuncts,”Greenbaumaddsonemorenecessarycriterion tomakeacleardistinctionbetweenthem.Theabilityofanadverbtodoubleasananswertoayes/noquestionisthebasis forthiscriteria.Incontrastto“conjuncts,”whichareincapableofansweringyesornoquestions,disjunctscan.Differences betweenthetwogroupsincludethefollowing.

 Pre-andpost-modificationsarenotpossiblewithconjunctsbutarewithdisjuncts.

 Theavailabilityofconjunctsandstyledisjunctsinbothdirect(yes-noandwhquestions)andindirect(bothyes-no andwhquestionsaredisjunctive)questiontypes,butdisjunctivesofattitudeandsubstanceareunavailableinboth questiontypes.

 Third,disjunctsofstyleandconjunctionsmaybeusedineitherobligatoryoroptionalclauses,butdisjunctsof attitudecannot.(ibid).

CONCLUSION

Anadjunctisaphrase,clause,orwordthatcanberemovedfromasentencewithoutalteringitsmeaning.Adverbsare

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commonlyusedtoaddemphasistoaverb.Whenusedinthisrole,anadjunctoftenimpliesatime,amethod,alocation,a frequency,ajustification,oranamount.While,Adisjunctisanadverbialphraseusedtomakearemarkaboutthetoneor styleofasentenceinEnglish.Adisjunctisaremarkorphrasethatexplicitlystatestheopinionofthespeakerorwriter. Thesearealsoreferredtoassentenceadverbsorsentenceadjectives.Unlikeadjuncts,whicharebuiltintothesyntaxofa sentenceorclause,disjunctsstandapartfromthematerialtheyarecommentingon.Disjunctsessentially“lookdownfrom aboveonaclause,makingajudgmentaboutwhatitissayingorhowitiswritten,”accordingtoDavidCrystal.Aconjunct joinstheideasexpressedintwoseparatesentences.Becauseofthis,itservesnofunctionalpurposeinthephrase.

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