TIME WHEN ADJUNCTS

THOSE DENOTING A POINT OF TIME

Adjunct Meaning Example
1 again On another time Don’t be late again!
2 Early At an early time I knew I had to get up early
3 Just At this very moment Where’s my phone? I had it just now
4 Late At a late time The train is always late
5 now At this time She’s a widow now
6 nowadays At the present time Nowadays it's acceptable for women to be ambitious. But it
wasn't then.
7 presently At the present time (esp. AmE) He is presently out of the country
8 simultaneously At the same time The two children answered the question simultaneously
9 then At that time I was living in Cairo then - Prices were lower then
10 Today/tomorrow/tonight/yesterday/ in 1996/when I get back home
THOSE DENOTING A BOUNDARY OF TIME ie a point of time but also implying the point from which the time is
measured
1 afterwards at a later or future time the offender was arrested shortly afterwards
2 before I had met Professor Lown before
3 earlier before I wish you had told me earlier
4 eventually In the end The flight eventually got away six hours late.
5 finally In the end Finally, after ten hours of negotiations, the gunman gave
himself up.
6 first Before all else, before that, at first First, I’d like to ask you a few questions
7 Formerly Previously, earlier He had formerly been in the Navy.
8 immediately At once, within a very short time I rang immediately for an ambulance
9 initially In the beginning, at first initially, he thought the new concept was nonsense
10 instantly At once His voice was instantly recognizable.
11 just A very short time ago I’ve just seen the local papel
12 last After all else, in the end He did the most complicated task last
13 lately A short time ago (can co-occur with Lord Tomas had lately been appointed Chairman of the
simple past) Centre for Policy Studies.
He lately moved into a new apartment
14 later afterwards He handed in his resignation and later regretted his hasty
action
15 momentarily In a moment, very soon (AmE) I'll be ready to leave momentarily
my husband will be here to pick me up momentarily
16 next After that First, fry the garlic. Next, add the ginger.
17 once At some time in the past I was a farmer once; a once powerful nation
18 originally In the beginning, at first potatoes originally came from South America
19 previously before museums and art galleries which had previously been open
to the public
20 presently Soon (with a modal auxiliary or with They will presently call on him
the verb in the past) They presently called on him
21 recently A short time ago (can co-occur with I recently bought a CD player
simple past) He recently moved into a new apartment
22 shortly soon the new database will shortly be available for consultation
23 since After that About six thousand people were arrested, several hundred
of whom have since been released.
24 soon everyone will soon know the truth
25 subsequently afterwards the officer decided to stop and subsequently made an
arrest
26 then
Adjunct
1 always
2 awhile
3 briefly
4 Indefinitely
5 long
6 momentarily
7 permanently
8 temporarily
9 For the (summer)
10 The whole (night)
11 The whole year round
12 Mondays through
Saturdays
13 While we were there
14 Until sb did something
15 Until summer
THOSE DENOTING DURATION FROM A PRECEDING POINT OF TIME (they co-occur with perfect aspect)
1 Lately
sometimes co-occur with the simple
present tense when it is used for
2 recently
3 since
After that, afterwards she won the first and then the second game
TIME ADJUNCTS: TIME DURATION
THOSE DENOTING LENGTH OF TIME
Meaning Example
I have always lived here
For a short time I imagine he’ll want to stay awhile
for a short time he worked briefly as a lawyer
for an unlimited or unspecified talks cannot go on indefinitely
period of time
We always have to wait so long
We slept for a long time
They are on duty all night long
For a moment He was momentarily stunned by the impact of the
explosion
for all time his lungs are permanently damaged
for a limited period of time The service was temporarily suspended, but
the problem has now been resolved.
I’ll be in California for the summer
Was it noisy the whole night?
You can buy fresh fruit here the whole year round
The office is open Mondays through Saturdays
There was no trouble while we were there
Until I saw the building I had no idea how ugly it
was
They will keep the trophy until summer
During a recent period (lately He used to visit Chicago every two or three
months, but lately he goes there about once a
week
habitual time) Things haven’t become any better lately
I have recently been collecting stamps
From some time in the past He insulted me last year and I haven’t spoken to
him since
He arrived this morning and he has been
complaining (ever) since
We quarreled in our last year at school and I have
never seen her since
I have seen her only since last Saturday
 TIME FREQUENCY
SUBCLASSES ADJUNCT MEANING EXAMPLE
1 Hourly Every hour sunscreens should be applied hourly
2 Daily every day the museum is open daily
3 Nightly every night the hotel features live music nightly
4 Weekly Once a week interviews were given weekly
PERIOD 5 Fortnightly Every two weeks evening classes will run fortnightly
FREQUENCY (BrE)
6 Monthly Every month most of us get paid monthly
DEFINITE FREQUENCY

7 Quarterly once every quarter of a interest is paid quarterly

year
8 Annually once a year; every the prize is awarded annually
year
9 Yearly Once a year rent was paid yearly
10 Biannually twice a year we hold our big sale biannually

11 Semi-anually twice a year

1 again Another time it was great to meet old friends again
2 once One time only We ate there just once
3 Twice two times; on two the earl married twice
TIME occasions
FREQUENCY 4 NP I shall be in my office every other day
Each summer I spend my vacation in
Bermuda
5 PP On five occasions
1 Commonly very often; frequently shift workers commonly complain of not
getting enough sleep
2 Customarily usually the leaves are customarily used for animal
fodder
INDEFINITE FREQUENCY

3 Generally usually the term of a lease is generally 99 years

4 Habitually Customarily, by way he habitually carried a pocket knife
of habit
5 Invariably in every case or on Their teamwork was invariably good
USUAL every occasion; Invariably, he keeps the refrigerator well
OCCURRENCE always stocked
6 Normally in She’s not normally late.
most situations or cases It’s an opportunity to try things you
wouldn’t normally be able to do
7 Ordinarily usually a person who is ordinarily resident in the
United Kingdom
8 Usually generally he usually arrives home about one o'clock
As usual, nobody asked anything at the
end of the lecture
9 PP As a rule it’s very quiet here during the
day
For the most part, we play tennis on
Sunday morning
1 always At all times the sun always rises in the east
CONTINUOUS/ 2 Constantly always the world is constantly changing
CONTINUAL 3 Continually constantly I was continually moving around
FREQUENCY 4 Continuously repeatedly without their performance has continuously
 exceptions or reversal improved
Ever always They are ever trying to improve
6 Incessantly constantly she talked about him incessantly
She incessantly asks for more money
7 Permanently continually we need to be permanently vigilant
8 Perpetually constantly They are perpetually in debt
9 PP At all times
1 Frequently regularly or habitually; they go abroad frequently
often
2 Often Frequently, many times I have often told them to relax more
3 Regularly frequently He travels to Paris fairly regularly
HIGH 4 Repeatedly Constantly, again and they have been warned repeatedly with no
FREQUENCY again effect
5 NP She leaves the door unlocked time after
time
Have you been drunk many times
They explained again and again that they
couldn’t help it, but he didn’t believe them
1 Infrequently Not often Breast cancer occurs infrequently
in younger women
2 Irregularly
3 Occasionally now and then we met up occasionally for a drink
4 Periodically From time to time I will periodically check on your progress
5 Rarely seldom I rarely wear a raincoat because I spend
most of my time in a car
6 Seldom Not often, rarely Islay is seldom visited by tourists
7 Sometimes occasionally I sometimes think she doesn’t know what
LOW OR ZERO she’s talking about
FREQUENCY 8 Never Not ever He has never been in Singapore
9 Ever At any time nothing ever seemed to ruffle her
They haven’t ever seen my wife
10 Phrases I have driven a few times
You should phone them now and again
(occasionally)
Do you visit your parents from time to
time? (ocassionally)
We play cards off and on (occasionally,
informal)
I have been in his office on several
occasions
 PROCESS ADJUNCTS
They can be divided into 4 semantic classes:

1. MANNER
2. MEANS AND INSTRUMENT
3. AGENCY
4. CONTINGENCY

Position:

 Final position  since they usually receive information focus

 M2 position  when the verb is in the passive
 Initial position  when realized by units other than AdvP

1) MANNER
They are realized by:
 Adverb phrases (commonly)
 Noun phrases (less commonly)
 Clauses (less commonly)
 Prepositional Phrases (commonly)

Ways of forming Manner Adjuncts:

 MAIN: adding a –ly suffix to an adjective (Adj + -ly)

Eg. Coldly……… She spoke to him coldly

Indiscriminately, categorically, obviously

 THREE MINOR METHODS: by adding –wise, -style, or –fashion to a

noun (Noun + -wise, -style or –fashion)
Eg. Snake-wise, French-style, schoolboy-fashion, indian-wise, cowboy-style,
peasant-fashion
 NP with way, manner and style tend to have the definite article and
they include postmodification
 An adverb manner adjunct can be paraphrased by in a… manner or in
a… way, with its adjective base in the vacant position

EXAMPLES

1. They sprayed gas indiscriminately on the protesters

2. They were categorically told that no more oil would come from the wreck
3. Nixon spoke Johnson-style at the press conference
 4. They are deluded if they think otherwise
5. Her influence showed itself more obviously in the colours of the furniture
and curtains
6. They began arguing loudly
7. He failed to question the witness thoroughly
8. He repaired the house like an expert
9. She replied to the questions with great courtesy
10. He spoke in a way that reminded me of his father
11. They played the game (in) a different way
12. She dances ((in) the) French style
13. He always writes in a carefree manner
14. They walked (in) single file
15. You should write as I tell you to

2) MEANS AND INSTRUMENT

They can be realized by:
 Prepositional phrases (mainly)
 Adverb phrases
 Noun phrases without an article

EXAMPLES

 Of means adjuncts: (sometimes realized by by)

He decided to treat the patient surgically (by means of a surgery)
I go to school by car
He gained entry into the building by means of a bribe to the guard
These linguistic units were separated intonationally
You can best influence them by your own example
You can stop them by pressing this button
 Of instrument (sometimes realized by with)
You can cut the bread with that knife
He was killed with a bullet
He examined the specimen microscopically

3) AGENCY
It is often expressed with a by-phrase
e.g He was killed by a terrorist - (a terrorist killed him)

4) CONTINGENCY

They express REASON and PURPOSE and they respond to the questions What…
for? And why...? They are usually sentential at E position but also at I position
 REASON:
Realized by:
1- Prepositional Phrases
Eg she made the sacrifice for her son
There were many deaths from malnutrition
2- Non-finite clauses
Eg. With him being so angry, I didn’t tell him the worst part

 PURPOSE
They are realized by nonfinite (infinitive) clauses, finite clauses for formal
style or some more general forms (such as, turn off the gas in case there’s
an explosion, or we’d better leave now so we can get home before dark)
Eg The driver slowed down in order to avoid an accident
so as to