Understanding Adverbial Phrases and Clauses

Adverbial Phrases and Clauses

• Adverbial phrases are groups of words acting like adverbs, modifying verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or clauses. They describe how, where, when, or why. Examples include "with sadness," "behind the bookshelf," "in the morning," and "to buy groceries."
• Adverbial phrases can be formed by combining adverbs, often with qualifiers like "incredibly," "rather," or "very."
• Adverbial phrases can also be prepositional phrases ("in the afternoon") or infinitive phrases ("to get a haircut"). These don't always contain adverbs but still function like adverbs.
• Adverbial clauses are clauses containing a subject and verb that modify the main clause. They're connected to the main clause using subordinating conjunctions like "because," "since," "before," "although," and "so that."
• Adverbial clauses are always dependent clauses; they can't stand alone as complete sentences. They always have a subject and verb but are part of a larger sentence.

Placement of Adverbials

• Adverbial phrases and clauses can be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. This placement often affects emphasis.
• A fronted adverbial sits at the beginning of the sentence and is typically followed by a comma.
• If an adverbial is placed at the end of a sentence, no comma is needed.
• If an adverbial is placed in the middle of a sentence (between the subject and verb), commas set it off.

Misplaced Modifiers

• The placement of adverbials can significantly change the meaning of a sentence.
• A misplaced modifier can create ambiguity or confusion. A modifier needs to be clearly connected to the element it's intended to describe.

Types of Adverbials

• Adverbs are one-word adverbials (e.g., "quickly").
• Adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses are multi-word adverbials.
• Fronted adverbials are adverbials used at the beginning of sentences. They are often followed by commas.

Additional Notes

• Adverbials modify verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or whole clauses to describe how, where, when, or why something happens.
• Adverbs, adverbial phrases, and adverbial clauses can be used at the end of sentences to modify other parts of the sentence.
• Placing an adverb at the beginning of a sentence usually requires a comma.