Eckhard Bick - VISL

The adverbs in this group are the only ones allowed to premodify nouns (@>N). They
can also premodify non-verbal (B) or verbal (C) predicates. They are disallowed or
awkward in adverbial adject or clause-final circumstantial position.
B) Time operator adverbs (e.g. ainda, de=novo, mal, ?frequentemente)
These adverbs can premodify predicates, both verbal (like C) and non-verbal. In the
latter case they can assume the role of a "pseudo-complementiser", mimicking the role
of the subordinating 191 particle in an averbal subclause (@#AS) 192 . In this view, the full
clause replaced would be a copula clause, for instance Ainda em Roma, ... ('Still in
Rome, ..' ) replacing Quando ainda estava em Roma, .. ('When he was still in Rome, ...').
This would be structurally analogous to the absolute relative subclause reading for
Quando em Roma, .. ('When in Rome, ...'). Here, however, I prefer the adverbialpremodifier
analysis, both (i) because this is in better harmony with the other uses of the
time operator class and (ii) because an additional - relative - temporal adverbial ('when')
is needed when unfolding the supposed AS.
C) Meta 193 operator adverbs (e.g. simplesmente, obviamente, provavelmente)
This last group of operator adverbs premodifies whole (verbal) predicates, or even -
separated by a comma - whole clauses, but not noun phrases 194 (cf. A) and only rarely
non-verbal predicates (cf. B). At the same time it still shares the reluctance of the other
operator categories to appear in adverbial adject or clause-final circumstantial positions.
Table: Adverb class and word order
191
Or co-ordinating, in the case of equalitative comparators (tão depressa como possível), if one accepts the notion of coordinating
complementizers.
192
Another example of both verb- and complementizer-less "clausal" predications is the pattern 'com/sem' + NP + ADVPloc,
like in 'com a mão na bolsa' (with his hand in his pocket), where the preposition 'com' (or 'sem') functions as "pseudocomplementizer",
and 'na bolsa' is predicated about 'a mão', - also in this case without a copula. In contrast with the time
operator adverbial case, the preposition 'com' is not only supplemented by a comlementizer in the unfolded clause, but
replaced by it: 'while his hand was in his pocket' or ' while he held his hand in his pocket'.
193
The word is my coinage, another, semantically motivated, term is attitudinal adverbs.
194
Unless they are of the attributive subclass (), which is occasionaly restricted by meta operators. These cases are,
however, functionally non-verbal predicates, and will sometimes even be lexicalized as adjectives, too: um manifesto
obviamente @>A comunista @NA function would probably be: um manifesto provávelmente comunista.
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