What is an adjunct ?

In linguistics, an adjunct is an optional, or

structurally dispensable, part of a sentence, clause,

or phrase that, if removed or discarded, will not
structurally affect the remainder of the sentence.
 Adjunct
 An adjunct is used to add extra information to a sentence,
which creates an extra meaning and makes the sentence
more specific,i.e it adds some extra meaning to it.
 e.g. They waited outside for ages,
 The phrases outside and for ages add extra meaning to
waited. They tell us where, and for how long, the people
waited.
• Example: In the sentence: John helped Bill
in Central Park, the phrase “in Central Park”
is an adjunct.
 Forms of Adjuncts

Adjuncts can take many forms, such as:

adverbs, prepositional phrases, infinitive

phrases, and clauses. They can provide
information about time, place, manner,
reason, or condition, among other
things.
5
 Adjunct vs. Conjunct , Disjunct Adverbs

O 1. Adjunct
O (In common parlance, adjuncts are known as regular
adverbs of time, place, manner, degree, frequency, etc.)
O They modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They’re
essential to the meaning of a sentence, and significant
meaning may be lost if they are dropped. Examples:

6
 Examples
O I’ll finish the assignment tomorrow. [The
adjunct tomorrow modifies finish. If you drop
it, you’ll lose crucial information.]
O Tom lost the race narrowly.
O There was a power outage again.
O He was dressed too shabbily for the occasion.
.
7
 Sub classification of Adjuncts

8
 Sub classification of Adjuncts

Time: when, duration, frequency,

relationship
Others: purpose, cause or reason, source of
origin

9
 Relative position of Adjuncts
O When adjunct cluster in final position, the normal
order is
O Process, Place, Time

O E.g. The farmer was working with his

shears(process) in the garden (place) the whole
day (time).

10
 2. Disjunct
O Most disjuncts are prepositional phrases or clauses.
They could be divided into two main types:
O 1. Style Disjunct and 2. Attitudinal Disjunct.
O 1.Style Disjunct convey the speaker’s comment on the
form of what he is saying expressing the conditions
under which he is speaking such as: seriously,
personally, strictly speaking, to be precise, If I may say
so

11
 Attitudinal Disjuncts
2. Attitudinal Disjuncts: they convey the speakers' comments on
the content of what he is saying. They can appear only in
declarative clauses such as:
Obviously, Understandably, wisely, to our surprise, Of course, to
be sure, even more important, What is even more remarkable.

e.g. Obviously, Sam completed the assignment first.

12
 3. Conjunct

O Conjuncts modify an entire clause or a sentence

while connecting it logically to another clause or
sentence. They’re optional; they can be taken
out without affecting the meaning. They are
usually placed at the beginning of a clause or
sentence and separated from the independent
clause by a comma.

13
 3. Conjuncts

Most Conjuncts are adverb

phrases or prepositional
phrases.

14
 Subtypes of Conjuncts

Enumerative: first, second, thirdly, in the first place, ….etc

Reinforcing: also, furthermore,moreovere, then, in addition, what is more, …etc
Equative: equally, similarly, likewise, in the same way, ….etc
Transitional: by the way, incidentally, ….etc
Summative: to sum up, in conclusion, then, in all, ….etc
Apposition: namely, in other words, for instance, for an example, …
Result: consequently, as a result, hence, thus, therefore, so, ……
Inferential: else, otherwise, then, in that case, in other words, ….

15
 Subtypes of Conjuncts
Reformulatory: better, rather, in other words, ….
Replacive: on the other hand, rather, alternatively, ….
Antithetic: in contrast, on the contrary, by comparison,
then, on the one hand, ….on the other hand, instead, … etc.
Concessive: however, anyway, by the way, anyhow, else,
nevertheless, yet, though, all the same, after all, ….
Temporal Transition: meantime, meanwhile, in the
meantime, …. See Quirk, 1972:246-250

16