In linguistics, an adverbial phrase ("AdvP") is a multi-word expression operating adverbially: its syntactic function is to modify other expressions, including verbs, adjectives, adverbs, adverbials, and sentences. Some grammars use the label adverb phrase to denote an adverbial phrase composed entirely of adverbs versus an adverbial phrase, which might not contain an adverb.

Adverbial phrases can be divided into two types: complementary phrases and modifying phrases. For example, very well is a complementary adverbial phrase that complements "sang" in the sentence "She sang very well". Degree adverbials are commonly used in English to convey the intensity, degree, or focusing of an adjacent adverb. In most cases, a degree adverbial is used to modify an adverb in an adverbial phrase: for example, in (1) the degree adverbial very modifies the adverb quickly; in (2) the degree adverbial extremely modifies the adverb hard; in (3) the degree adverbial really modifies the adverb well; and in (4), the degree adverbial so modifies the adverb soon.

  • (1) They repaired my car [very] quickly.
  • (2) He worked [extremely] hard in the game.
  • (3) She did [really] well in her race.
  • (4) Why are you leaving [so] soon?

Modifying adverbial phrases

Modifying adverbial phrases combine with a sentence, and the removal of the adverbial phrase yields a well-formed sentence. For example, in (5) the modifying adverbial phrase in an hour can be removed, and the sentence remains well-formed (e.g., I'll go to bed); in (6) the modifying AdvP three hours later can be omitted, and the sentence remains well-formed (e.g., We arrived); and in (7), the modifying AdvP before long can be omitted, and the sentence remains well-formed (e.g. The situation had been resolved). Just as adjective phrases function attributively to give additional information about an adjacent noun, the modifying adverbial phrases illustrated in (5) to (7) function as secondary predicates that give additional temporal information about the sentence.

  • (5) In an hour I'll go to bed.
  • (6) Three hours later we arrived .
  • (7) Before long the situation had been resolved. Adverbs modify the functional categories that occur in a sentence and may also be treated as predicates which are functionally open and require one or more arguments to be satisfied. It has been argued that the distribution of adverbs is largely conditioned by their lexical nature or thematic properties. The major classes of adverbials are adjunct, disjunct and conjunct.
  1. Adjunct:
  2. :referring to information of the action or state in the clause or aspects of things within the real world.
  3. Conjunct:
  4. :contextualizes relationships between text. Provides a connective function.
  5. :(i.e. furthermore, to begin with, however)
  6. Disjunct:
  7. :conveys a speaker's evaluation of something
  8. :( i.e. probably, fortunately)
  9. Subjunct:
  10. :has a subordinate role relative to other clauses in the structure.
  11. :often referring to viewpoint, focus, or degree adverbials

The class of subjunct is usually placed within adjunct class as it is difficult to distinguish between the two.

Subcategories for adverbials

Adjunct adverbials are the most often discussed class of adverbials, when discussing distribution in English.

Linking

Conjunct adverbials, sometimes called linking adverbials, are used to connect clauses together and surface in a clause-initial position in English. Complements are elements of an utterance that complete the meaning of the noun or sentence in which it is being used. Unlike adjuncts, they are necessary to complete the meaning of a given sentence. Adverbial complement is the term used to identify an adverbial phrase that is necessary to the meaning of the verb or utterance. Adverbial complements always appear after the verb that they modify. If the verb is intransitive, the complement will appear directly after the verb; if the verb is transitive, the complement will appear after the verb's direct object.

A test to identify whether or not an adverbial phrase is a complement or adjunct is to remove the phrase in question from the sentence. If the sentence no longer makes sense or if its meaning is altered heavily, then the adverbial element is a complement. If the meaning is still intact, it is an adjunct. There is a difference between fronted adjuncts (in this case, adverbial phrases) and topicalized arguments. Adverbial phrases behave as adjuncts, and that serves as particularly useful in discussions regarding adverbial phrases and their movement, as well as their integration into syntactic structure.

In French vs English

Adverbial phrases are different across languages. French is a case in point. Like English, adverbial phrases are the parts of a sentence that add circumstantial information. French often requires using adverbial phrases where English is satisfied with a simple adverb.

For example, where English uses just one adverb, French requires a full adverbial phrase:

  • "surprisingly": de manière surprenante
  • "forwards": vers l'avant or en avant
  • "hopefully": avec un peu d'espoir

Placements of adverbs in adverbial phrases is usually determined by the category of adverbs. In English, placement of adverbs can sometimes be arbitrary, where some adverbs may be found in front or after the verb or even at the beginning of the sentence, while French adverbs have much stricter rules and can be difficult.

When a French adverb modifies a verb, it is placed after the conjugated verb, for example:

::Nous avons bien mangé.

::"We ate well."

When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it is placed in front of the

word it is modifying, for example:

::Je suis profondément ému.

::"I am deeply moved."

There is a contrast between verb–adverbial order in French and adverbial–verb order in English. Adverbial expressions are formed in French, by combining prepositions with nouns (or noun phrases), adjectives (adjective + a noun), adverbs, or a series of words.

While movement is slightly different from English, suffixation is similar. Most French words that end in -ment are adverbs, and the majority of the time their English equivalents end in -ly: généralement – "generally".