Quote:
Originally Posted by engee30  The other way round, I would say.  We got back home at midnight. It (the time) was late. (adverb) We got back home by bus. It (the bus) was late. (adjective)  |
"Late" can modify time (so adjective) but "late" cannot modify a person (so adverb) unless it means he's dead (the late Darth Vader).
Semantically (meaning-wise), what's the difference between:
He was late, versus
The leaves are everywhere
Going by your view, "everywhere" modifies "leaves", in exactly the same way as "late" modifies "he", so both are adjectives (which "everywhere" definitely is not). If you say "everwhere" doesn't modify "leaves" but "late" modifies "he", what's the reason or the difference? Is there a difference in semantics? No.
We cannot explain away the non-existence of any difference in meaning between the two by simply calling "everywhere" an adverbial and treating "are" as so-called non-linking.