"...way back home" diagram

[philo2009]

way (which is) back (to) home

back (to) home = predicate adverb

I must confess to sharing your discomfort at reckoning 'home' (with the meaning 'to one's place of residence') as an adjective of any kind, rather than as an adverb, and traditional grammarians are likely to need little persuading to accept any analysis, however tortuous, which permits it to retain its normal status.

Others, however, might object that we would never actually say anything like

*My way is (back) home.

and that, since directional adverb 'home' (unlike its locative form in AmE) cannot properly function as a complement, a spurious ellipsis is being cited as the basis of a false analysis!

On balance, therefore - however reluctantly - I would say that, in this particular case (and a tiny handful of structural equivalents such as 'the road home' etc.), we must simply be prepared to carve out an exception to syntactic norms and allow 'home' the status of an adjective.

However, for reasons explained in my previous post, I would still insist that 'back', at least, be reckoned an adverb!

[Rolex_Cellini]

we must simply be prepared to carve out an exception to syntactic norms and allow 'home' the status of an adjective.

Elegantly put.

My way is up the stairs.
My way is upstairs. -- direction adjunct

Two adjuncts can be coordinated if they are of the same grammatical
function and semantic class; eg direction adjuncts

1. My way is up the stairs and to home.
2. My way is upstairs and home.

How does the sentence 2 lose its grammaticality?

[philo2009]

Elegantly put.

My way is up the stairs.
My way is upstairs. -- direction adjunct



1. My way is up the stairs and to home.
2. My way is upstairs and home.

How does the sentence 2 lose its grammaticality?

Before commenting, I'd very much like to know the source of the quotation and of the two final examples...

[Rolex_Cellini]

Quirk et al.

[philo2009]

Quirk et al.

It's a big book! Page numbers would be appreciated...

[5jj]

It's a big book! Page numbers would be appreciated...

I agree.

At p520 of the 1985 Quirk et al Comprehensive Grammar (there are, as you know, others), I found: "Two adjuncts can be coordinated if they are of the same grammatical
function and semantic class; eg direction position adjuncts ..."

I could find no sign of: "1. My way is up the stairs and to home.
2. My way is upstairs and home."

[philo2009]

I agree.

At p520 of the 1985 Quirk et al Comprehensive Grammar (there are, as you know, others), I found: "Two adjuncts can be coordinated if they are of the same grammatical
function and semantic class; eg direction position adjuncts ..."

I could find no sign of: "1. My way is up the stairs and to home.
2. My way is upstairs and home."

As, frankly, I suspected...!

[TheParser]

to my mind, the structure is [the way [back home]], i.e. with 'back' as a modifying adjunct to 'home', making it an adverb rather than an adjective.

YES! You are 100% correct.

Angela Downing in English Grammar / A University Course writes:

"Adverbs of space or time are frequently modified by other adverbs of space or time."

She then gives these examples:

out there
back home


*****

Robert Beard in Lexeme-Morpheme writes:

"The residue class of adverbs contains items of three types: (i) some of Jackenoff's 'intransitive prepositions.' "

He gives these examples: back, home, here, there.

[philo2009]

YES! You are 100% correct.

Angela Downing in English Grammar / A University Course writes:

"Adverbs of space or time are frequently modified by other adverbs of space or time."

She then gives these examples:

out there
back home


*****

Robert Beard in Lexeme-Morpheme writes:

"The residue class of adverbs contains items of three types: (i) some of Jackenoff's 'intransitive prepositions.' "

He gives these examples: back, home, here, there.