[Grammar] comment or degree adverbs?

[elenah]

Hello,
Could you, please, tell me which type of adverbs are in these sentences?

She just walked out and she didn't even say goodbye.
are the 'just' and 'even' degree adverbs or comment adverbs?

You reacted very calmly, but actually you're not a calm person. Is 'actually' a comment adverb here?

When you are on the last couple of lines, just look up at the audience. What type of adverb is 'just' here?

Thank you very much in advance

 

[charliedeut]

If this is homework, you are not going to get any answers. Your teacher wants to know what you can do, not what we can.

If it's not homework, please tell us what you think first. Then we can comment your answers.

 

[elenah]

Hello,
Thank you for the replay.
It's not homework, I'm just trying to make sense of that.(Find the grave the dog is buried, as we say in my country) But apparently I can't.
Here is what I think, which is most likely wrong:

She just walked out and she didn't even say goodbye.
It seems to me that 'even' here can be a manner adverb, because it describes how she walked out. And just I think might be too.

You reacted very calmly, but actually you're not a calm person. - maybe a comment adverb, because you are giving your opinion


Wen you are on the last couple of lines, just look up at the audience. - I'm completely lost here. Could be manner or degree. I've no idea which one.




If you don't mind, please help me
Thank you for your time

 

[Raymott]

I don't find this sort of thing useful. You can classify adverbs however you like, though. Some are obvious, like time and place. Others are completely arbitrary. New types keep popping up here every month when someone detects a semantic nuance.
"Actually" is an adverb of factuality. "Just" could be either an adverb of time "He just walked out (just then)", or of mereity*. (He merely walked out").

*Not a real word.

What's a comment adverb?

 

[GoesStation]

The question Raymott and Piscean are playfully discussing is: how does knowing which category an adverb falls into help anyone?

Do you find a practical value to knowing this, or is it just a matter of general interest?

 

[Raymott]

Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with people who take an interest in this sort of thing. I have my quirks too!

 

[PaulMatthews]

Hello,
Could you, please, tell me which type of adverbs are in these sentences?

She just walked out and she didn't even say goodbye.
are the 'just' and 'even' degree adverbs or comment adverbs?

You reacted very calmly, but actually you're not a calm person. Is 'actually' a comment adverb here?

When you are on the last couple of lines, just look up at the audience. What type of adverb is 'just' here?

Thank you very much in advance

"Just" is a focusing modifier whose meaning here could be roughly glossed as "and do/did nothing else". Its focus in your first example is the verb phrase "walked out", and in your last example it's the verb phrase "look up at the audience".

"Even” is also a focusing modifier, but it contributes an extra component of meaning: it indicates a stronger or more surprising feeling about the situation. Its focus is the verb phrase “say goodbye".

"Actually" with the meaning "in fact" is probably a degree adverb modifying the entire clause "you're not a calm person".

 

[elenah]

Yes, I need to know why things are like they are. I probably have OCD. What can you do about things like that?

 

[PaulMatthews]

Yes, I need to know why things are like they are. I probably have OCD. What can you do about things like that?

No, not OCD. If you take a serious interest in grammar, then you are right in wanting to know about such things - particularly focusing modifiers since their correct placement in the clause is sometimes important to avoid potential confusion.

 

[elenah]

Thank you very much. You were very helpful as usual.
A comment adverb as I hear (or in this case see in ''English File"), is one which gives an opinion about a phrase, like 'unfortunately'.
And you are right, that kind of information doesn't help you speak any better, but if they (EF) give you that kind of information, there must be some point in it?
Otherwise, why would they want to confuse us, silly foreigners?

 

[elenah]

thank you very much

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you very much.

Make sure that your interest (OCD) stretches to ensuring that you start every sentence with a capital letter and end every sentence with a punctuation mark. Also please note that there is no need to write a new post to say "Thank you" to anyone. Simply click on the "Thank" button in the bottom left-hand corner of any post you find helpful.