Conjuncts versus disjuncts: What exactly distinguishes the two?

Irena Hůlková

Conjuncts versus disjuncts: What exactly distinguishes the two?

Vol.1,No.2(2008)

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Based on Quirk et al.’s terminology and classiﬁ cation (1985), we can distinguish between four grammatical functions adverbials perform within a sentence: ‘adjuncts’, ‘subjuncts’, ‘conjuncts’, and ‘disjuncts’. The main purpose of the present paper is to look into the latter two in considerable detail, and debate differences as well as possible similarities that may exist between these two functions. For better illustration and a profound understanding of the issue, the above classiﬁ cation is compared with several labels applied in other linguistic sources, namely in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston and Pullum (2002) and Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English by Biber et al. (1999). The key question arising here is what exactly it is that makes ‘conjuncts’ conjunctive and ‘disjuncts’ disjunctive.

References

Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., Finegan, E. (1999) Longman Grammar of
Spoken and Written English. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Greenbaum, S. (1969) Studies in English Adverbial Usage. London and Harlow:
Longmans, Green and Co Ltd.

Greenbaum, S., Quirk, R. (1990) A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. Essex:
Pearson Education Limited.

Halliday, M. A. K., Hasan, R. (1976) Cohesion in English. Essex: Pearson Education
Limited.

Hoye, L. (1997) Adverbs and Modality in English. New York: Addison Wesley Longman
Inc.

Huddleston, R., Pullum, G. K. (2002) The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Leech, G., Svartvik, J. (2002) A Communicative Grammar of English. 3rd ed. London:
Pearson Education Limited.

Merriam-Webster’s Concise Dictionary of English Usage. (2002) Springfi eld, MA:
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Svartvik, J. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of
the English Language. London: Longman.

http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50066222?single=1&query_type=word&queryword
=disjunctive&fi rst=1&max_to_show=10, retrieved in 2007.

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