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Romeo and Juliet
Task: If you were to write your own ending for the classic play Romeo and Juliet how will you end the story?
Sequence markers
Sequence markers in English are a certain group of items, mainly adverbs and preposition phrases, that link sentences together into a larger unit of discourse. These linguistic items go by various names, e.g. conjuncts, sentence adverbials, connectives, linking devices, among others.
Sequence markers can signal how to interpret the relationship between sentences in a number of different ways.
For example:
- They can indicate chronological order, or order of importance (e.g. first … secondly … thirdly; to begin with …. next … to conclude).
- They can add to or reinforce what has already been said (e.g. furthermore; in addition; what is more).
- They can indicate that two propositions have equal status (likewise; similarly).
- They can indicate cause-result relationships (e.g. consequently; so; as a result).
- They can indicate that a given proposition contradicts an earlier one (e.g. conversely; on the contrary;by way of contrast).
- They can indicate concession (e.g. nevertheless; in any case; for all that; all the same).
7. Sometimes a distinction is made between internal and external sequencers, i.e. the use of these markers to indicate ‘real world’ events (external), or ‘rhetorical organisation’ (internal). For example, First of all …. then …. finally can indicate chronological sequence (external), or order of importance (internal).
SEQUENCE MARKERS ACTIVITY
Answer the following, leave your answers in the comment box.
- My sister was in the dentist’s office for ten minutes. ______, I sat in the waiting room with an old magazine in my hands. ( First, Meanwhile, Later )
- An hour passed but there was no sign of Mike. ______, we decided to go home. ( Until, Before, Finally )
- We bumped into Salsa during our trip to Lang Island. A few weeks ______, we met him again ( after, then, later )
- The teacher had trouble telling the twins apart. ______ she realized one had a mole above her lips. ( Subsequently, Finally, Meanwhile )
- The men went to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. ______, they drove off towards the Penang Bridge ( After, Afterwards, Meanwhile )
- The football coach announced, “Today, we will begin practicing for the coming match.” ______ he added, “Let’s warm up first.” ( Then, After, Eventually )
- ______, heat the oil in the frying pan. Then put in all the marinated chicken pieces. ( Before, After, First )
- Many customers bought the delicious chicken pies. ______ all the pies were sold out. ( Eventually, Afterwards, Next )
- Many people wanted to buy the tickets. ______ a while, the queue was quite long. ( Before, After, Finally )
- Zulina will be back in fifteen minutes. ______, make yourself at home. ( Later, Subsequently, Meanwhile )
SOUND DEVICES
SOUND DEVICES USED IN POETRY
A List of Definitions
Sound devices are resources used by poets to convey and reinforce the meaning or experience of poetry through the skillful use of sound. After all, poets are trying to use a concentrated blend of sound and imagery to create an emotional response. The words and their order should evoke images, and the words themselves have sounds, which can reinforce or otherwise clarify those images. All in all, the poet is trying to get you, the reader, to sense a particular thing, and the use of sound devices are some of the poet’s tools.
These definitions, by the way, come by way of the Glossary of Poetic Terms, which can be found on the Internet at http://shoga.wwa.com/~rgs/glossary.html
ACCENT
The rhythmically significant stress in the articulation of words, giving some syllables more relative prominence than others. In words of two or more syllables, one syllable is almost invariably stressed more strongly than the other syllables. Words of one syllable may be either stressed or unstressed, depending on the context in which they are used, but connective one-syllable words like, and, but, or, to, etc., are generally unstressed. The words in a line of poetry are usually arranged so the accents occur at regular intervals, with the meter defined by the placement of the accents within the foot. Accent should not be construed as emphasis.
Sidelight: Two degrees of accent are natural to many multisyllabic English words, designated as primary and secondary.
Sidelight: When a syllable is accented, it tends to be raised in pitch and lengthened. Any or a combination of stress/pitch/length can be a metrical accent.
Sidelight: When the full accent falls on a vowel, as in PO-tion, that vowel is called a long vowel; when it falls on an articulation or consonant, as in POR-tion, the preceding vowel is a short vowel.
ALLITERATION
Also called head rhyme or initial rhyme, the repetition of the initial sounds (usually consonants) of stressed syllables in neighboring words or at short intervals within a line or passage, usually at word beginnings, as in “wild and woolly” or the line from the poem, Darkness Lost:
From somewhere far beyond, the flag of fate’s caprice unfurled,
Sidelight: The sounds of alliteration produce a gratifying effect to the ear and can also serve as a subtle connection or emphasis of key words in the line, but should not “call attention” to themselves by strained usage.
ASSONANCE
The relatively close juxtaposition of the same or similar vowel sounds, but with different end consonants in a line or passage, thus a vowel rhyme, as in the words, date and fade.
CONSONANCE
A pleasing combination of sounds; sounds in agreement with tone. Also, the repetition of the same end consonants of words such as boat and night within or at the end of a line, or the words, cool and soul, as used by Emily Dickinson in the third stanza of He Fumbles at your Spirit.
CACOPHONY (cack-AH-fun-ee)
Discordant sounds in the jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables, sometimes inadvertent, but often deliberately used in poetry for effect, as in the opening line of Fences:
Crawling, sprawling, breaching spokes of stone,
Sidelight: Sound devices are important to poetic effects; to create sounds appropriate to the content, the poet may sometimes prefer to achieve a cacophonous effect instead of the more commonly sought-for euphony. The use of words with the consonants b, k and p, for example, produce harsher sounds than the soft f and v or the liquid l, m and n.
DISSONANCE
A mingling or union of harsh, inharmonious sounds that are grating to the ear.
EUPHONY (YOO-fuh-nee)
Harmony or beauty of sound that provides a pleasing effect to the ear, usually sought-for in poetry for effect. It is achieved not only by the selection of individual word-sounds, but also by their relationship in the repetition, proximity, and flow of sound patterns.
Sidelight: Vowel sounds are generally more pleasing to the ear than the consonants, so a line with a higher ratio of vowel sounds will produce a more agreeable effect; also, the long vowels in words like moon and fate are more melodious than the short vowels in cat and bed.
INTERNAL RHYME
Also called middle rhyme, a rhyme occurring within the line, as in the poem, The Matador:
His childhood fraught with lessons taught by want and misery
METER
A measure of rhythmic quantity, the organized succession of groups of syllables at basically regular intervals in a line of poetry, according to definite metrical patterns. In classic Greek and Latin versification, meter depended on the way long and short syllables were arranged to succeed one another, but in English the distinction is between accented and unaccented syllables. The unit of meter is the foot. Metrical lines are named for the constituent foot and for the number of feet in the line: monometer (1), dimeter (2), trimeter (3), tetrameter (4), pentameter (5), hexameter (6), heptameter (7) and octameter (8); thus, a line containing five iambic feet, for example, would be called iambic pentameter. Rarely does a metrical line exceed six feet.
Sidelight: In the composition of verse, poets sometimes make deviations from the systematic metrical patterns. This is often desirable because (1) variations will avoid the mechanical “te-dum, te-dum” monotony of a too-regular rhythm and (2) changes in the metrical pattern are an effective way to emphasize or reinforce meaning in the content. These variations are introduced by substituting different feet at places within a line. (Poets can also employ a caesura, use run-on lines and vary the degrees of accent by skillful word selection to modify the rhythmic pattern, a process called modulation. Accents heightened by semantic emphasis also provide diversity.) A proficient writer of poetry, therefore, is not a slave to the dictates of metrics, but neither should the poet stray so far from the meter as to lose the musical value or emotional potential of rhythmical repetition. Of course, in modern free verse, meter has become either irregular or non-existent.
MODULATION
In poetry, the harmonious use of language relative to the variations of stress and pitch.
Sidelight: Modulation is a process by which the stress values of accents can be increased or decreased within a fixed metrical pattern.
NEAR RHYME
Also called slant rhyme, off rhyme, imperfect rhyme or half rhyme, a rhyme in which the sounds are similar, but not exact, as in home and come or close and lose.
Sidelight: Due to changes in pronunciation, some near rhymes in modern English were perfect rhymes when they were originally written in old English.
ONOMATOPOEIA (ahn-uh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh)
Strictly speaking, the formation or use of words which imitate sounds, like whispering, clang and sizzle, but the term is generally expanded to refer to any word whose sound is suggestive of its meaning.
Sidelight: Because sound is an important part of poetry, the use of onomatopoeia is another subtle weapon in the poet’s arsenal for the transfer of sense impressions through imagery.
Sidelight: Though impossible to prove, some philologists (linguistic scientists) believe that all language originated through the onomatopoeic formation of words.
PHONETIC SYMBOLISM
Sound suggestiveness; the association of particular word-sounds with common areas of meaning so that other words of similar sounds come to be associated with those meanings. It is also called sound symbolism.
Sidelight: An example of word sounds in English with a common area of meaning is a group beginning with gl, all having reference to light, which include:gleam, glare, glitter, glimmer, glint, glisten, glossy and glow.
RESONANCE
The quality of richness or variety of sounds in poetic texture, as in Milton’s
. . . and the thunder . . . ceases now
To bellow through the vast and boundless Deep.
RHYME
In the specific sense, a type of echoing which utilizes a correspondence of sound in the final accented vowels and all that follows of two or more words, but the preceding consonant sounds must differ, as in the words, bear and care. In a poetic sense, however, rhyme refers to a close similarity of sound as well as an exact correspondence; it includes the agreement of vowel sounds in assonance and the repetition of consonant sounds in consonance and alliteration. Differences as well as identity in sound echoes between words contribute to the euphonic effect, stimulate intellectual appreciation, provide a powerful mnemonic device, and serve to unify a poem. Terms like near rhyme, half rhyme, and perfect rhyme function to distinguish between the types of rhyme without prejudicial intent and should not be interpreted as expressions of value. Usually, but not always, rhymes occur at the ends of lines.
Sidelight: Originally rime, the spelling was changed due to the influence of its popular, but erroneous, association with the Latin word, rhythmus. Many purists continue to use rime as the proper spelling of the word.
Sidelight: Early examples of English poetry used alliterative verse instead of rhyme. The use of rhyme in the end words of verse originally arose to compensate for the sometimes unsatisfactory quality of rhythm within the lines; variations in the patterns of rhyme schemes then became functional in defining diverse stanza forms, such as, ottava rima, rhyme royal, terza rima, the Spenserian stanza and others. Rhyme schemes are also significant factors in the definitions of whole poems, such as ballade, limerick, rondeau, sonnet, triolet and villanelle.
RHYTHM
An essential of all poetry, the regular or progressive pattern of recurrent accents in the flow of a poem as determined by the arses and theses of the metrical feet, i.e., the rise and fall of stress. The measure of rhythmic quantity is the meter.
Sidelight: A rhythmic pattern in which the stress falls on the final syllable of each foot, as in the iamb or anapest, is called a rising or ascending rhythm; a rhythmic pattern with the stress occurring on the first syllable of each foot, as in the dactyl or trochee, is a falling or descending rhythm.
Sidelight: From an easy lilt to the rough cadence of a primitive chant, rhythm is the organization of sound patterns the poet has created for pleasurable reading.
ADVERBS OF TIME
Adverbs of time tell us when an action happened, but also for how long, and how often. Adverbs of time are invariable. They are extremely common in English. Adverbs of time have standard positions in a sentence depending on what the adverb of time is telling us.
1. ADVERBS THAT TELL US WHEN
Adverbs that tell us when are usually placed at the end of the sentence.
EXAMPLES
- Goldilocks went to the Bears’ house yesterday.
- I’m going to tidy my room tomorrow.
- I saw Sally today.
- I will call you later.
- I have to leave now.
- I saw that movie last year.
Putting an adverb that tells us when at the end of a sentence is a neutral position, but these adverbs can be put in other positions to give a different emphasis. All adverbs that tell us when can be placed at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the time element. Some can also be put before the main verb in formal writing, while others cannot occupy that position.
EXAMPLES
- Later Goldilocks ate some porridge. (the time is important)
- Goldilocks later ate some porridge. (this is more formal, like a policeman’s report)
- Goldilocks ate some porridge later. (this is neutral, no particular emphasis)
2. ADVERBS THAT TELL US FOR HOW LONG
Adverbs that tell us for how long are also usually placed at the end of the sentence.
EXAMPLES
- She stayed in the Bears’ house all day.
- My mother lived in France for a year.
- I have been going to this school since 1996.
In these adverbial phrases that tell us for how long, for is always followed by an expression of duration, while since is always followed by an expression of a point in time.
EXAMPLES
- I stayed in Switzerland for three days.
- I am going on vacation for a week.
- I have been riding horses for several years.
- The French monarchy lasted for several centuries.
- I have not seen you since Monday.
- Jim has been working here since 1997.
- There has not been a more exciting discovery since last century.
3. ADVERBS THAT TELL US HOW OFTEN
Adverbs that tell us how often express the frequency of an action. They are usually placed before the main verb but after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, may, & must). The only exception is when the main verb is “to be”, in which case the adverb goes after the main verb.
EXAMPLES
- I often eat vegetarian food.
- He never drinks milk.
- You must always fasten your seat belt.
- I am seldom late.
- He rarely lies.
Many adverbs that express frequency can also be placed at either the beginning or the end of the sentence, although some cannot be. When they are placed in these alternate positions, the meaning of the adverb is much stronger.
Adverb that can be used in two positions | Stronger position | Weaker position |
---|---|---|
frequently | I visit France frequently. | I frequently visit France. |
generally | Generally, I don’t like spicy foods. | I generally don’t like spicy foods. |
normally | I listen to classical music normally. | I normally listen to classical music. |
occasionally | I go to the opera occasionally. | I occasionally go to the opera. |
often | Often, I jog in the morning. | I often jog in the morning. |
regularly | I come to this museum regularly. | I regularly come to this museum. |
sometimes | I get up very early sometimes. | I sometimes get up very early. |
usually | I enjoy being with children usually. | I usually enjoy being with children. |
Some other adverbs that tell us how often express the exact number of times an action happens or happened. These adverbs are usually placed at the end of the sentence.
EXAMPLES
- This magazine is published monthly.
- He visits his mother once a week.
- I work five days a week.
- I saw the movie seven times.
4. USING YET
Yet is used in questions and in negative sentences to indicate that something that has not happened or may not have happened but is expected to happen. It is placed at the end of the sentence or after not.
EXAMPLES
- Have you finished your work yet? (= simple request for information)
- No, not yet. (= simple negative answer)
- They haven’t met him yet. (= simple negative statement)
- Haven’t you finished yet? (= expressing surprise)
5. USING STILL
Still expresses continuity. In positive sentences it is placed before the main verb and after auxiliary verbs such as be, have, might, will. If the main verb is to be, then place still after it rather than before. In questions, still goes before the main verb.
EXAMPLES
- She is still waiting for you.
- Jim might still want some.
- Do you still work for the BBC?
- Are you still here?
- I am still hungry.
6. ORDER OF ADVERBS OF TIME
If you need to use more than one adverb of time in a sentence, use them in this order: 1: how long 2: how often 3: when
EXAMPLES
- 1 + 2 : I work (1) for five hours (2) every day
- 2 + 3 : The magazine was published (2) weekly (3) last year.
- 1 + 3 : I was abroad (1) for two months (3) last year.
- 1 + 2 + 3 : She worked in a hospital (1) for two days (2) every week (3) last year.
ADVERBS OF PLACE
ADVERBS OF PLACE
Adverbs of place tell us where something happens. Adverbs of place are usually placed after the main verb or after the clause that they modify. Adverbs of place do not modify adjectives or other adverbs. Some examples of adverbs of place: here, everywhere, outside, away, around.
EXAMPLES
- John looked around but he couldn’t see the monkey.
- I searched everywhere I could think of.
- I’m going back to school.
- Come in!
- They built a house nearby.
- She took the child outside.
1. HERE AND THERE
Here and there are common adverbs of place. They give a location relative to the speaker. With verbs of movement, here means “towards or with the speaker” and there means “away from, or not with the speaker”.
Sentence | Meaning |
---|---|
Come here! | Come towards me. |
The table is in here. | Come with me; we will go see it together. |
Put it there. | Put it in a place away from me. |
The table is in there. | Go in; you can see it by yourself. |
Here and there are combined with prepositions to make many common adverbial phrases.
EXAMPLES
- What are you doing up there?
- Come over here and look at what I found!
- The baby is hiding down there under the table.
- I wonder how my driver’s license got stuck under here.
Here and there are placed at the beginning of the sentence in exclamations or when emphasis is needed. They are followed by the verb if the subject is a noun or by a pronoun if the subject is a pronoun.
EXAMPLES
- Here comes the bus!
- There goes the bell!
- There it is!
- Here they are!
2. ADVERBS OF PLACE THAT ARE ALSO PREPOSITIONS
Many adverbs of place can also be used as prepositions. When used as prepositions, they must be followed by a noun.
Word | Used as an adverb of place, modifying a verb | Used as a preposition |
---|---|---|
around | The marble rolled around in my hand. | I am wearing a necklace around my neck. |
behind | Hurry! You are getting behind. | Let’s hide behind the shed. |
down | Mary fell down. | John made his way carefully down the cliff. |
in | We decided to drop in on Jake. | I dropped the letter in the mailbox. |
off | Let’s get off at the next stop. | The wind blew the flowers off the tree. |
on | We rode on for several more hours. | Please put the books on the table. |
over | He turned over and went back to sleep. | I think I will hang the picture over my bed. |
3. ADVERBS OF PLACE ENDING IN -WHERE
Adverbs of place that end in -where express the idea of location without specifying a specific location or direction.
EXAMPLES
- I would like to go somewhere warm for my vacation.
- Is there anywhere I can find a perfect plate of spaghetti around here?
- I have nowhere to go.
- I keep running in to Sally everywhere!
4. ADVERBS OF PLACE ENDING IN -WARDS
Adverbs of place that end in -wards express movement in a particular direction.
EXAMPLES
- Cats don’t usually walk backwards.
- The ship sailed westwards.
- The balloon drifted upwards.
- We will keep walking homewards until we arrive.
Be careful: Towards is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by a noun or a pronoun.
EXAMPLES
- He walked towards the car.
- She ran towards me.
5. ADVERBS OF PLACE EXPRESSING BOTH MOVEMENT & LOCATION
Some adverbs of place express both movement & location at the same time.
EXAMPLES
- The child went indoors.
- He lived and worked abroad.
- Water always flows downhill.
- The wind pushed us sideways.
THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN
All the world’s a stage
![The Seven Ages of Man by William Shakespeare](https://learnenglishtodayweb.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/thesevenagesofmanbywilliamshakespeare.jpg?w=329&h=247)
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
World as a stage
The comparison of the world to a stage and people to actors long predated Shakespeare. Richard Edwardes‘s play Damon and Pythias, written in the year Shakespeare was born, contains the lines, “Pythagoras said that this world was like a stage / Whereon many play their parts; the lookers-on, the sage”. When it was founded in 1599 Shakespeare’s own theatre, The Globe, may have used the motto Totus mundus agit histrionem (All the world plays the actor), the Latin text of which is derived from a 12th-century treatise. Ultimately the words derive from quod fere totus mundus exercet histrionem (because almost the whole world are actors) attributed to Petronius, a phrase which had wide circulation in England at the time.
In his own earlier work, The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare also had one of his main characters, Antonio, comparing the world to a stage:
I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano;
A stage where every man must play a part,
And mine a sad one.
Ages of man
Likewise the division of human life into a series of ages was a commonplace of art and literature, which Shakespeare would have expected his audiences to recognize. The number of ages varied: three and four being the most common among ancient writers such as Aristotle. The concept of seven ages derives from medieval philosophy, which constructed groups of seven, as in the seven deadly sins, for theological reasons. The seven ages model dates from the 12th century. King Henry V had a tapestry illustrating the seven ages of man.
According to T. W. Baldwin, Shakespeare’s version of the concept of the ages of man is based primarily upon Palingenius‘ book Zodiacus Vitae, a school text he would have studied at the Stratford Grammar School, which also enumerates stages of human life. He also takes elements from Ovid and other sources known to him.
Question: What roles can I perform that will make a difference in my life? (leave your answer in the comment box)
The Knights of the Round Table
![]() The Knights Charge Given to the Knights by King Arthur Thou shouldst be for all ladies and fight for their quarrels, and ever be courteous and never refuse mercy to him that asketh mercy, for a knight that is courteous and kind and gentle has favor in every place. Thou shouldst never hold a lady or gentle woman against her will. Thou must keep thy word to all and not be feeble of good believeth and faith. Right must be defended against might and distress must be protected. Thou must know good from evil and the vain glory of the world, because great pride and bobauce maketh great sorrow. Should anyone require ye of any quest so that it is not to thy shame, thou shouldst fulfil the desire. Ever it is a worshipful knights deed to help another worshipful knight when he seeth him a great danger, for ever a worshipful man should loath to see a worshipful man shamed, for it is only he that is of no worship and who faireth with cowardice that shall never show gentelness or no manner of goodness where he seeth a man in any danger, but always a good man will do another man as he would have done to himself. It should never be said that a small brother has injured or slain another brother. Thou shouldst not fail in these things: charity, abstinence and truth. No knight shall win worship but if he be of worship himself and of good living and that loveth God and dreadeth God then else he geteth no worship here be ever so hardly. An envious knight shall never win worship for and envious man wants to win worship he shall be dishonoured twice therefore without any, and for this cause all men of worship hate an envious man and will show him no favour. Do not, nor slay not, anything that will in any way dishonour the fair name of Christian knighthood for only by stainless and honourable lives and not by prowess and courage shall the final goal be reached. Therefore be a good knight and so I pray to God so ye may be, and if ye be of prowess and of worthiness then ye shall be a Knight of the Table Round. The Emblem of the Knights
The Order’s dominant idea was the love of God, men, and noble deeds. The cross in the emblem was to remind them that they were to live pure and stainless lives, to stive after perfection and thus attain the Holy Grail. The Red Dragon of King Arthur represented their allegiance to the King. The Round Table was illustrative of the Eternity of God, the equality, unity, and comradeship of the Order, and singleness of purpose of all the Knights. |
The Story of Beowulf
King Hrothgar, the ruler of the Danes, is troubled by the rampages of a demon named Grendel. Every night, Grendel attacks King Hrothgar’s wealthy mead-hall, Heorot, killing Danish warriors and sometimes even eating them.
Hrothgar was a great warrior in his time, but now he’s an old king and can’t seem to protect his people. Fortunately, a young Geat warrior named Beowulf travels to Heorot Hall from his own lands overseas to lend a helping hand—literally.
After explaining that he owes Hrothgar a favor because Hrothgar helped out his father, Beowulf offers to fight Grendel himself. King Hrothgar gratefully accepts his offer. The next time Grendel attacks Heorot Hall, Beowulf is waiting for him. Choosing to fight Grendel in hand-to-hand combat, Beowulf wrestles the demon into submission and eventually tears off his arm at the shoulder. Mortally wounded, Grendel flees into the wilderness and dies. Beowulf, Hrothgar, and their followers throw a wild party to celebrate. Hrothgar also gives Beowulf many presents and treasures to reward him for his heroic defeat of the demon.
Unfortunately, Grendel has an overprotective mother who decides to avenge her son. While all the warriors are sleeping off the party, she attacks Heorot Hall. But when the warriors wake up, she panics and flees back to her lair, a cave underneath a nearby lake.
Beowulf, his Geatish warriors, and some of Hrothgar’s Danish warriors track her there. Beowulf dives into the lake and finds the cave, where he takes on Grendel’s mother in another one-on-one battle. Seizing a nearby sword from Grendel’s mother’s stash of treasure, he slays her, even though her poisonous demon blood melts the blade. When Beowulf returns to the surface, carrying the sword hilt and Grendel’s severed head, the Danish warriors have given him up for dead, but his own Geatish followers are still waiting patiently. When everyone sees that Beowulf has survived this second challenge, there’s even more partying and gift-giving.
Finally, the Geats take their leave of the Danes; Beowulf says goodbye to King Hrothgar and sails back to Geatland, where he is a lord in the court of King Hygelac. Eventually, Hygelac and all his relatives are killed in different blood-feuds, and Beowulf becomes the King of the Geats. Beowulf reigns as king for fifty years, protecting the Geats from all the other tribes around them, especially the Swedes. He is an honorable and heroic warrior-king, rewarding his loyal thanes (warrior lords) and taking care of his people.
But one day, Beowulf finally meets his match: a dragon, woken by a thief stealing a goblet, begins attacking the Geats, burning villages and slaughtering people. Beowulf takes a group of eleven trusty warriors, plus the thief who knows where the dragon’s lair is, to the barrow for a final showdown with the monster. When they see the dragon, all but one of the warriors flee in terror. Only one man, Wiglaf, remains at Beowulf’s side. With Wiglaf’s help and encouragement, Beowulf is able to defeat the dragon, but he is mortally wounded in the process.
After Beowulf’s death, the Geats build an enormous funeral pyre for him, heaped with treasures. Once the pyre has burned down, they spend ten days building an enormous barrow (a large mound of earth filled with treasure) as a monument to their lost king.
Question: Who among our present superheroes would you liken Beowulf to? Why? (Leave your answer in the comment box)
ADVERBS
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, determiner, noun phrase, clause, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?. This function is called the adverbial function, and may be realized by single words (adverbs) or by multi-word expressions (adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses).
Adverbs are traditionally regarded as one of the parts of speech. However, modern linguists note that the term “adverb” has come to be used as a kind of “catch-all” category, used to classify words with various different types of syntactic behavior, not necessarily having much in common except that they do not fit into any of the other available categories (noun, adjective, preposition, etc.)
Examples
- I found the film amazingly good.
- The meeting went well and the directors were extremely happy with the outcome.
- Crabs are known for walking sideways.
- Only members are allowed to enter.
- I usually have eggs for breakfast.
- However, I will not eat fried eggs again.
- Certainly the quality was very poor.
Functions
The English word adverb derives (through French) from Latin adverbium, from ad- (“to”), verbum (“word”, “verb”), and the nominal suffix -ium. The term implies that the principal function of adverbs is to act as modifiers of verbs or verb phrases.[1] An adverb used in this way may provide information about the manner, place, time, frequency, certainty, or other circumstances of the activity denoted by the verb or verb phrase. Some examples:
- She sang loudly (loudly modifies the verb sang, indicating the manner of singing)
- We left it here (here modifies the verb phrase left it, indicating place)
- I worked yesterday (yesterday modifies the verb worked, indicating time)
- You often make mistakes (often modifies the verb phrase make mistakes, indicating frequency)
- He undoubtedly did it (undoubtedly modifies the verb phrase did it, indicating certainty)
Adverbs can also be used as modifiers of adjectives, and of other adverbs, often to indicate degree. Examples:
- You are quite right (the adverb quite modifies the adjective right)
- She sang very loudly (the adverb very modifies another adverb – loudly)
They can also modify noun phrases, prepositional phrases,[1] or whole clauses or sentences, as in the following examples:
- I bought only the fruit (only modifies the noun phrase the fruit)
- She drove us almost to the station (almost modifies the prepositional phrase to the station)
- Certainly we need to act (certainly modifies the sentence as a whole)
Adverbs are thus seen to perform a wide range of modifying functions. The major exception is the function of modifier of nouns, which is performed instead by adjectives (compare she sang loudly with her loud singing disturbed me; here the verb sang is modified by the adverb loudly, whereas the noun singing is modified by the adjective loud). However, as seen above, adverbs may modify noun phrases, and so the two functions may sometimes be superficially very similar:
- Even camels need to drink
- Even numbers are divisible by two
The word even in the first sentence is an adverb, since it is an “external” modifier, modifying camels as a noun phrase (compare even these camels …), whereas the word even in the second sentence is an adjective, since it is an “internal” modifier, modifying numbers as a noun (compare these even numbers …). It is nonetheless possible for certain adverbs to modify a noun; in English the adverb follows the noun in such cases,[1] as in:
- The people here are friendly
- The show features dances galore
- There is a shortage internationally of protein for animal feeds
Adverbs can sometimes be used as predicative expressions; in English this applies especially to adverbs of location:
- Your seat is there.
When the function of an adverb is performed by an expression consisting of more than one word, it is called an adverbial phrase or adverbial clause, or simply an adverbial.
Formation and comparison
In English, adverbs of manner (answering the question how?) are often formed by adding -ly to adjectives. Other languages often have similar methods for deriving adverbs from adjectives (French, for example, uses the suffix -ment), or else use the same form for both adjectives and adverbs. Many other adverbs, however, are not related to adjectives in this way; they may be derived from other words or phrases, or may be single morphemes. Examples of such adverbs in English include here, there, together, yesterday, aboard, very, almost, etc.
Where the meaning permits, adverbs may undergo comparison, taking comparative and superlative forms. In English this is usually done by adding more and most before the adverb (more slowly, most slowly), although there are a few adverbs that take inflected forms, such as well, for which better and best are used.
For more information about the formation and use of adverbs in English, see English grammar § Adverbs. For other languages, see § In specific languages below, and the articles on individual languages and their grammars.
Adverbs as a “catch-all” category
Adverbs are considered a part of speech in traditional English grammar, and are still included as a part of speech in grammar taught in schools and used in dictionaries. However, modern grammarians recognize that words traditionally grouped together as adverbs serve a number of different functions. Some describe adverbs a “catch-all” category that includes all words that do not belong to one of the other parts of speech.
A logical approach to dividing words into classes relies on recognizing which words can be used in a certain context. For example, the only type of word that can be inserted in the following template to form a grammatical sentence is a noun:
The _____ is red. (For example, “The hat is red”.)
When this approach is taken, it is seen that adverbs fall into a number of different categories. For example, some adverbs can be used to modify an entire sentence, whereas others cannot. Even when a sentential adverb has other functions, the meaning is often not the same. For example, in the sentences She gave birth naturally and Naturally, she gave birth, the word naturally has different meanings: in the first sentence, as a verb-modifying adverb, it means “in a natural manner”, while in the second sentence, as a sentential adverb, it means something like “of course”.
Words like very afford another example. We can say Perry is very fast, but not Perry very won the race. These words can modify adjectives but not verbs. On the other hand, there are words like here and there that cannot modify adjectives. We can say The sock looks good there but not It is a there beautiful sock. The fact that many adverbs can be used in more than one of these functions can confuse the issue, and it may seem like splitting hairs to say that a single adverb is really two or more words that serve different functions. However, this distinction can be useful, especially when considering adverbs like naturally that have different meanings in their different functions. Rodney Huddleston distinguishes between a word and a lexicogrammatical-word.
Grammarians find difficulty categorizing negating words, such as the English not. Although traditionally listed as an adverb, this word does not behave grammatically like any other, and it probably should be placed in a class of its own.
In specific languages
- In Dutch adverbs have the basic form of their corresponding adjectives and are not inflected (though they sometimes can be compared).
- In German the term adverb is differently defined than in the English language. German adverbs form a group of noninflectable words (though a few they can be compared). An English adverb, which is derived from an adjective, is arranged in German under the adjectives with adverbial use in the sentence. The others are also called adverbs in the German language.
- In Scandinavian languages, adverbs are typically derived from adjectives by adding the suffix ‘-t’, which makes it identical to the adjective’s neuter form. Scandinavian adjectives, like English ones, are inflected in terms of comparison by adding ‘-ere’/’-are’ (comparative) or ‘-est’/’-ast’ (superlative). In inflected forms of adjectives, the ‘-t’ is absent. Periphrastic comparison is also possible.
- In Romance languages, many adverbs are formed from adjectives (often the feminine form) by adding ‘-mente’ (Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Italian) or ‘-ment’ (French, Catalan) (from Latin mens, mentis: mind, intelligence, or suffix -mentum, result or way of action). Other adverbs are single forms which are invariable.
- In Romanian, almost all adverbs are simply the masculine singular form of the corresponding adjective, one notable exception being bine (“well”) / bun (“good”). However, there are some Romanian adverbs built from certain masculine singular nouns using the suffix “-ește”, such as the following ones: băieț-ește (boyishly), tiner-ește (youthfully), bărbăt-ește (manly), frăț-ește (brotherly), etc.
- Interlingua also forms adverbs by adding ‘-mente’ to the adjective. If an adjective ends in c, the adverbial ending is ‘-amente’. A few short, invariable adverbs, such as ben, “well”, and mal, “badly”, are available and widely used.
- In Esperanto, adverbs are not formed from adjectives but are made by adding ‘-e’ directly to the word root. Thus, from bonare derived bone, “well”, and bona, “good”. See also: special Esperanto adverbs.
- In Hungarian adverbs are formed from adjectives of any degree through the suffixes -ul/ül and -an/en depending on the adjective: szép (beautiful) → szépen (beautifully) or the comparative szebb (more beautiful) → szebben (more beautifully)
- Modern Standard Arabic forms adverbs by adding the indefinite accusative ending ‘-an’ to the root: kathiir-, “many”, becomes kathiiran “much”. However, Arabic often avoids adverbs by using a cognate accusative followed by an adjective.
- Austronesian languages generally form comparative adverbs by repeating the root (as in WikiWiki) like the plural noun.
- Japanese forms adverbs from verbal adjectives by adding /ku/ (く) to the stem (haya- “rapid” hayai “quick/early”, hayakatta “was quick”, hayaku “quickly”) and from nominal adjectives by placing /ni/ (に) after the adjective instead of the copula /na/ (な) or /no/ (の) (rippa “splendid”, rippa ni “splendidly”). The derivations are quite productive, but from a few adjectives, adverbs may not be derived.
- In the Celtic languages, an adverbial form is often made by preceding the adjective with a preposition: go in Irish or gu in Scottish Gaelic, meaning ‘until’. In Cornish, yn is used, meaning ‘in’.
- In Modern Greek, an adverb is most commonly made by adding the endings <-α> and/or <-ως> to the root of an adjective. Often, the adverbs formed from a common root using each of these endings have slightly different meanings. So, <τέλειος> (<téleios>, meaning “perfect” and “complete”) yields <τέλεια> (<téleia>, “perfectly”) and <τελείως> (<teleíos>, “completely”). Not all adjectives can be transformed into adverbs by using both endings. <Γρήγορος> (<grígoros>, “rapid”) becomes <γρήγορα> (<grígora>, “rapidly”), but not normally *<γρηγόρως> (*<grigóros>). When the <-ως> ending is used to transform an adjective whose tonal accent is on the third syllable from the end, such as <επίσημος> (<epísimos>, “official”), the corresponding adjective is accented on the second syllable from the end; compare <επίσημα> (<epísima>) and <επισήμως> (<episímos>), which both mean “officially”. There are also other endings with particular and restricted use as <-ί>, <-εί>, <-ιστί>, etc. For example, <ατιμωρητί> (<atimorití>, “with impunity”) and <ασυζητητί> (<asyzitití>, “indisputably”); <αυτολεξεί> (<autolexeí> “word for word”) and <αυτοστιγμεί> (<autostigmeí>, “in no time”); <αγγλιστί> [<anglistí> “in English (language)”] and <παπαγαλιστί> (<papagalistí>, “by rote”); etc.
- In Latvian, an adverb is formed from an adjective by changing the masculine or feminine adjective endings -s and -a to -i. “Labs”, meaning “good”, becomes “labi” for “well”. Latvian adverbs have a particular use in expressions meaning “to speak” or “to understand” a language. Rather than use the noun meaning “Latvian/English/Russian”, the adverb formed form these words is used. “Es runāju latviski/angliski/krieviski” means “I speak Latvian/English/Russian” or, literally, “I speak Latvianly/Englishly/Russianly”. If a noun is required, the expression used means literally “language of the Latvians/English/Russians”, “latviešu/angļu/krievu valoda”.
- In Russian, and analogously in Ukrainian and some other Slavic languages, most adverbs are formed by removing the adjectival suffices “-ий” “-а” or “-е” from an adjective, and replacing them with the adverbial “-о”. For example, “швидкий”, “гарна”, and “смачне” (fast, nice, tasty) become “швидко”, “гарно”, and “смачно” (quickly, nicely, tastefully), similarly, “быстрый”, “хороший” and “прекрасный” (quick, good, wonderful) become “быстро”, “хорошо”, “прекрасно” (quickly, well, wonderfully). Another wide group of adverbs are formed by gluing preposition to following oblique case form (now often dialectical or deprecated): з from+рідка the rare→зрідка rarely, на onto+долину bottom→надолину downwards. As well, note that adverbs are mostly placed before the verbs they modify: “Добрий син гарно співає.” (A good son sings nicely/well). There is no specific word order in East Slavic languages.
- In Korean, adverbs are commonly formed by replacing the -다 ending of the dictionary form of a descriptive verb with 게. So, 쉽다 (easy) becomes 쉽게 (easily). They are also formed by replacing the 하다 of some compound verbs with 히, e.g. 안녕하다 (peaceful) > 안녕히 (peacefully).
- In Turkish, the same word usually serves as adjective and adverb: iyi bir kız (“a good girl”), iyi anlamak (“to understand well).
- In Chinese, adverbs end in the word “地(的)”, of which the English equivalent is “-ly”.
- In Persian, many adjectives and adverbs have the same form such as “خوب”, “سریع”, “تند” so there is no obvious way to recognize them out of context. The only exceptions are Arabic adverbs with a “اً” suffix such as “ظاهراً” and “واقعاً”.