Category: Life

This part of the diploma paper is concerned with the functioning of different parenthetical types in publicist style. The examples were collected by means of running selection from Newsweek, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The BBC News. Some of the articles under analysis are presented in the Appendix.

Before proceeding with the analysis of the Parenthetical functioning in the context of different articles, it is worth presenting the scheme according to which characteristics will be identified.

Firstly, the semantic characteristics should be given, so the semantic group should be defined:

Sequence;

• Addition;
• Personal or other people’s opinion;
• Comparison;
• Contrast;
• Reinforcement;
• Explanation;

Classification;

Alternative ideas;

Cause / Reason;

Result;

Concluding.

Secondly, structural characteristics must be mentioned. As regards syntax, the syntactical structure (word, phrase, clause, sentence) of Parenthesis and punctuation will be examined. As regards morphology, the means of expressing Parenthesis (conjunct, modal word, commenting/ viewpoint adverb, infinitival clause, participial clause, clause) will be under investigation.

The first article (see Appendix) Twilight ‘Beats Newcomers at Box Office’ includes a number of Parentheses and Parenthetical constructions.

Hollywood’s five-day Thanksgiving sales period — considered crucial to generating momentum through Christmas — was not as bountiful as studio officials had hoped. In this sentence the Parenthesis ‘considered crucial to generating momentum through Christmas’ is presented as a clause and functions as interruption of main idea, it illustrates author’s comment and attitude to the event described in the main clause. Parenthesis is used in the middle of the sentence and is marked out with dashes.

The following three sentences present Parenthesis as additional adjustment. In the brackets the names of cinema companies (Summit Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Brothers) function as supplemental information which indicates the producer of the exact film. They are given just after the name of film in the middle of the sentence.

1. The No. 1 movie was a holdover: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” (Summit Entertainment) took in an estimated $62.3 million during the long weekend for a two-week total of $221.3 million.
2. Among new releases “The Muppets” (Walt Disney Studios) was the top performer, placing second over all with estimated ticket sales of $42 million.
3. The dancing penguins of “Happy Feet Two” (Warner Brothers) were third, taking in about $18.4 million for a disappointing two-week total of nearly $44 million.

The next sentence include at once two Parentheses. The one is “The Polar Express” (2004) and “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” (2009). It acts as example and explanation to the main clause and is isolated with dashes from it. Another one is the variant of Parenthesis specifying additional information. In the brackets added years (2004, 2009) when the films were produced. They follow after the subject they belong to.

Sony compared its well-reviewed “Arthur Christmas” with two movies that were initially considered bombs — “The Polar Express” (2004) and “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” (2009) — but ended their domestic runs with less dismal totals.

The Parenthesis given in the next case stands apart as separate sentence in the brackets. Here it functions as additional background information. The Parenthesis exemplifies some movie for comparison.

It also received outstanding reviews and managed to keep pace despite playing in only 1,277 theaters. (“Happy Feet Two,” by comparison, was booked into 3,611 locations.)

The Parenthesis in the following sentence can be considered both as Parenthesis and as non-restrictive Apposition. It explains the occupation of the person Sheila DeLoach, enters new information. It is presented in the middle of the sentence and is marked out with commas.

Sheila DeLoach, Searchlight’s executive vice president for distribution, said the studio was “extremely encouraged” to see the film do well in suburban theaters.

In the second article College Students Replace Poverty with Creativity some other types of Parenthesis are shown.

The ensuing sentence gives the example of Parenthesis, which also can be non-restrictive Apposition. It presents the supplement data who is Mr. Malyshev. Besides, there is Parenthesis in Parenthesis, as the clause ‘where yearly tuition runs $51,000 with room and board’ illustrates complementary description of Boston, which introduces urgent information for that case.

 “I did not want to ask my parents for more money,” said Ms. Malyshev, a sophomore at Northeastern in Boston, where yearly tuition runs $51,000 with room and board.

Parenthesis stands in the end of the sentence and is isolated by comma.

The following case introduces Parenthesis as background comment on the situation. It is given in the brackets as separate sentence and presented as direct speech.

“From now on, I plan to stick to psychological testing,” she said, referring to the roughly $20 an hour she often makes filling out university research questionnaires. (“Harvard pays the best in the Boston area,” she added.)

In the next case a couple of Parentheses are worth paying attention. Firstly, it is the parenthetical phrase ‘the generation facing the dual misery of unprecedented tuition levels and grim employment prospects after graduation’. Here the supplemental intelligence about college student is provided. It is used in the middle of the sentence and is marked out with commas.

But college students, the generation facing the dual misery of unprecedented tuition levels and grim employment prospects after graduation, are feeling a special sting. As a result, penny-pinching and creative cash accumulation are becoming something like campus sports.

 Secondly, here another Parenthesis ‘as a result’ is presented. According to the semantic characteristics, it can belong to sequence or resultant type. It denotes sequence as the succession of events is presented in the context and it emphasizes the result as the consequence is shown. This Parenthesis stands in the initial position in the sentence, isolated by comma, and it is presented as nominal phrase.

In the sentence ‘When he was a student at the University of Nevada, Reno, he joined a community service club that held its annual meeting during spring break’ the Parenthesis is presented by the name of the city (Reno). It explains the location of the university, naming the city it belongs to. The Parenthesis stands in the middle of the sentence, marked out with commas and denoted by single word.

The Parenthesis ‘so’ in the following example marks the result. It is presented by summative conjunct, which stands in the middle of the sentence and isolated by comma.

“Our club had several sponsors, so we ended up paying just $20 each for a three-day weekend in a four-star hotel,” he said.

The next sentence includes the Parenthesis giving additional information about internet resource solving students’ problems. It is used in the end of the sentence and presented as separate sentence in brackets.

Mr. Dasko said his Web site gets between 1,000 and 2,000 hits a day, many of them from students asking about online jobs, like tutoring (for that, he recommends studentoffortune.com).

The sentence ‘According to Martin Dasko, 24, the founder of Studenomics, a Web site he started as a senior at Ryerson University in Toronto, there is no reason students should not be able to save money in college’ includes complicated Parenthetical construction that consists of Detachment (According to Martin Dasko) and two Parentheses: the first one is ‘24’, and the second one is ‘the founder of Studenomics.com’. The last one can also function as Apposition. In this case every component of the Parenthesis gives additional information. The detachment shows the source of information; the Apposition adds the data of age and achievement of the person.

The third article Last minute Christmas: cake kits also include a number of Parentheses.

The sentence ‘Personally, I’m fond of both in small amounts’ involves the Parenthesis ‘personally’ which stands in the initial position of the sentence. It is presented by viewpoint adverb indicating author’s own opinion.

 In the following sentence the Parenthesis ‘yet more faff at the busiest time of the year’ displays the author’s explanation of the time and events expressed in the main clause. Here Parenthesis is used in the end of the sentence and marked out with a dash.

But it does highlight the problem with making a Christmas cake – yet more faff at the busiest time of the year.

The sentence ‘Except, you have to buy, erm, eggs, butter, lemons, and in most cases marzipan and icing – some would question whether it was worth buying a kit at all’ represents two cases of its usage. First Parenthesis ‘except’ stands in the initial position and separated with comma. This Parenthesis is presented by additive conjunct. According to the semantic characteristics, it belongs to the group of reinforcement as makes the listener or reader pay attention to the following information.

The next sentence includes the Parenthesis ‘whose baking knowledge knows no bounds’. It stands in the end of the sentence and isolated by a dash. It is expressed by the clause which functions as author’s background comment and explanation to abilities of Mary Berry.

Tesco’s comes courtesy of Mary Berry – whose baking knowledge knows no bounds.

In the following sentence two Parentheses can be observed. At the beginning of the sentence Parenthesis ‘of course’ is used separated by comma from the rest of the sentence. It belongs to the semantic group of reinforcement as it intensifies the intelligence given next. In the end of the sentence in brackets another Parenthesis is given. It functions as background supplementary information.

Of course, it’s officially a bit late to be making your cake now, but there are tricks to help those intent on baking at the eleventh hour (any tips you’ve gleaned over the years are welcome).

In the middle of the sentence ‘Delia offers a last minute sherry mincemeat cake recipe that can be made on the day itself (if you don’t have enough to do already) or try making a lighter version, as the Cottage Smallholder suggests’ the Parenthesis presented as isolated by brackets clause. It is used as author’s interrupting the main idea background comment, expressing his attitude to the events.

In the fourth article ‘How do I: Secure my home wi-fi network?’ several usages of the Parenthesis are applied.

In the next sentence detachment ‘According to an “ethical hacking” study carried out by a card-protection company’ functions as the Parenthesis. It is used at the beginning of the sentence and marked out with comma. It adds the source of in information in the main clause.

According to an “ethical hacking” study carried out by a card-protection company, nearly half of Britain’s home wi-fi networks can be hacked in less than five seconds, leaving the hacker free to hijack emails, steal bank account details and commit fraud.

The sentence ‘Unfortunately, until recently the majority of routers were shipped with encryption disabled or only installed with WEP, an out-of-date encryption format’ shows the usage of the Parenthesis, expressed by a viewpoint adverb. It denotes attitude to what will be said next. This Parenthesis stands at the beginning of the sentence and is separated by comma.

The following two sentences include Parentheses isolated by brackets and given in the end of the sentence. They illustrate supplementary information.

(1) To do this you need to connect your router to your PC with a LAN cable (from £5.99 at maplin.co.uk).

(2) Then simply open your PC’s web browser and enter your IP address (normally found on the back of the router).

The sentence ‘The interface will vary depending on the model of your router (see manufacturers’ websites for more details) but if your computer is up to date – Windows XP or later – select the WPA or WPA2 form of encryption and create your own unique password of at least 14 letters and numbers’ shows the usage of two Parentheses. Both are inserted in the middle of the sentence. The first one taken into the brackets acts as a comment and an advice on the information in the main clause. The second one isolated by dashes functions as more accurate definition to the subject.

In the next sentence the Parenthesis presented in brackets gives the complementary data of the internet source. It stands in the end of the sentence.

A good free download is Zone Labs’ Zone Alarm, which is reliable and free to download.

In the fifth article ‘Haemophilia gene therapy shows early success’ several Parentheses are presented.

In the sentence the detachment ‘according to an early study in the UK and the US’ functions as the Parenthesis. It is used in the end of the sentence and marked out with comma. It adds the source of in information in the main clause. Just one injection could be enough to mean people with hemophilia B no longer need medication, according to an early study in the UK and the US.

The sentence below illustrates the use of the Parenthesis, expressing author’s comment on the facts. It indicates his opinion and attitude. The Parenthesis stands at the beginning of the sentence and isolated by comma.

Normally, patients will have factor IX levels less than 1% of those found in people without hemophilia.

The next sentence demonstrates complementary information about person (Carl Walker), shows his parentage and age. It is used in the middle of the sentence and divided by commas.

Carl Walker, aged 26 and from Berkshire, showed the greatest improvement. He said: “I have not needed any of my normal treatment, either preventative or on-demand as a result of an injury.

In the sentence ‘All the patients have actually benefited from this gene transfer approach, even the patients who have not been able to stop protein concentrate infusion [normal therapy]’ the Parenthesis [normal therapy] used as definition to the scientific term. It stands in the end of the sentence, taken in brackets.

The sentence below includes two Parentheses. The Parenthesis [factor IX production] presents in brackets the scientific term, functioning as supplement to the main clause. Another Parenthesis ‘so’ in the following example marks the result. It is presented by summative conjunct, which stands in the middle of the sentence and isolated by comma.

“This is the first study that has shown that you can actually achieve stable, long-term, therapeutic level of expression [factor IX production] in subjects with severe hemophilia B, so it’s a fantastic start.

In the sentence ‘However, we hope that this research will eventually result in the removal of the need for regular injections and significantly reduce painful bleeds and debilitating joint damage for those living with hemophilia’ there is the Parenthesis in initial position, marked out by comma. It is presented by concessive conjunct. It fills the sentence with the sense of the concession.

The next sentences include the Parentheses which explain the information in the main clause, in particular, give data which defines more precisely the subjects. They stand in the middle of the sentences and are marked out by commas.

Dr Katherine Ponder, from the Washington University School of Medicine, said this was “truly a landmark study, since it is the first to achieve long-term expression of a blood protein at therapeutically relevant levels”.

Infinitival and adverbial parentheses tend to occupy the initial position in the sentence and are generally separated by commas.

Perhaps more crucially, he reached out and made a strategic accommodation with many Sunni groups that had once fought US troops. To put it bluntly, he talked to our enemies [Newsweek].

To make matters worse, in many places local officials and construction bosses took cuts of construction money for themselves, leaving even less cash for proper building [Newsweek].

Adverbs functioning as parenthesis are often used in the mid-sentence position, and are usually separated by commas, unless followed by the infinitive.

The Republican electorate is tired of boring and prudent respectability. The Republican establishment, presumably, is decidedly not tired of those things, especially since respectability often equates to electability [Newsweek].

Bachmann has also called a news conference for later Wednesday morning, presumably to announce her departure from the race [Newsweek].

But the politicians insisted, bewilderingly, that, on the one hand, we had enough helicopters and, on the other hand, every effort to get the extra helicopters we didn’t need out to Afghanistan was being made [Newsweek]

Sarkozy has yet to declare his widely expected bid for re-election, instead launching controversial new reforms, ostensibly to draw attention from his poor record, while Hollande has yet to release his presidential platform [Newsweek].

The results of the research that was conducted reveal the abundant use of parenthetical clauses in publicistic style. These are usually separated by dashes and supply additional information which has bearing on the message conveyed or topic discussed.

But once the coveted rating seemed lost – pundits as early as November pointed to record interest-rate spreads with Germany to claim France’s golden rating was effectively already gone- its importance was suddenly, dramatically downplayed [Newsweek].

A parenthetical clause interrupts another sentence with which it is either not connected syntactically or is only loosely connected with separate parts of the sentence [4].

Parenthetical clauses are often called comment clauses, because they do not simply add to the information given in the sentence, but comment on its truth, the manner of saying it, or express the attitude of the speaker toward it. In some cases it is direct address to the listener or reader [4].

He waited (which was his normal occupation) and thought, like other citizens, of the cost of living… In this example some information is added.

…there is, as it were, a transparent barrier between myself and strong emotions. In this sentence the figurative meaning of the utterance is indicated.

My parents, you know, were peasants. Here Parenthesis directs address to the listener.

Parenthetical clauses may be patterned like independent sentences, coordinate, main, or subordinate clauses. In all cases the mechanism of turning a sentence or clause into a Parenthesis is the same – the inverting of their usual sequence or placing the parenthetical clause in an unusual position, which changes their communicative value. The embedded structure acquires a secondary status, informing the reader of the author’s opinion of the utterance, or containing some comment on the content of the embedding sentence, or else addressing the reader directly. The embedding structure is primary in importance and structurally independent. The following sentences may be taken as examples [4]:

A parenthetical clause patterned like an independent sentence.

Although the evening was still light – we dined early – the lamps were on.

A parenthetical clause patterned like a coordinate clause.

She cooked – and she was a good cook – and marketed and chatted with the delivery boys.

A parenthetical clause patterned like an adverbial clause of manner.

As you put it, it sounds convincing.

A parenthetical clause patterned like an attributive clause.

Does your objection to tea (which I do frightfully want) mean that we’re unlikely to be alone?

A parenthetical clause patterned like an adverbial clause of condition

Mr. Ford – if this was now to be his name – walked slowly up to the counter.

Parenthetical clauses may be patterned like different communicative types of sentences or clauses – statements, questions, imperative or exclamatory sentences or clauses. For example:

It was – why hadn’t he noticed it before? – beginning to be an effort for her to hold her back straight. In this case a parenthetical clause patterned like a why-question [4].

I felt – such curious shapes egoism fakes! – that they had come because of me. Here a parenthetical clause patterned like an exclamatory sentence [Kubrina].

Clauses as means of Parenthesis are used to separate expressions inserted in the body of a sentence. In different situations they can carry various meanings and denote different functions. The most important their functions are:

Expressing personal mental activity Clauses patterned like main clauses with verbs of saying and those denoting mental activity are included to this group.

But is it possible to single out such clauses as parenthetical ones?

The linguistic elements that may be used for the purpose of the realization of a standpoint in discourse are the ones that can be both syntactically and semantically detached from the rest of the elements of the utterance in which they appear [55].

A linguistic element is syntactically detached when it occurs in various positions within the same sentence, without rendering that sentence ungrammatical:

I suppose, your house is very old.

Your house is, I suppose, very old.

Your house is very old, I suppose.

In the above example, the parenthetical verb I suppose can appear in all three positions without affecting the grammaticality of the sentence or changing its meaning [55].

A linguistic element is semantically detached when its presence or absence does not alter the core meaning of the sentence:

To cut a long story short, she left.

She left.

Wisely, Jane did not answer my letter.

Jane did not answer my letter.

In the above examples, the presence or absence of the non-finite clause to cut a long story short or of the adverb wisely does not change the information that the speaker conveys. On the contrary, in the following utterances the presence or absence of the non-finite clause or of the adverb conveys a different message:

She asked him to cut a long story short.

She asked him.

Jane did not answer my letter wisely.

Jane did not answer my letter.

As the constructed examples above show, the syntactic and semantic detachability is not necessarily a property of certain linguistic elements but rather a feature of the specific use that can be made of these linguistic elements. This means that it is not a semantic or syntactic property of finite and non-finite clauses or of adverbs, for example, to be detached, rather that a finite clause or adverb can be used in a detached way in certain cases, and not in others [55].

That’s why, it’s quite possible to rate among this group of clauses the following phrases.

There are examples of using such clauses:

I mean – they’re, they’re entitled to, I suppose, interpret stuff as they must [COCA, SPOK, 2011]

Those of us who teach women’s studies, I believe, have a responsibility to ask the tough questions about women in leadership, while at the same time preparing our students to lead – and to lead with honesty, empathy, respect and courage [COCA, MAG, 2011].

My wife, a literal saint (I mean, a real saint) lets Brigid sleep next to her and deals with the mess with total aplomb [COCA, MAG, 2011].

Showing personal attitude to what is said

The following clauses can also be used for giving personal attitude.

Examples:

As far as I can see, the only disadvantage to having a pregnant lady around the home is that it’s always your turn to get up [COCA, FIC, 2006].

I think it’s going to take a lot of time and I don’t think – I agree with you, you don’t want to go cutting crazy now in the sense that if you’re going to hurt the economy [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Trying to direct somebody’s attention

Quite a number of parenthetical clauses are stereotyped conversation formulas, used to attract the listener’s attention or to show the reaction of the speaker and to catch the listener’s attention, to accentuate on what is said:

You know, You see/I see, You just imagine

So, you know, you don’t want to sound – you don’t want to blame somebody else for a mistake that you made [COCA, SPOK, 2007].

You see, our timing has always been off [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Making an interruption

This group consists of clauses, which are paste in the sentence to interrupt or to step aside from the main idea. For example:

He had no experience as a counselor – he’d be the first to tell you that – having taken a teaching degree in studio art. In his other life, after school hours, he made collages and watercolors and paintings; he’d framed one small, blurry, burnt orange rectangle and propped it on his desk corner where the other counselors would have displayed bland smiley photos of their spouses and children [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Supplementing the information in the main clause

To this group belong clauses, which carry some comments, personal thoughts and attitude of the author to what was said in the main sentence. For instance:

The family’s house, on a golf course 30 miles from the Strip, is a relatively modest four-bedroom affair (although it’s worth noting that they have two other homes, including a $20 million spread in Florida with its own water park, and Dion will be spending only part of her time in Vegas) [COCA, MAG, 2011].

Pasting the definition or explanation

This group includes clauses which give some additional explanation, definition of some unknown item in the text:

Several of those caught up in the probe say they expect the number of midshipmen who will be ” separated ” – the term academy officials use for expulsion – to reach more than a dozen [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

In 2009, the luxury-goods industry saw a 23 percent increase in online abuse, including “cyber squatting,” the term given to Web sites that unlawfully incorporate a brand’s name into their domain name and sell counterfeit versions of their products [COCA, MAG, 2011].

The participle is a non-finite form of the verb which has verbal, adjectival and adverbial properties. There are two participles in English: Present Participle (or Participle I) and Past Participle (or Participle II). Present Participle is formed by adding the ending -ing to the infinitive without the participle to [1, 102]. Past Participle is formed by adding the ending –ed to the infinitive without the participle to.

Participial clauses often express condition, reason, cause, result or time in a similar way to full adverbial clauses, only more economically.

Condition:

Used sparingly, the Franklin fund (which charges a 2.25 percent sales commission) can help diversify a portfolio [COCA, NEWS, 2003].

Reason:

Desiring peace, she reached for his hand [COCA, FIC, 2008].

Cause:

Having taken one of his primary responsibilities quite seriously – the hiring of a new head of school from outside the Bullis community – Pensky, founder and then president of his expanding Britches of Georgetown clothing company, researched board literature and what it said about not only independent school boards but also about boards of other nonprofits [COCA, ACAD, 2006].

Means:

Using this approach, I’ve built a portfolio of more than 40 articles in 12 Pacific Northwest travel magazines and newspapers, which has further opened up travel-writing opportunities in international magazines and a regional in flight [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

Time:

Taking a breath, she squares her shoulders and reaches for the phone [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Semantically Participial clauses can express:

Communication (used as breaking into a conversation, paying attention on some important things). The next verbs can be used:

Agree, Deny, Disagree, Speak/ Talk about, Say, Judge, Regard

Well, talking about what Marc Klaas just said, do you feel that this was foul play, or do you feel that she’s alive somewhere, part of the homeless population or someone that just had to get away [COCA, SPOK, 2011]?

Should the federal government try to coerce the seceding states, the governor warned, ” Missouri will not be found to shrink from the duty which her position upon the border imposes: her honor, her interests, and her sympathies point alike in one direction, and determine her to stand by the South. ” (Judging by printed sources, Jackson seems to have been a man who spoke frequently in italics [COCA, ACAD, 2011].)

 Regarding the mode of teaching of English, the participants expressed their dissatisfaction with the manner in which their courses are delivered [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

Thinking (express some mental work). The following verbs and phrases can be presented in the Participial clause:

Believe, Consider, Doubt, Expect, Imagine, Know, Mean, Realize, Suppose, Suspect, Treat, Think, Understand, Crack my brain

For instance:

Doubting her presence, Orpheus, filled with fear, And anxious too a lover’s eyes to cheer, Looked around [COCA, ACAD, 2008].

By treating each blank canvas as a challenging opportunity, these artists continually sharpen their skills of perception and execution [COCA, MAG, 2008].

Existence

Being, Existing

For being around the league this long, and having been here half a season, I haven’t taken it for granted yet [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

Emotions

Adore, Appeal, Appreciate, Desire, Describe, Detest, Dislike, Envy, Fear, Feel, Forgive, Hate, Like, Love, Mind, Need, Pity, Prefer, Satisfy, Trust, Want, Wish

For example:

Besides feeling nervous, Wendy was now shivering with cold [COCA, FIC, 1991].

Like many of Laikipia’s ranchers, Perrot tries to avoid killing problem predators, preferring to see them trapped and released away from the livestock [COCA, NEWS, 2001].

Perception

Appear, Hear, Look, Notice, Recognize, Resemble, See, Seem, Smell, Sound, Taste

Mr. Clinton, looking confident and relaxed at a news conference Friday night, said he had already met his goals for the summit: spurring on the world trade talks, gaining agreement among the Western allies on a Russian aid program, and taking steps “to restore the ability of all of our countries to create jobs and opportunities” [COCA, NEWS, 1993].

Possession and relationships between thing

Belong, Concern, Consist, Contain, Cost, Depend, Equal, Fit, Have, Include, Involve, Lack, Measure, Owe, Own, Possess, Suit, Weigh

For example:

Two gender-specific focus groups, consisting of both school health center users and nonusers, were held at 6 school health centers in May and June 2009 [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

Speaking about position in the sentence, participial clause as means of expressing Parenthesis is usually used at the beginning of the sentence, rarer in the middle and in the end. There some examples of positional usage of participial clause:

By omitting such facts, the articles blaming guns for increasing American suicide evaded the inconvenience of having to explain exactly what social benefit nations with few guns received from having their youth suicides occur in other ways [COCA, ACAD, 2007].

One thing everyone who knew the couple – including the neighbors – seemed to agree on was that whoever Susan’s killer was, it certainly was not John Hamilton [COCA, SPOK, 2010]. But there was no fire elements left in Oran, Zorah insisted, even knowing the truth [COCA, FIC, 1991].

An infinitive is a form of the verb not inflected for grammatical categories such as tense and person and used without an overt subject. In English, the infinitive usually consists of the word to, followed by the verb, for example, to speak. The Infinitival clause is a clause containing an infinitive as its main or only verb form. However, an infinitive clause can also be the infinitive plus any phrase or clause associated with it, for example, to speak frankly, to see the difference.

In the sentence infinitive clause as the Parenthesis uses verbs that denote:

Perceptions of senses (to see, to hear, to feel, to watch, to observe, to notice, to taste, to smell, to sound);

To hear them talk, marriage was a prison and intimacy was inconvenient at best [coca, MAG, 2011].

Wish, intention, emotions (to want, to wish, to desire, to like, to dislike, to hate, to intend, etc.);

While he has only entered the Dippie Hippie once, when it opened, to wish Barbara well in her enterprise, he and his officers make it a point both to watch it and to make Barbara aware that they are watching it [COCA, FIC, 2010].

Mental activity (to consider, to believe, to think, to find, to know, to expect, to suppose, suspect, etc.);

To guide this process, the instructional theory known as scaffolding was used [COCA, ACAD, 2009].

It never crossed Tom-Su’s mind, though, to suspect a trick [COCA, FIC, 2000].

Order, request, permission, advice, compulsion (to order, to ask, to request, to allow, to permit, to advise, to recommend, to cause, to force, to make, to let, etc.);

To permit meaningful interpretation of the results, we designed our experiment to include control conditions in which only the target was viewed and rated [COCA, ACAD, 2002].

Sequence (to begin with, to put it differently, to put it simply, to sum up, to summarize, etc.);

To begin with, I tried approaching singing it with what I would call my full voice, which is a 41-year-old adult woman voice and it destroyed the words [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Opportunity (to happen, to chance, to occur, to take place etc.);

And they had to drill past the point where the mine collapsed, to happen, to reach to – the men where they’ve been waiting all this time [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Communication and reports (to say, to tell, to report, to judge, to deny, etc.);

His feet, to judge by the boots, must be outsized, even larger than my own [COCA, FIC, 2010].

To maintain integrity of content, advertisements have always been featured on the outskirts of the Journal’s pages, never within the articles themselves [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

The special place among infinitive clauses which function as Parenthesis in the sentence has such verbs and verb expressions:

Linking verbs

Linking verbs don’t function in the same way as typical verbs in showing the action. These types of verbs show a relationship between the subject and the sentence complement, the part of the sentence following the verb. They connect or link the subject with more information – words that further identify or describe the subject. While standard verbs are indicative of action, linking verbs identify a relationship or existing condition. These are sometimes described as performing the function of an equal sign because they provide the connection between a subject and a certain state.

Linking words do not describe the action, but always connect the subject to additional information. The most common true linking verbs are to be, to become and to seem.

There are some of phrases used with the verb to be:

To be acceptable, To be baffled, To be believable, To be clean, To be clear, To be confident, To be contrary, To be convinced, To be convincing, To be correct, To be credible, To be cynical, To be honest, To be devoid, To be effective, To be engrossed, To be fair, To be genuine, To be justifiable, To be serious

The following examples show their usage in the context:

“Kathy and I want them to have a strong sense of themselves, to be confident, to have the capacity to be really happy and sad so that they have feelings and are sensitive to the needs of others, and that they want to make a difference in the lives of people,” he said [COCA, MAG, 1997].

To be fair, this case had the lowest retail cost, and it’s not billed as waterproof [COCA, MAG, 2011].

To be justifiable, the practice must be compatible with self-ownership [COCA, ACAD, 1990].

Other linking verbs are to appear, to turn, to prove, to look, to grow, to remain, to sound and to stay.

For example:

To sound polished, your usage needs to be up to date [COCA, ACAD, 2009].

Speaking about infinitival clauses as means of expressing Parenthesis it is worth to mention also such infinitival phrases as to be sure, to be certain, to be likely and to be unlikely. There are some examples of their usage:

The coat is expensive, to be sure, but it’s bound to last longer than a cheap one [50].

A helpful definition for those wanting to know what Language conventions are:

Language conventions are basically different ways the writer uses and manipulates language to encourage the audience to view something in a certain way.

Descriptive language conventions

Imagery

When the writer creates a very clear picture of something in your head, to make the events more realistic

E.g., Robert’s boots sunk into the bloodied sand of the beach. Hundreds of soldiers lay lifeless and will, others were twitching and foaming at the mouth. (You could say this is a “disgusting connotation that helps you to respond to war in a negative way.)

Personification

When an object is given a human characteristic

E.g., the lamp blinked, or the wind screamed

Similes

When one thing is COMPARED to another

E.g. As white as snow, or as pretty as a picture

Metaphors

When something is not compared but said TO BE something else

E.g., the moon was suspended on a black sheet of velvet (the night sky IS the sheet)

Emotive language

When language is used to stir the audience’s emotions and get them to respond in a certain way to a person, event, or place

E.g., the screaming mother clung to the truck as her sobbing children were taken away from her

This gives the idea of a very desperate and emotional event, and we respond sympathetically to the mother and children

Another form of emotive language is when one particular character is given positive traits/qualities and thus makes her/him a likable and sympathetic character:

E.g. Emma opened her lunch box and pulled out her sandwich looked over at the little girl to the right ad noticed she had no lunch. Even though strawberry jam was her favorite, she quietly placed one of the crustless triangles in the girls lap.

This is an ACTION and this action helps us to develop a positive opinion and sympathetic response to Emma.

Tip: Just remember they are ways in which the writer uses language to stimulate a particular response from the reader, or create a certain perception of something. Let us know if you have any questions!

Comment and viewpoint adverbs add information about the speaker’s opinion of events. They do not usually give information about how something happened. Comment and viewpoint adverbs often modify the complete sentence, not just the verb [28].

Geoffrey Leech in his Communicative grammar of English marks them out as ‘sentence adverbials’ [5, 181]. He says that they are peripheral to the sentence structure. That’s why it’s important to differentiate comment and viewpoint adverbs from other groups of adverbs.

Compare these sentences:

1. She started singing happily. (adverb of manner)
2. Happily, she started singing. (comment adverb)

In sentence 1, the adverb – happily – gives more information about how she was singing. In sentence 2, the adverb – happily – gives the speaker’s comment/opinion of the event. In this case, the speaker thinks that her starting to sing was a happy event [34].

There is a list of viewpoint and commenting adverbs below:

Bravely, Carelessly, Certainly, Clearly, Confidentially, Definitely, Disappointingly, Economically, Foolishly, Fortunately, Generously, Happily, Honestly, Ideally, Kindly, Luckily, Naturally, Obviously, Officially, Personally, Presumably, Rightly, Seriously, Simply, Stupidly, Surely, Surprisingly, Technically, Theoretically, Thoughtfully, Truthfully, Unbelievably, Undoubtedly, Unfortunately, Unluckily, Wisely, Wrongly

For example:

Frankly, I think he is a liar. (= this is my frank, honest opinion)

Theoretically, you should pay a fine. (= from a theoretical point of view but there may be another way of looking at the situation)

Confidentially, Gregory viewed his move from Zoology to Anthropology as a quiet, secret “sort of revolt” [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

Now that Brett was 16, kids his age weren’t playing cops and criminals anymore. (Stupidly, a couple had already become real criminals by way of shoplifting and trespassing.) [COCA, FIC, 2010].

 Truthfully, there aren’t many people who could look like this man [COCA, SPOK, 2009].

Commenting adverbs are very similar to viewpoint adverbs, and often the same words. Raymond Murphy gives next classification of commenting adverbs [62]:

Adverbs indicating thinking something:

Apparently, Certainly, Clearly, Definitely, In theory, Obviously, Presumably, Probably, Undoubtedly

For instance:

Apparently, the participants held positive attitudes toward the English language program they follow [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

Certainly, we see evidence of this impulse in the animal kingdom; a small bird will dive onto a hawk to protect its nest [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

Presumably, their wives, daughters, and sisters watched the game at home, in the company of other women [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

Adverbs indicating the attitude to or opinion of what is said:

Astonishingly, Frankly, Generally, Honestly, Interestingly (enough), Luckily, Naturally, In my opinion, Personally, Sadly, Seriously, Surprisingly, Unbelievably

There are some examples:

Luckily, the situation is unlikely to be serious [COCA, MAG, 2011].

Astonishingly, Apple has finally given its blessing to running Windows on a Mac, with this utility [COCA, MAG, 2006].

Unbelievably, he’s running as fast as the bus [COCA, FIC, 2006].

Adverbs showing judgement of someone’s actions:

Bravely, Carelessly, Foolishly, Generously, Kindly, Rightly, Stupidly, Wisely, Wrongly

For example:

Wisely, Daria refuses to have a fax machine in her apartment or else all her insecure, praise hungry authors would be faxing her their books page by page then demanding an hour’s praise for every paragraph that they hope is wittily written [COCA, FIC, 1997].

Carelessly, a young man takes the seat across from me [COCA, FIC, 1999].

Unbelievably, it was the sound of gunfire captured on a tourist’s home video [COCA, SPOK, 1997].

There are other possible positions for each of the comment adverbs in these examples. To show that they apply to the whole sentence, they are usually separated from the rest of the sentence, particularly in front and end positions, by a comma in writing or by intonation in speech. A number of phrases and clauses can be used in a similar way to comment adverbs to indicate the attitude to, or opinion of, what is said. For example:

Oddly enough, she didn’t mention that she was moving house. (Also Curiously/Funnily/Strangely enough) [58]

Among the group of commenting and viewpoint adverbs, evaluative and illocutionary adverbs should be also considered.

Evaluative adverbs can be selected into the subdivision:

Conveniently, Curiously, Fortunately, Happily, Interestingly, Ironically, Luckily, Oddly, Paradoxically, Regrettably, Sadly, Surprisingly, Unfortunately

Quirk et al., however, distinguish two sub-groups under the general group of adverbs conveying “value judgment” [17]. The adverbs of the first sub-group “express a judgment on what is being said as a whole and they normally apply the same judgment simultaneously to the subject of the clause” [17]. The adverbs of the second sub-group express a “judgment that carries no implication that it applies to the subject of the clause” [17]. Adverbs such as foolishly and rightly fall in the first sub-group while the adverbs listed above belong to the second sub-group.

Huddleston and Pullum identify a group of “evaluative clause-oriented adjuncts” [15, 675], under which the adverbs curiously, disappointingly, fortunately, funnily, happily, luckily, oddly, regrettably, sadly, strangely, surprisingly, and unfortunately fall. The authors do not consider, however, adverbs such as foolishly, rightly, and stupidly to be part of that group. Instead, they classify these adverbs under another group that they call “act-related adjuncts”, which is oriented to the verb phrase and not to the whole clause. Adverbs like accidentally, knowingly, and reluctantly belong to this latter group. In addition, Huddleston and Pullum distinguish two sub-types within the group of “act-related adjuncts”. The first sub-type includes adverbs like cleverly, foolishly, rudely, and wisely, while the second sub-type includes adverbs like accidentally, deliberately, intentionally, knowingly, and willingly. The adverbs that fall under the first sub-type of the “act-related adjuncts” in Huddleston and Pullum’s classification involve not only an evaluation of the act by the speaker but also an evaluation of the actor too. While such adverbs may occupy initial position in a sentence and may be relatively flexible in occupying other positions, they cannot be considered as qualifying the whole utterance. Consider the following examples [15, 675-676]:

(1) He answered the question foolishly.

(2) He foolishly answered the question.

(3) Foolishly, he answered the question.

The same form of the adverb foolishly complements the verb in (1), while it qualifies the verb in both (2) and (3). Note that only (1) can be given as an answer to the question „How did he answer the question?” In none of the above cases, however, can the adverb be considered as qualifying the whole utterance, not even in (3) where the adverb appears in front position.

The other sub-group that Huddleston and Pullum distinguish within the group of “act-related adjuncts” includes adverbs such as accidentally, deliberately, and willingly, which “do not reflect a subjective evaluation of the act but relate to the intentions or willingness of the agent” [15, 676]. Moreover, they are less flexible in the positions they can occupy in the sentence. Nevertheless, none of the sub-groups of “act-related adjuncts” can be said to qualify the standpoint that can be reconstructed from the utterance in which they appear. This is because the comment that they add pertains to the agent involved in the event that is described and not to the event as a whole.

Thus, the following adverbs are filtered out from the list of the stance adverbs that can be used to qualify a viewpoint evaluatively: accidentally, amiably, aptly, carelessly, cautiously, cleverly, consciously, cunningly, deliberately, effectively, foolishly, harmfully, inappropriately, incorrectly, kindly, mildly, mistakenly, prudently, rightly, selfishly, startlingly, suitably, suspiciously, unjustly, unwisely, wisely.

The adverbs that can be used to qualify a viewpoint in the “illocutionary” way belong to the group of adverbs that are known in the literature as “illocutionary adverbs” [10], or “speech-act related adverbials” [15]. In this section, besides presenting the adverbs like actually, in fact, in reality, and of course, may also count as qualifying the viewpoint by commenting on the act as a whole.

The so-called “illocutionary adverbs” unlike modal, evidential, domain, and evaluative adverbs, add a comment to the act that the speaker performs by means of uttering the sentence in which they appear. The sentences in which they appear can be paraphrased with an explicit illocutionary verb like tell, admit, order, inform, ask. The adverb in this paraphrase functions as a manner adverb modifying the illocutionary verb and thus describes the way in which the act is being performed [55]:

Frankly, it was a waste of time > I tell you frankly it was a waste of time.

Literally, it was a waste of time > I tell you literally it was a waste of time.

This property of illocutionary adverbs explains why they can occur with performative verbs other than just those indicating an assertive illocutionary point, as the following examples [55] illustrate:

Sincerely, I apologize for being so rude.

Briefly, I promise you to finish my work.

Precisely, I order you to get out of here.

Of the group of illocutionary adverbs, those that comment on the speaker’s own sincerity, such as frankly, honestly and seriously, can also be used to emphasize the truth of what the speaker says, as the example below illustrates:

I’m so happy for you! Honestly, I’m really happy for you! [55]

However, this is not possible with the rest of the adverbs that are usually listed in the group, such as briefly, literally, metaphorically, and strictly. As Quirk et al. remark, adverbs like actually, indeed, of course, and really together with honestly, frankly and certainly, clearly, obviously, and surely may also function as „emphasizers”, reinforcing the truth value of the clause.

The adverbs certainly, clearly, obviously, and surely have been dealt with as modal adverbs indicating strong degree of commitment to the truth of the propositional content. The adverbs actually, indeed, of course and really appear, in the literature, either in the same group as epistemic adverbs or in related groups.

The term ‘modality’ is a cover term for a range of semantic notions such as ability, possibility, hypothetically, obligation, and imperative meaning. This is a serviceable definition for practical purposes [29].

Modality refers to the system English uses to communicate fine shades of meaning along a positive-to-negative spectrum. English has an extensive system of modality. Generally, it allows expressing the degrees of:

usuality – how frequently something happens or is true;

probability, possibility or certainty – the likelihood of something happening or being the case;

obligation or necessity – how necessary it is for things to be done or to be a certain way;

ability – the ability of someone or something, to do something;

inclination – the inclination or willingness of someone to do something.

Modality can be expressed by using a range of grammatical items:

a modal auxiliary in the verb group (can, could, must, ought to, shall, should, may, might);

certain verbs which inherently convey meanings to do with obligation, necessity, usuality, inclination or probability (e.g. require, permit, want to, wish to, would like to, seem to, appear to, tend to);

adverbs and adjectives indicating probability, ability or usuality (e.g. surely, certainly, potentially, often, rarely, usually, capable, possible, probable, perhaps, maybe);

nouns indicating probability, certainty, usuality, obligation or ability (e.g. likelihood, possibility, capability, necessity, requirement, permission, potential [61].

Among means expressing modality, exactly the adverbs function as parenthesis.

The adverbs that appear in the first column of Table 2 (as the linguistic realization of the way of qualifying standpoints by commenting on the commitment to the propositional content) are treated in the literature under a variety of names such as „modal”, „epistemic”, „evidential”, „hearsay”, and „domain” adverbs [55].

Modal adverbs are used to express the speaker’s view of the truth value of a proposition (a clause or sentence) with which it is associated. They can be positioned next to an adjective or adverb word or phrase and can be considered as modifying such word or phrase. Even when used in this way, there is a paraphrase in which they modify a clause or sentence [37].

Here are some modal adverbs, which can be parenthesis in the sentence:

Allegedly, Apparently, Arguably, Assuredly, Believably, Certainly, Clearly, Conceivably, Conditionally, Credibly, Debatably, Dependably, Defensibly, Definitely, Doubtlessly, Evidently, Hypothetically, Impossibly, Incontestably, Indeed, Indisputably, Indubitably, Ineluctably, Inescapably, Inevitably, Likely, Manifestly, Maybe, Necessarily, Needlessly, Noticeably, Obviously, Ostensibly, Patently, Perhaps, Plainly, Positively, Possibly, Presumably, Presumptively, Probably, Purportedly, Really, Scarcely, Seemingly, Supposedly, Surely, Transparently, Truly, Unarguably, Unavoidably, Undeniably, Undoubtedly, Unnecessarily, Unquestionably

Certainly, surely, apparently, assuredly, clearly, undoubtedly, undeniably, obviously, and allegedly, maybe, perhaps, doubtlessly, supposedly belong to the group of adverbs that expresses shades of doubt or certainty. The first two adverbs convey conviction and the other two convey some degree of doubt. Clearly, evidently, and obviously belong to another group that expresses, in addition, the observation of a state of affairs. Seemingly falls in that same group, indicating some degree of doubt [55].

Sinclair, who offers the most diversified classification of adverbs, places the above adverbs under three different groups. The adverbs of the first group indicate “justification for a statement” (apparently, clearly, evidently, obviously). The adverbs of the second group indicate reality or possibility (allegedly, certainly, presumably, seemingly, supposedly). The adverbs of the third group, “assuming hearer’s agreement”, include once more the adverb apparently of the first group and the adverbs clearly, obviously of second group, next to naturally, of course, and plainly [20].

For example:

So there’s just no, seemingly, possible way that it could keep up with the demand right now [COCA, SPOK, 2010].

Undoubtedly, I have also gotten some events out of sequence due to the distance between me and those early childhood memories [COCA, ACAD, 2009]

I’d lost him in the midst of the chaos, but apparently, Katrice had decided to send him here with a story after he’d captured this “evidence” [COCA, FIC, 2011].

With the extra detail evident on the movie screen, it takes more effort to make the fantasy environment appear to be believably real [COCA, MAG, 1994].

“Definitely, if there is a discrepancy it must be solved,” Rogge said Monday in Prague. “We had the situation with gymnastics where sanctions were taken when the truth emerged. I can say that in this case, which I don’t know in detail, definitely, we would urge both parties to come up with the truth and then decisions will be taken. As I said I will check with my sports department” [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

In language there are certain linguistic elements that are more frequently or typically used in a parenthetical or detached way than other elements. In English, this is the case with the words that belong to the grammatical class of adverbs. As Ramat and Ricca observe, the functional property of the linguistic category of adverbs is that they “add information to other linguistic elements which can stand on their own, semantically as well as syntactically” [18, 187].

Biber et al. distinguish three main groups of adverbs, namely [12, 765]:

1. a) circumstance adverbs (eagerly, here, now, slowly, then, weekly);
2. b) stance adverbs (apparently, clearly, frankly, perhaps, technically, unfortunately);
3. c) linking adverbs (additionally, besides, moreover, nevertheless).

As they note [12, 765], of the three groups, circumstance adverbs are the most common class in all four registers of the English corpus (conversation, fiction, news, and academic discourse) that they have studied. Circumstance adverbs, however, are those that are the most dependent and least flexible regarding their position in the sentence.

Conversely, stance and linking adverbs are detached, both syntactically and semantically, from the core propositional content. Stance adverbs provide a comment about the propositional content while linking adverbs signal the way in which the propositional content of the one utterance relates to that of utterances elsewhere in the text. Stance adverbs convey information about the propositional content of the sentence or about the speech act that is associated with the sentence, occupying the interpersonal level of meaning, which concerns speaker/hearer attitudes [55].

The adverbs that fall within the group of stance adverbs are often treated in the literature in connection with adverbs from the group of linking adverbs, under a number of labels and within a variety of frameworks. Depending on the interests of scholars, stance adverbs are treated next to linking adverbs, under the label of “sentence adverbs” or “sentence adverbials” or “sentence modifiers” [55].

Stance adverbials are primarily single adverbs (e.g., frankly, obviously), although they can also include prepositional phrases and noun phrases functioning as adverbials (e.g., in general, no doubt). Four semantic classes of stance adverbials are distinguished: attitudinal, non-factive, factive, likelihood. Complement clause constructions in English provide an especially rich source of stance expressions.

Stance adverbials can be split into three main categories, based on semantic and pragmatic criteria, namely: epistemic, attitude and style adverbials [11, 854].

Epistemic adverbials express the writer’s comment on some aspect of the truth-value of the proposition commenting on factors such as certainty, reality, sources, limitations, and precision of the proposition expressed by the relevant clause [11, 764]:

As a matter of fact, Claudia and her friend were given the name of this Black Madam on line by an on-line friend who highly recommended her [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Undeniably, Rocky has been a mixed blessing for Stallone – a creation so powerful that it overshadows its creator [COCA, MAG, 2006].

 

TABLE 1. STANCE ADVERBIALS

STYLE STANCE		confidentially, figuratively, frankly, honestly, literally, seriously, truthfully	quite frankly, quite honestly, quite simply	in a word, in brief, with all due respect		if I may say so, if you don’t mind my asking	more simply put, putting it bluntly, strictly speaking, technically speaking, to tell you the truth
ATTITUDE STANCE	Evaluation; judgement; assessment of expectations	amazingly, astonishingly, conveniently, curiously, disturbingly, fortunately, hopefully, inevitably, interestingly, ironically, predictably, quite rightly, regrettably, sadly, sensibly, surprisingly, unbelievably, unfortunately, wisely	even more importantly, rather surprisingly, even worse, oddly enough, rather surprisingly	to my surprise		as might be expected, as you might guess, as you would expect	most surprising of all, rather surprisingly
EPISTEMIC STANCE	Imprecision	about, approximately kind of, like, roughly, sort of				If you can call it that	So to speak
	Viewpoint or perspective			from our perspective, in my opinion, in my view, in our view, in some cases, in the author’s view
	Limitation	generally, mainly, typically		in general, in most cases, in most instances, on the whole
	Source/ evidence	apparently, evidently, reportedly		According to…		As X motes
	Actuality & reality	actually, really		for a fact, in actual fact, in fact			as a matter of fact
	Doubt & certainty	certainly, definitely, maybe, obviously, of course, perhaps, probably, undeniably, undoubtedly	most likely, quite likely	for all I know, without doubt	No doubt	I think, I guess, I bet, I would say, it seems, it appears
		SINGLE WORD ADVERB	ADV. P.	PREP. PHRASE	N. P.	FINITE CLAUSE	NON-FINITE CLAUSE

 

Attitude adverbials express the writer’s opinion about the content of the clause:

As might be expected, these forms of violence reflect Lawrence’s own trajectory as a writer [COCA, ACAD, 2007].

Most surprising of all, researchers are accumulating evidence that the line between normal and abnormal personality is much more subtle than anyone imagined [COCA, MAG, 2005].

Predictably, one of the kids pushed the other off when they were about twenty feet up, and Edward instinctively reached over the rope to break his fall, but the safety field caught the kid in midshriek and bounced him up and down like a ball for a moment, just as he and his friends undoubtedly knew it would [COCA, FIC, 2011].

The use of simple adverbs as attitudinal adverbs is characteristics of English. Their value in writing is that they form a very compact and elegant way of expressing an opinion on what you are talking about, without pushing yourself into foreground.

Style adverbials form a rather special class. They express the writer’s view regarding the actual formulation of the sentence which follows. Style stance adverbs convey a speaker’s comment about the style or form of the utterance, often clarifying how the speaker is speaking or how the utterance should be understood [Biber, 764]:

With all due respect, even with all of the debate and all the names have been thrown around this week, I want people to be partisan and stand for their principles [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Now how was I supposed to do that? Physically, it was impossible. Figuratively, it didn’t make any sense, since my mouth was essentially what made me valuable to BOFFO [COCA, FIC, 2010].

Strictly speaking, it is a digital way to test designs against predictable forces [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

Style adverbs are more common in conversation than in other registers and attitude adverbs are slightly more common in news and academic prose than in conversation and fiction.

The research considers patterns of use for three major grammatical systems used to express stance: modal words, adverbials, and complement clause constructions.

For the hereinafter investigating of stance adverbials which function in the sentence as the Parenthesis, the Table 2 below lists the adverbs under the three ways of qualifying a viewpoint [55].

The adverbs that may be used as the linguistic realization of the epistemic way of qualifying standpoints belong to what are traditionally identified as modal or epistemic adverbs (certainly, clearly, perhaps, possibly, probably, surely) and evidential or hearsay adverbs (allegedly, apparently, obviously, reportedly, seemingly), as well as domain adverbs (emotionally, ideally, logically, officially, technically, theoretically).

The adverbs that can be used as the linguistic realization of the evaluative way of qualifying standpoints belong to the group of adverbs that are generically labeled as “evaluative adverbs” or “attitudinal adverbs” (fortunately, happily, interestingly, oddly, strangely, unfortunately).

The adverbs that can be used as the linguistic realization of the ‘illocutionary’ way of qualifying standpoints add a comment that concerns the act that is being performed, not the content of the act. Such a comment indicates the language user’s awareness of the conditions that pertain to the performance of an assertive speech act. the adverbs that constitute the linguistic realization of this way of qualifying come both from the group of the so-called “illocutionary adverbs” (frankly, honestly, seriously), and from a group of adverbs that are usually included among the epistemic adverbs or treated in the literature under the label of “expectation markers” (actually, admittedly, in fact, of course).

 

TABLE 2. STANCE ADVERBS FOR QUALIFYING A STANDPOINT

EPISTEMIC WAY OF QUALIFYING	EVALUATIVE WAY OF QUALIFYING	ILLOCUTIONARY WAY OF QUALIFYING
ADVERBS COMMENTING ON THE COMMITMENT	ADVERBS COMMENTING ON THE EVALUATION	ADVERBS COMMENTING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE WHOLE ACT
MODAL ADVERBS arguably, assuredly, certainly, clearly, conceivably, definitely, doubtlessly, evidently, for certain, improbably, incontestably, incontrovertibly, maybe, no doubt, perhaps, possibly, presumably, probably, surely, undoubtedly   EVIDENTIAL ADVERBS allegedly, apparently, manifestly, obviously, ostensibly, patently, purportedly, reportedly, reputedly, seemingly, supposedly, visibly   DOMAIN ADVERBS aesthetically, architecturally, biologically, chemically, commercially, culturally, ecologically, economically, emotionally, ethically, financially, formally, ideally, ideologically, intellectually, linguistically, logically, materially, mechanically, mentally, morally, officially, physically, politically, practically, privately, psychologically, racially, realistically, scientifically, sexually, socially, spiritually, statistically, superficially, technically, technologically, theoretically, unofficially	(EVENT-ORIENTED/ CLAUSE ORIENTED) EVALUATIVE ADVERBS bizarrely, commendably, conveniently, curiously, disappointingly, fortunately, funnily, happily, hopefully, illogically, interestingly, ironically, justifiably, justly, luckily, oddly, paradoxically, preferably, regretfully, regrettably, sadly, significantly, strangely, surprisingly, tragically, unaccountably, unfortunately, unhappily unreasonably	ILLOCUTIONARY ADVERBS a) MANNER-OF-SPEAKING bluntly, candidly, confidentially, frankly, honestly, really, seriously, truly, truthfully   b) METALINGUISTIC basically, briefly, broadly, figuratively, generally, hypothetically, literally, metaphorically, objectively, personally, roughly, simply, strictly   EXPECTATION MARKERS actually, admittedly, avowedly, factually, in effect, in fact, in reality, indeed, naturally, of course, really

 

Conjuncts

Speaking about the Parenthesis, Conjuncts should also be mentioned. Conjuncts serve to mark semantic relationships between propositions expressed by different clauses, or between larger sections of a text. In this respect their function resembles that of conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating), although there is greater positional variation to be found among conjuncts [38].

For example:

Most of the children wanted to go to the beach, but Mary preferred to stay at home (conjunction).

Most of the children wanted to go to the beach; however, Mary preferred to stay at home (conjunct).

Mary preferred to stay at home, however.

In linguistics, the term conjunct is the adjunct that adds information to the sentence that is not considered part of the propositional content (or at least not essential) but which connects the sentence with previous parts of the discourse [38]. Rare, though, conjuncts may also connect to the following parts of the discourse.

It was raining. Therefore, we didn’t go swimming.

It was sunny. However, we stayed inside.

You are such a dork. Still, I love you from the bottom of my heart.

However, there are such coordinating conjuncts as besides, however, nevertheless, otherwise, so, therefore, still, yet, though which can be used in other ways and sometimes as other parts of speech. The position will vary according to how they are used [22, 288].

A) Besides (preposition) means ‘in addition to’. It precedes a noun/ pronoun/ gerund:

In this world of his own making, probably the man besides being cynical and completely unscrupulous about the whole thing, he basically believes that this is going to play [COCA, SPOK, 1990].

Besides (adverb) means ‘in addition’. It usually precedes the clause it introduces, but can follow it:

They know you and your team are here, and that keeps them away. Besides, you know they only come out at dusk [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Moreover could replace besides here in more formal English. Anyway or in any case could be used here in more informal English:

Moreover/ anyway, you know they only come out at dusk.

B) However (adverb of degree) precede its adjective/adverb:

The novitiate became an active instrument of the sovereignty struggle for the Warriors, however short-lived [COCA, ACAD, 2002].

However (conjunct) usually means ‘but’. It can precede or follow its clause or come after the first word or phrase:

Several investment advisers, however, cautioned that many people need a better return than the new securities are likely to offer [COCA, NEWS, 1997].

However, it is unclear whether this immunity would extend to pollution caused by the land application of products from such a facility [COCA, ACAD, 1999].

The part of Esther they want to “reclaim” seems unclear, however [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

But when two contrasting statements are mentioned, however can mean ‘but/ nevertheless/all the same’:

“You’re right, I reckon. All the same/ but/ nevertheless, I feel like beating the tar out of him” [COCA, FIC, 2011].

C) Otherwise (adverb) usually comes after the verb:

It was otherwise difficult to convince people that anything I carried in my little medical box would be curative in any more profound sense [COCA, ACAD, 1996].

Otherwise (conjunct) means ‘if not / or else’

“He waited a couple more hours we might not have been there.”

“Otherwise, we would have missed him” [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Or could also be used here in colloquial English:

He waited a couple more hours we might not have been there, or we would have missed him.

D) So (adverb of degree) precede its adjective/adverb:

And what I’m really asking you is, why has there been so much focus [COCA, SPOK, 1990]?

So (conjunct) precedes its clause:

Doing chores with him meant I didn’t have to make dinner, but it also meant Pa had something he wanted to say, so it was hard to know whether I felt freed or trapped [COCA, FIC, 2006].

E) Therefore (conjunct) can be used instead of so in formal English. It can come at the beginning of the clause or after the first word or phrase; or before the main verb:

Therefore, we can conclude that the constellations described by Aratus were invented around 2000 BC by people who lived close to latitude 36 degrees north [COCA, ACAD, 1990].

We, therefore, hypothesized that the perceived relationship quality between the inquirer and information source would be positively associated with employees’ expectancy value of technical information inquiry and negatively associated with employees’ perceived impression management cost of technical information inquiry [COCA, ACAD, 2003].

Adolescents may therefore assimilate more of their society’s customs than younger children [COCA, ACAD, 1998].

F) Still and yet can be adverbs of time.

Let’s assume she’s still alive. They just haven’t found her yet.

Still and yet (conjuncts) come at the beginning of the clauses they introduce.

Still (conjunct) means ‘admitting that/ nevertheless’.

Yet (conjunct) means ‘in spite of that/ all the same / nevertheless’:

Still, it was a quaint town: neat rows of white houses wrapping the hillside, church steeples and cobblestone streets, the tall silver domes of an Orthodox cathedral [COCA, FIC, 2009].

Yet the continued presence of Lady Anne Fitzwilliam Darcy was as real and pervasive as that of any specter [COCA, FIC, 2008].

G) Though/ Although normally introduce clauses of concession.

Though the property is small, private gardens on each side of the house make it feel more expansive [COCA, MAG, 2010].

English conjuncts often have the following functions in the sentence [15, 247]:

1) Listing (indicating that what follows is a list of propositions):

To start with, she discovered her father had two daughters from a previous marriage, meaning Wendy had sisters [COCA, SPOK, 2009].

2) Enumerative (indicating items on a list of propositions):

In terms of the report’s overall conclusions, Nobre says, finding that the southern and southeastern regions of the Amazon area are much more vulnerable compared with the northwest conveys two messages: “First, you have to prevent deforestation in the west and northwest and maintain it as protected lands as much as possible. That is where the forest is resilient. Second, considering the south and southeast reduce deforestation and special effort is needed to save as many species as possible” [COCA, ACAD, 2011]

Additive (indicating that the content of the sentence is in addition to the preceding one):

In addition, the graves held gold necklaces, rings, scepters, and even a gold penis sheath [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

4) Summative (summing up, or concluding, on the preceding sentence(s)):

To sum up, celebrities possess narcissistic predispositions (nature), these being subsequently reinforced by a wide range of environmental realities (nurture), rendering it next-to-impossible to slay the Narcissism Dragon [COCA, MAG, 2009].

5) Appositive (rephrasing the preceding sentence):

We filled each other with fear and anger, then made jokes and laughed together, to soften the blows,’ she writes – in other words, they did what all siblings do [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

6) Resultative/inferential (indicating that the content of the sentence is a result of the events expressed in the preceding sentence):

At the very least, our data suggest that students are not receiving a clear and accurate assessment of their skill sets, and that faculty are ill informed about the needs of public and private-sector plant scientists. Therefore, universities and colleges are not providing graduates with the skills required by nonacademic employers [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

7) Antithetic (indicating that the content of the sentence is in contrast to the content of the preceding sentence):

By penalizing old-fashioned morality in this way you do not make toleration of the new morality more likely. On the contrary, you sow the seeds of resentment, by removing from ordinary people the freedom to follow their conscience in a matter that deeply troubles them [COCA, MAG, 2011].

8) Concessive (indicating that the content of the sentence “exists” despite the content in the preceding sentence):

Thanks to the new proliferation of live broadcasts, we now can watch dance productions from Europe at the moment of their performance. This is not always a boon, however [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

9) Temporal (indicating temporal relation between the content of the sentence and the preceding sentence):

Radiation fears are increasing in Japan tonight. Meanwhile, a handful of brave workers remained in a crippled nuclear plant risking dangerous exposure as they battle to shut down the plant [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Conjuncts can be used to express the semantic relationship between propositions: comparison (similarly, likewise), contrast (on the other hand), concession (however, nevertheless), reason (therefore, because of that), result (consequently, in consequence, as a result) [38].

Conjuncts can be used to indicate the organization of a text: addition (in addition, furthermore), enumeration (first, secondly, finally), transition (by the way; meanwhile, in the meantime) [49].

Defining the placement of Parenthesis in the sentence, should be taken into account its position in the sentence and in the whole text. On the one hand, the Parenthesis can function as the cohesion within a sentence; on the other hand, it can be a link between sentences.

In the sentence Parenthesis can be used in the following positions:

At the beginning of the sentence:

“Personally, I think exit interviews are too late,” remarked a former military man [COCA, MAG, 2011].

As a consequence, we should get accustomed to read in human developments, insofar as they represent more or less cooperative answers to God’s invisible grace, occasions for further development [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

2) In the middle:

Well, maybe, but what if those viewers are just watching college football, pro football or, like me, learning to backpack with my scouting son [COCA, NEWS, 2011]?

It seems, at first glance, that new things are what give pleasure to the mind; but there aren’t many new things, and each one is new only once [COCA, ACAD, 2009].

3) In the end:

I mean he was so far the best thing in that movie, in my opinion [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Speaking about whole text there are parentheses, which are used just at the beginning of the text, some of them in the body and some of them just in the end.

At the beginning of the text can be used the next parentheses:

Firstly, First of all, For a short, In the first place, Initially, To begin/start with, Let us begin, Start by, First and foremost

For instance:

We’re going to focus on, first and foremost, bringing down costs and adding to people’s choices and flexibility [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

For the transition from the introduction to the main body the followings can be pasted:

Second(ly)/third(ly), In the second place, Subsequently, Simultaneously, And then, Next, Then, Moreover, Formerly, Previously, Furthermore

For example:

Near the end of the first century, Pope Clement argues that Jesus’ unmarried state was in no way meant to be an example for everyone: ” the reason that Jesus didn’t marry was that, in the first place, he was already engaged, so to speak, to the church; and, in the second place, he was no ordinary man” [COCA, MAG, 2006].

In the main body the most of parentheses are used. Some of them are:

In my opinion, In my view, To my mind, One the one hand/On the other hand, For example/for instance, Such as, Frequently, As an illustration, To illustrate, Above all, Additionally, As well as, Besides, Equally important, Furthermore, Further

For example:

On the one hand, these low socioeconomic indicators have generally been one of the reasons for rejection of such migrants. One the other hand, these indicators are related not only to the supply of manpower from Mexico, but also to the type of demand for job skills in the United States [COCA, ACAD, 1999].

In the conclusion usually the next words and phrases are given:

Summing up, To sum up, To conclude, In summary, Finally, In short, In brief, In a nutshell, On the whole, Ultimately, Last/lastly, Last of all

For example:

Finally, the military’s retirement program should be revised [COCA, ACAD, 2011].