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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].

Defining the structure of Parenthesis, the next aspects must be taken into consideration:

1. a) Syntactical aspect;
2. b) Morphological.

Speaking about Syntactical aspect, it is important to remember that parenthesis is also called simply brackets or round brackets, curved brackets, oval brackets. It contains material that could be omitted without destroying or altering the meaning of a sentence. In most writing, overuse of parenthesis is usually a sign of a badly structured text. They can be inserted into a passage with which it doesn’t necessarily have any grammatical connection. Parentheses are usually marked off by round or square brackets, dashes, or commas [36].

For example:

A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks [39]. The phrase not a cat is a parenthesis.

My umbrella – which is somewhat broken – can still shield the two of us from the rain [39]. The phrase which is somewhat broken is a parenthesis.

Please, Gerald, come here! Gerald is both a noun of direct address and a parenthesis [39].

Parenthesis may be used in formal writing to add supplementary information, such as:

“Sen. John McCain (R., Arizona) spoke at length”.

They can also indicate shorthand for “either singular or plural” for nouns – e.g., “the claim(s)” [36].

Any punctuation inside parentheses or other brackets is independent of the rest of the text:

“Mrs. Pennyfarthing (What? Yes, that was her name!) was my landlady.” In this usage the explanatory text in the parentheses is a parenthesis.

Parenthesized text is usually short and within a single sentence. Where several sentences of supplemental material are used in parentheses the final full stop would be within the parentheses. Again, the parenthesis implies that the meaning and flow of the text is supplemental to the rest of the text and the whole would be unchanged were the parenthesized sentences removed [36].

There are a few general rules of using punctuation around parenthesis.

Rule1. Use parentheses to enclose words or figures that clarify or are used as an aside.

Examples:

I expect five hundred dollars ($500).

He finally answered (after taking five minutes to think) that he did not understand the question.

Commas could have been used in the above example. Parentheses show less emphasis or importance. Em dashes, which could also have been used instead of parentheses, show emphasis.

Rule2. Use full parentheses to enclose numbers or letters used for listed items.

Example:

 We need an emergency room physician who can (1) think quickly, (2) treat patients respectfully, and (3) handle complaints from the public.

Rule3. Periods go inside parentheses only if an entire sentence is inside the parentheses.

Examples:

Please read the analysis (I enclosed it as Attachment A) [45].

The parenthesis may include:

A single word:

Thus, they remain poorly understood, and their importance is underappreciated [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

A phrase:

All the same, there are basic behavioral shifts that he finds can benefit many unhappy couples [COCA, MAG, 2006].

A word combination (to my regret, to my dismay/annoyance etc.):

To my disappointment, the hotel did not have an elevator and our room was on the fourth floor, we huffed and puffed all the way up the steep stairs with our heavy luggage [COCA, ACAD, 2006].

A sentence:

“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. (Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.)” [44]

As for Morphological aspect in the structural characteristic of parenthesis, it can be expressed in the form of:

An adverb (e.g. mostly, notably, hypothetically, probably, maybe):

Obviously, that’s a very dangerous situation [COCA, MAG, 2011].

A conjunct (e.g. therefore, or, so, hence, however, besides):

Besides, we have to be careful about trick-or-treating [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Prepositional phrase (e.g. in other words, in that case, in reality, on the contrary):

In conclusion, student teachers are educated through two approaches: 1- teaching theories before practice and 2- teaching theories while practicing pedagogically on top of field knowledge [COCA, ACAD, 2009].

Infinitive clause (e.g. to demonstrate, to sum up, to say the truth, speak frankly, to be honest):

And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays [43].

An -ing participle clause (e.g. putting it simply, frankly speaking):

The sole album released by a journeyman blues-rock band from Denmark in 1970, Blues Addicts is one of those records that gets its reputation for being so obscure rather than being a lost classic, frankly speaking [26].

Putting it simply, we felt the board was overstepping its bounds in evaluating personnel and should have deferred to the superintendent [COCA, NEWS, 1996].

An –ed participle clause (e.g. put frankly)

Completely defeated, he remained a popular leader [5].

Put frankly, we can resign from “isms”, welcome and support a new end of ideology [COCA, ACAD, 1990].

Some Parenthesis must be followed by a clause (Subject + verb + Object). Among them can be such words as while, why, because, so, whereas, when, etc. For example:

The quantity demanded of a good or service is inversely related to its price, whereas the quantity supplied is related directly to price, other things being equal [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

He’s been dead for 25 years, so I can only speculate [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

Other Parenthesis should be followed by a noun phrase (Cohesive word + (the) + Noun/Gerund). Some of such Parentheses are: in spite of, despite, during, because of, etc.

For instance:

That’s because you weren’t able to stand the smell, so in spite of everything, you healed yourself [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Despite being fourth in the poll for most of the season, this might be one of the least talked about of Pat Summitt’s talented teams [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

It is generally accepted that sociologists investigate society at two levels: macro and micro. Microsociology in the study of human communication in their daily lives, in their immediate interpersonal interaction.

The main attention of sociologists this micro level theory focuses on the study of the behavior of specific individuals and small groups, their actions, motivations which have a decisive influence on the interaction between people, which in turn affects the stability of society and of ongoing change.

Supporters of the microsociological level are representatives of:

• the theory of social exchange (George Homans, Peter Blau);
• the theory of ethnomethodology (Harold Garfinkel);
• phenomenological macro theory in sociology;
• symbolic interactionism that focuses on the interaction of individuals (Cooley, Mead, Kuhn, Blumer).

Macrosociology definition

The macrosociology interested in large scale social systems and processes, occurring over long periods of time. A macrosociology focuses on patterns of behavior that help to understand society as a whole. And it examines various social institutions such as family, science, education, religion, etc. Since its inception included in this system of social structures and feel their influence. A macrosociology deals with large communities and even humanity as a whole.

The scope of the main interest of macrosociology is the study of the relationship between different parts of society and how there is a change in these relationships over time.

Researchers macrosociological level adhere to the principles of one of several major competing theories:

• structural functionalism (H. Spencer, E. Durkheim, Parsons, Merton, etc.);
• the theory of social conflict (Karl Marx, Dahrendorf, Coser, Bolding);
• neo-evolutionism
• the theory of social change
• the theory of social systems, and others.

A fairly unambiguous definition of micro and macro perspectives does not exist and the boundary between these two levels remains conditional. The difference lies in the different understanding of the subject of study and level of generalization.

Since the time of Auguste Comte, Western sociology throughout the nineteenth century until the 20-ies of XX century was dominated by macro-sociological orientation. All sociology during this period was limited only to theoretical.

Microsociology examples

The formation of microsociology as an independent region begins at about the 30-ies To a large extent this was due to the beginning in the 20-30-ies in the United States social processes (the economic crisis, the great depression, rising unemployment, crime, etc.). All this largely stimulated the widespread deployment of sociological research focused on the empirical description of the various aspects of life of individual social groups without consideration of their connection with the processes occurring at the macro level theory.

Basically the ongoing study, performed at the micro level analysis, was aimed at resolving specific social problems.

In the late 60-ies there was a sharp demarcation at the micro – and macro level analysis, which primarily resulted from the inability to provide a full analysis of companies.

Parenthesis is used to enclose loosely related comment or explanation within the sentence, to enclose figures numbering items in a series, and to enclose figures spelled out to avoid misreading [23, 126].

In any language the goal is to convey information clearly and concisely. To achieve these goals it is important to remember to connect the ideas so that the audience can easily follow them. In other words it is necessary to use parentheses [47].

There are two extracts below.

There are many causes of air pollution. There is the use of private cars. This can cause many breathing problems because of fumes. Other forms of transport cause air pollution; these are buses, boats and motorcycles. Factories produce gasses that go into the air causing pollution. These things make people’s health suffer.

To begin with, there are many causes of air pollution. Firstly, there is the use of private cars. This can cause many breathing problems because of fumes. Furthermore, other forms of transport cause air pollution, for example, buses, boats and motorcycles. In addition, factories produce gasses that go into the air causing pollution. All in all, these things make people’s health suffer.

This is an example of how the use of parentheses can improve the quality of the speech, how the ideas flow more smoothly, and the logical relationships between the ideas are expressed clearer in the second paragraph. Most pieces of formal writing and presentations are organized in a similar way: introduction, development of main ideas or arguments, and conclusion. The parentheses like bridges between parts of writing. They join each part together as well as sentences and paragraphs within each part or even two ideas within one sentence. Transitions are not just verbal techniques that decorate the paper or speech by making them sound or read better. They are words with particular meanings that tell the reader (listener) to think and react in a particular way to someone’s ideas.

Parentheses are usually used to [53]:

1. a) Enclose words not directly relevant to the main topic of the sentence but

too important to omit:

Optimistic thinking people (and I count myself among them) always seem to produce positive results in any situation [53].

Enclose figures or letters marking the division of a subject:

Murrow urged that public diplomacy officials be included when and as foreign policies are made, for several reasons: (1) to ensure that policymakers are aware of the likely reaction of foreign publics to a forthcoming policy; (2) to advise how best to convincingly communicate policies to foreign audiences; and (3) to ensure that U.S. diplomats are prepared to articulate policies before they are announced [COCA, ACAD, 2002].

1. c) Add examples:

The new photo copier has many features (including scanning options and faxing capabilities) that will be most beneficial to us in this office [53].

1. d) Indicate an equivalent entity with parenthetical punctuation:

As of this writing Endothil-CR has not been banned by any amateur or professional organized sporting body including the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) or the International Olympic Committee (IOC) [COCA, MAG, 2005].

The parentheses can also be used to link the parts of the presentation/essay together. They act as a signal to the audience/readers, telling them what they will hear/read next. Semantically parentheses are divided in the following groups [47; 41; 31; 32; 33; 52; 53; 59; 60]:

1. Sequence

There are natural sequences, like infancy followed by childhood, adolescence, maturity and old age. In language the sequences can be expressed both by the choice of tenses, and by the choice of sequence words and phrases. There are a very large number of expressions which can be used to show the sequence of what we are saying. Here are some of them, divided into 3 groups, depending on their place in the text [47]:

Beginning:

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

Going further:

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

Concluding:

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, Last but not the least

Such words as after, afterwards, before, currently, meanwhile, in the meantime, until , till, when, as soon as, soon after, etc. serve the same purpose when time sequence is indicated [47].

Here is an example of a specific sequence:

First, / To start with, / To begin with, / First of all… wash the wound with cold water. Secondly, / After that, / Afterwards, / Then, / Next,… wrap a bandage around the cut. Finally, / Lastly, / Last but not least, … place the patient in a comfortable position [47].

2. Addition to what has been previously indicated

When stating the main points the additional ideas may be needed to introduce. Then the following phrases can be used:

Above all, Along with, Additionally, As well as, Besides, Equally important, Furthermore, Further, In addition, Moreover, Not only …, But also …, Not to mention, One could also say, What is more…

Examples:

Never go fishing, swimming, eating, or bathing alone because you do not know who or what they are talking about back at camp! What is more, some of the most valuable information and alliances are built on shared experiences [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

Judge Wood’s defenders say that she has a lengthier record on social issues than other potential nominees only because more such cases came before her court. Moreover, they say, in many of those cases, including several involving abortion, Republican appointees – often including the renowned conservative Judge Richard Posner – voted the same way she did [COCA, NEWS, 2010].

3. Personal or other people’s opinion

To express personal or somebody else’s point of view or to quote the authorities, the following phrases can be used:

Personal opinion

In my opinion/in my view, To my mind, To my way of thinking, Personally I believe that/ I think that…, It strikes me that, I feel very strongly that, It seems to me that, As far as I am concerned

Another source

It’s popularly believed that, People often claim that, It is often alleged that, Some people argue that, A lot of people think/believe that, It’s widely recognized, It’s maintained

For example:

To my way of thinking, their breakup was the best thing that ever happened to him [COCA, FIC, 2010].

4. Comparison/Contrast

Sometimes it may be compared what have already been stated with what are going to be said next. The ideas may seem similar or contrast with one another.

Look at these sentences:

1. Alcohol reduces our ability to concentrate on our work. Similarly/ likewise/ in the same way, it reduces our ability to concentrate while driving.
2. 2. It is a known fact that smoking causes cancer, yet, / however, / nevertheless, / but, / at the same time, / still, / nonetheless millions of people around the world continue to smoke [47].

In the first sentence all the underlined phrases express the similarity of two ideas: alcohol badly affects our 1) work; 2) driving. In the second example the highlighted phrases help us make contrasting points: smoking is bad, but a lot of people don’t care.

Here are more of these phrases:

Similarity:

Also, Alternatively, Analogously, Both… and…, By the same token, Correspondingly, Equally, Just like, In comparison, In the same manner, In the same way, Likewise, Similarly, Too

Examples:

But by the same token, she also testified that she was confused about what was in reality and what was in her imagination [COCA, SPOK, 2009].

Likewise, they have developed patterns of value and behavior that reflect the multiple cultural influences they have encountered [COCA, ACAD, 2001].

Contrast

But/However, Conversely/On the contrary, Even though/Although, In spite of / despite, Differing from/In contrast/Instead, In reality, One the one hand / on the other hand, Notwithstanding, Nonetheless/Nevertheless, Still/Yet, Unlike, Whereas/While

For example:

Notwithstanding my previous critique, The Promised Land contains just an abbreviated discussion of a link between the sharecroppers of yesteryear and the ghetto residents of today [COCA, ACAD, 1991].

Unlike my mother, he wasn’t much of a talker, but this one time when he was drunk – more often than not, he was drunk – he told a very strange story [COCA, FIC, 2009].

5. Reinforcement

The Parentheses of reinforcement indicate the additional point in an argument, but with a slightly different meaning. They are used to reinforce an argument in a situation where a preceding argument might not seem sufficient. To stress a point, to emphasize what is said, the following phrases can be used:

Above all, Actually, Additionally, Admittedly, Again, Also, As a matter of fact, As well (as), Besides, Certainly, Especially, Further, Furthermore, Of course, Indeed/truly, In fact/actually, In addition, Mainly, More over, Needless to say, No doubt, Not only… but also, Notably, Obviously, Particularly, Specifically, Surely

Let’s see which effect they produce:

Actually, the difficulty isn’t with the iPad, but rather with the USB port: It’s not supplying enough juice [COCA, MAG, 2011].

 Needless to say, I felt such a relief that all are safe and sound [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Notably, when pronouns – but not proper names – were read, there was activity in areas of the brain associated with spatial processing [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

6. Explanation

A point already made can be explained in three ways [5, 140]:

1. a) by expanding and clarifying its meaning: that is, that is to say, ie;
2. b) by giving a more precise description: namely, mainly, particularly, viz;
3. c) by giving illustration: for example, for instance, such as, to illustrate, as an illustration, to demonstrate, e.g.

For instance:

At least one person, namely the President himself, supports the proposal for disarmament.

It is important that young children should see things, and not merely read about them. For example, it is valuable experience to take them on a trip to a farm.

7. Classification

In order to help the audience perceive the information better, especially when it is quite sophisticated the ideas may be needed to clarify, to make them easier for understanding or give some examples. For this the following parentheses are used:

In other words, That is…, Namely, That is to say, To put in another way, One example of this is, For example/for instance, Such as, Frequently, As an illustration, To demonstrate, To illustrate

For example:

That, he told his audience, is a statistically impossible lack of diversity. In other words, it’s the product of institutional ideological bias [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

And I think he has made the determination that, you know, he is going to sacrifice any sort of real life in the cause of Wikileaks. That is to say, this is a guy who lives his whole life with a boarding pass in his hand and a knapsack over his back, and that’s about it in terms of what his life is [COCA, SPOK, 2010].

8. Alternative ideas

The parentheses present a new way of solving the problem, help to transfer from one idea to another, equally important in the situation [47].

The next phrases can be used in this case:

Besides, However, Nevertheless, Nonetheless, Only, But, Still, Yet, In any case, All the same, At the same time

There are some examples of using them:

All the same, Dion says she came here in the first place because she wanted to put down roots, back when her son Rene-Charles–known as “R.C.” and now 10–was an infant [COCA, MAG, 2011].

In any case, since childhood the novels to which I’ve returned most gladly are those that ask to detain us for weeks, even months – the novels of Lady Murasaki, Samuel Richardson, Stendhal, Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Proust, and Thomas Mann [COCA, FIC, 2011].

 

9. Expressing cause / reason

The parentheses expressing cause and reason help to motivate ideas, acts, situations that already have happened or could have happened. Usually the reason or the cause is presented in the previous sentence. There are some parentheses below:

Because of, As, Since, This is why, Due to, Owing to, For this reason

For instance:

The study of rock art would seem an unlikely candidate for settling this question — it is usually nearly impossible to date. For this reason – and because rock art is often subject to whimsical interpretations – some archaeologists aren’t particularly keen on it [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

10. Result

These phrases show the consequence or the result of what has been said in the previous sentence or sentences. They help to express relationships of cause and effect. To express these relationships one of the three following ways can be chosen [47]:

Conjuncts

Among the conjuncts because, as, since, and so can be marked out. Because, as, and since introduce a cause; so introduces an effect. These are used to join two complete sentences (or independent clauses) together:

I stayed at home because it was raining.

Since it was raining, I stayed at home.

It was raining, so I stayed at home.

1. b) Transitions

Among the transitions the most often used are therefore, consequently, and as a result. All of these introduce an effect.

It was raining; therefore, I stayed at home.

It was raining. Consequently, I stayed at home.

Other transitions are:

Accordingly, As a consequence, For this/that reason, Hence, In brief, In conclusion, In other words, In short, In the nutshell, In that case, On account of this, Overall, Therefore, Then, Thus

c) Prepositions

Among the prepositions are due to and because of. Both of these introduce a cause in the form of a noun phrase:

In a retrial in 2003 the suspects were again acquitted again due to lack of physical evidence [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

Because of lack of physical evidence, in a retrial in 2003 the suspects were again acquitted again.

 Thus, the effective usage of parentheses can help connect the ideas logically. Using them fluently and confidently helps to come across as a skilled speaker [46].

11. Summing up / concluding

The conclusion of what has been said before, summarizing the most important and brilliant ideas can be presented by the following parenthesis:

All in all, Overall, Generally, In conclusion, On the whole, In the main, To sum up, Accordingly, Consequently, Finally, Hence, So, Therefore, Thus, As a result, In brief, In short, In summary, On the whole, To conclude

For instance:

All in all, he had the face of some fairy-tale prince come to life. Some gallant knight on a quest [COCA, FIC, 2000].

In conclusion, my father is driving me down to Chicago so I can see a very anticipated “Hurt Locker” [COCA, NEWS, 2010].

The distribution of subject gerunds closely parallels the infinitive cases and this is why we will not discuss it in any detail. The constructions are often interchangeable from a syntactic perspective, though there may be differences of meaning. (43) It was great fun to swim in the sea.

It was great fun swimming in the sea.

Since the subject position is least dependent on the verb from the interpretive point of view, it brings out the more concrete meaning of the gerund which designates propositions, facts or events in contrast with the proposition-denoting infinitive. Gerunds in subject position often refer to facts or possibilities, i.e., to definite events that have causal efficacy. Gerunds are often subjects of causative verbs, or causative psychological verbs:

(44) John’s hitting Mary made her mad.

Pulling the little girl’s hair infuriated her.

In examples like those below the gerund is the subject of event-taking predicates, thus designating an event. Remember that events are identified by their space-time properties:

(45) a. Building the Panama Canal took longer than expected.

Gathering pecans in central Texas starts in September.

Comparing the frequency of various types of complements subjects, Close (1972) notices that Poss-ing and Acc-ing complements “seem to be less frequent as subjects, at least in the spoken language”. When a full ing complement is, nevertheless, used as a subject, Poss-ing appears to be the more natural construction. Acc-ing constructions in subject position are also possible, however.

Gerund complements appear as subjects of one place adjectives or nouns: likely, necessary, odd, tragic, etc. a pleasure, an event, a good / bad thing etc. When it is lexically specified, the subject appears in the Possessive or in the Accusative case (sentences (46)). Alternatively, when it is not lexically specified, the subject is control or arbitrary PRO, or it is an unspecified variable DP, whose content is recoverable only in a context (sentences (47)). Examples of extraposed gerund subjects have also been included.

(46) Poss-ing a. “Your guessing that is a proof that you’re as clever as I say.”

Her watching by the fireside for her husband’s return from an absence might superficially have appeared as the most natural act in the world.

Acc-ing.

1. Millie flirting with Christopher was one good thing.
2. Look here, Billy, it’s no good you hanging around.

(47) PRO-ing with control subject

1. Stepping into the public bar gave him a comforting sense of normality.
2. Thinking of her made him think of her embrace.

PRO-ing with arbitrary subject

1. Loving one’s enemies is a Christian duty.
2. Swimming in the sea is great fun.

Gerund complements also occur as subjects of intransitive predicates that also govern prepositional Indirect Objects introduced by to, for, of, or Prepositional Objects (adjectives: hard, easy, surprising, boring, verbs: matter, occur etc.)

(48) a. Being sorry for Austin was a sort of occupation for both of them.

Meeting him was of utmost interest to me.

As already mentioned gerund complements are subjects of the large group of causative psychological verbs (surprise, alarm, bore, etc.), as well as of other transitive verbs (alter, mean, imply, entail, cause, make, give, etc.) and intransitive verbs (suffice, will do).

(49) a. Howard’s coming to live with us disturbed the routine of our household.

The front door bell’s sharply ringing pierced his ears so rudely that he could not at first think what has happened to him.

(50) a. Aiming for truth brings one up against what she calls “the opacity of persons”.

Finding you here surprised me. c. Losing his fortune made him mad.

It had already been mentioned that Extra position is not in general allowed, due to the fact that gerunds are DPs. Certain adjectives (easy, hard, useless, fun, fine, worth, awkward, ill, jolly, awful, etc.) and nouns (it is no / not any / little use / good / avail, it’s worth while, it’s an awful job etc.) allow the application of Extraposition (exemples (52)). All of them have affective, evaluative meaning; moreover, the nouns appear in frozen idiomatic constructions.

The examination of the corpus indicates that, as also noticed by Milsark (1988), only subjectless gerunds can extrapose in contemporary English (sentences (52)). To account for this distribution, we assumed that, when it extraposes, the gerund may appear in a caseless position, because the ing suffix lacks a nominal feature in this case, so that the gerund will not be headed by a DP, being an IP. In contrast, in modern, as opposed to contemporary, English, it was possible to extrapose gerunds that had subjects as well.

Examples (51)

1. It was (of) no use my saying anything to you.
2. It is exceedingly unwise his going off to stay at Court.

(52) a. It was delightful being with him.

It’s so awful not being able to communicate.

Extraposition should not be mixed up with Right Dislocation, a rule which moves an NP to the end of the sentence, leaving behind a pronominal copy. The moved constituent is separated from the clause by comma intonation.

(53) a. John’s big cigar bothers me.

It bother’s me, John’s cigar.

Right Dislocation may operate on gerunds:

(54) a. It’s not very important to you, seeing Dorina, is it?

It will be a sad thing, parting with her.

A frequent class of idiomatic gerund constructions is the following, based on The reinsertion, in a (usually) negative sentence:

(55) a. He had a few faithful clients, but there was no denying business was rotten.

1. There’s no use saying any more about it.
2. Possessive and Accusative complements as objects of prepositions the prepositional context is the most characteristic environment for gerund complements, being the only surface context which they do not share with infinitives or finite complements. Occurrence in the context of the preposition confirms that gerunds are DPs. Secondly, the prepositional context is also historically the oldest distributional context of the gerund. “the only verbal gerunds that have been found in old English texts are prepositional gerunds based on action verbs.” (Wik, 973:196). Third, the prepositional context is the least marked semantically allowing any of the current interpretations of the gerund (function of the matrix predicate and other factors). In what follows we present the more frequent predicates that govern prepositional gerunds (verbs, verbal idioms, adjectives, nouns and which are strictly subcategorized for the respective preposition. As usual, the gerunds may or may not have an overt subject. Predicates and examples are grouped according to the preposition that governs the gerund. Lists are illustrative not exhaustive.

ABOUT. Verbs: care, hesitate, hurry, see, talk, dispute, make (no) bones, trouble oneself, brag; Adjectives: careful, anxious, annoyed, particular, positive, scrupulous, glad, sorry, happy, excited, right, wrong, mistaken, pleased, uneasy, diffident, etc.

(56) a. Mary is annoyed about Jim staying out so late.

I’m worried about Mary living abroad.

AGAINST. Verbs: rule, exclaim, murmur, fight, be on one’s, guard, set one’s face, vote. Adjectives: be dead against, etc.

(57) a. They now exclaimed against punishing in cold blood.

1. They voted against killing the prisoners.
2. (mostly psychological, non-causative predicates). Verbs: blush, delight in / at, laugh, rejoice, revolt, stare, grieve etc. Adjectives: agitated, alarmed, angry, annoyed, astonished, (un)concerned, delighted, disgusted, embarrassed, impatient, (dis)pleased, surprised, taken about, transported, stunned.

(58) a. We were delighted at (the fact of) her inheriting a fortune and surprised at it making no difference to what she did.

Barney had been shaken and rather especially pained at twice meeting Pat at the house.

FOR. Verbs: answer, vote, care, prepare, etc. Adjectives: prepared, ready, responsible, qualified, fit.

(59) a. I’ll answer for him being there in time.

He voted for outing off Cromwell’s head without a trial.

FROM. Verbs: abstain, arise, come, emerge, result, desist, discourage, escape, refrain, shrink, forbear, etc.

(60) a. This aspect of the matter, he deliberately refrained from examining in detail.

Verbs: believe, consist, join, assist, result, fail, end, persist, succeed, etc. to take delight / refuge, to take pleasure / pride / part etc. Adjectives: absorbed, engaged, deep, justified, instrumental, occupied, successful, warranted, continuous, interested, wrong, right, sunk, exact.

(61) Doro felt he had laid it on rather thick, but was certainly right in thinking that he would be forgiven.

Verbs: admit, come (= result), complain, despair, repent, think. Adjectives: apprehensive, aware, ashamed, afraid, chary, guilty, shy, conscious, hopeful, indicative, glad, desirous, jealous, (in)capable, sure, weary, worthy, etc.

(62) a. She was constantly complaining of the cold, and of [its occasioning a visitation in her back, which she called ‘the creeps’.

1. I thought that by your theory you disapproved of a writer’s marrying.
2. She is afraid of Mary being late for the party.

ON Verbs: calculate venture, decide, determine, resolve, vote, theorize, depend, fix, insist, reflect, pique, pride oneself on, etc. Adjectives: bent, determined, intent, resolved, set, intent, etc.

(63) a. She’d insist on everything’s being made comfortable, advantageous, and propitious for them.

More upsetting still, Paul insisted on spending the morning with her.

TO Verbs: admit, address, take to, confine oneself, allude, pertain, amount, consent, apply, to go far / a long way to, to lay claim to, to see clear to / one’s way to, testify, revert, settle, confess, resort, object, vouch, etc. look forward to, to be given / used to, to be on the way to. Adjectives, nouns: accessory, committed, confined, essential, opposed, subject, preferable, superior, tantamount, accustomed, near, averse, enemy, friend, party.

(64) a. I wouldn’t be a party to stealing a lot of worthless trinkets.

The next day he addressed himself to deciding what to do.

WITH Verbs: put up, dispense, content, busy / occupy oneself with, etc.

Adjectives: content, pleased, satisfied etc.

(65) a. She was forced to put up with sleeping in the kitchen.

b. She busied herself with tidying up her dress.