The adverbial modifier is a secondary part of the sentence which modifies a verb, an adjective or an adverb. According to their meaning we distinguish the following kinds of adverbial modifiers.
1. The adverbial modifier of time.
(We shall try it tomorrow.)
2. The adverbial modifier of frequency.
(Though they had often bothered him he had never bothered them.)
3. The adverbial modifier of place and direction.
(Among the hills Martin and Ruth sat side by side.)
4. The adverbial modifier of manner.
(Hendel Hull so obviously adored his wife)
5. The adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances.
(Now I can go to bed at last without dreading tomorrow)
6. The adverbial modifier of degree and measure.
(It is rather good.)
7. The adverbial modifier of cause.
(The men were weary, having run behind the beasts all day )
8. The adverbial modifier of result (consequence).
(She is too fond of the child to leave it)
9. The adverbial modifier of condition.
(She never would have been able to make a success of the dining-room, but for the kindness and assistance of the men)
10. The adverbial modifier of comparison.
(John plays the piano better than Mary.)
11. The adverbial modifier of concession.
(Though frightened he carried it off very well.)
12. The adverbial modifier of purpose.
(They opened the way for her to come to him)
Ways of expressing the adverbial modifier.
It can be expressed by:
1. An adverb.
(Rachel turned instinctively to prevent a possible intruder from entering.)
2. A noun with or without accompanying words.
(They walked miles without finding any habitation.)
3. A prepositional phrase.
(I walked straight up the lane.)
4. A noun, pronoun, adjective, infinitive, participle, or prepositional phrase with a subordinating conjunction.
(Mary swims better than her sister.)
(Sometimes he, when with her, noted an unusual brightness in her eyes.)
5. A participle or a participial phrase.
(When questioned, she explained everything very carefully.)
6. Absolute constructions.
(a) The Nominative Absolute Participial Construction.
(Dehn burst in, the terror of the streets written on his face.)
(b) The Nominative Absolute construction.
(He stopped and turned about, his eyes brightly proud.)
(c) The Prepositional Absolute Participial Construction.
(He looked at Mr. Micawber attentively, with his whole face breathing short and quick in every feature.)
(d) The Prepositional Absolute construction.
(He rushed forward, with fury in his looks, and fire in his eye.)
7. A prepositional phrase or construction with a gerund.
(His father looked up without speaking.)
8. An infinitive, an infinitive phrase, or an infinitive construction.
(They rose to go into the drawing-room.)
