Analysis of the Syntactic Placement of Adjunct Adverbials in the Writings of Selected Postgraduate Students of English

Abstract

This study undertakes an analysis of adjunct adverbial placement in the writings of selected postgraduate students of English. The aim is to identify and analyze the syntactic positions of adjunct adverbials in the writings of selected postgraduate students of English. The motivation for the study stems from the complex nature of the adverbial in that it can appear in many clause or sentence positions. This flexible characteristic of the adverbial makes its grammar quite complex and its syntax an interesting area to explore. The study adopts Transformational Generative Grammar as its theoretical framework. Essay writing test was employed as the method for data collection. The findings reveal that adjunct adverbials were used in the initial, medial, and final positions; however, adverbial position in the data collected favored the medial position more than initial and end positions. The findings therefore reveal that adjunct adverbials are indeed versatile linguistic elements with multifaceted functions within the sentence structure. Students of English make use of adjunct adverbial as modifiers of various elements of the sentence structure. However, irrespective of the element of structure being modified, the findings reveal that postgraduate students of English use adverbials in their writings to impart a wealth of information in their sentences in terms of where, why, when and how an action takes place. The study therefore affirms that adjunct adverbials are indeed so mobile that they can occupy various positions within the sentence structure. We believe that English language teachers and learners will benefit from the findings of this study and recommend that the teaching and learning of adverbial syntax should be approached practically to enable learners navigate the complexity associated with it.

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