Introduction

Predicational Adverbs

Predicational adverbs are those that are not quantificational (as are frequently and daily, for example), that represent gradable predicates taking (at least) events or propositions as their arguments, and that in English are almost always composed of an adjective plus -ly, such as probably, amazingly, similarly, cleverly, reluctantly, or loudly. Previous studies of predicational adverbs, dating back at least as far as Greenbaum 1969, have tried to account for their syntax by dividing them into classes and then specifying the range of positions where each class may occur, most often correlating this range with some aspect of meaning. Thus Jackendoff (1972), for example, proposes semantic interpretation rules for the three classes represented in (2.1).

(2.1) Jackendoff's (1972) main predicational adverb classes:

1. a. manner: loudly

2. b. subject-oriented: cleverly, reluctantly

3. c. speaker-oriented: probably, clearly, amazingly, frankly

In Jackendoff's theory, each of these classes must be interpreted by a specific semantic rule corresponding to the constituent containing the adverb, such as VP for manner adverbs. If an adverb is attached to a constituent where the appropriate rule cannot apply, it receives no interpretation and the sentence is ungrammatical.

In this chapter I propose an account of the semantics of predicational adverbs that is very much in this spirit.