ELIA 3, 2002, 299-315
ADVERB ORIENTATION: SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS
José Ma ía Ga cía Núñez
Uni e sidad de Cádiz
O ien a ion is a well known p ope y o some ad e bs in English. Ea ly
app oaches o he opic simply o e ed a sys ema isa ion o pa aph ase
ela ions be ween hese ad e bs and he co esponding adjec i es. Cu en
cogni i e (Nakamu a, 1997) and E en Logic (Ga cía Núñez, 1999)
app oaches ha e disco e ed simple seman ic componen s in ad e b
o ien a ion. This s udy p esen s cases o Subjec O ien ed Ad e bs
p agma ically o ien ed o non explici pa icipan s, and demons a es ha
he p oposed analyses in e ms o simple meaning componen s p o ide a
good basis o a p edic i e and explana o y accoun o ad e b o ien a ion o
bo h explici and implici pa icipan s.
Key wo ds: hema ically dependen ad e bs, e en ad e bs, ad e b scope,
hema ic s uc u e, deon ic modali y
1. Ad e b o ien a ion
Since Jackendo (1972), a numbe o ad e bs in English ha e been ci ed as
exhibi ing he p ope y o o ien a ion. In e y gene al e ms, o ien a ion can
be desc ibed as he p ocess by which he adjec i al oo o an ad e b can be
asc ibed o some pa icipan in he e en modi ied by he ad e b;
u he mo e, o ien a ion is assumed o a ge one pa icula a gumen :
sen ence subjec . To illus a e his in oduc o y de ini ion, conside sen ences
(1)-(4) and hei espec i e pa aph ases in he co esponding (a) sen ences.
Es udios de
lingüís ica inglesa aplicada
300 J.M. Ga cía Núñez
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
(1) Ma ha willingly sen he sec e iles o John.
(1a) Ma ha was willing o send he sec e iles o John
(2) John was willingly sen he sec e iles by Ma ha.
(2a) John was willing o be sen he sec e iles by Ma ha.
(3) Ma ha wisely sen he sec e iles o John.
(3a) I was wise o Ma ha/ Ma ha was wise o send he sec e iles o John.
(4) John was wisely sen he sec e iles by Ma ha.
(4a) I was wise o John/ John was wise o be sen he sec e iles by Ma ha.
As can be seen in he examples, bo h ac i e and passi e subjec s can be
a ge s o o ien a ion1.
Some au ho s (McConnell-Gine 1982, E ns 1984, Wyne 1994)
ha e no ed ha o ien a ion is a hema ically a he han a syn ac ically based
1 He e we omi cases o o ien a ion o passi e deep subjec s like he one in (i) (pa aph ased in
(ii)).
(i) John was sen he sec e iles wisely by Ma ha.
(ii) John was sen he sec e iles in a wise manne by Ma ha.
In o he wo ds, we will ocus on cases o wha can be e y gene ally classi ied as disjunc and
p e e bal adjunc occu ences o ad e bs. The p e e bal adjunc occu ence o wisely in
ac i e sen ences like (iii) is ambiguous be ween a subjec -o ien ed and a manne eading.
He e we a e in e es ed only in he o me .
(iii) Ma ha wisely sen he sec e iles o John.
Lea ing ou pos e bal adjunc occu ences o o ien ed ad e bs will no a ec he discussion
below.
Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 301
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
p ocess2. Sen ences whe e ad e b o ien a ion ails o ake place in he
p esence o a subjec a e aken o cons i u e good e idence ha hema ic
condi ions (mo e speci ically, agen i i y) a he han syn ac ic condi ions a e
he key ea u e o o ien a ion.
(5) * Ma ha eluc an ly ecei ed he le e .
(6) * John was wisely seen by Ma ha.
2. O ien a ion: a seman ic/ p agma ic p oblem
A less obse ed ac abou hese subjec -o ien ed ad e bs is ha some o
hem can a imes be o ien ed o pa icipan s ou side he a gumen s uc u e
o he sen ence, which is an amoun o saying ou side he explici con en o
he u e ance. Qui k e al. (1981: 625-626) pu s o wa d and discuss
examples like (6) and (7), whe e wisdom is asc ibed o some pa icipan
in e able om he con ex o u e ance.
(7) Wisely, he mee ing ended ea ly oday.
(8) Wisely, Bill’s ca is in a ga age o e nigh h oughou he win e .
In hese examples he pa icipan s whose wisdom is highligh ed by he
ad e b, hough implici and in e able om con ex , a e s ill iden i iable as
he indi iduals who b ough abou he e en s desc ibed in he sen ences, i.e.,
a e agen i e pa icipan s.
Ano he impo an hing o no ice is ha o ien a ion o an implici
agen in ol es sen ence modi ica ion, while o ien a ion o a hema ic agen
in ol es VP modi ica ion. Tha is, in (7) and (8) he whole sen ence is
judged wise and he pe son who caused he e en emains implici . On he
o he hand, in (9) we ha e wo possible in e p e a ions: ei he he sinking o
2 The e is ne e heless a ia ion among hese au ho s as o how s ong he co espondence
be ween syn ac ic and hema ic s uc u e is. They a e no hence equally likely o keep o he
subjec -o ien a ion hypo hesis.
302 J.M. Ga cía Núñez
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
he ship is judged as wise and Joan is he agen ha caused he e en , o he
whole e en (including he agen ) is judged as wise; on he la e
in e p e a ion he agen esponsible o he b inging abou o he e en mus
again be an implici agen , someone who had Joan sink he ship.
(9) Wisely, Joan sank he ship.
I is impo an o no ice ha (7) and (8) a e no sui able con ex s o
all ypes o o ien ed ad e bs. Willingly, which was classi ied as an o ien ed
ad e b on a pa wi h wisely, canno o ien o an implici agen , as he
unaccep abili y o (10) makes mani es .
(10) * Willingly, he mee ing ended ea ly oday.
Any solu ion o he p oblem o o ien a ion mus be consis en wi h he
di e ences and simila i ies be ween o ien ed ad e bs. Failu e o do so will
necessa ily mean missing he ac s abou he g amma / p agma ic dis inc ion,
o hose abou he seman ic homogenei y o ad e b o ien a ion, espec i ely.
On his ske chy i s app oxima ion o (7)-(10), we a e, on he one
hand, dealing wi h he hema ic concep s (less so wi h he syn ac ic ones)
ad oca ed by p e ious heo ies o ad e b o ien a ion, and, on he o he ,
eso ing o a p agma ic in e en ial p ocess which ce ainly goes beyond he
limi s o syn ax o seman ics. In so doing, we ha e come ac oss he so o
gene al heo e ical p oblem we wan o add ess in his wo k: how can
p agma ics be made con inuous wi h g amma ?, how can g amma bias
p agma ic in e en ial p ocesses?
I is a his poin possible o se he goals o his wo k. Fi s o all, i
seems necessa y o es ablish wha kind o linguis ic phenomenon o ien a ion
is. Is i a g amma ically o a p agma ically cons ained phenomenon? Should
we analyse ad e b o ien a ion as a ully g amma ically cons ained
Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 303
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
phenomenon, o should we le ou p agma ic abili ies do pa o he wo k?
Secondly, do o ien ed ad e bs o m a homogeneous class, o a e he e
di e ences be ween hem?, do hese di e ences impinge on o de e mine he
kind o o ien a ion hey ealise?
In he nex sec ion, we assess he empi ical bene i s o h ee
heo e ical p oposals ha migh in p inciple be able o accoun o he
e ised ac s. The i s wo ely on a ully g amma ical ea men o ad e b
o ien a ion; he las one, he one we will a gue o he e, allows o a
p agma ic ea men cons ained by seman ic ac o s.
3. G amma ically-based accoun s o ad e b o ien a ion
The i s heo e ical possibili y we will explo e consis s in analysing ad e b
o ien a ion oge he wi h o he hema ic phenomena as lexico-g amma ically
speci ied. In his pe spec i e, subjec o ien ed ad e bs (SOAs hence o h)
would assign hema ic p ope ies o a numbe o a gumen s in he s uc u e
in which hey appea .
This possibili y has been explo ed in ela ion o adjec i al
modi ica ion and he hema ic s uc u e o NPs by Higginbo ham (1985). He
a gues qui e con incingly ha modi ie s bea a hema ic g id o emp y
a gumen s uc u e o hei own which, as i we e, is subo dina ed o he
hema ic g id o he lexical ca ego y hey modi y and bo ows a gumen s
om i .
To illus a e his posi ion, conside wo sen ences like (11) and (12).
(11) Ma y sank he ship.
(12)Ma y willingly sank he ship.
The p oposal unde e ision would claim ha he ansi i e e b sink in
(11) con ains he g amma ical in o ma ion ha i s ex e nal a gumen is an
Agen and i s in e nal a gumen a Theme/ Pa ien . Being a lexico-

304 J.M. Ga cía Núñez
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
g amma ical speci ica ion, ailu e o mee his equi emen yields an
ung amma ical exp ession.
We can now, on he basis o his ske chy p esen a ion, hypo hesise wha
would be he ough ou lines o a lexico-g amma ical ea men o ad e b
o ien a ion: he hema ic g id o willingly in (12) would con ain an emp y
slo o be illed by a hema ic agen in he a gumen s uc u e de ined by he
p edica e sink.
The p oposal would wo k accep ably well o willingly, which,
acco ding o he e iewed ac s, sys ema ically o ien s o he Agen .
Howe e , i would ail o accoun o he o ien a ion o sen ence-modi ying
ca elessly o an implici agen .
On his basis, we can p o isionally conclude ha ad e b o ien a ion o a
hema ic Agen is encoded in he g amma ical con en o eluc an ly bu no
in ha o ca elessly.
An al e na i e heo e ical app oach would es on an iden i ica ion o
o ien a ion possibili ies and s uc u al loca ions. As we ha e seen (c . oo
no e 1) he wo ele an s uc u al loca ions a e p e e bal posi ion and
sen ence posi ion. This app oach is he one adop ed by Jackendo (1972),
Thomason and S alnake (1973), T a is (1988) o Bowe s (1993). All o
hem ha e ied o accoun o he o ien a ion ac s on he assump ion ha
syn ac ic posi ion su ices o cons ain in e p e a ion.
Omi ing de ails abou he p ecise na u e o he heo ies launched, we
can see ha hese p oposals wo k well in he case o p e e bal ad e bs
(which o ien o agen a gumen s), bu can ha dly p o ide a s able a ge o
o ien a ion in he case o sen ence SOAs ( he agen a gumen in he case o
eluc an ly, he agen a gumen o an implici agen in he case o sen ence
ca elessly).
G amma ically-based accoun s o SOAs do no seem o gua an ee he
empi ical co e age o he ac s pu sued in his wo k. In he ollowing
sec ions, we p esen a heo y o SOAs which bo h u ges an in e ac i e iew
o he seman ics/ p agma ics in e ace and yields empi ical bene i s in
ela ion o he e ised ac s.
Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 305
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
4. Subjec -o ien ed ad e bs and deon ic modali y
Nakamu a (1997) om a Cogni i e G amma pe spec i e, and Ga cía Núñez
(1999) wi hin an E en Logic amewo k p o ide accoun s o ad e b
o ien a ion which make use o wo in ima ely ied concep s: hema ic
s uc u e and deon ic modali y3. The idea is ha SOAs exp ess some kind o
deon ic e alua ion o he e en s which hey modi y4. Roughly, he ad e bs in
(13) and (14) somehow e e o some pe son ( he speake in (13), he agen
in (14)5) who judges he epo ed e en as undesi able o some eason o
o he , and who is esponsible o he b inging abou o he ele an e en .
(12) Ma ha oolishly pu he sec e iles ou on he ke b.
(13) Ma ha eluc an ly pu he sec e iles ou on he ke b.
Close conside a ion o hese cons i uen s o ad e b o ien a ion and hei
g amma ical ealisa ions will lead, we belie e, o a ully explana o y accoun
o he ac s and p oblems ske ched ou in sec ions 1 and 2 abo e.
3 The idea appea s mo e clea ly in Ga cía Núñez (1999) han in Nakamu a (1997), o his
la e au ho , hough also iden i ying subjec o ien ed ad e bs wi h modal seman ics, ails o
dis inguish be ween modal deon ic a ge ( he pe son who e alua es) and hema ic a ge ( he
pe son esponsible o he ac ion).
4 As we a e no dealing he e wi h modalisa ion o non ac ual p oposi ions (as is he case wi h
modal deon ic e bs), deon ic modali y should be unde s ood mo e in i s deside a i e ( igh /
w ong e alua ing) han in i s ins umen al sense. A e all, as Lyons s a es in ela ion o
deon ic modali y, “... he so-be-i componen (...) is in ended o ha e an ins umen al meaning,
bu i may be assumed o ha e de eloped ou o , and o include, an on ogene ically p io
deside a i e” (Lyons, 1977: 826).
5 As his dis inc ion p o es c ucial bo h o dis inguishing SOAs and o he e ised ac s, we
will, ollowing Wyne ’s (1994) e minology, e e o wisely- ype SOAs as E en Ad e bs
(EAs hence o h), and o eluc an ly- ype SOAs as Thema ically-Dependen Ad e bs (TDAs
hence o h). The o me ad e bs a e also known as agen -o ien ed ad e bs (F ey 2000), he
la e as men al a i ude ad e bs (E ns 2000).
306 J.M. Ga cía Núñez
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
Once we accep ha o ien ed ad e bs a e like deon ic eadings o
modal e bs, we simply ha e o eloca e concep s and ca ego ies which a e
well-es ablished in modal seman ics. Fo example, i is ai ly
uncon o e sial ha deon ic modal e bs equi e an agen , i.e., can only
ope a e on a p oposi ion whose hema ic s uc u e includes an Agen , o
whose p ocessing in a con ex in ol es he p esence o an agen . This can be
seen in (15) (wi h an explici agen ) and (16) (wi h an implici agen ).
(14) Ma ha mus pu he sec e iles away.
(15) Ma ha mus ecei e he sec e iles omo ow
(you/someone mus see o i ha she does).
Likewise, modal deon ic e bs also imply an e alua o (a deon ic sou ce in
Lyons’s (1977: 824) e ms). In bo h (15) and (16), his e alua o coincides
wi h he speake ,a s he pa aph ases in (15a) and (16a), espec i ely, show.
(15a) I is desi able om he speake ’s poin o iew ha Ma ha should
pu he sec e iles away.
(16a) I is desi able om he speake ’s poin o iew ha Ma ha should
ecei e he sec e iles omo ow.
The ac ha e alua o s can coincide wi h sen ence agen s is no a
peculia i y o o ien ed ad e bs ei he . A deon ic modal e b like would
a he also implies an agen i e e alua o .
(16) Ma ha would a he keep he sec e iles in a sa e place.
(17a) I is desi able om Ma ha’s poin o iew ha she should keep he sec e
iles.
A pa ial de ini ion o ad e b o ien a ion can be o e ed a his poin : i is
he p ocess h ough which a subjec -o ien ed ad e b selec s an agen . This
de ini ion is pa ial because i does no accoun o he pe cei ed syn ac ic
di e ences in o ien a ion. In o he wo ds, he heo y will no be comple e
Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 307
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
un il his new concep ion o o ien a ion is shown o bea on he abo e
e iewed syn ac ic cons ain s on o ien a ion.
In o de o explain he syn ac ic ealisa ion o o ien a ion, i is
necessa y o ake in o accoun he seman ic ype modi ied by he ele an
ad e bs. In he ligh o a deon ic classi ica ion o o ien ed ad e bs, he
ques ion o wha s a e o a ai s is modi ied by he ad e b becomes a cen al
one. As is well known, deon ic modal e bs ope a e on p oposi ions
exp essing po en ial o possible s a es o a ai s (s a es o e en s). Robe s
(1986: 212-213) o Ga cía Núñez (1999: 439-442) claim ha TDAs and EAs
modi y p edica es deno ing ac ual e en s. A so o complemen a y ela ion
seems o ob ain: deon ic modali y as exp essed by modal e bs deno es he
desi abili y o a s a e o a ai s which is o be b ough abou by some agen ;
deon ic modali y as exp essed by an o ien ed ad e b deno es he desi abili y
o an ac ual e en b ough abou by some agen . To pu i g aphically, he
modal o ce o wo sen ences like (18) and (19) would di e in he way
shown by (18a) and (19a).
(17) Ma ha mus bu n ou he sec e iles
(18a) Deon ic pole: desi able
E alua o : speake
Po en ial s a e o a ai s: Ma ha bu ns he sec e iles.
(18) Ma ha wisely bu n ou he sec e iles
(19a) Deon ic pole: desi able
E alua o : speake
Ac ual e en : Ma ha bu n he sec e iles.
Now ha he h ee essen ial componen s o deon ic asse ions ha e
been iden i ied, a na u al explana ion can be o e ed o he syn ac ic
cons ain s on o ien a ion. Remembe he ac s: bo h adjunc and disjunc
occu ences o TDAs o ce hema ic o ien a ion o hese ad e bs o sen ence
agen s; adjunc i e EAs o ce he same in e p e a ion, bu disjunc i e EAs
314 J.M. Ga cía Núñez
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
Re e ences
Bowe s, J. 1993 “The Syn ax o P edica ion”, Linguis ic Inqui y 24: 591-
656.
Dillons, G.L. 1973. “Some Pos ula es cha ac e ising Voli i e NPs, Jou nal
o Linguis ics 10: 221-233.
E ns , T.B. 1984. Towa ds an In eg a ed Theo y o Ad e b Posi ion in
English, Blooming on: Indiana Uni e si y Linguis ic Club.
E ns , T. 2000. “Seman ic Fea u es and he Dis ibu ion o Ad e bs” in C.
Fab icius-Hansen, E. Lang and C. Maienbo n (eds.) App oaching he
G amma o Adjunc s. ZAS Pape s in Linguis ics 17: 79-99.
F ey, W. 2000. “Syn ac ic Requi emen s on Adjunc s” in C. Fab icius-
Hansen, E. Lang and C. Maienbo n (eds.): App oaching he G amma
o Adjunc s. ZAS Pape s in Linguis ics 17: 107-135.
Ga cía Núñez, J.M. 1999. Semán ica de los Ad e bios Temo-Dependien es
del Inglés Ac ual. Cádiz: Se icio de Publicaciones de la Uni e sidad
de Cádiz.
Ga cía Núñez, J.M. 2002. “Focusabili y, Quan i ica ion and Dis ibu ion in
English Highe Ad e bs”, pape deli e ed o he Sp ing Mee ing o he
LAGB, Li e pool.
Higginbo ham, J. 1985. “On Seman ics”, Linguis ic Inqui y 16: 547-593.
Jackendo , R. 1972. Seman ic In e p e a ion in Gene a i e G amma .
Camb idge, Massachuse s: MIT P ess.
Lyons, J. 1977. Seman ics, Camb idge: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess.
McConnell-Gine , S. 1982. “Ad e bs and Logical Fo m”, Language 58: 144-
184.
Nakamu a, W. 1997. “A Cogni i e App oach o English Ad e bs”,
Linguis ics 35: 247-287.

Ad e b o ien a ion: Seman ics and… 315
ELIA 3, 2002, pp. 299-315
Qui k, R. e al. 1985. A Comp ehensi e G amma o he English Language.
London: Longman.
Robe s, I. 1986. The Rep esen a ion o Implici and De hema ized Subjec s.
Do d ech : Fo is.
Thomaon R. and R. S alnake 1973. “A Seman ic Theo y o Ad e bs”,
Linguis ic Inqui y 4: 195-220.
T a is, L. 1988. “The Syn ax o Ad e bs”, McGill Wo king Pape s in
Linguis ics, 20: 280-310.
Wyne , A.Z. 1994. Boolean E en La ices and Thema ic Roles in he Syn ax
and Seman ics o Ad e bial Modi ica ion. PhD Thesis, Co nell
Uni e si y.
Zubiza e a, M.L. 1982. Le els o Rep esen a ionin he Lexicon and in he
Syn ax. Do d ech : Fo is.