Research on the Properties of Adjectives and Adverbs in English and their Functions

本文从1985年至1987年的研究中，探讨了形容词和副词这两个在某些方面有相似之处的词类的性质。形容词的句法特点是可以充当名词的前置修饰语和后置修饰语，有些形容词还可以充当名词的首修饰语。形容词的语义属性概括为：第一，形容词作为名词的前置修饰语，表达了所修饰名词的内在属性，具有归属和分类功能;第二，形容词作为名词、谓语或非谓语的后置修饰语，通常描述所修饰或谓语名词的暂时性特征。2.副词的句法性质主要是因为几乎所有的副词都可以在句子中作附加成分，而有些副词则可以作为系动词的补语出现。扁平副词在句子中与表语形容词用在完全相同的位置。平面副词本质上是副词，它的功能是描述事件或行为的状态或方式，而不是名词的属性。动词的语义功能是抽象地表征谓语或句子所描述的事件或动作的状态或方式，这一功能应该用方位的概念来解释，特别是主要方位和次要方位。

The purpose of this research over the years 1985-1987 is to explore the properties of two word classes, adjective and adverb, which are similar to each other in some respects.1. The syntactic properties of adjectives are that they can function as premodifiers and postmodifiers of nouns and that some of them can be used as sentence-initial adjuncts. The semantic properties of adjectives are summarized as follows: first, adjectives as premodifiers of nouns express the intrinsic properties of the nouns which they modify, and then, they have functions of attribution and classification: second, the adjectives which are used as postmodifiers of nouns, predicates, or adjuncts are usually describe the temporary characteristics of the nouns which they modify or predicate. 2. The syntactic properties of adverbs are attributed to the fact that almost all of adverbs can be used as an adjunct in a sentence, while some of them can appear as a complement of copulative verbs. Flat adverbs are used in quite the same position in a sentence as predicative adjectives. Flat adverbs are essentially adverbs in that they function as describing the states or manners of events or actions but not as attributing properties of nouns. Adverbs have a semantic function of characterizing in an abstract fashion the state or manners of events or actions which a predicate or a sentence describes; this function should be explained in terms of the notion of orientation, especially, primary orientation and secondary orientation.