Обстоятельство adverbial modifier

Обстоятельство (the Adverbial Modifier) характеризует действие, состояние или качество лица или предмета, обозначая время, место, образ действия, причину, степень, цель совершения этого действия. Обстоятельство может быть выражено наречием, существительным с предлогом, инфинитивом, герундием, причастием, придаточным обстоятельственным предложением.

E.g. You should take life more seriously.

It happened in the middle of the night.

To make good progress you must work hard.

One learns by failing.

Coming into the room, she switched on the TV-set at once.

As he was very busy, he forgot about his own wedding.

Место обстоятельства в предложении.

С глаголами движения обстоятельство места следует непосредственно за глаголом.

E.g. They stayed at the office till late evening.

He went to the station to catch the last train.

Если в предложении есть несколько обстоятельств, то обычный порядок их расположения следующий: “место” – “образ действия” – “время”.

E.g. We went to the theatre by car last night.

My parents met in Paris by chance twenty years ago.

В случае простого глагольного сказуемого такие обстоятельства времени, как never, ever, usually, often, seldom, already располагаются перед глаголом.

E.g. He never tells me anything.

Mary always sends me Christmas cards.

They seldom visit us in winter.

Nothing ever happens to me.

My mother already knows my secret.

Если сказуемое составное (имение или модальное), то эти наречия употребляются после вспомогательного или модального глагола.

E.g. He is never on time.

Nancy can always rely on us.

Victor has just come back from London.

You must never complain.

В вопросительных предложениях наречия времени следуют непосредственно за подлежащим.

E.g. Is he ever late?

Can she always rely on him?

Have you ever been to London?

Must you always stay at the office so late?

Parts of the sentence exercises subject

Exercise 1. Define what the subject is expressed by. Translate into Russian.

1. Alison lives next door to us. 2. He and I are business partners. 3. Something is wrong with the computer again! It must be a virus. 4. It’s bitter cold today. 5. The Wilsons are redecorating their house. 6. To help you is my pleasure. 7. Walking a good way to avoid stress. 8. The unemployed demand more job vacancies. 9. Seven is considered to be a lucky number. 10. Being in love wonderful! 11. The homeless dream of a warm house. 12. Yours was the best project. 13. Your ifs and buts always irritate me! 14. There is an orange in the vase. 15. There is no news today. 16. There are a lot of new words in this text.

Exercise 2. Point out the subject in the following sentences and state what it is expressed by. Translate into Russian.

1. You couldn't define it more precisely! 2. It never rains, but it pours! 3. Two plus two makes four. 4. There was a tall lamp-post beside the packing house. 5. What is the meaning of all this? 6. A few more of these is all that is needed. 7. People don't easily recognize their faults. 8. Dark blue is not your colour for a costume. 9. Who will be the second in command? 10. Which of them is the President? 11. To be or not to be, that is the question. 12. Smoking is not allowed. 13. One can't be too sure. 14. How much do they offer? 15. They say it's about ten miles from here. 16. The third may be not taken into account. 17. Your “i” must be dotted. 18. Will half of the sum be enough? 19. The brave won't lay down their arms. 20. Never is a long time. 21. Here is a brighter torch for Jim.

Exercise 3. Translate into Russian, paying attention to the pronoun it used as the subject.

1. It is Clarence speaking, don't you recognize me? 2. It was so difficult to remember those rows of figures. 3. It was there and then that I saw the futility of his efforts. 4. It looks like rain. 5. It is someone else's pen. 6. It wasn't any use trying to make one's voice heard over the general noise. 7. It wasn't tactful, you should apologize. 8. It was too late for them to continue their talk. 9. Why, it was only yesterday that I had the confirmation of the news! 10. It is to the oper­ator that he is nodding, not to you. 11. The happy end of this film can hardly be called its drawback; to my mind, it should rather be considered as its merit. 12. But it is unbelievable, he can't have left without letting us know. 13. It is the skills of the young workers that are just being discussed at the manager's office.

Exercise 4. Use construction with the emphatic it to answer the follow­ing questions.

Model: Who answered the bell, Mary or Floy? — It was Floy that answered the bell, not Mary.

1. They met her on the bridge, didn't they? Or was it at the boating station? 2. Did you yourself speak to the assis­tant professor, or did Margaret speak to him? 3. Oliver must have come from New Zealand. Or does he come from Austra­lia? 4. The liner takes off at nine. Or will it be earlier? 5. The headmaster will help us with the fixing of the machine tool. Or shall we apply to the consulting engineer? 6. The second point is to be revised. Or shall we revise the first point, too? 7. What was the source of the food poisoning — fish or meat? 8. Can Mr Shmidt be entrusted with the task? Or will it be safer to charge Mrs Pumpkin with it? 9. Did Fred win the race? Or was Bobby the winner? 10. Is he upstairs, or is he waiting for us in the car? 11. Will you go there by sea, or do you prefer a plane? 12. Is she growing azaleas or roses in her garden?

Exercise 5. Fill in the blanks with it or there to suit the corresponding meanings of the sentences.

1. a) ... was too windy. ... was no use going to the beach. b) ... was no wind, though ... was very cold. 2. a) ... was day already. ... was a ride in the country to look forward to. b) ... was still a day to spare. ... was lucky. 3. a) ... wasn't light enough. ... was difficult to read. b) … was light com­ing through the trees. ... was hope in it. 4. a) ... was a great joy to get the news of our team's victory. ... was a celebra­tion ahead. b) ... was joy written all over his face. ... was no sham. 5. a) ... could be anybody. ... was difficult to see through the mist. b) ... was nobody in the house. ... could be no mis­take about it. 6. a) ... was not much to be added, and ... was a relief. b) ... was too much to be said about him, ... was felt by everyone present. 7. a) ... is another letter from Polly, isn't ... fine? b) ... was another of his letters, and ... was a lot of bitterness expressed there. 8. a) Is ... so serious? Is ... really much to be worried about? b) ... is nothing serious about it. ... is no cause for anxiety whatsoever. 9. a) ... is as ... should be. And from now on ... will be a steady tenden­cy for improvement. b) ... should be another alternative still. ... is always preferable to have more than one possibility to choose from. 10. a) ... is about ten already. ... is time to start. b) ... is all the time we need. ... is no need to be in a hurry.