Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

definite frequency

states how often something happens 

She gets paid 

monthly.

328

using specific time expressions

They meet 

every three weeks and they

discuss things.

indefinite frequency

states how often something happens 

She phones me 

quite often.

328

using non-specific time expressions

We bumped into each other 

from time

to time.

reason

states why

I told him off 

for all the mess on the 

329

floor.

Going to the USA is cheap at the

moment 

because of the exchange rate.

continued overleaf

Û

539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Adjuncts | 579

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continued

purpose 

states a goal or purpose

I went to the café 

for a quick coffee.

329

You might think I’m exaggerating 

for

the purpose of this story.

degree and intensity

refers to how much, to what degree

Largely they looked after themselves.

330

something happens

That seems to be working, and does

seem to be helping 

to a certain extent.

focusing

focuses on or specifies an entity

He 

specifically asked to meet with me 

331

alone.

Wildlife which lives alongside well-

used paths becomes accustomed to the

presence of people. This applies 

in

particular to birds.

modal

expresses degrees of truth, possibility,  Probably the most famous desert plant 

332

necessity, etc.

is the cactus.

Medical evidence at the post mortem

revealed 

without doubt that Mrs

Marline had died through an overdose

of the drug.

evaluative

judges or comments on the 

A: Did Charlie do anything?

333

event, gives the speaker’s opinion

B: No he didn’t actually, amazingly. 

With luck we should be finished by

five-thirty. 

viewpoint

expresses the perspective or 

Personally I don’t want to carry on with 

334

standpoint from which the speaker 

what I’m doing for ever. 

sees things

It’s a disgrace, 

to my mind.

linking

links and relates clauses and 

So he dropped his hand from her 

335

sentences to one another

shoulder. And 

moreover left her side.

In 1990, girls accounted for fully two

thirds of the children globally without

access to schools. 

In addition, more

than two thirds of the children who

drop out of school every year in

developing countries are girls. 

There is some overlap in the types of meaning, and some adjuncts can be classified

in different ways, according to their context of use:

It has changed 

a lot. 

(to a great degree)

We plan to go away 

a lot you see. For weekends and things. 

(frequently)

580 | Adjuncts

Cambridge Grammar of English

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So we sent Joe up the street to go and find out what was happening. 

Meanwhile

Maria was in her bedroom, looking out of the window. 

(time: at the same time)

[about a women’s golf tournament in Britain]

Total prize money for the week – to be shared among the players – is £150,000,

with £25,000 as the top prize; 

meanwhile in the States you’re playing for up to

$700,000 a time. So what have the Americans got that we haven’t? 

(used for expressing comparisons and contrasts)