Viewpoint adverbs and connectives

7.57 Expressing a viewpoint [> App 17]

Many adverbs and adverbial phrases tell us something about a speaker's (or writer's) attitude to what he is saying or to the person he is talking to (or writing to or for). We call these 'viewpoint' or 'sentence' adverbs because they qualify what is being said (or written), but do not affect its grammatical structure. For example, a speaker or writer may use adverbs such as clearly or evidently to tell us he is drawing conclusions; frankly or honestly to impress us with his sincerity; generally or normally to make generalizations; briefly o r in short to suggest he will not be tedious or go into details. Viewpoint adverbs may come at the very beginning of a sentence, and are followed by a brief pause in speech or a comma in writing. They then modify the sentence or sentences that follow:

Frankly I am not satisfied with your work Some viewpoint adverbs may also come in mid-position:

He smiled nastily He evidently knew something I didn t Hopefully is an adverb of manner in:

To travel hopefully is better than to arrive Nowadays, hopefully is often used as a viewpoint adverb, though not all native speakers approve of this use:

Hopefully (= I hope) /'// see you sometime tomorrow

Hopefully, (= it is hoped) they II arrive at an agreement

7.58 Connecting words and phrases [> App 18]

Numerous adverbs introduce additions to, modifications or summaries

of what has already been said. They are essential when we wish to

present information in a coherent fashion in speech or writing. For

example, a speaker or writer may use adverbs such as however or on

the contrary to draw a contrast; at the same time or meanwhile to tell

us about something else that was happening at the same time; as a

result or consequently to draw our attention to results; furthermore o r

moreover to add information.

Connectives may come at the beginning, followed by a pause in