I MUST get this computer set up to diagram.
Parser, you come up with such interesting examples!
Frank
back = being used as an adjective to modify "way."
I must take issue with this part of your analysis: to my mind, the structure is [the way [back home]], i.e. with 'back' as a modifying adjunct to 'home', making it an adverb rather than an adjective.
"The dog found its way back home."
Most interesting!!!
But what about: Mona found her way back. Would "back" then
modify "way"?
way (which is) back (to) home
back (to) home = predicate adverb
we must simply be prepared to carve out an exception to syntactic norms and allow 'home' the status of an adjective.
Two adjuncts can be coordinated if they are of the same grammatical
function and semantic class; eg direction adjuncts
Elegantly put. :up:
My way is up the stairs. :tick:
:?:My way is upstairs. -- direction adjunct
1. My way is up the stairs and to home.
2. My way is upstairs and home.
How does the sentence 2 lose its grammaticality?
Quirk et al.
I agree.It's a big book! Page numbers would be appreciated...
I agree.
At p520 of the 1985 Quirk et al Comprehensive Grammar (there are, as you know, others), I found: "Two adjuncts can be coordinated if they are of the same grammatical
function and semantic class; eg [STRIKE]direction[/STRIKE] position adjuncts ..."
I could find no sign of: "1. My way is up the stairs and to home.
2. My way is upstairs and home."
to my mind, the structure is [the way [back home]], i.e. with 'back' as a modifying adjunct to 'home', making it an adverb rather than an adjective.
YES! You are 100% correct.
Angela Downing in English Grammar / A University Course writes:
"Adverbs of space or time are frequently modified by other adverbs of space or time."
She then gives these examples:
out there
back home
*****
Robert Beard in Lexeme-Morpheme writes:
"The residue class of adverbs contains items of three types: (i) some of Jackenoff's 'intransitive prepositions.' "
He gives these examples: back, home, here, there.
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