Adverbials may be adjuncts, disjuncts or conjuncts.
1. Adjuncts are integrated into the clause - eg
He walked slowly out of the room.
Syntactic tests for adjuncts are :
- They can't appear initially in a negative declarative sentence :
- They can be contrasted with another adverbial in "alternative" interrogatives :
Did he walk quickly or slowly? Did he walk into the room or out of the room?
and negatives :
He didn't walk quickly and he didn't walk slowly, but at average speed.
He didn't walk into the room or out of the room - he ran.
He was, quite frankly, the best person for the job.
It was pouring with rain. However, he insisted on going out
They satisfy none of the syntactic criteria given above for adjuncts - for example, they can (and often do) appear initially in a negative declarative sentence :
Quite frankly, he wasn't the best person for the job.
However, he didn't insist on going out.
3. Disjuncts and conjuncts are distinguished semantically:
- Disjuncts convey the speaker/writer's attitude to the proposition (idea of the sentence):
Quite frankly, he wasn't the best person for the job.
If you ask me, we should have stayed at home.
Unfortunately, we were too late.
- Conjuncts convey the logical relationship between the idea in the current clause and a previous one - eg cause and effect (example 1), concession (example 2), contrast, addition (example 3) exemplification etc etc etc:
2. It was pouring with rain. However, he insisted on going out.
3. I don't want to go. Besides, I'm busy that day.
For Further Reference
This is a complex area, and only a simplified account has been given here. For a much fuller explanation see either of the following:
http://www.slideshare.net/PhamVanvanDinh/week-11-adverbial-adjuncts-conjuncts-disjuncts
Quirk, R. et al (1972) A Grammar of Contemporary English, Longman Chapter Eight
