Collins Cobuild English Grammar (170 page)

The situation had been created
largely
by the press.
The house was cheap
partly
because it was falling down and
partly
because it was in a dangerous area.
The females care for their young
entirely
by themselves.
They often fought each other,
usually
as a result of arguments over money.
Some people refuse to give evidence,
often
because they feel intimidated.

The phrase
in particular
, which has a similar meaning to
particularly
, can be used in the positions shown in the examples below.

Wednesday
in particular
is very busy.
Next week we shall be taking a look at education and
in particular
primary schools.
He shouted at the children and at Otto
in particular
.
In particular
, I’m going to concentrate on hydro-electricity.

Other information structures

Putting something first:
In his pocket was a pen
,
Why she’s here I don’t know

9.69
    In English, the first element in a declarative clause is usually the subject of the verb. However, if you want to emphasize another element, you can put that first instead.

Sometimes when this takes place the normal order of subject and verb is changed.

adverbials first

9.70
    Adverbs and prepositional phrases can often be put first. This is the normal position for
sentence adverbials
(see paragraph
9.56
), so they are not particularly emphatic in this position. Other phrases are sometimes placed first, usually to make descriptions more dramatic or vivid in stories and accounts.

At eight o’clock
I went down for my breakfast.
For years
I’d had to hide what I was thinking.

The subject and verb often change place after prepositional phrases relating to place, and after negative adverbials.

In his pocket
was a bag of money
.
On no account
must they be let in
.

For general information on
adverbials
, see
Chapter 6
.
Negative adverbials
are dealt with in
Chapter 5
.

reported question first

9.71
    When you are saying that you do not know something, you can put the
reported question
first.

What I’m going to do next
I don’t quite know.
How he escaped serious injury
I can’t imagine.

For more information on
reported questions
, see paragraphs
7.32
to
7.38
.

other parts of the clause

9.72
    An adjective or noun phrase can occasionally be put before a linking verb, but this is not common.

Noreen
, she was called. She came from the village.
Rare
is the individual who does not belong to one of these groups.

The object of a verb is sometimes put first, usually in formal or literary uses. Note that the subject still has to be mentioned.

The money
I gave to the agent.
If they sensed my fear, they would attack.
This
I knew.

Introducing your statement:
The problem is…, The thing is…

9.73
    People often use structures that point forward to what they are going to say and classify or label it in some way. These are sometimes called
prefacing structures
or
prefaces
.

A preface usually introduces the second part of the same sentence, usually a
that
-clause or a
wh
-clause. However, you can also use a whole sentence as the preface to another sentence (see paragraph
9.78
).

pointing forward to the second part of sentence

9.74
    A common prefacing structure is
the
and a noun, followed by
is
; e.g.
The answer is
….
The noun is sometimes modified by an adjective, or there is sometimes extra information in the form of a phrase or a clause after it. The nouns most commonly used in this structure are:

answer

conclusion

fact

point

problem

question

rule

solution

thing

tragedy

trouble

truth

wonder

The fact is
,
the point is
, and
the thing is
are used to show that what you are about to say is important.

The simple fact is
that if you get ill, you may be unable to take the examination.
The point is
to find out who was responsible.
The thing is
, how are we to get her out?

classifying

9.75
    Some of these nouns are used in to indicate what sort of thing you are about to say.

The rule is
: if in doubt, dry clean.
Is photography an art or a science?
The answer is
that it is both.
The obvious conclusion is
that man is not responsible for what he does.

labelling

9.76
    Some of these nouns are used to label what you are going to talk about.

The problem is
that the demand for health care is unlimited.
The only solution is
to approach each culture with an open mind.
The answer is
planning, timing, and, above all, practical experience.

other ways of labelling

9.77
    
Split sentences
(see paragraphs
9.25
to
9.30
) can be used in labelling.

What we need
is law and order.

Impersonal
it
structures with adjectives followed by a
that
-clause are a less emphatic way of prefacing (see paragraph
9.42
).

It is interesting
that the new products sell better on the web than in shops.

You can use the sentence adverbials
at any rate
,
at least
, and
rather
as prefaces when you are slightly correcting a previous statement, often after
or
.

This had saved her life; or
at any rate
her sanity.

Anyway
can also be used, usually after the correction.

It is, for most of its length
anyway
, a romantic comedy.

using whole sentences to point forward

9.78
    A whole sentence can be used to point forward to the sentence or sentences that follow it. For example, a sentence containing an adjective like
interesting
,
remarkable
, or
funny
, or a general abstract word such as
reason
or
factor
(see paragraphs
10.19
to
10.23
), is often used as a preface.

It was a bit
strange
. Nobody was talking to each other.
This has had very
interesting
effects on different people.
There were other
factors
, of course: I too was tired of Miami.
But there were
problems
. How could we get to Edinburgh without a car?

Focusing on the speaker’s attitude

9.79
    There are several ways that speakers can focus on their attitude towards what they are saying, and who they are talking to.

Certain adverbials indicate your attitude to what you are saying. These are explained in paragraphs
9.80
to
9.90
.

Other structures can be used to show strong reactions, or exclamations. These are explained in paragraph
9.91
to
9.94
.

Finally, you can show the way you feel towards people, and indicate your relationship to them by the way you address them. Different ways of addressing people are explained in paragraphs
9.95
to
9.99
.

Indicating your attitude to what you are saying

indicating your opinion

9.80
    One way of showing your reaction to, or your opinion of, the fact or event you are talking about is by using
commenting adverbials
, which comment on the whole message given in a sentence.

Surprisingly
, I found myself enjoying the play.
Luckily
, I had seen the play before so I knew what it was about.
It was,
fortunately
, not a bad accident, and Henry is only slightly hurt.
Interestingly
, the solution adopted in these two countries was the same.

The following adverbials are commonly used in this way:

absurdly

admittedly

alas

anyway

astonishingly

at least

characteristically

coincidentally

conveniently

curiously

fortunately

happily

incredibly

interestingly

ironically

luckily

mercifully

miraculously

mysteriously

naturally

oddly

of course

paradoxically

please

predictably

remarkably

sadly

significantly

strangely

surprisingly

true

typically

unbelievably

understandably

unexpectedly

unfortunately