Introduction

A combination of adjuncts is defined as a sequence in which at least two adverbial slots in a clause are filled; see section 3.4. Combinations are thus discontinuous sequences, in contrast to clusters, which are sequences of adjacent adjuncts. The reasons for adverbial placement in combinations are more than likely to reflect those found with adverbials generally (see chapters 4–7). Hence, adjuncts will occur in initial position for reasons of, for example, cohesion and thematisation (section 4.4); medial position will favour short adjuncts of time and manner, and end position will be the default position for most adjuncts and certainly the unmarked choice for obligatory and/or predicational adjuncts (section 6.2.9). However, combinations of adjuncts are interesting in a functional study of word order; as most adjuncts are not confined to a particular position, a combination can illustrate the competition between adjuncts for the ‘same’ position, and also how the various principles of adverbial placement may pull adjuncts in different directions (section 3.6).

Positional types of combinations

The combinations have been grouped according to the positions that the adjuncts occupy. This results in five combination types, exemplified by (1)–(5).

1. (1) Tomorrow I'm meeting Sarah Duncan for lunch <W1B-004> (I+E)

2. (2) In her letters to Mum it often seems that she has forgotten that she is writing to her daughter: <W1B-015> (I+M)

3. (3) But citizenship no longer carried with it equal rights under the law; <W2A-001> (two types of medial)

4. (4) Not a very big field but uh the race's usually won by a horse of moment <S2A-006> (M+E)

5. […]