Adverbial phrases
Adverbs are describing words which modify verbs. They say how, where or when a verb takes place. The dog was barking furiously. = how = an adverb of manner The dog was barking yesterday. = when = an adverb of time The dog was barking nearby. = where = an adverb of place They could all be in one sentence! Yesterday, the dog was barking furiously nearby. Adverbial phrases do the same job as adverbs. They tell how, when or where a verb is taking place but they use more than one word to do this. This collection of words must not contain a verb. The dog was barking in an upset way. = how The dog was barking through the night. = when The dog was barking at the front door. = where Adverbial clauses do the same job as adverbs. They tell how, when or where a verb is taking place but, like adverbial phrases, they take more than one word to do this. Unlike adverbial phrases, this collection of words contains a finite verb. The verb is underlined in the examples. The dog was barking as his owner had trained him. The dog was barking until the owner stopped him. The dog was barking where he had heard a noise. Relating it to the text – Dombey and Son Dickens makes extensive use of adverbial phrases in this extract. Examples of adverbial phrases are:  ‘with a shriek’ 
 ‘through the heart of every obstacle’ 
These adverbial phrases all begin with a preposition. © www.teachit.co.uk 2010
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Adverbial phrases
The table below shows how you might write about this in the language section of your response. Point In the second paragraph, Dickens repeatedly uses an identically structured adverbial phrase. Evidence Explanation ‘through the fields’, ‘through the corn’, ‘through the clay’ and ‘through the rock’ This emphasises the train’s power and unyielding ability to go through any terrain. In the third paragraph, ‘on the height’, ‘by the Dickens continues his pattern garden’, ‘over the canal’ and of a string of adverbial phrases ‘across the river’ but he uses a range of prepositions in them. This now conveys the changing shape of the landscape through which the train passes. Dickens also uses adverbial clauses in this extract, e.g.: ‘where the sheep are feeding’. Below is an example of how you might write about this in the language section of your answer. Point Evidence Explanation In the third paragraph, Dickens extends the adverbial modification into the use of clauses such as … …‘where the sheep are feeding’, ‘where the mill is going’, ‘where the factory is smoking’, ‘where the stream is running.’ This stresses the range of locations that the train speeds past, some rural and some industrial. The changing verbs emphasise the variety of activities that happen there. Task 1. Find at least three more examples of adverbial phrases that Dickens uses in this extract. Try to make PEE statements out of them. 2. Try to find examples of adverbial phrases or clauses used to specific effect in other texts in the anthology. You might like to take texts 9, 18, 22 and 24 as a starting point. © www.teachit.co.uk 2010
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