Subject Positions and the Placement of Adverbials

The position of adverbs relative to other elements has been a critical diagnostic in the analysis of phrase structure. Earlier generative work on adverbs, such as that of Jackendoff 1972 and Ernst 1984, allowed for some flexibility in adverb placement, but noted certain regularities. Work on other aspects of clausal structure, such as that of Emonds 1976 and Platzack 1983, exploited the regularities, taking adverbs to mark phrasal boundaries, and used them to demonstrate the movement of other elements across them. Such work has actually been the primary motivation for functional heads in the clause. Morphological evidence is also used but usually in a supporting role. In this section I briefly examine some of the basic arguments using adverbs to motivate models of phrase structure. My purpose here is not to restate the arguments that have been made, which are explicated clearly in such works as Webelhuth 1992, Holmberg & Platzack 1995, Vikner 1995, and references there. My purpose in this section is rather to point out the extent to which adverb placement has been used as a diagnostic for the movement or location of other elements.

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