Collins Cobuild English Grammar (169 page)

BE CREATIVE

9.61
    Another way of saying something like
with regard to money
is
money-wise
. You add the suffix
-wise
to a noun referring to the aspect you mean. This is generally used to avoid the creation of long phrases.

What do you want to do
job-wise
when the time comes?
We are mostly Socialists
vote-wise
.

Emphasizing

9.62
    You may want to emphasize the truth of your statement or to stress the seriousness of the situation you are describing. You can do this using the following sentence adverbials:

above all

actually

at all

believe me

by all means

even

for heaven’s sake

indeed

positively

really

simply

so

surely

to put it mildly

to say the least

truly

without exception

Sometimes we
actually
dared to penetrate their territory.
Above all
, do not be too proud to ask for advice.
Eight years was
indeed
a short span of time.
I
really
am sorry.
Believe me
, if you get robbed, the best thing to do is forget about it.

Note that
indeed
is often used after adjectives with
very
.

I think she is a
very
stupid person
indeed
.

At all
is used for emphasis in negative clauses, usually at the end.

I didn’t like it
at all
.
I would not be
at all
surprised if they turned out to be the same person.

Surely
is used when you are appealing for agreement.

Surely
it is better to know the truth.
Here,
surely
, is a case for treating people as individuals.

Even
is placed in front of a word or group to draw attention to a surprising part of what you are saying.

Even
at midday the air was chilly.
Some men were
even
singing.
There was no one in the cafe, not
even
a waiter.

So
is used as an emphatic introduction when agreeing or commenting.

‘Derek! It’s raining!’ – ‘So it is.’
‘He’s very grateful!’ – ‘So he should be.’

By all means
is used for emphasis when giving permission.

If your baby likes water,
by all means
give it to him.

For heaven’s sake
is used when making a request or asking a question.

For heaven’s sake
, stop doing that, Chris.
What are you staring at,
for heaven’s sake
?

emphasizing that something is exact:
exactly
,
just
,
precisely
, etc.

9.63
    You may want to emphasize that your statement is not only generally true, but that it is true in all its details. The adverbs
exactly
,
just
, and
precisely
are used for this.

They’d always treated her
exactly
as if she were their own daughter.
Their decor was
exactly
right.
I know
just
how you feel.
The peasants are weak
precisely
because they are poor.

Focusing on the most important thing

9.64
    There are certain adverbials you can use if you want to focus on the most important thing in what you are saying, for example the main reason for something or the main quality of something.

I’m
particularly
interested in classical music.
They have been used in certain countries,
notably
in South America.
We want
especially
to thank all our friends for their support.

The following adverbials can be used like this:

chiefly

especially

mainly

mostly

notably

particularly

predominantly

primarily

principally

specially

specifically

restricting:
only
,
just
, etc.

9.65
    Some of these adverbials can be used to emphasize that only one particular thing is involved in what you are saying.

The drug is given
only
to seriously ill patients.
This is
solely
a matter of money.
It’s a large canvas covered with
just
one colour.

The following adverbials can be used like this:

alone

exclusively

just

only

purely

simply

solely

selecting:
especially
,
notably
, etc.

9.66
    Adverbials for focusing can be used to add a further piece of information that selects a particular group of people or things from a larger set. They can be used in this way with noun phrases, prepositional phrases, adjectives, and subordinate clauses.

I enjoy the company of young people,
especially
my grandchildren.
In some communities,
notably
the inner cities, the treatment has backfired.
They were
mostly
professional people.
You’ll enjoy it down in LA,
especially
if you get a job.

position of focusing adverbials

9.67
    In careful writing, adverbials that are used for focusing are usually put immediately in front of the word or clause element they apply to, in order to avoid ambiguity. In speech, it is usually clear from the intonation of the speaker what they apply to.

However, in many cases the focusing adverbial does not necessarily focus on the word or element immediately after it. For example, in the sentence
He mainly reads articles about mechanical things
the word
mainly
almost certainly applies to
about mechanical things
, not to
reads
.

Focusing adverbials are not normally used at the beginning of a sentence. However, you can use
only
to begin a sentence when it focuses on the thing that follows it.

Only
thirty-five per cent of four-year-olds get nursery education.
Only
in science fiction is the topic touched on.

You can use
just
and
simply
at the beginning of sentences giving instructions.

Just
add boiling water.
Simply
remove the packaging, and plug the machine in.

Alone
is always used after the element that it focuses on.
Only
is sometimes used in this position.

People don’t work for money
alone
.
They were identified by their first names
only
.

In informal speech and writing, other focusing adverbials are sometimes used after the element they focus on. For example, you can say
We talked about me mostly
instead of
We talked mostly about me
.

We have talked about France
mainly
.
Chocolate,
particularly
, is suspected of causing decay of the teeth.
In the early years,
especially
, a child may be afraid of many things.

This position can also be used when adding a piece of information.

He liked America, New York
particularly
.
She was busy writing, poetry
mostly
.

USAGE NOTE

9.68
    Some other adverbials can be used to focus on additional information. The adverbs of degree
largely
,
partly
, and
entirely
, and adverbs of frequency such as
usually
and
often
can be used.