THEME 15.

THE EXPRESSION OF MANNER, MEANS AND INSTRUMENT.

OUTLINE.

1. INTRODUCTION.

2. THE EXPRESSION OF MANNER, MEANS AND INSTRUMENT.

3. THE EXPRESSION OF MANNER.

3.1. Adverbs.
3.1.1. Adverbs ending in –ly.
3.1.2. Spelling difficulties.
3.1.3. Adverbs and adjectives.
3.1.4. Other suffixes.
3.1.5. Adverbs.
3.2. Position of adverbs.
3.3. Other ways of expressing manner.
3.3.1. Prepositional phrases.
3.3.2. Comparison.
3.3.3. Verbs.
3.3.4. Noun phrases.
3.4. Adjectives used instead of adverbs.

4. THE EXPRESSION OF MEANS.

4.1. Adverbs in –ly.
4.2. Prepositional phrases.
4.3. Noun phrases.
4.4. Verbs.

5. THE EXPRESSION OF INSTRUMENT.

5.1. Prepositional phrases: with, by.
5.2. Noun phrases.
5.3. Verbs.

6. OVERLAPPING.

7. ADVERBIALS: ADJUNCTS, CONJUNCTS, DISJUNCTS AND SUBJUNCTS.

8. CONCLUSION.

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
1. INTRODUCTION.

It is, at this point, essential to remark that we are in a transition period in which the repealed
LOMCE still affects 2022-23 curriculum. LOMLOE, 3/2020, on its fifth provision, states that the
new curricular and organizational implementations will only affect odd 1sr, 3rd grades in
2022/23 school year, and 2nd and 4th in the following year. Following this actual calendar, RD
217/2022, March 29th, is in effect but non-applicable. It is, therefore, the repealed RD1105/2014
the source for the basic curriculum in secondary education. Equally, order ECD65/2015 and all
references to contents, 7 key competences, and learning standards (illustrative as per
RD984/2021) will be applied during the transition period. Needless to say, the equivalent
regional legislation will follow the same calendar, in the case of *comunidad autónoma*, decree
XXX will still establish the curriculum …

2. THE EXPRESSION OF MANNER, MEANS AND INSTRUMENT.

If you want to specify HOW an action is performed or HOW an event takes place, you can use an
adverbial of manner, means or instrument. By adverbial we mean an adverb, an adverbial
phrase, a prepositional phrase or a noun phrase. If we talk about a journalist who is writing an
article we can answer the question “How did he write the article?” in several ways: He wrote it -
simply / - by hand / - with a fountain pen.
Three observations can be made:
- the three sentences are three answers to only one question.
- the adverbials have an end-position, in other words, they are placed after the verb.
- and just looking at the variable part of the sentences, we see that nº1 is an adverb, and nº2 & nº3
are prepositional phrases. But these adverbials express different meanings:
How did he write the letter? He wrote it - simply.(manner).- by hand (means).- with a fountain pen
(instrument).
MANNER expresses the way you do something.
MEANS expresses the method, instrument or process that allows you to do something.
INSTRUMENT: it's a tool or device used to do a particular task.
But manner, means and instrument are not only expressed by adverbs and prepositional phrases.
They could also be expressed by the most important and necessary element of a sentence: the
verb.

3. THE EXPRESSION OF MANNER.

Manner is the way in which you do something. The main method of expressing manner is by
adverbs or adverbial phrases.

3.1. Adverbs:

3.1.1. Adverbs ending in -ly.

Many adverbs of manner and degree are derived from adjectives and participles by means of the
adverbial suffix “-ly”: beautiful, beautifully, stupid , stupidly, obvious, obviously.
But in some cases the addition of -ly to an adjective forms both an adverb and a new adjective:
kind words (adjective), to speak kindly (adverb), kindly heart (adjective).
There are also some adjectives ending in -ly which cannot be used as adverbs. Instead we have to
use an adverbial phrase: silly, in a silly way, friendly, in a friendly way.
Frequently the adjective form and the adjective +-ly form are used as adverbs but they have
different meanings:
Close (near) close to the station
Closely (carefully) watch him closely
Free (without payment) all members are admitted free
Freely (unchecked) the blood flowed freely
Just (very recently) he has just arrived
Justly (with justice) he was justly pardoned
Hard (intensive adverb) it rained hard last night
Hardly (barely) we hardly ever go there

When we add the suffix -ly to form an adverb, there may be some changes in the spelling:

3.1.2. Spelling difficulties:

-Adjectives ending in -y: Consonant + y. The y changes to i: happy, happily. Vowel + y. The y
is retained: coy, coyly. Note the exception: day, daily.
-Adjectives ending in -e: Sometimes this is retained and sometimes it is not: extreme, extremely;
true, truly.
-Adjectives ending in vowel + l: They double the -l: final, finally.
-Adjectives ending in -le: They change to -ly: noble, nobly; simple, simply.
-Adjectives ending in -able, -ible: The final -e changes to -y: sensible, sensibly; capable,
capably.

3.1.3. Adverbs which have the same form as the adjective and also the same meaning such as
far, little, much, straight, well, etc.: the far horizon (adjective); she travelled far (adverb); a
straight line(adjective); go straight in (adverb). Words indicating time and ending in -ly, such as
early, weekly, hourly: an hourly service of trains (adjective); the medicine should be taken hourly
(adverb). Fast, late and hard are also examples of this.

3.1.4. Adverbs formed with other suffixes: -wards: used in adverbs of manner and direction: to
walk backwards -wise and -ways: used with the meaning of “in the manner of, “as far as… is
concerned”: Place the sticks crosswise; He looked sideways at her.

3.1.5. Adverbs formed from other parts of speech by the addition of the prefix -a: ashore, adrift
abroad , aloud.

3.2. Position of adverbs.

As we have seen, an adverb need not necessarily be of manner. Very often the position of the
adverb is very important for determining the function. Normally, manner adverbs appear at the
end of the sentence: He drove the car slowly down the county lane.
We could look at some cases where we have adverbs which have different functions: My mother
drives badly (manner adverb). The lawn badly needs cutting (the adverb is a reinforcement of the
verb, meaning that the grass is very long and it urgently needs cutting). So by changing the
position of the adverb we change the meaning of it.
Another important detail is that adverbs can be graded: My mother drives very badly
Adverbs of manner are usually placed after the verb they qualify. If the verb has an object the
adverb comes after the object: Listen carefully;
Your daughter speaks English very well . In passive constructions, adverbs of manner are very
often placed before the participle, although final position is also possible: Tear gas was
indiscriminately sprayed on the protesters.

3.3. Other ways of expressing manner.

3.3.1. Prepositional Phrases.

Manner can also be achieved by prepositional phrases, that is, a preposition+ a noun phrase.
Some common prepositional phrases for the expression of manner are:
-with/without+ noun phrase: he wrote it with simplicity; or he obeyed without question.
-in a+ adjective +way/manner: he wrote it in a simple way/manner.
These are three ways of expressing the same idea. But we have to bear in mind that when a
manner adverb is available, it's better to use the adverb instead of the prepositional phrase, as it
has the advantage of being shorter and less formal than the others.

3.3.2. Comparison.
A manner phrase sometimes expresses a comparison, introduced by “like” or by “as”: But the
example: Sue is the manager, as the manager, she has to make important decisions; is different
from: Mary is the assistant manager, like the manager (Sue), she also has to make important
decisions. There's a difference in the use of the sentences.
-“like”: refers to a resemblance (after the manner of). In other words, she acts in the same way
the manager acts, she is similar to the manager
-“as”: refers to actual role (in capacity of). He acts as a manager because she is a manager, so she
is supposed to act in that way, she has the position of manager.
-We can also mention the expression from French: á la, that describes the way a dish should be
prepared: I like spaghetti â la Bolognese.
-as if/ as though can also express manner, when the comparison is an unreal situation: He behaves
as if/though he were a manager (but he is not a manager).
-suffixes -wise, -style, -fashion.
Other minor methods of expressing manner are adding -wise, -style and -fashion to a noun. These
suffixes are considered as a miscellaneous group that describes the way in which we do
something: Don’t hide the head in the sand, ostrich-wise; He jumps cowboy-style; He learns those
words parrot-fashion. These expressions could be paraphrased by means of post-modification, in
this way: Don’t hide the head in the sand, in the manner of an ostrich; he jumps in the style of
cowboys; she learns those words in the fashion of parrots.

3.3.3. Verbs.
Another way of expressing manner is through the verb. English is very productive in this sense
because manner can be expressed by adverbs, prepositional phrases, comparison and also by
verbs. He always says what he thinks aloud (adverb). He always speaks up what he thinks (verb).
To express the different ways in which we look or walk or even laugh we use the verb (expressing
manner): People walking along the streets: Old man who hobbles, young man who runs, paces,
dawdles, strolls, creeps, ....Look: stare, peep, glare, glance, ..

3.3.4. Noun phrases.

Finally, noun phrases, which can be regarded as prepositional phrases where the preposition in has
been omitted, can also express manner: I did it (in) my way.

3.4. Adjectives used instead of adverbs.

Sometimes a verb is followed by an adjective instead of an adverb of manner. This can happen for
several reasons:
-Because the verb is a verb of perception, such as “look,, seem, taste, feel, smell, etc”, in this case
they are followed by a subject complement: the liquid tasted awful. However, if these verbs refer
to actions they are used with adverbs, e.g. I tasted the soup suspiciously
-Other verbs are followed by adjectives when they describe the subject of the sentence, not the
action. This often happens in descriptions with “sit, stand, or lie”: She sat motionless, waiting for
their decision. Some verbs are used to show how the subject changes in some way and then is
followed by adjectives: She fell unconscious on the floor. It’s getting dark. Adjectives are also
used to show a change in the Object of the sentence: She drives me mad . In certain substandard
varieties of English, adjectives often replace adverbs of manner, as if the -ly suffix had been
dropped: Love me tender, love me true.

4. THE EXPRESSION OF MEANS.

Means is the method, instrument or process which allows you to make something possible.

4.1. Adverbs in -ly.

The typical way of expressing means is by adverbs ending in –ly, so students will find the same
problems already explained when talking about manner. He decided to treat the patient surgically,
meaning that the doctor decided that his patient needs to undergo surgery.

4.2. Prepositional phrases:

-By + noun. But “means” is realized mostly by prepositional phrases introduced by the
preposition “by”: He dreams of travelling by plane. We have to mention that the article is omitted
in by-phrases denoting communication, transport, services: by plane, by boat, by post, by radio, by
letter... except when we talk about possession: He dreams of travelling in his father's plane. It is
interesting to note that there is some confusion among our students when trying to express means
of transport: by train, by bus, by taxi, by car but on foot, on horseback.
We sometimes prefer to replace the preposition of means -by, by a different type of prepositional
phrase: How does he get in the house? He gets in it by the backdoor. He gets in it through the
window. We also use different prepositions when we talk about mass media: he saw his plane on
TV.
-By+ gerund: to express means we also use the preposition by+ gerund: He won the race by
cycling faster than the others. So, -by can be followed by a noun or a gerund.
-“By means of”+ noun. We can also find the complex preposition “by means of” which focuses
on the method used to achieve something: He gained the entry into the building by means of a
bribe to the guard.
-Without+ gerund conveys the opposite meaning to “by”. Without is followed by “any”, not
“some”: She reached the shelf without standing on a chair; or the houses were built without using
any wood.

4.3. Noun phrases:

Means is sometimes expressed by means of noun phrases, which can be considered as related to
prepositional phrases: He travelled to Washington (by) first class.
4.4. Verbs:

Verbs can also serve to express means. The interesting thing is that English is very rich in verbs of
means and this causes problems to students when they try to translate them: to drive, to sail, to
cycle, to fly, these verbs contain a lot of information, so English in this sense is a very rich
language: He cycled home, this sentence could be difficult to translate. He sent the letter by post
(adverb of means) could be re-written as He posted the letter (the relation between the verb and
the direct object expresses the idea of means). This verb describes the means we use to send
something, and it is rather difficult to find an equivalent verb translation in Spanish.

5. THE EXPRESSION OF INSTRUMENT.

An instrument is a tool or device used to do a particular task. Instrument can be expressed by

adverbs ending in -ly, so students will find again the same problems already explained when
talking about manner. He examined his plane microscopically.
But instrument is commonly expressed by:

5.1. A prepositional phrase

Introduced by the preposition with: He examined his plane with a microscope. The non-use of an
instrument can be expressed by the preposition without: He examined his plane without a
microscope (but with other tool). Sometimes we can use the preposition by to express instrument.
So, we could say: He was killed with an arrow or he was killed by an arrow. The difference is that
the with-phrase always implies an agentive sentence: someone killed him with an arrow; whereas
the by-phrase corresponds to the subject of the active sentence: an arrow killed him.

5.2. Noun phrases

They can also express instrument, as it happens in: Fly (with) Air France. Subjects have the role
of instrument when they refer to the thing with which an agent performs the action expressed by
the verb as it happens in the following examples: the knife has cut the tablecloth.

5.3. Verbs

They are another way of expressing instrument. Jack received also some books and he started to
order them in the bookcase of his room. We can say: He classified the books with labels (prep.)or
He labelled the books (verb). There is a pair of verbs which imply the use of an instrument as in:
Spray the plants (with a spray), Water the garden, Hose the garden (with a hose pipe). Sometimes
we find that the instrument is an invention and then it is transformed into a verb, or the verb is the
name of the Trademark: She hoovered the carpet, We sellotaped the paper on the wall.

6. OVERLAPPING.

Sometimes when we are analysing a sentence formed by : Subject + Verb + Object Complement +
Adverbial, we find that the distinction between the expression of means and the expression of
instrument is not clear because it's not always so easy to draw a clear line between these concepts.
He examined his plane microscopically. We are not sure if it expresses means (where we can
paraphrase the sentence saying: he examined his plane by means of a microscope) or instrument
(paraphrasing it: he examined his plane with a microscope).
But the problem becomes bigger when we think about the expression of manner. How do we know
when it is expressing manner, means or instrument?
Adverbs of means and instrument cannot be modified while manner adverbs can. He examined his
plane very microscopically expresses manner, so we can paraphrase it: he examined his plane in
great detail
In this sentence: You can pay with credit card, it results very difficult to say if we are talking
about means or instrument. The prepositional phrase with credit card can be considered to express
instrument (a credit card is an instrument that is used to pay), or it could express means (a credit
card is a kind of service). Our understanding of the utterance will ultimately depend on the
context. So we have to focus ourselves on the context in order to know if the sentence refers to an
expression of manner, means or instrument.

7. ADVERBIALS

To finish off, let’s briefly explain adverbials, since they are in many cases the ways of expressing
manner, means and instrument. Adverbials fall into four main categories: adjuncts, conjuncts,
disjuncts and subjuncts.
-Adjuncts are a type of adverbial indicating the circumstances of the action. Adjuncts may be
obligatory or optional. They express such relations as time, place, manner, reason, condition, i.e.
She was walking slowly (manner adjunct).
-Conjuncts are a type of adverbial. Conjuncts bind together sentences, and express relations
between them: e.g. contrast (however, on the other hand), similarity (likewise, similarly),
continuation (furthermore, moreover), digression/change of topic (anyway), sequence (first, to
begin with, secondly, finally, to conclude). Conjuncts can also be described as text organizers, in
that they guide the hearer/reader through the text, showing how the different pieces hang together,
and where they belong in the text.
-Disjuncts are a type of adverbial that is always optional in the clause. Disjuncts are evaluative;
they express the speaker's judgement of the truth of the utterance: (modal disjuncts): probably,
certainly, maybe), the speaker's evaluation of a fact (fact-evaluating disjuncts, e.g. fortunately,
actually, to my surprise), the speaker's comment on his/her own wording of the sentence (e.g.
briefly, in other words, to tell you the truth), or the speaker’s comment on the subject referent
(subject-evaluating disjuncts, e.g. Wisely, she spent the money = 'she was wise to spend the
money.
-Subjuncts may have a parenthetic role regarding the whole sentence, in this case they have wide
orientation and they are classified as viewpoint and courtesy subjuncts. In case they refer to some
specific element within the sentence they have narrow orientation and are classified as:
emphasizer, intensifier, focusing and manner subjuncts. e.g. Intentionally, they said nothing about
the fire.

8. CONCLUSION

Our students are now required to express their ideas and communicate in the foreign language. To
achieve this they will need to learn how to express different notions and quality among them. That
is why this unit is so relevant for second language teaching. Otherwise how would an English
student beg his teacher to pass him because, he studied hard and he did his exam without cribs?

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Some of the books I have checked to elaborate this unit, all of them published in the 2 nd half of the
20th century, are the following:
THOMSON,A &MARTINET,A.A Practical English Grammar. Longman. London 1984
QUIRK, R. GREENBAUM, S.A University Grammar of English. Longman. London 1973.
BIBER, D. LEECH,G. Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Longman. London 1999.
SANCHEZ BENEDITO, Fco. Gramática Inglesa. Longman. London 2007.