Adverbiivisen

Adverbiivisen is a term used in linguistic discussions of Finnish grammar to describe elements that function as adverbials in a clause. The word derives from the Finnish adverbiivinen, meaning adverbial, and it is employed to refer to items that provide circumstantial information about an action or state, such as time, place, manner, cause, or concession.

In practice, adverbiivisen can be realized in several forms. The simplest are adverbs, such as tänään (today) or nopeasti (quickly), which directly modify a verb or the entire predicate. Adverbiivinen may also appear as adverbial phrases, for example tässä kaupungissa (in this city) or aikaisin aamulla (early in the morning), which function as more elaborate modifiers. Finally, adverbiivisen can take the form of adverbial clauses, such as Kun hän saapuu (When he arrives) or Koska satoi, jäimme kotiin (Because it was raining, we stayed home), where the clause itself expresses circumstantial information about the main proposition.

The precise scope and terminology of adverbiivisen vary among grammars. Some grammarians use adverbiivinen as a broad label for all adverbial modifiers, spanning adverbs, adverbial phrases, and adverbial clauses. Others reserve the term for specific adverbial constructions, such as certain adverbial clauses, and use alternative labels for adverbs and adverbial phrases. Across analyses, the functional core remains: adverbiivisen items modify the predicate or the whole clause by supplying information about time, place, manner, cause, or other circumstantial relations.

See also: Adverb, Adverbial phrase, Adverbial clause, Finnish grammar.