Guide to English grammar

12 Extra adverbials

1 Look at these clause patterns. These adverbials cannot be left out. They are necessary to complete the sentence.

Subject The conference Subject He

Verb is Verb put

Adverbial every year. Object the coat

Adverbial over his arm.

2 We can add extra adverbials to any of the clause patterns.

At last a coach stopped.
The coach was carrying detectives on their way home from a conference on crime.
He had recently become a detective inspector.
The conference is every year, presumably.
At once the thief gave the inspector his coat.
He probably considered himself rather unlucky.
He casually put the coat over his arm.
These extra adverbials can be left out. They are not necessary to complete the sentence.
An extra adverbial does not affect the word order in the rest of the sentence, and the subject-verb order stays the same.
At last a coach stopped.

For details about the position of adverbials, • 208.

NOTE
Another extra element is the name or description of the person spoken to. As well as in statements, it can come in questions and imperatives.
You're in trouble, my friend. Sarah, what are you doing?
Come on everybody, let's go!

13 And and or

1 We can link two or more phrases with and/or. They usually come only once, before the last item. Here are some examples with noun phrases.