Subject-Relatedness in-lyPremodifying Adverbs

Subject-orientation has been described as depending for its occurrence on a number of variables, on whose number or influence there is still little agreement. Based on evidence obtained from the British National Corpus, this paper examines the role of these variables in subject-orientation in “-ly” adverbs as premodifiers in adjective phrases. In particular, it discusses cases of orientation as coexisting with the expression of adverbial meanings, that is subject-orientation, and also cases where “-ly” adverbs premodifying adjectives show predication but not adverbial meaning, here referred to as subject-relatedness. The paper confirms that lexical features play a major role for subject-orientation to the detriment of syntactic position and explores the lexical features that determine subject-relatedness in “-ly” premodifying adverbs.