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Double fronted adverbials with the same meaning

English Language & Usage Asked by Binabik on July 30, 2021

For me, double fronted adverbials make sense and sound fine when they have different meanings or tones, for example:

Slowly, without enthusiasm, he picked up the board and…

But in some texts I’ve noticed the writer using two fronted adverbials with practically the same meaning. As an example:

Apparently, so they said, everything in this world was…

It sounds strange to me, but I wonder if this is some writing method I’m not familiar with, since English isn’t my first language? Maybe a way to accentuate?

One Answer

Actually, there is a word for this in grammar: Asyndetic Coordination.

an asyndetic coordination is a type of coordination in which no coordinating conjunction is present between the conjuncts.

Quickly, resolutely, he strode into the bank.

No coordinator is present here, but the conjoins are still coordinated.

And according to "Thoughts.co" (Richard Nordquist):

Asyndeton is a rhetorical term for a writing style that omits conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses... According to Edward Corbett and Robert Connors, "The principal effect of asyndeton is to produce a hurried rhythm in the sentence."(Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, 1999). [Bolding mine]

Also please note that the words don't have to have the same meaning (as Peter Shor has pointed out.)

Correct answer by user405662 on July 30, 2021

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