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In the following sentence what word-type is especially? Is it behaving as a preposition modifying 'head of international business'? It doesn’t look to me as though it is being used as an adverb, but instead as an adjective phrase.

The man isn't how you might imagine the head of an international business to be, especially one responsible for a one million pound budget.

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  • If you mean it's a preposition for introducing "one responsible for," no, that's no proof. Seems to be the usual adverb, modifying isn't.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Oct 20, 2023 at 20:07

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According to Huddleston & Pullum (2002), especially here is an adverb, specifically a focusing modifier (p. 592). Focusing modifiers are unusual in that, despite being adverbs, they can modify noun phrases; another example is the only in "He loves only his work" (p. 587).

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  • I've seen (and prefer) a treatment highlighting the differences between focus particles (additive eg also; exclusive eg only, & scalar eg even) ('especially' being a particulariser to use Quirk et al's sane terminology) and prototypical adverbs to such an extent that they really warrant a distinct word class.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Oct 21, 2023 at 14:48
  • @EdwinAshworth Interesting; where have you seen that treatment? Or are you referring to Quirk et al?
    – alphabet
    Commented Oct 21, 2023 at 16:09
  • CGEL lists especially as a “partial restrictive focusing modifier” (592), and I don’t see any evidence that those can modify an NP. In He loves especially the cat, does especially modify the cat or loves? How about in ? He loves notably the cat?
    – Tinfoil Hat
    Commented Oct 21, 2023 at 17:50
  • @alphabet This University of Sussex article suggests as much (section 7'b'). Sorry, but I've lost the author of the paper. // I also prefer 'secondary modifiers of adjectives' // 'secondary modifiers of adverbs' for eg 'very / worryingly ... high' // 'very / painfully slowly'.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Oct 21, 2023 at 18:17
  • If we simplify the example given, what role is especially performing in the following example? I breed dogs, especially beagles. Could this not be rewritten using the preposition like? I breed dogs like beagles. Is especially not being used in the same way as the preposition like here? Or is it being used as an adverb with ellipsis occurring for example: I breed dogs, and I especially breed beagle. I apologise if I’ve got any terms wrong during this question. Thanks for all of the answers.
    – Richard
    Commented Oct 21, 2023 at 22:38
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I agree with you that it's being used as an adjective. The sentence could be rewritten by inserting the phrase parenthetically to make it clearer what the reference is:

The man isn't how you might imagine the head of an international business – especially one responsible for a one million pound budget – to be.

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