7

The word 'really' can be spoken in two ways, in a sentence on its own.

Either in enthusiastic, and appreciative belief :

You can run a hundred meters in 13 seconds. Really ?

Or in cynical, one eyebrow raised, skepticism :

You can run a hundred meters in 8.6 seconds. Really.

What part of speech would the word be in each of these sentences ?

And, in passing, this demonstrates that the spoken word cannot be fully expressed in written form, for body language and intonation will also decide the meaning.

Improve this question
3
  • 4
    The question mark distinguishes the request for confirmation from the expression of scepticism here (though some would add the question mark in this usage also, as an abbreviation of 'Do you really expect me to believe that?'). But with 'He can run a hundred meters in 8.6 seconds.... Really?/.' there's a third possibility, the 'I kid you not' sense.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 2 at 14:15
  • To me it is the most contracted version possible of the sentence "do you really expect me to believe that?"
    – rschwieb
    Commented Jun 3 at 21:31
  • Or The nerve of some people! Really!
    – TimR
    Commented Jun 5 at 15:19

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
16

As a “part of speech,” it’s just an adverb.

really adverb2 & adjective
2. Used parenthetically. 2.b. Interrogatively, expressing surprise or doubt. 1753–
[selected attestations]
1893   She exclaimed, ‘Really? It is really true?’ —Scribner's Magazine June 787/1
1955   ‘Really? What kind of business?’... ‘Import, export.’ —G. Greene, Quiet American i. iii. 49
1996   ‘One of the nicest guys you could hope to meet.’ ‘Really?’ —C. Bateman, Of Wee Sweetie Mice & Men xxi. 164
Source: Oxford English Dictionary (login required)

You can look into ellipsis in discourse and fill in the blanks around the adverb, e.g.:

You can run a hundred meters in 13 seconds? [Can you] really [run a hundred meters in 13 seconds]?

Improve this answer
9

The PoS here is Interjection.

Per Wiktionary:

(informal) Indicating surprise at, or requesting confirmation of, some new information; to express skepticism.

A: He won the Nobel Prize yesterday. B: Really?

Improve this answer
6
  • 3
    Or, as in OP's second example, a pragmatic marker expressing the addressee's dubiousness about the claim. In another example, a pragmatic marker expressing the belief that the addressee should believe the statement.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 2 at 14:04
  • 3
    @Nigel J Look it up on here ELU and the web. 'Discourse marker' is used as a synonym, but it might be considered to consist of a subset. Fraser wrote a seminal work, covering most types. 'Sentence adverbs' (frankly, probably ...), comment clauses (in my opinion' ...) ... fit into this broad collection, so it's not a POS-tag unless you broaden the concept.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 2 at 14:23
  • 4
    @EdwinAshworth I'd call "frankly" either a speech-act-related adjunct or a situational adjunct (both sub-types of manner adjunct) depending on the clause containing "Probably" is usually a modal adjunct. All adverbs, of course.
    – BillJ
    Commented Jun 2 at 15:46
  • 2
    @Bill J I look forward to the day when adverbs are rigorously defined as modifiers of verbs. And prepositions ....
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 2 at 19:09
  • 3
    Dictionaries are notoriously bad sources regarding grammar; Wiktionary is user-edited, meaning it can be even less reliable.
    – alphabet
    Commented Jun 3 at 2:10
9

I

You can run a hundred meters in 13 seconds. Really ?

In this first paragraph, "really" is categorized as a content disjunct (one of the four categories of adverbials in A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language: adjuncts, disjuncts, subjuncts, conjuncts.). Content disjuncts are also called "attitudinal disjunct".

Here is what CoGEL has to say about this adverbial.

(CoGEL § 8.130 Note) [c] Some content disjuncts can be responses to questions or can be used as a comment on a previous utterance: usually accompanied by yes or no:
A: They have returned to San Francisco.
B: Very wisely. ['They were very wise to do so']
A: They won't be coming back.
B: Unfortunately, no. ['It's unfortunate that they won't]
A few style disjuncts (honestly, literally, seriously, truly, truthfully) are used as verbless questions:
A: I'm going to resign. B: Seriously? ['Were you speaking seriously when you said that?]
The content disjunct really is commonly used in this way:
A : I'm going to resign.
B: Really? ['Is that so?']
A particular intonation contour is not obligatory, but certain adverbials have a characteristic intonation when used as responses; for example, following 'I hear you may soon be emigrating', somewe might reply with one of the following […]: CÊRtainly, QUÌTE (BrE), Yes, inDÈED, AbsoLÙTEly, […]

The role played by disjuncts, that is, as adverbials, differs widely from that of adjuncts, which are to be rekoned with on an equal footing with other clause constituents (S, V, O, C); instead, disjuncts apply to the sentence as a whole. This content disjunct concerns the degree of truth (incertitude).

enter image description here

Disjuncts are often found at the initial position in a sentence, although they can appear in any position, which is in keeping with a full enunciation of the sentence as below.

  • Really, you can run a hundred meters in 13 seconds?
  • You can run a hundred meters in 13 seconds, really?

II

You can run a hundred meters in 8.6 seconds. Really.

(CoGEL § 18.55) Apart from the emphasis given by information focusing, the language provides means of giving a unit purely emotive emphasis. We have noted, in […] a number of features of this type. They include exclamations […], the persuasive do in imperatives […], interjections […], expletives and intensifiers […], including the general clause emphasizers such as actually, really, and indeed. A thorough study of emotive expressions would involve examining figures of speech such as simile, hyperbole and irony [which is not the concern of grammar].

In this case, "really" appears to be again a content disjunct, but used ironically.

figure of speech, irony use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning.

  • You can run a hundred meters in 8.6 seconds, really. ("You can run a hundred meters in 8.6 seconds, of which I am (quite/absolutely/…) certain.", whereas it should be "That you can run a hundred meters in 8.6 seconds is doubtlessly untrue.", or something similar.)

The punctuation is more likely a comma, as full stops indicate the end of a complete thought, and as the enunciation is not complete without "really".

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Thanks you. That answer was well-researched and supported, and was educational. I hope I can remember it. :D
    – keithcurtis
    Commented Jun 5 at 14:17
6

The manner in which it is spoken does not change the part of speech. It's simply an adverb (adj. real -> adv. really). The rest of the clause has been elided for brevity

Can you really run a hundred meters in 13 seconds? [surprise]

You can really run a hundred meters in 13 seconds. [doubt]

The same can be done with almost any adverb:

I've done the work. Well?

He gave me the notes. Recently?

We told him to go. Quietly?

The particular meaning in context is an entirely different question, one unrelated to its part of speech classification.

Improve this answer
2

It has several possible meanings. In the context you’re asking about, it is an interjection. It can also function as a sentence adverb, similar to hopefully in the sense of “I hope,” unfortunately in the sense of “I find it unfortunate,” happily in the sense of “it makes me happy,” and so on.

The Collins Dictionary lists eleven definitions of really, and calls the one you are asking about a “convention”:

You can say really to express surprise or disbelief at what someone has said.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.