The Classification of Words

Adverbial Complements (Adverbials)
§451. Adverbials differ from the other complements in their combinability and semantics. They are adjuncts of various classes of verbs and convey qualitative, quantita­tive or circumstantial characteristics of the actions denoted by verbs. Since the meaning of 'action' is not pronounced in semi-notional verbs, adverbial complements are mostly adjuncts of notional verbs.
She started slightly at the announcement. (Dreiser). He said it w it h gusto. (The Worker).
§ 452. Much in the same way as the subject and the object are mostly nouns or noun-equivalents, the adverbial comple­ment is usually an adverb or some kind of adverb-equivalent. Like adverbs adverbials may be divided into qualitative, quantitative and circumstantial ones.
§ 453. A. I. Smirnitsky does not recognize qualitative and quantitative adverbials *. As we know (see § 121), A. I. Smir­nitsky regards adverbs in -ly as a subclass of adjectives. Ac­cordingly, he thinks that slowly in The boy walked slowly is parallel to slow in slow walk and both are attributes.
We share the opinion of most linguists that slowly and slow fulfil different functions in the sentence. Slowly in the above sentence is a qualitative adverbial complement or, traditionally, an adverbial complement of manner. Here are some other examples of qualitative adverbials.
A dowdy middle-aged Frenchwoman... was carefully and uselessly making up her face. (Greene).
She thanked meformally, sitting on the floor. (lb.).
A variety of qualitative adverbials are the so-called ad­verbials of comparison. They do not name the quality directly but convey it by comparing it with something similar.
He smiled slightly as if to seal the agreement. (Wil­son).
¹ V\opc}.ojioiM английского языка, р 175 Синтаксис английского языка, р 227.
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