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It has been said that an adverb cannot modify a noun.

But this article's title is:

Google, Amazon or Even Apple Could Buy Tivo

Here, 'even' I think is an adverb but it does seem to modify the following noun 'Apple'.

How is this possible? Is this an exception to the rule that an adverb cannot modify a noun?

JK2
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  • Adverbs modifying nouns? also related Are focusing adverbs exceptions of adverb definitions? – Mari-Lou A Apr 12 '18 at 09:18
  • That's a shame about the DV, maybe if you quote some literature that even cannot modify nouns, or illustrate how "even" modifies Apple then maybe the question could be better appreciated. – Mari-Lou A Apr 12 '18 at 09:30
  • Adverbs can occasionally postmodify nouns (e.g. "A shortage of timber internationally led to a rise in prices" / "Industrial action led to the withdrawal indefinitely of the ferry services"). And adverbs like "even" can freely modify NPs: Even John liked it / We can do it anytime, even tonight. – BillJ Apr 12 '18 at 09:31
  • Other examples of an adverb modifying an NP include "I bought almost the last copy" / "Ed is virtually his only friend". – BillJ Apr 12 '18 at 09:48
  • Even is an intensifier that modifies whole clauses or phrases, not single nouns and will always include a verb, if only semantically. The unexpected, unusual, or extreme case signaled by even in Even John liked it is not "John," but John's liking something. Even shares certain but not all characteristics with only or also and deserves its own answer. I'm voting to reopen. – KarlG Apr 12 '18 at 11:44
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    This isn't a duplicate. It's a question about the word 'even' specifically, whether it is always an adverb, or is sometimes an adverb sometimes an adjective, or some other analysis. – Mitch Apr 12 '18 at 12:35
  • "Even" is not an intensifier; it's a 'additive focusing modifier'. In, for example, "Even you would have enjoyed dancing tonight", "tonight" is an NP consisting of just a noun. Many people simply say it is modifying a noun, but in fact it is modifying "tonight", the head of the NP which happens to be a noun. Complicated stuff, what? – BillJ Apr 12 '18 at 14:17
  • Ah, the Q might live to see another day. I have cast my vote to reopen. And I'm deleting my comments about abbreviations, too! – Mari-Lou A Apr 12 '18 at 20:53

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