‘You’re absolutely welcome, thanks for the ear’: The use of absolutely in American soap operas

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to discuss the syntax and uses of absolutely in recent American soap operas. It is shown that absolutely can be used both as an intensifier and with an emphasising meaning where it has scope over the entire clause. Absolutely was also found as a stand-alone marker with the function to respond to yes–no questions and to speech acts such as requests and thanking.