We all know that both adverbial and attribute are the components placed before the head word for the purpose of modifying or describing the heads word. However, there are also some differences between them. To tell them apart, we need to take the head words, modifying parts and the nature of the whole phrases into consideration. In the following parts, the differences of both adverbial and attribute will be explained in from those three aspects.

From the aspect of the head word, the modifying element before the nominal head words is usually the attribute while that of the predicate head words is usually the adverbial. Let’s move our attention to the group of sentences他穿了一件黑大衣and我们应该认真学习. The point the students who attend to school to study Mandarin should know is that the head word of the former sentence is noun. As a result, the modifying part of it is the attribute. However, the head word of the latter sentence is an adjective and the modification should be adverbial.

From viewpoint of the modifier, when the words such as the personal pronoun and noun act as the modifier indicating certain scope of field, they are usually the tribute no matter the head word is nominal word or predicate word. For instance, 科技的创新与突破对经济的发展影响深远. If the adverb functions as the modifier, no matter it is nominal word or predicate, it is usually the adverbial modifier. For example, 八点了，才三个学生.

Sometimes, it is difficult to know it is the attribute or adverbial modifier if we just see from the aspect of the modifier before the head word or the latter head word. For example, if the students in Chinese language school want to know whether the words 善意and 周密 in the phrases 善意的批评and周密的计划are attribute or adverbial modifier, the need to consider the nature and grammar function of this phrase. That is to say, if the whole phrase acts as subject or object in the sentence, being nominal, the modifier should be attribute. If it functions as predicate or complement, being verb or adjective, the modifier should be the adverbial modifier.