Bare NP adverbials

Please tell us what you've already heard, Anon, and provide us with one or two of the examples you've already been given.

I've heard that the are NPs but behave as adverbials.

Examples I've come across:

They play Saturday.

They play on Saturday.

The first one is supposed to be bare.

And what difference do you notice between the two examples, Anon?

One has less words.

YankeePlease tell us what you've already heard, Anon, and provide us with one or two of the examples you've already been given.

I answered your request, Yankee. Can you now help me?

If the first example is "bare", Anon, and the only difference between the two examples lies in the difference in word count (i.e. the absence of a preposition), what would you infer?

Still looking for help on this. Anyone? Please.

I'd say the easiest way for you to grasp the idea would be to carefully reread MrP's posts and try to think this through on your own.

However, if you are still unable to grasp the idea, then perhaps you'll need to do a good deal of study about linguistic terminology. In that case, I would suggest that you first familiarize yourself with the meaning of "noun phrase" (NP). You can find inf