ADVERBS
Definition
Adverbs are words that modify almost anything in a sentence. They can modify:
a
verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?)
an
adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?)
another
adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly did she move?)
sometimes adverbs modify
complete sentences, in which case they are called viewpoint adverbs
Adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened. Adverbs of manner frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not ending in -ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. The words lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives:
E.g.:
That
lovely woman lives in a
friendly neighborhood.
Adverbs of place and time that are only one word are very scarce.
In the case of adverbs of place there are:
here, there, somewhere everywhere, nowhere, anywhere and some similar ones.
In the case of adverbs of time there are:
now yesterday today tomorrow later, and not many more.
It is much more common to have adverbial phrases (groups of words without a verb that act as an adverb in a sentence) or adverbial clauses ( a part of a sentence that must have a subject and a verb) that give us ideas such as time, place, condition, result, cause, reason, etc.
If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a sentence), it is called an
Adverb Clause:
E.g.:
When this class is over, we're going to the movies.
When a group of words not containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb, it is called an
adverbial phrase. Prepositional phrases frequently have adverbial functions (telling place and time, modifying the verb):
E.g.:
He went
to the stadium.
She works
on weekends.
They lived in Switzerland
during the crisis.
And Infinitive phrases can act as adverbs (usually telling why):
E.g.:
- She hurried to the mainland to see her brother.
- The principal ran to catch the bus.
But there are other kinds of adverbial phrases:
E.g.:
He calls his mother
as often as possible.
This one is an adverbial phrase of frequency, because it tells with what frequency he calls his mother
Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb. Thus we would say that "the students showed a really wonderful attitude" and that "the students showed a wonderfully casual attitude" and that "my professor is really tall, but not "He ran real fast."
Like adjectives, adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms to show degree.
E.g.:
Walk
faster if you want to keep up with me.
The student who reads
fastest will finish first.
We often use more and most, less and least to show degree with adverbs:
E.g.:
With sneakers on, she could move
more quickly among the patients.
The flowers were the
most beautifully arranged creations I've ever seen.
She worked
less confidently after her accident.
That was the
least skillfully done performance I've seen in years.
The
as — as construction can be used to create adverbs that express sameness or equality:
E.g.:
"He can't run
as fast as his sister."
A handful of adverbs have two forms, one that ends in -ly and one that doesn't. In certain cases, the two forms have different meanings:
E.g.:
He arrived
late.
Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything.
In most cases, however, the form without the -ly ending should be reserved for casual situations:
E.g.:
She certainly drives
slow in that old Buick of hers.
He did
wrong by her.
He spoke
sharp, quick, and to the point.
Adverbs often function as intensifiers, conveying a greater or lesser emphasis to something. Intensifiers are said to have three different functions: they can emphasize, amplify, or downtone. Here are some examples:
Emphasizers:
E.g.:
I
really don't believe him.
He
literally wrecked his mother's car.
She
simply ignored me.
They're going to be late,
for sure.
Amplifiers:
E.g.:
The teacher
completely rejected her proposal.
I
absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings.
They
heartily endorsed the new restaurant.
I
so wanted to go with them.
We know this city
well.
Downtoners:
E.g.:
I
kind of like this school.
John
sort of felt betrayed by Meche.
His mother
mildly disapproved his actions.
We can improve on this
to some extent.
The boss
almost quit after that.
The school was
all but ruined by the storm.
Adverbs (as well as adjectives) in their various degrees can be accompanied by premodifiers:
E.g.:
She runs very
fast.
We're going to run out of material all the faster
This issue is addressed in the section on degrees in adjectives.
For this section on intensifiers, we are indebted to A Grammar of Contemporary English by Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. Longman Group: London. 1978. pages 438 to 457. Examples our own.
Using Adverbs in a Numbered List
Within the normal flow of text, it's nearly always a bad idea to number items beyond three or four, at the most. Anything beyond that, you're better off with a vertical list that uses numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). Also, in such a list, don't use adverbs (with an -ly ending); use instead the uninflected ordinal number (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.). First (not firstly), it's unclear what the adverb is modifying. Second (not secondly), it's unnecessary. Third (not thirdly), after you get beyond "secondly," it starts to sound silly. Adverbs that number in this manner are treated as disjuncts (see below.)
Adverbs We Can Do Without
Review the section on Being Concise for some advice on adverbs that we can eliminate to the benefit of our prose: intensifiers such as very, extremely, and really that don't intensify anything and expletive constructions ("There are several books that address this issue.")
Kinds of Adverbs
Adverbs of Manner
E.g.:
She moved
slowly and spoke
quietly.
Adverbs of Place
She has lived
on the island all her life.
She still lives
there now.
Adverbs of Frequency
E.g.:
She takes the boat to the mainland
every day.
She
often goes by herself.
Adverbs of Time
E.g.:
She tries to get back
before dark.
It's starting to get dark
now.
She finished her tea
first.
She left
early.
Adverbs of Purpose
E.g.:
She drives her boat slowly
to avoid hitting the rocks.
She shops in several stores
to get the best buys.
Positions of Adverbs
One of the hallmarks of adverbs is their ability to move around in a sentence. Adverbs of manner are particularly flexible in this regard.
E.g.:
•
Solemnly the minister addressed her congregation.
• The minister
solemnly addressed her congregation.
• The minister addressed her congregation
solemnly.
The following adverbs of frequency appear in various points in these sentences:
•
Before the main verb:
E.g.:
I
never get up before nine o'clock.
•
Between the auxiliary verb and the main verb:
E.g.:
I have
rarely written to my brother without a good reason.
•
Before the verb used to:
E.g.:
I
always used to see him at his summer home.
Indefinite adverbs of time can appear either before the verb or between the auxiliary and the main verb:
E.g.:
• He
finally showed up for batting practice.
• She has
recently retired.
Order of Adverbs
There is a basic order in which adverbs will appear when there is more than one. It is similar to The Royal Order of Adjectives, but it is even more flexible.
THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADVERBS
Verb 1.-
Manner 2.-
Place 3.-
Frequency 4.-
Time 5.-
Purpose
Meche swims 1.-
enthusiastically2.-
in the pool3.-
every morning4.-
before dawn5.-
to keep in shape.
Diego walks1.-
impatiently2.-
into town3.-
every afternoon4.-
before supper5.-
to get a newspaper.
Carina naps1.-
peacefully2.-
in her room3.-
every morning4.-
before lunch.
In actual practice, of course, it would be highly unusual to have a string of adverbial modifiers beyond two or three (at the most). Because the placement of adverbs is so flexible, one or two of the modifiers would probably move to the beginning of the sentence: "Every afternoon before supper, Dad impatiently walks into town to get a newspaper." When that happens, the introductory adverbial modifiers are usually set off with a comma.
More Notes on Adverb Order
As a general principle, shorter adverbial phrases precede longer adverbial phrases, regardless of content. In the following sentence, an adverb of time precedes an adverb of frequency because it is shorter (and simpler):
E.g.:
• Dad takes a brisk walk
before breakfast every day of his life.
A second principle: among similar adverbial phrases of kind (manner, place, frequency, etc.),
the more specific adverbial phrase comes first:
E.g.:
• My grandmother was born
in a sod house on the plains of northern Nebraska.
• She promised to meet him
for lunch next Tuesday.
Bringing an adverbial modifier to the beginning of the sentence can place special emphasis on that modifier. This is particularly useful with adverbs of manner:
•
Slowly, ever so carefully, Jesse filled the coffee cup up to the brim, even above the brim.
•
Occasionally, but only occasionally, one of these lemons will get by the inspectors.
Inappropriate Adverb Order
Review the section on Misplaced Modifiers for some additional ideas on placement. Modifiers can sometimes attach themselves to and thus modify words that they ought not to modify.
E.g.:
• They reported that Giuseppe Balle, a European rock star, had died
on the six o'clock news.
Clearly, it would be better to move the underlined modifier to a position immediately after "they reported" or even to the beginning of the sentence — so the poor man doesn't die on television.
E.g.:
They reported
on the six o'clock news that Giuseppe Balle, a European rock star, had died .
On the six o'clock news, they reported that Giuseppe Balle, a European rock star, had died
Misplacement can also occur with very simple modifiers, such as only and barely:
E.g.:
• She only grew to be four feet tall.
It would be better if
"She grew to be only four feet tall."
Adjuncts, Disjuncts, and Conjuncts
Regardless of its position, an adverb is often neatly integrated into the flow of a sentence. When this is true, as it almost always is, the adverb is called an adjunct. (Notice the underlined adjuncts or adjunctive adverbs in the first two sentences of this paragraph.) When the adverb does not fit into the flow of the clause, it is called a disjunct or a conjunct and is often set off by a comma or set of commas. A disjunct frequently acts as a kind of evaluation of the rest of the sentence. Although it usually modifies the verb,
we could say that it modifies the entire clause, too. Notice how "too" is a disjunct in the sentence immediately before this one; that same word can also serve as an adjunct adverbial modifier: It's too hot to play outside. Here are two more disjunctive adverbs:
E.g.:
•
Frankly, Martha, I don't give a hoot.
•
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Conjuncts, on the other hand, serve a connector function within the flow of the text, signaling a transition between ideas.
E.g.:
• If they start smoking those awful cigars,
then I'm not staying.
• We've told the landlord about this ceiling again and again, and
yet he's done nothing to fix it.
At the extreme edge of this category, we have the purely conjunctive device known as the conjunctive adverb (often called the adverbial conjunction):
E.g.:
• Jose has spent years preparing for this event;
nevertheless, he's the most nervous person here.
• I love this school;
however, I don't think I can afford the tuition.
Authority for this section: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. 126. Used with permission. Examples our own.
Some Special Cases
The adverbs enough and not enough usually take a postmodifier position:
E.g.:
• Is that music loud enough?
• These shoes are not
big enough.
• In a roomful of elderly people, you must remember to speak
loudly enough.
(Notice, though, that when enough functions as an adjective, it can come before the noun:
E.g.:
• Did she give us
enough time?
The adverb
enough is often followed by an infinitive:
E.g.:
• She didn't run fast
enough to win.
The adverb
too comes before adjectives and other adverbs:
• She ran
too fast.
• She works
too quickly.
If too comes after the adverb it is probably a disjunct (meaning also) and is usually set off with a comma:
E.g.:
• Yasmin works hard. She works quickly,
too.
The adverb too is often followed by an infinitive:
E.g.:
• She runs
too slowly
to enter this race.
Another common construction with the adverb too is too followed by a prepositional phrase — for + the object of the preposition — followed by an infinitive:
E.g.:
• This milk is
too hot
for a baby to drink.
Relative Adverbs
Adjectival clauses are sometimes introduced by what are called the relative adverbs: where, when, and why. Although the entire clause is adjectival and will modify a noun, the relative word itself fulfills an adverbial function (modifying a verb within its own clause).
The relative adverb where will begin a clause that modifies a noun of place:
E.g.:
My entire family now worships in the church
where my great grandfather
used to be minister.
The relative pronoun "where" modifies the verb "used to be" (which makes it adverbial), but the entire clause ("where my great grandfather used to be minister") modifies the word "church."
A
when clause will modify nouns of time:
My favorite month is always February,
when we celebrate Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day.
And a
why clause will modify the noun reason:
Do you know the reason
why Isabel isn't in class today?
We sometimes leave out the relative adverb in such clauses, and many writers prefer "that" to "why" in a clause referring to "reason":
• Do you know the reason
why Isabel isn't in class today?
• I always look forward to the day
when we begin our summer vacation.
• I know the reason
that men like motorcycles.
Authority for this section: Understanding English Grammar by Martha Kolln. 4rth Edition. MacMillan Publishing Company: New York. 1994.
Viewpoint, Focus, and Negative Adverbs
A viewpoint adverb generally comes after a noun and is related to an adjective that precedes that noun:
E.g.:
• A successful athletic team is often a good team
scholastically.
• Investing all our money in snowmobiles was probably not a sound idea
financially.
You will sometimes hear a phrase like "scholastically speaking" or "financially speaking" in these circumstances, but the word "speaking" is seldom necessary.
A focus adverb indicates that what is being communicated is limited to the part that is focused; a focus adverb will tend either to limit the sense of the sentence ("He got an A just for attending the class.") or to act as an additive ("He got an A in addition to being published."
Although negative constructions like the words "not" and "never" are usually found embedded within a verb string — "He has never been much help to his mother." — they are technically not part of the verb; they are, indeed, adverbs. However, a so-called negative adverb creates a negative meaning in a sentence without the use of the usual no/not/neither/nor/never constructions:
E.g.:
• He
seldom visits.
• She
hardly eats anything since the accident.
• After her long and tedious lectures,
rarely was anyone awake.
Take a quiz on adverbs. Click on the following link:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/adverbs_quiz.htm
Also you can take a quiz on the order of adverbs. Click on the link below:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/magnets/adv_magnets.htm
Source :
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adverbs.htm
Visited: August 19, 2011 am.
Adapted by: Miguel Sierra Rivera
