4.2.4 Adverbs (Adv.)

1. Identify adverbs in the quotes and find out which words the adverbs are modifying.

2. Which adverbs can describe what the duck, the muppet, and the scientist are doing?

• An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, indicating time (e.g., immediately), place (e.g., outside), manner (e.g., vehemently), frequency (e.g., rarely), and duration (e.g., briefly).

• A adverb can also modify an adjective (e.g., absolutely amazing), another adverb (e.g., extremely fast), or even a clause (e.g., Luckily, no one was hurt).

1) By Form

1. simple adverbs

   1. • fast, often, already, indeed, well

      • faster, fastest; more often, most often, better, worse

2. compound adverbs

   1. • nowhere, anyway, heretofore

3. complex (derivative) adverbs (adj. + ly → adv.)

   1. • ideally, luckily, fortunately, properly

4. fixed phrases

   1. • of course, kind of, sort of, at last

❗️Some words can be both adjectives and adverbs. For example,

• He is a fast driver. (adj.)

He drives fast. (adv.)

• Some people are late bloomers. (adj.)

Some people boom late. (adv.)

2) By Meaning

1. time (? when) (e.g., yesterday, now, daily, tonight, later)

   1. • I always eat breakfast.

      • I had never before understood what 'despair' meant.

2. place (? where) (e.g., here, there, somewhere, everywhere, outside, forward, eastwards)

   1. • He lives there.

      • Some horses were looming in the rain, not near yet.

3. manner (? how) (e.g., quickly, lazily, slowly, seriously, energetically)

   1. • They embraced lightly and carefully.

      • He ducked, excitedly, awkwardly, into his brother's arms and out again, like a boxer from a clinch.

      • Very few people in any walk of life speak and write precisely and correctly, and I don't myself.

4. degree (to what degree/extent) (e.g., extremely, absolutely, utterly)

   1. • He understands perfectly well.

      • You are absolutely right.

5. additive/restrictive (e.g., too, as well, only)

   1. • My dad is a great guy too. (additive)

      • Only those wealthy people live there. (restrictive)

6. stance (e.g., likely, probably, candidly, luckily, unfortunately, regrettably)

   1. • It is probably true that the train won’t come.

      • It is likely to rain again tonight.

1) Adverbs often come after the verbs they modify but can also appear before the verb. For example,

• • • • The children ate their dinner quickly. ✔️

      • The children quickly ate their dinner. ✔️

      • The children ate quickly their dinner. ✖️

2) Some adverbs must be placed before the verbs they modify.

1. • 1. • You must always stay positive. ✔️ You must stay positive always. ✖️

        • I'm seldom late. ✔️ I'm late seldom. ✖️

        • He rarely lies. ✔️ He lies rarely. ✖️

3) Other adverbs only appear after the verbs they modify.

1. • 1. • I visit my dentist yearly. ✔️ I yearly visit my dentist. ✖️

        • I can't thank you enough. ✔️ I can't enough thank you. ✖️

4. Special Adverbs

1) Qualifiers

Qualifiers are a special type of adverbs which fine tune adjectives and other adverbs (e.g., very lucky).

very, quite, rather, somewhat, more, most, less, least, too, so, just, enough, still, almost, fairly, really, pretty, even, a bit, a little, a (whole) lot, a good deal, a great deal, kind of, sort of…

e.g.,

• very interesting

• a bit shy

❗️Unlike prototypical adverbs, qualifiers are not gradable, do not have adverb-making derivational morphemes (e.g., -ly, -ward, -wise), and cannot be moved freely in a sentence.

2) Conjunctive adverbs

We use conjunctions (e.g., and, but, however) to join words, phrases, and clauses together to form larger grammatical units.

Some adverbs can function as conjunctions. Their presence provides smooth transitions between ideas. They are called conjunctive adverbs.

Here is the list of common conjunctive adverbs:

3) Interrogative adverbs (Wh- words)

• When is the game?

• What is the game?

• Where are you playing?

• Who is playing?

• They asked how we were doing.

• Do you know when the election will be?

4) Relative adverbs

• We visited the place {where the Vikings landed}. Relative adverb (place)

• We live in a time {when pollution is serious}. Relative adverb (time)

• Her mass of library of books is the reason {why she’s so well-spoken}.

In all of these sentences, the wh- words introduce a subordinate/dependent clause and connect it to the main/independent clause. The subordinate clauses denote places, times, reasons, manner, etc.

They are called adjectival clauses because they function as post-positioned adjective modifying the antecedent nouns. Another name for them is relative clauses.

2). Positioning of adverbs

Adverbs have more freedom in regard to their locations in a sentence. As a result, writers have more freedom to manipulate their positions to package information.

3) Adverbs as the stance words

• • The habit of liking after our own needs obviously (intensifier) had something to do with the assertiveness that characterized the American family familiar to readers of American literature.

-William F. Buckley, Jr.

• • Full nuclear exchange would probably (downtoner) generate the same kind of dust cloud and darkening that may have wiped out the dinosaurs.

-Steven Jay Gould

• • Opinion is split on the social role of grammar rules. To some, they are just another device that the Ins use to control the Outs by stigmatizing their language and thereby suppressing their social and political aspirations. To others, the rules of Standard English have been so refined by generations of educated speakers and writers that they must be observed by all the best writers of English. Both views are correct, partly (qualifier) ......

-Williams, J. & Bizup, J. (2017). Style: Lessons in clarity and grace. Pearson.

Task 2. Analyze the use of adverbs in three short extracts (optional)

Three short extracts are given. Each one uses adverbs differently. Focus on one excerpt and complete the fours steps:

• Read the excerpt.

• Identify the adverbs being used to modify verbs.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the writer's use of adverbs.

• Rewrite the excerpt, using alternative ways to describe the action or scene (e.g. stronger verbs, or concrete details which create an image).

Task 3. Can you spot the problems with the adverbs in the following sentences? Choose one (or more) to revise and share your answer in the comment box below.

1. She smiled happily.

2. Sitting dejectedly in its cage, the parrot looked utterly unhappy.

3. Ireland is great for the spirit but very bad for the body.

4. I recorded the hedgehog feeding its hoglets cautiously.

5. I only eat candy on Halloween. No lie.

6. Yesterday, I was a dog. Today, I'm a dog. Tomorrow, I'll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement. (Cartoonist Charles M. Schulz via Snoopy)