Adverbs: Verb Adjective
Adverbs: Verb Adjective
Adverbs: Verb Adjective
Definition
Adverbs are words that modify
As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something
happens or happened. Adverbs 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:
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:
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):
The as — as construction can be used to create adverbs that express sameness or equality:
"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:
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:
Emphasizers:
o I really don't believe him.
o He literally wrecked his mother's car.
o She simply ignored me.
o They're going to be late, for sure.
Amplifiers:
o The teacher completely rejected her proposal.
o I absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings.
o They heartily endorsed the new restaurant.
o I so wanted to go with them.
o We know this city well.
Downtoners:
o I kind of like this college.
o Joe sort of felt betrayed by his sister.
o His mother mildly disapproved his actions.
o We can improve on this to some extent.
o The boss almost quit after that.
o The school was all but ruined by the storm.
Adverbs (as well as adjectives) in their various degrees can be accompanied by premodifiers:
Kinds of Adverbs
Adverbs of Manner
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
She takes the boat to the mainland every day.
She often goes by herself.
Adverbs of Time
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
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.
Indefinite adverbs of time can appear either before the verb or between the auxiliary and the
main verb:
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.
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:
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.
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.
Misplacement can also occur with very simple modifiers, such as only and barely:
Conjuncts, on the other hand, serve a connector function within the flow of the text, signaling
a transition between ideas.
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):
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.
(Notice, though, that when enough functions as an adjective, it can come before the noun:
If too comes after the adverb it is probably a disjunct (meaning also) and is usually set off
with a comma:
Another common construction with the adverb too is too followed by a prepositional phrase
— for + the object of the preposition — followed by an infinitive:
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:
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."
We sometimes leave out the relative adverb in such clauses, and many writers prefer "that" to
"why" in a clause referring to "reason":
Authority for this section: Understanding English Grammar by Martha Kolln. 4rth Edition.
MacMillan Publishing Company: New York. 1994.
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:
He seldom visits.
She hardly eats anything since the accident.
After her long and tedious lectures, rarely was anyone awake.
ADVERB PLACEMENT
NOT: always, ever, rarely, seldom and Where did you eat yesterday?
never*
All the bedrooms are upstairs.
adverbs of manner (how something is She sang that aria very well.
done): slowly, suddenly, badly, quietly
He drives competently.
middle of sentence
after BE verb adverbs of certainty: certainly, definitely, They are definitely suited for
clearly, obviously, probably each other.
I am finally ready.
after BE verb adverbs of manner (how something is She is slowly finishing her PhD.
done): slowly, suddenly, badly, quietly
after auxiliary verbs He has carefully gathered the
evidence.
before other verbs
We methodically checked all the
bags.
Dependent Clauses: Adverbial,
Adjectival, Nominal
Dependent clauses may work like adverbs, adjectives, or nouns in complex
sentences.
1. Adverbial clauses
Like a single-word adverb, an adverbial clause describes a verb (in the sentence's
main clause) and answers one of these questions
Why didn't the poor woman have money? Answer: because she had lost her
job
To what degree of lateness will Jones arrive? Answer: (later) than Smith (will
arrive)
Comma use with adverbial clauses depends upon placement of the adverbial
clause.
If the adverbial clause introduces the sentence, place a comma between it and the
main clause.
If the adverbial clause follows the main clause in a sentence, do not place a comma
between the two.
2. Adjectival clauses
Like a single-word adjective, an adjectival clause describes a noun (in the sentence's
main clause) and answers one of these questions
An adjectival clause usually begins with a relative pronoun, which makes the clause
subordinate (dependent).
Which book did Joe read? Answer: the one that I gave him
What kind of politician has the support of the people? Answer: one who is
trustworthy
Comma use with adjectival clauses depends upon essentiality of the adjectival
clause.
Examples
Since the adjectival clauses in the above examples are needed to clarify the noun
that they describe, they are essential and should not be separated from the rest of
the sentence with commas.
If the adjectival clause is nonessential (or "not needed"), commas should separate it
from the main clause.
Examples
Since the adjectival clauses in the above examples are not needed to clarify the
noun that they describe, they are nonessential and should be separated from the
rest of the sentence with commas.
Like a noun, a nominal clause names a person, place, thing, or idea. A nominal
clause may function in a sentence as any of the following:
subject subjective
complement appositive object of preposition direct
object indirect object retained object
a nominal clause
the function of the nominal clause within the sentence
the function of the interrogative within the nominal clause
that whether if
An expletive beginning a nominal clause has no function within the nominal clause.