Adverbs: Verb Adjective

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Adverbs

Definition
Adverbs are words that 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?)

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:

 That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.

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 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):

 He went to the movies.


 She works on holidays.
 They lived in Canada during the war.

And Infinitive phrases can act as adverbs (usually telling why):

 She hurried to the mainland to see her brother.


 The senator ran to catch the bus.

But there are other kinds of adverbial phrases:

 He calls his mother as often as possible.


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. Click on "Lolly's Place" to
read and hear Bob
 Walk faster if you want to keep up with me. Dorough's "Get Your
 The student who reads fastest will finish first. Adverbs Here" (from
Scholastic Rock, 1974).
We often use more and most, less and least to show degree with Schoolhouse Rock® and
adverbs: its characters and other
elements are
 With sneakers on, she could move more quickly among trademarks and service
the patients. marks of American
 The flowers were the most beautifully arranged creations Broadcasting Companies,
I've ever seen. Inc. Used with permission.
 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:
"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:

 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:
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:

 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
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.

 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: I never get up before nine o'clock.


 Between the auxiliary verb and the main verb: I have rarely written to my brother
without a good reason.
 Before the verb used to: 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:

 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 Manner Place Frequency Time Purpose
Beth in the before
enthusiastically every morning to keep in shape.
swims pool dawn
Dad before to get a
impatiently into town every afternoon
walks supper newspaper.
Tashonda in her before
every morning
naps room 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):

 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:

 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.
 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.

Misplacement can also occur with very simple modifiers, such as only and barely:

 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:

 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.

 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.

Some Special Cases


The adverbs enough and not enough usually take a postmodifier position:

 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:

 Did she give us enough time?

The adverb enough is often followed by an infinitive:

 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:

 Yasmin works hard. She works quickly, too.

The adverb too is often followed by an infinitive:

 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:

 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:

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:

 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:

 He seldom visits.
 She hardly eats anything since the accident.
 After her long and tedious lectures, rarely was anyone awake.
ADVERB PLACEMENT

beginning of usually, normally, often, frequently, Usually we see him at church.


clause/sentence sometimes and occasionally
Last night we went dancing.
NOT: always, ever, rarely, seldom and
never*

end of the usually, normally, often, frequently, We’ve performed there


clause/sentence sometimes and occasionally occasionally.

NOT: always, ever, rarely, seldom and Where did you eat yesterday?
never*
All the bedrooms are upstairs.

Have you taken the TOEFL yet?


adverbs of time: today, every week,
finally, already, soon Have you eaten dinner already?

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.

They’ll probably arrive late.


after auxiliary verb
He has apparently passed the
before other verbs class.

They obviously forgot to read the


directions.

after BE verb adverbs of frequency: never, rarely, He is rarely morose.


sometimes, often. usually, always, ever
after auxiliary verbs We have never eaten Moroccan
food.
before other verbs
He always takes flowers to his
girlfriend.

She quite often invites people for


Thanksgiving.

They almost never go to the


theater.
after BE verb focusing adverbs: even, only, also, He is only five years old.
mainly, just
after auxiliary verbs We don’t even know his name.

before other verbs We’ve already eaten dinner.


adverbs of time: already, still, yet,
finally, eventually, soon, last, just He also rents chainsaws.

I am finally ready.

He is still planning to go tonight.

We just finished painting the


house.

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

where? why? how? when? to what


degree?

An adverbial clause begins with a subordinating conjunction, which makes the


clause subordinate (dependent).

Common subordinating conjunctions:

after in order (that) unless


although insofar as until
as in that when
as far as lest whenever
as soon as no matter how where
as if now that wherever
as though once whether
because provided (that) while
before since why
even if so that
even though supposing (that)
how than
if that
inasmuch as though
in case (that) till

Example of adverbial clause answering when?


When will the flowers bloom? Answer: when spring arrives

Example of adverbial clause answering why?

Why didn't the poor woman have money? Answer: because she had lost her
job

Example of adverbial clause answering where?

Where is there fire? Answer: where there is smoke

Example of adverbial clause answering how?


How did he answer the question? Answer: as if he knew the subject quite well

Example of adverbial clause answering to what degree?

To what degree of lateness will Jones arrive? Answer: (later) than Smith (will
arrive)

Another example of an adverbial clause answering to what degree?

To what degree is he young? Answer: (younger) than his brother (is)


Comma use with adverbial clauses

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

which one? what kind?

An adjectival clause usually begins with a relative pronoun, which makes the clause
subordinate (dependent).

Common relative pronouns:

that which who whom whose

NOTE: Use who, whom, and whose to describe people.

Use that and which to describe things.


Adjectival clauses always follow the person, place, or thing they describe, usually
immediately.

Example of adjectival clause answering which one?

Which book did Joe read? Answer: the one that I gave him

Example of adjectival clause answering what kind?

What kind of politician has the support of the people? Answer: one who is
trustworthy

Adjectival clauses may also begin with selected subordinating conjunctions:

when - to describe a time


where - to describe a place

why - to describe a reason

Comma use with adjectival clauses

Comma use with adjectival clauses depends upon essentiality of the adjectival
clause.

If the adjectival clause is essential (or "needed"), no commas should be used to


separate it from the main clause.

Generally, essential adjectival clauses should not begin with which.

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.

Nonessential adjectival clauses should not begin with that.

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.

Note the difference between the sentences in each pair:


3. Nominal Clauses

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

Nominal clauses may begin with interrogatives:

who whom what which whoever whomever whatever when


where how why

An interrogative beginning a nominal clause has a function within the nominal


clause.

Each of the following examples illustrates

 a nominal clause
 the function of the nominal clause within the sentence
 the function of the interrogative within the nominal clause

Nominal clause as subject in sentence

Nominal clause as subjective complement in sentence


Nominal clause as object of preposition in sentence

Nominal clause as direct object in sentence

Nominal clause as indirect object in sentence


Nominal clause as retained object in sentence

Nominal clauses may also begin with expletives:

that whether if

An expletive beginning a nominal clause has no function within the nominal clause.

Nominal clause beginning with expletive that

Nominal clause beginning with expletive whether


Nominal clause beginning with expletive if

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