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By: Prof. M. Tayyab Iqbal (M.A. English, M.A. Linguistics, M.A. TEFL, Dip.

In Phonetics and Phonology, BCS)

Adverb and its use


Definition - Adverbs are words that modify everything but nouns and pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. A word is an adverb if it answers how, when, or where.

The Five Types of Adverbs


Adverbs of Manner: Adverbs of manner provide information on how someone does something. For example: Jack drives very carefully. Adverbs of Time: Adverbs of time provide information on when something happens. For example: We'll let you know our decision next week. Adverbs of Frequency: Adverbs of frequency provide information on how often something happens. For example: They usually get to work at eight o'clock. Adverbs of Degree: Adverbs of degree provide information concerning how much of something is done. For example: They like playing golf a lot. Adverbs of Comment: Adverbs of comment provide a comment, or opinion about a situation. For example: Fortunately, there were enough seats left for the concert.

Adverb Formation
Adverbs are usually formed by adding '-ly' to an adjective. For example: quiet - quietly, careful - carefully, careless - carelessly Adjectives ending in '-le' change to '-ly'. For example: possible - possibly, probable - probably, incredible - incredibly Adjectives ending in '-y' change to '-ily'. For example: lucky - luckily, happy - happily, angry - angrily Adjectives ending in '-ic' change to '-ically'. For example: basic - basically, ironic - ironically, scientific - scientifically Some adjectives are irregular. The most common irregular adverbs are: good - well, hard - hard, fast -fast

Adverb Sentence Placement


Adverbs of Manner: Adverbs of manner are placed after the verb or entire expression (at the end of the sentence). For example: Their teacher speaks quickly. Adverbs of Time: Adverbs of time are placed after the verb or entire expression (at the end of the sentence). For example: She visited her friends last year. Adverbs of Frequency: Adverbs of frequency are placed before the main verb (not the auxiliary verb). For example: He often goes to bed late. Do you sometimes get up early? Adverbs of Degree: Adverbs of degree are placed after the verb or entire expression (at the end of the sentence). For example: She'll attend the meeting as well. Adverbs of Comment: Adverbs of comment are placed at the beginning of a sentence. For example: Luckily, I was able to come to the presentation.

Important Exceptions to Adverb Placement


Some adverbs are placed at the beginning of a sentence to provide more emphasis. For example: Now you tell me you can't come! Adverbs of frequency are placed after the verb 'to be' when used as the main verb of the sentence. For example: Jack is often late for work. Some adverbs of frequency (sometimes, usually, normally) are also placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis. For example: Sometimes I visit my friends in London.

By: Prof. M. Tayyab Iqbal (M.A. English, M.A. Linguistics, M.A. TEFL, Dip. In Phonetics and Phonology, BCS)

The only adverbs that cause grammatical problems are those that answer the question how, so focus on these. Examples: He speaks Answers the question how. He speaks very Answers the question how slowly. slowly. slowly.

Rule 1.

Generally, if a word answers the question how, it is an adverb. If it can have an -ly added to it, place it there. Examples: She thinks Ans: She thinks how? slowly. slow/slowly.

She is a slow/slowly thinker. Slow does not answer how, so no -ly is attached. Slow is an adjective here. She thinks fast/fastly. Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never has an -ly attached to it. We performed Badly describes how we performed. bad/badly.

Rule 2.

A special -ly rule applies when four of the senses - taste, smell, look, feel - are the verbs. Do not ask if these senses answer the question how to determine if -ly should be attached. Instead, ask if the sense verb is being used actively. If so, use the -ly. Examples: Roses smell sweet/sweetly. Do the roses actively smell with noses? No, so no -ly. The woman looked angry/angrily. Did the woman actively look with eyes or are we describing her appearance? We are only describing appearance, so no -ly. The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches. Here the woman did actively look with eyes, so the -ly is added. She feels bad/badly about the news. She is not feeling with fingers, so no -ly.

Good vs. Well Rule 3. The word good is an adjective, while well is an adverb. Examples: You did a good job. Good describes the job. You did the job well. Well answers how. You smell good today.

By: Prof. M. Tayyab Iqbal (M.A. English, M.A. Linguistics, M.A. TEFL, Dip. In Phonetics and Phonology, BCS)

Describes your odor, not how you smell with your nose, so follow with the adjective. You smell well for someone with a cold. You are actively smelling with a nose here, so follow with the adverb.

Rule 4.

When referring to health, use well rather than good. Examples: I do not feel well. You do not look well today. NOTE: Example: You may use good with feel when you are not referring to health. I feel good about my decision to learn Spanish.

Rule 5.

A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form for comparison. For instance, to describe one thing we would say poor, as in, "She is poor." To compare two things, we should say poorer, as in, "She is the poorer of the two women." To compare more than two things, we should say poorest, as in, "She is the poorest of them all." Examples: One sweet bad efficient* Two Sweeter Worse more efficient* Three or More sweetest worst most efficient*

*Usually with words of three or more syllables, don't add -er or -est. Use more or most in front of the words.

Rule 6.

Never drop the -ly from an adverb when using the comparison form. Correct: She spoke quickly. She spoke more quickly than he did. Incorrect: Correct: She spoke quicker than he did. Talk quietly. Talk more quietly. Incorrect: Talk quieter.

Rule 7.

When this, that, these, and those are followed by nouns, they are adjectives. When they appear without a noun following them, they are pronouns.

By: Prof. M. Tayyab Iqbal (M.A. English, M.A. Linguistics, M.A. TEFL, Dip. In Phonetics and Phonology, BCS)

Examples:

This house This is an adjective here. This is This is a pronoun here.

is for

for

sale. sale.

Rule 8.

This and that are singular, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. This points to something nearby while that points to something "over there." Examples: This dog is mine. That dog is hers. This is mine. That is hers.

Rule 9.

These and those are plural, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. These points to something nearby while those points to something "over there." Examples: These babies have been smiling for a long time. These are mine. Those babies have been crying for hours. Those are yours.

Rule 10.

Use than to show comparison. Use then to answer the question when. Examples: I would rather go skiing than rock climbing. First we went skiing; then we went rock climbing.

Instructions 1. Step 1 Use adverbs to indicate manner, time, place, cause or degree. Adverbs answer questions like "how," "when," "where," "how much." Ask yourself if the word is answering one of these questions. If so, then it is an adverb. 2. Step 2 Identify adverbs in a sentence by looking for words that end in "ly." This is only one step in finding an adverb. Some adverbs do not end in "ly," and not all words ending in "ly" are adverbs. Check to see if it answers one of the questions above first. 3. Step 3 Practice using adverbs that modify the verb. For example, "The rain fell hard." The adverb "hard" tells how the rain fell. In the sentence, "He will arrive soon," the adverb "soon" tells when he will arrive. Notice that neither of these adverbs end in "ly". 4. Step 4 Look for adverbs that modify adjectives. For example, "The softly-spoken whisper was barely audible." "Softly" modifies the adjective "spoken" which describes "whisper". 5. Step 5

By: Prof. M. Tayyab Iqbal (M.A. English, M.A. Linguistics, M.A. TEFL, Dip. In Phonetics and Phonology, BCS)

Locate adverbs that modify the entire sentence such as "Unfortunately, the game was cancelled due to rain." "Unfortunately" is being applied to the entire sentence in this case. 6. Step 6 Be careful of misusing adverbs in speech. People do things "well" not "good". Use adverbs to tell how something is done instead of adjectives. Say "speak slowly" or "come quickly" rather than "speak slow" or "come quick".

Data type 2:
Adverbs modify verbs. They tell you How something is done. Example: How does he/ she sing? - She sings beautifully. Rule: Adverbs are often formed by adding -ly to an adjective Example: beautiful - beautifully, careful - carefully Be Careful! Some adjectives don't change in the adverb form. The most important of these are: fast - fast, hard - hard Good is probably the most important exception. The adverb form of 'good' is 'well'. Unfortunately, this is a common mistake that many Americans make! NOT!!: He plays tennis good. Rule: Adverbs can also modify an adjective. In this case, the adverb is placed before the adjective. Example: She is extremely happy. They are absolutely sure. Be Careful! Do not use 'very' with adjectives that express an increased quality of a basic adjective Example: good fantastic NOT!!: She is a very beautiful woman. Rule: Adverbs of frequency (always, never, sometimes, often, etc.) usually come before the main verb Example: He is often late for class. Do you always eat in a restaurant? They don't usually travel on Fridays. Be Careful! Adverbs of frequency expressing infrequency are not usually used in the negative or question form. NOT!!: Does she rarely eat fish? They don't seldom go to the cinema. Adverbs of frequency are often placed at the beginning of a sentence. Example: Sometimes, he likes to go to museums. Adverbs of frequency follow - come after - the verb 'to be'. Example: He is sometimes late for work.

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