Norton University

College of Arts, Humanities and Languages

Subject: Writing Skills
Year 2 / Semester 2
Lecturer: Sang Sambor
Academic Year 2022-2023
ADVERBS

I. Definition
Adverbs
❖ are words that modify
1. a verb He drove slowly. (Slowly shows how)
2. an adjective This is a very sweet mango.
(Very shows how much/in what degree)
3. another adverb He reads quite clearly.
(Quite shows how far or to what extent)
II. Formation of Adverbs
❖ As we will see, adverbs often tell how, when, where, and how often.
Adverbs frequently end in –ly.
Ex: easily, quickly, quietly, clearly, possibly, noisily, busily, cleverly,
wisely, beautifully, happily, readily, heavily, singly, doubly…
❖ 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:
Ex: That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.
❖ Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify
an adverb. Thus, we would say that
- The students showed a really wonderful attitude.
- My professor is really tall, but not He ran real fast. X
III. Kinds of Adverbs
1. Adverbs of Manner (to show how the action is done)
She moved slowly and spoke quietly.
The teacher reads the text clearly.
The story is well written.
[Note: This class includes nearly all those Adverbs which are
derived from adjectives and end in – ly.]
2. Adverbs of Place (to show where the action happens)
She works here.
She still lives there.
They followed me everywhere.
3. Adverbs of Frequency (to show how often the action happens)
She takes the boat to the mainland every day.
She often goes by herself.
I have told you twice.
4. Adverbs of Time (to show when the action happens)
She tries to get back before dark.
It's starting to get dark now.
I hurt my knee yesterday.
5. Adverbs of Degree or Quantity (to show how much or in what
degree the action happens)
He was too careless in his speech.
These durians are almost ripe.
I am fully prepared.
6. Interrogative Adverbs (to show question)
Where is she from?
Why are you so late?
How did she reach the destination?
7. Adverbs of Reason
He, therefore, left school.
He is, hence, unable to refute the charge.
8. Adverbs of Affirmation and Negation
Surely you are mistaken.
He certainly went.
I do not know him.
Note: Some of the above Adverbs may belong to more than one
class.
IV. Positions of Adverbs
1. Before adjective/adverb
Example: This classroom is too small.
He speaks English very fluently.
2. After intransitive verb
Example: They sleep soundly.
3. Before a transitive verb or after its object.
Example: The commander severely punished his soldiers.
The commander punished his soldiers severely.
4. After special verbs
Example: You can surely do it.
5. Before or after an infinitive
Example: He seems really to understand. He seems to understand really.
6. At the beginning of the sentence
Example: Fortunately, I was able to answer her difficult questions.
Choose the most appropriate answer and write it in the space provided.
1- She shouted (angry/angrily) …………………..at him.
2- He is a (careless/carelessly) …………………..worker.
3- If you ask (nice/nicely) ……………………, I will give it to you.
4- Be quiet! I can't think (clear/clearly) ……………… if you are talking.
5- Why are you (angry/angrily) …………………..?
6- You are always so (slow/slowly) ……………………, come on!
7- Those chocolates look (nice/nicely) ………………… Can I have one?
8- She opened the door (slow/slowly) ………………….. .
9- It is a beautiful (clear/clearly) …………………..day.
10- You write so (careless/carelessly) ……………..... Look at these errors.
 Adjective or adverb?
1. Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and
other adverbs.
You can recognize adverbs easily because many of them are formed by
adding -ly to an adjective.
Here are some sentences that demonstrate some of the differences
between an adjective and an adverb by showing what is being modified
in each sentence. In each sentence, light blue arrows point to adjectives
and green arrows point to adverbs.
Here careless is an adjective that modifies the proper noun Richard.

Here carelessly is an adverb that modifies the verb talks.

Here happy is an adjective that modifies the proper noun Priya and extremely
is an adverb that modifies the adjective happy.

Here quickly is an adverb that modifies the verb finished and unusually is an adverb that
modifies the adverb quickly.
❖ Adverbs can't modify nouns, as you can see from the following incorrect
sentences.

He is a quietly man. The correct sentence should say He is a quiet man.

I have a happily dog. The correct sentence should say I have a happy dog.

❖ On the other hand, it's sometimes easy to make the mistake of using an
adjective to modify a verb, as the incorrect sentences below show.

He talks careless about your wife. The correct sentence should say
He talks carelessly about your wife.
He is breathing normal again. The correct sentence should say
He is breathing normally again.
2. An adjective always follows a form of the verb to be when it modifies
the noun before the verb.

Here are some examples that show this rule. Light blue arrows point from
the adjective to the noun that it modifies.
3. Likewise, an adjective always follows a sense verb or a verb of
appearance -- feel, taste, smell, sound, look, appear, and seem -- when it
modifies the noun before the verb.

Here are some examples that show this rule. Light blue arrows point from
the adjective to the noun it modifies.

Here bad is an adjective that modifies the noun cough. Using the adverb
badly here would not make sense because it would mean her cough isn't very
good at sounding.
Here awful is an adjective that modifies the noun oil. Using the adverb
awfully here would not make sense because it would mean that castor oil
isn't very good at tasting.

Here fresh is an adjective that modifies the noun air. Using the adverb
freshly here would not make sense because it would mean that the air
has a sense of smell that it uses in a fresh manner.
Here unhappy is an adjective that modifies the pronoun she. Using the
adverb unhappily here would not make sense because it would mean that
she isn't very good at seeming.

Here dark is an adjective that modifies the noun images. Using the adverb
darkly here would not make sense because it would mean that the images
were suddenly popping into view in a dark manner.

Be careful to notice whether the word modifies the subject or the verb in
the sentence. If the word modifies the subject, you should use an
adjective. If the word modifies the verb, you should use an adverb. The
difference is shown in the following pair of sentences.
Here sweet is an adjective that modifies the noun apple. Using the
adverb sweetly here would not make sense, because it would mean that
the apple can smell things in a sweet manner.

Here carefully is an adverb that modifies the verb smells. Using the
adjective careful here would not make sense, because it would mean that
the dog gives off an odor of carefulness.
Put word in the bracket in the correct form adjective or adverb.
1. He ……………defined the terms. The answer sounded…………………
(correct).
2. She …….… adjusted the fees. She adapted …………… to any situation
(quickly).
3. He measured the floor ………………. They proved to be ………………
measurements. (exact)
4. The stillness of the tomb was ………………….. The tomb was
…………………… still. (awful)
5. It was a……………lake to swim in. The man was……………drunk. The gas
smelled ……………(dangerous)
6. She performed …………….. . It was a ………………… beautiful
performance. (magnificently)
7. Her voice sounds……………….. (beautiful)She sang the song………………
(exactly) as it was written. We heard it ………..…(perfectly).
8. He was a very…………….person. He acted very ……….. (sensible)

9. Mike wrote too …………on the exam. He always writes ………….(slow)

10. Talk…………or don't talk at all. They played the music ………… (soft)

11. Andrea knows the material very……..She always treats us……… (well)

12. Terrence plays quarterback as ……………………… as Brian. (well)

13. Asian music often sounds ………………. to Western listeners. (odd)

14. Does your car run……………………. enough to enter the race? (safe)

15. I felt ……………… enough to go out at night on my own. (good)

Thanks for Paying Attention!

Bye !