Adverbs: meanings and functions
Grammar
Adverbs: uses. Adverbs are one of the four major word classes, along with nouns, verbs and adjectives. We use adverbs to add more information about a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a clause or a whole sentence and, less commonly, about a noun phrase.
Adverbs: meanings and functions. Adverbs have many different meanings and functions. They are especially important for indicating the time, manner, place, degree and frequency of something.
Adverbs ending in – ly. Adverbs have a strong connection with adjectives. Adjectives and adverbs are usually based on the same word. Adverbs often have the form of an adjective + -ly.
Adverbs ending in - ward(s) or – wise. There is a small group of adverbs which end in -ward(s) or -wise. The -ward(s) words can end in either -ward or -wards (inward, inwards).
Adverbs with the same form as adjectives. Some adverbs have the same form as adjectives. The most common are: fast (not fastly), left, hard, outside, right, straight, late, well, and time words such as daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.
Adjectives ending in – ly. Some adjectives end in -ly, e.g. lively, lonely, ugly. We don’t form adverbs from these adjectives because they are not easy to pronounce. We usually reword what we want to say instead.
Adverbs not related to adjectives. Some adverbs (e.g. just, quite, so, soon, too, very) are not directly related to adjectives:
Gradable adverbs. Most adverbs, like most adjectives, are gradable (they can express different degrees of qualities, properties, states, conditions and relations). We can modify adverbs using other types of adverbs and comparative forms to make longer adverb phrases.
Adverbs: functions. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, nouns, other adverbs and whole phrases or sentences:
Time, place and manner adverbs (early, there, slowly)
Degree adverbs (slightly) and focusing adverbs (generally)Degree and focusing adverbs are the most common types of modifiers of adjectives and other adverbs. Degree adverbs express degrees of qualities, properties, states, conditions and relations. Focusing adverbs point to something.
Evaluative adverbs (surprisingly) and viewpoint adverbs (personally)We put some adverbs outside the clause. They modify the whole sentence or utterance. Evaluative and viewpoint adverbs are good examples of this:
Linking adverbs (then, however)Linking adverbs show a relationship between two clauses or sentences (e.g. a sequence in time, cause and effect, contrast between two things):
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Adverbs as discourse markers (anyway, finally)Discourse markers organise longer pieces of conversation or text. They can mark the openings or closings of conversations, changes in topics, and other functions connected with organising a conversation or text. Most discourse markers belong to the class of adverbs.
Adverbs as short responses (definitely, certainly)
Adverb phrases: forms. An adverb phrase consists of one or more words. The adverb is the head of the phrase and can appear alone or it can be modified by other words. Adverbs are one of the four major word classes, along with nouns, verbs and adjectives.
Adverb phrases: types and meanings. An adverb phrase can consist of one adverb or an adverb plus other words before it (premodification) or after it (postmodification). Adverb phrases have many different meanings.
Adverbs and adverb phrases: position. We can put adverbs and adverb phrases at the front, in the middle or at the end of a clause.
Types of adverbs and their positions. Different types of adverbs go in different places.
Manner, place and time. Adverbs of manner, place and time usually come in end position:
Evaluative and viewpoint. Adverbs indicating the attitude and point of view of the speaker or writer usually go at the beginning. These adverbs are called sentence adverbs because they refer to the whole sentence or utterance:
Adverbs and adverb phrases: typical errors[end of a formal letter/email]
Adverbs: comparative and superlative forms. Adverbs do not normally change in form, but a few have comparative and superlative forms. These are usually short adverbs and so they normally have comparative and superlative forms with -er and -est.
Adverbs with more and most. Adverbs with two or more syllables form the comparative and superlative with more and most:
Well and badly. The adverb well has the same comparative and superlative forms as the adjective good (better, best). The adverb badly has the comparative and superlative forms worse, worst:
Comparative adverbs: using than. When we mention the second person or thing in the comparison, we use than. We do not use that or as. If the second person mentioned takes the form of a personal pronoun, we normally use the object form of the pronoun (me, you, him, her, us, them):
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Adverbs: uses
Adverbs are one of the four major word classes, along with nouns, verbs and adjectives. We use adverbs to add more information about a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a clause or a whole sentence and, less commonly, about a noun phrase.
Can you move it carefully? It’s fragile.
Quickly! We’re late.
She swims really well.
Don’t go so fast.
You have to turn it clockwise.
Come over here.
Actually, I don’t know her.
I haven’t seen them recently.
The bathroom’s upstairs on the left.
Adverbs: meanings and functions
Adverbs have many different meanings and functions. They are especially important for indicating the time, manner, place, degree and frequency of something.
| time | I never get up early at the weekends. |
| manner | Walk across the road carefully! |
| place | When we got there, the tickets had sold out. |
| degree | It’s rather cold, isn’t it? |
| frequency | I’m always losing my keys. |
Adverbs: forms
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