THE ADVERB

I. RULES AND USES

1. Main properties
Adverbs modify verbs (He drives carefully.)
adjectives (He drives a very fast car.)
other adverbs (She moved quite slowly down the aisle.)
prepositional phrases (The nail went right through the wall.)
particles in phrasal verbs (They left him well behind.)
noun phrases (It was such a mess.)
entire sentences (Unfortunately, they missed the bus.)

2. Degrees of comparison
Many adverbs are gradable, but most require the comparative to be expressed periphrastically
through the premodifiers more and most. Adverbs that take comparative and superlative
degrees of comparison are generally identical with adjectives.

REGULAR COMPARISON
Types of adverbs Positive Comparative Superlative
1/2-syllable adverbs soon sooner (than) the soonest (of, in)
early earlier (than) the earliest (of, in)
-ly adverbs suddenly more suddenly (than) the most suddenly (of, in)
carefully more carefully (than) the most carefully (of, in)

IRREGULAR COMPARISON
Positive Comparative Superlative
badly worse (than) the worst (of, in)
well better (than) the best (of, in)
much more (than) the most (of, in)
little less (than) the least (of, in)
far farther (than) –distance the farthest (of, in)
further (than) – abstract the furthest (of, in)

Gradable adverbs can be used as the unmarked/ neutral term in how- questions:
How frequently should we take tests?
I am wondering how quickly he can write the essay.
 3. Adverb formation
 Many adverbs do not have suffixes (now, here, often, therefore, however).

3.1. + LY
 The most common adverb ending in English is –ly, added to adjectives in order to
form adverbs (openly, madly, frequently).
 In case the adjectives end in –l, the resulting adverb is obviously spelt with a double
–ll- (naturally, usually, beautifully).
 If the adjective ends in –ic, the suffix is generally –ically (romantically, logically,
BUT publicly).
 If the adjective ends in –e, the adverb drops the final –e, addind directly the suffix –
ly (capable-capably, BUT extreme-extremely).

3.2. + WARD(S) / + WISE

 Some less common adverb endings are –ward/ -wards (for a directional meaning)
and –wise (for a manner or a viewpoint meaning):
-ward(s) -wise -wise
direction manner/ dimension viewpoint
afterwards, forwards, clockwise, likewise, food-wise, marketing-wise,
upwards, backwards, lengthwise, otherwise moneywise, pricewise,
northwards, inwards, towards status-wise

! modifies the verb: ! modifies the entire sentence:

The flames were shooting Moneywise, we are doing fine.
skywards.

3.3. +S
 Adverbs ending in –s (from older stages of the language):
besides, sideways, days/ nights (They work nights.)
 It appears that adverbs such as since, else, once, twice are also part of this category,
but in their case the old –s inflection is lost or somehow obscured.

3.4. A+
There is a number of adverbs in English formed by means of a- prefixation:
aback, aboard, above, abroad, ahead, around, away.

! Others with a- prefixation can be both adjectives and adverbs:

afire, afloat, ajar, alike, alone, asleep.
They look alike./ They are alike.
 3.5 Adverbs and adjectives with identical form
Some adverbs and adjectives have the same form (not only those with a-
prefixation):
hard, long, fast, early, daily, kindly.
I go to the gym daily. / This should be a daily habit.

3.6 Doublets
Adverbs that have forms both with or without –ly, usually different in meaning:
Deep/ deeply: He swims deep into the sea. (going a long way down)
He is deeply in love with her. (greatly)
Hard/ hardly: He works hard every day. (in a hard way)
He can hardly see anything. (scarcely)
Other: high/ highly, near/ nearly, late/ lately etc.

4 Adverbs and their function in the sentence

 Generally, elements not obligatorily selected by a verb (the sentence can be interpreted
without the presence of the adverb).

 Adverbs as obligatory elements

Certain verbs of movement, situation and behaviour (act, behave, go, reside, dress)
obligatorily select an adverb as their complement.
She behaved beautifully. (manner)
John resides there. (place)
The game lasted two hours/ long. (duration)

 Adverbs as intensifiers
- adverb+ adjective structure: incredibly beautiful, perfectly clear, terribly hard
- adverb+ verb emphatic structure: deeply regret, honestly believe, sincerely hope

 Adverbs as optional elements (adjuncts in a sentence)

They add to the meaning of the sentence, either by adding emphasis or by offering
additional information, but the sentence can be understood and interpreted correctly
without their presence.
I (truly) believed what they said.
(In fact), I have never seen him before.
5. Adverb classes / Classification

5.1. Sentence adverbs (modify the entire sentence)

 Viewpoint adverbs- their usual position is at the end of the sentence or at the
beginning (separated by a comma): commercially, individually, scientifically,
psychologically etc
Financially, this project is viable.
 Comment/ speaker-oriented adverbs- position at the end of the sentence or at the
beginning (separated by a comma): probably, surprisingly, obviously, definitely,
unfortunately etc
Obviously, I will take that into account.

5.2. Agent-oriented adverbs (denote the attitude of the agent). They are different from
the speaker-oriented adverbs because the speaker uttering the sentence is not the same
person as the one performing the action. Usually before the main verb or at the end of
the sentence: angrily, carefully, deliberately, willingly etc
They deliberately hid the truth from her.

5.3. Manner adverbs describe how something is done. Usually at the end of the sentence,
before time adverbs: The police searched the room thoroughly.

5.4. Place adverbs denote location or direction. Usually at the end of the sentence, before
time adverbs: They have to leave here immediately.

5.5. Temporal/ Time adverbs locate the event in time. Usually at the end or at the
beginning of the sentence: The rooms must be cleaned daily./ Tomorrow I am flying to
London.
 Deictic- from the standpoint of the speaker, marked [+/- Past]: then, now, yesterday,
tomorrow, next week, three weeks ago etc
 Anaphoric- relate to a previously established time and are context dependent for their
interpretation: until, till, when, while, early, lately, sometimes, eventually etc
 Referential: in 1998, at 10 o’clock, on the 26th of July, in December etc

or:

 Past (yesterday)
 Non-past (today, tomorrow)
! There is a compatibility between Tense and temporal adverbials. Both the present
and the future tense may combine with either a present or a future adverb, whereas the
 past simple can only combine with a past adverb and under a resultative interpretation
with a present adverb.
John is coming today/ tomorrow.
John will come tomorrow/ today.
John came yesterday/ today.
Referential adverbs look fine in all contexts, but are interpreted depending on the tense
of the verb:
John came/ is coming/ will come in January.

5.6. Frequency adverbs (also called Aspectual adverbs) denote the frequency with
which something occurs. Usually before the main verb, but if the verb is to be or a
modal verb, frequency adverbs are placed after these verbs: I always drink coffee in
the morning./ I am never late for classes.
 Adverbs of duration: for a while, for hours, all the time, always
[+durative], [+continuous], [-definite frequency], [+habitual]
 Adverbs of definite frequency: daily, monthly, weekly, once, twice
[-durative], [-continuous], [+definite frequency]
 Adverbs of indefinite frequency: never, ever, frequently, often, usually
[-durative], [-continuous], [-definite frequency]

5.7. Focus adverbs draw the attention on one element of the sentence: He teaches here
only on Mondays. (not other days of the week)/ Only he teaches here on Mondays. (not
other people)/ He teaches only here on Mondays. (not in other places)

5.8. Degree adverbs describe the extent to which something is done: He drives quite fast./
He is totally exhausted.

6. Adverb placement in the sentence

Given that adverbs are optional elements that bring additional information to the sentence,
they usually occur in marginal positions.
If the adverb has inherent meaning, its position will not affect its interpretation:
(Yesterday) John (yesterday) had (yesterday) been (yesterday) talking (yesterday) to
his friends (yesterday).

In case more than one adverb occurs per sentence, the following word orders can be observed:
Subject + verb + (object) + manner adverb + place adverb + time adverb + temporal adverb
 ↓ ↓
shorter period longer period
of time of time
We had breakfast quickly at home at eight this morning.

Subject + verb of movement + place adverb + manner adverb + time adverb + temporal adverb
We are going home hurriedly at eight tomorrow.

Temporal adverb + time adverb + subject + verb + object + place adverb + manner adverb
Tomorrow at eight we are going home hurriedly.

7. Co-occurrence
One of the most intriguing features of adverbs is their ability to co-occur in a sentence
while at the same time being limited from co-occurring under certain conditions.
She frequently wisely goes there on Sundays. (?)
She suddenly was frequently rejected by publishers.
Sentences with more than three or four adverbs rarely occur in natural language and they
sound at least awkward. Additionally, adverbs which are part of the same class cannot co-
occur unless they are part of an enumeration or they are coordinated:
The police searched the crime scene quickly and thoroughly.

8. Adverbs and the split infinitive

There is a class of so-called auxiliary adverbs which are placed in front of the main verb:
almost, already, merely, still, utterly.
Unsplit infinitive: He wants merely to glimpse the sea before leaving.
She has the tendency always to be looking for something new.
Split infinitive: She wants to openly and honestly confess what she has done.
 I. ACTIVITIES
Teach the ADVERB to Intermediate Level Students. Devise four activities of
introducing the different rules and uses of THE ADVERB in English.
Specify: the aim(s), the estimated time, students’ level, students’ age.

We can adopt a four-stage procedure for teaching the adverb to students.

STAGE 1/ LEAD-IN ACTIVITY

LEVEL: Intermediate
AGE: 14-16 year-old students
ESTIMATED TIME: 5 minutes
AIM: to allow students to recognize and practice the rules of adverb
placement in a sentence.

Activity 1. Choose the right answer to complete the sentences:

1. ___________ , she slipped on the wet pavement and fell.

a. Happily
b. Unfortunately
c. Definitely
2. When they saw each other, they _________ fell in love.
a. at the end
b. immediately
c. the next day
3. Some experiences in life are so unimportant as to _________ be worth any attention.
a. barely
b. surely
c. never
4. He _______________ meets his friends in the evening.
a. lately
b. tomorrow
c. often
5. The rooms must be cleaned ______________.
a. rarely
b. daily
c. obviously
 STAGE 2/ ACTIVITY 2
LEVEL: Intermediate
AGE: 14-16 year-old students
ESTIMATED TIME: 5 minutes
AIM: to give students practice in the use of adverbs.

Activity 2. Fill in the blanks with a suitable adverb from the list:
quietly, happily, fortunately, very, sincerely, early, obviously. loudly

I organized a surprise party for my friend, Edith, last weekend. All the guests arrived
______________ (1) and waited ________________ (2) until Edith got there. When she
walked through the door, we all cheered _____________ (3). We went into the garden
because it was a _______________ (4) warm day. ______________ (5), all the guests had
lovely presents for Esther and she thanked them _____________ (6). We danced
___________ (7) all night. ______________ (8), we will do that again next year!

STAGE 3/ ACTIVITY 3
LEVEL: Intermediate
AGE: 14-16 year-old students
ESTIMATED TIME: 10 minutes
AIM: to enable students to recognize the correct meaning of adverb, to
practice co-occurrence and the correct adverb placement.

Activity 3. Match the sentences in column A to the appropriate pair of adverbs in column B.
Complete the sentences with the adverbs, by putting them in the right place:

COLUMN A COLUMN B
1.They forgot about their very important appointment. strongly/ too

2. I believe he will keep his promise. thoroughly/ tomorrow

3.They will check the final report. too/ really

4.That piece of furniture is large and the entrance door completely/ yesterday
is not wide.

5.She believes in the existence of fairies and dragons. really/ eventually

.
 STAGE 4/ FOLLOW-UP/ HOME ASSIGNMENT
LEVEL: Intermediate
AGE: 14-16 year-old students
ESTIMATED TIME: 10 minutes
AIM: to have students practice adverbs of all types and the correct adverb
placement in a sentence.

Activity 4.
Rewrite the following paragraph by adding adverbs in order to make the story more
interesting and turn it into a mystery story. Two adverbs were already added in order to help
you.
The man (immediately) got in the car. He (quickly) drove his car to the old house. He
arrived. He walked up to the door and knocked on it. The door opened. A woman was
standing there, looking at him. He was looking at her and couldn’t find his words. He said a
few words and then stopped.