Adverb

Adverbs are descriptive words that convey a sense of how, when, where, or why. An adverb's descriptiveness can be applied to a verb, an adjective, or to another adverb.

He quickly jumped the puddle.

How did he jump the puddle? Answer: quickly. The verb in the sentence is the word jumped, and the adverb, quickly, describes how the subject jumped the puddle.

She is an exquisitely beautiful lady.

The word beautiful is an adjective that describes the lady. The adverb exquisitely describes how beautiful the lady is in the estimation of the speaker or writer. How beautiful? Answer: exquisitely.

NOTE. The dictionary will reveal that exquisitely is an adverb. However, you must find the word exquisite in your dictionary. Exquisite is listed as an adjective, but in the treatise on exquisite, the dictionary will also list the word exquisitely as an adverb.

Our summerhouse is nearby.

Where is our summerhouse? Answer: nearby.

The worms appear early, and that is why the early bird gets the worm.

When do the worms appear? Answer: early. The word early is an adverb that describes when the worms make their appearance. The word appear is a verb. In the second part of the sentence the word early is an adjective that describes the noun bird.

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."   (From Gone With The Wind)

How do I give a damn? Answer: frankly.

At half time we were behind, but we won the game.

Where were we? Answer: behind. Note that the word behind as used in this sentence is actually a condition rather than a place. However, it functions as an adverb that describes where we were at half time.

Amphetamines are extremely dangerous.

How dangerous are amphetamines? Answer: extremely. The word dangerous is an adjective that describes amphetamines, and the word extremely is an adverb that describes the degree of danger.

That was a very good play.

How good was the play? Answer: very. The word good is an adjective that describes the play. The word very is an adverb that describes the degree of good.

Indeed, that was a good play.

The function of the adverb indeed may not be obvious. The word indeed means without a doubt. So ask this question. How do I agree with you that it was a good play? Answer: without a doubt. I agree without doubt. I agree indeed. Indeed is an adverb that describes my agreement that it was a good play. Good is an adjective that describes the noun play. Indeed good.

It's too dark.

How dark is it? Answer: too. The word too means excessively. The word dark is an adjective that describes a condition. The adverb too describes the degree of darkness. Example. It is too dark to play ball.

We completed the project yesterday.

When did we complete the project? Answer: yesterday. The word yesterday is an adverb that describes when we completed the project.

Her report is much better than mine.

The word better is an adjective that describes the report. The word much as used in this sentence is an adverb that describes the degree of better.

She very quickly took control of the game.

How did she take control of the game? Answer: quickly. How quickly did she take control of the game? Answer: very. Two adverbs are employed in this sentence. The adverb quickly describes how she took control of the game. The adverb very describes the degree of quickness.

Simmons responded more appropriately than Jones to the request for more time.

How did Simmons respond? Answer: appropriately. How appropriately did Simmons respond? Answer: more. The adverb appropriately describes the verb (appropriate response). The adverb more describes the degree of appropriateness. The word more is also used in this sentence as an adjective to describe the noun time.

He bravely battled the dastardly storm.

How did he battle the storm? Answer: bravely. Note that some English grammar books state that adverbs often end with the letters (ly). That is not a reliable indicator. It is the function of a word that determines the classification of the word. In the sentence above, the word storm is a noun, and the word dastardly functions as an adjective.



Return to Directory