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ADVERB

Definition


Adverbs are words that modify

bullet a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?)
bullet an adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?)
bullet another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly did she move?)

As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened. Adverbs frequently end in -ly; 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:

bullet That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.

If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a sentence), it is called an Adverb Clause:

bullet When this class is over, we're going to the movies.


 

 
Adverbs can modify Adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb. Thus we would say that "the students showed a really wonderful attitude" and that "the students showed a wonderfully casual attitude" and that "my professor is really tall, but not "He ran real fast."

Like adjectives, adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms to show degree.

bullet Walk faster if you want to keep up with me.
bullet The student who reads fastest will finish first.


We often use more and most, less and least to show degree with adverbs:

bullet With sneakers on, she could move more quickly among the patients.
bullet The flowers were the most beautifully arranged creations I've ever seen.
bullet She worked less confidently after her accident.
bullet That was the least skillfully done performance I've seen in years.

The as — as construction can be used to create adverbs that express sameness or equality: "He can't run as fast as his sister."

A handful of adverbs have two forms, one that ends in -ly and one that doesn't. In certain cases, the two forms have different meanings:

bullet He arrived late.
bullet Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything.

In most cases, however, the form without the -ly ending should be reserved for casual situations:

bullet She certainly drives slow in that old Buick of hers.
bullet He did wrong by her.
bullet He spoke sharp, quick, and to the point.
             Using Adverbs in a Numbered List
 

Within the normal flow of text, it's nearly always a bad idea to number items beyond three or four, at the most. Anything beyond that, you're better off with a vertical list that uses numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). Also, in such a list, don't use adverbs (with an -ly ending); use instead the uninflected ordinal number (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.). First (not firstly), it's unclear what the adverb is modifying. Second (not secondly), it's unnecessary. Third (not thirdly), after you get beyond "secondly," it starts to sound silly. Adverbs that number in this manner are treated as disjuncts (see below.)

 

Adverbs We Can Do Without


Review the section on Being Concise for some advice on adverbs that we can eliminate to the benefit of our prose: intensifiers such as very, extremely, and really that don't intensify anything and expletive constructions ("There are several books that address this issue.")

 
Kinds of Adverbs

 

Adverbs of Manner
   She moved slowly and spoke quietly.

Adverbs of Place
   She has lived on the island all her life.
   She still lives there now.

Adverbs of Frequency
   She takes the boat to the mainland every day.
   She often goes by herself.

Adverbs of Time
   She tries to get back before dark.
   It's starting to get dark now.
   She finished her tea first.
   She left early.

Adverbs of Purpose
   She drives her boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks.
   She shops in several stores to get the best buys.

 
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