| Adverb |
Index for Adverb |
Information AboutAdverb |
|
Adverbs typically answer such questions as ''how?'', ''when?'', ''where?'', ''in what way?'', or ''how often?'' This function is called the Adverbial function, and is realised not just by single words (i.e.adverbs) but by Adverbial Phrase s and Adverbial Clause s. An adverb as adverbial may be a Sentence Element in its own right. They treated her well Alternatively, an adverb may be contained within a sentence element. An extremely small child entered the room Adverbs in English In English , adverbs are often derived from adjectives by using the Suffix ''-ly''. The ''-ly'' is a common, but not reliable, marker of a word being an adverb, since many adjectives also end in ''-ly''. In some cases, the suffix ''-wise'' may be used to derive adverbs from typical nouns. Historically, ''-wise'' competed with a related form ''-ways'' and won out against it. In a few words, like ''sideways'', ''-ways'' survives; words like ''clockwise'' show the transition. Again, it is not a foolproof indicator of a word being an adverb. There are a number of other suffixes in English that derive adverbs from other word classes, and there are also many adverbs that are not morphologically indicated at all. Formally, adverbs in English are inflected in terms of Comparison , just like Adjective s. The Comparative and Superlative forms of adverbs are generated by adding ''-er'' and ''-est''. Many adverbs are also Periphrastically indicated by the use of ''more'' or ''most''. Adverbs also take comparisons with ''as ... as'', ''less'', and ''least''. The usual form pertaining to adjectives or adverbs is called the Positive . Non-English Adverbs Other languages may form adverbs in different ways, if they are used at all:
Examples of adverbs in adverbial functions Contrary to what many people think, "adverb" and "adverbial" are two different things. An "adverb" is a type of word that is a member of the adverb Part Of Speech class, while an " Adverbial " is a syntactic function. The following examples illustrate adverbs in adverbial functions in English. as a verb-modifier (1) In the following examples, the adverb, as a verb-modifier, is highlighted in bold. The verb that it modifies is shown in italics.
as an adjective-modifier (2) In the following examples, the adverb, as an adjective-modifier, is highlighted in bold. The adjective it modifies is shown in italics.
as an adverb-modifier (3) In the following examples, the adverb, as an adverb-modifier, is highlighted in bold. The adverb that it modifies is shown in italics.
adverb modifies a preposition (4) In the following examples the adverb modifies a preposition.
adverb modifies a whole sentence (5) In the following examples the adverb modifies a whole sentence.
adverb links one sentence to another (6) In the following examples the adverb links one sentence to another.
Groups of adverbs Adverbs can be put into several groups: #Adverbs of manner (adverbs that tell how) Examples: happily, quickly, slowly, badly #Adverbs of time (adverbs that tell when) Examples: then, now, soon #Adverbs of place (adverbs that tell where) Examples: there, here, nowhere #Adverbs of degree (adverbs that tell to what extent) Examples: more, very, barely, vaguely #Adverbs which comment on the whole sentence. Example: Stupidly, she answered the questions. (Cf. She answered the questions stupidly) #Adverbs which link sentences. Example: Miss Gold, therefore, left the room. (The adverb ''therefore'' links this sentence to another.) English does not make any grammatical distinction between these groups of adverbs, but some languages do. For example, in German , if a sentence contains multiple adverbs, they should appear in a particular order: ''time'', ''manner'', ''place''. Expletives as adverbs Many Expletive s are used syntactically much the same way as adverbs. For instance, they may modify adjectives and adverbs or take up some adverbial functions. However, there are some differences between these and "ordinary" adverbs. Modifying adjectives:
Modifying adverbs:
Adverbial functions:
Adverbs as a "catch all" category Adverbs are considered a part of speech in traditional English grammar, which is derived from Latin grammar, and are still included as a part of speech in grammar taught in schools and used in dictionaries. However, modern grammarians recognize that words traditionally grouped together as adverbs serve a number of different functions. Some would go so far as to call adverbs a "catch all" category that includes all words that don't belong to one of the other parts of speech. A more logical approach to dividing words into classes relies on recognizing which words can be used in a certain context. For example, a noun is a word that can be inserted in the following template to form a grammatical sentence: :The ____ is red. When this approach is taken, it is seen that adverbs fall into a number of different categories. For example, some adverbs can be used to modify an entire sentence, whereas others can not. Even when a sentential adverb has other functions, the meaning is often not the same. For example, in the sentences ''She gave birth naturally'' and ''Naturally, she gave birth'', the word ''naturally'' has different meanings (actually the first sentence could be interpreted in the same way as the second, but context makes it clear which is meant). ''Naturally'' as a sentential adverb means something like "of course" and as a verb-modifying adverb means "in a natural manner". The "hopefully" controversy demonstrates that the class of sentential adverbs is a Closed Class (there is resistance to adding new words to the class), whereas the class of adverbs that modify verbs is not. Words like ''very'' and ''particularly'' afford another useful example. We can say ''Jim is very fast'', but not ''Jim very won the race''. These words can modify adjectives but not verbs. On the other hand, there are words like ''here'' and ''there'' that cannot modify adjectives. We can say ''The sofa looks good there'' but not ''It is a there beautiful sofa''. The fact that many adverbs can be used in more than one of these functions can confuse this issue, and it may seem like splitting hairs to say that a single adverb is really two or more words that serve different functions. However, this distinction can be useful, especially considering adverbs like ''naturally'' that have different meanings in their different functions. ''Not'' is an interesting case. Grammarians have a difficult time categorizing it, and it probably belongs in its own class. |