The Form of Adverbs
1. In most cases an adverb is formed by adding 'ly' to an adjective:
Adjective Adverb quick quickly happy happily lucky luckily slow slowly cheap cheaplyExamples:
a. Time goes quickly.
b. He slowly walked to the door.
c. She certainly has an interesting life.
d. He carefully picked up the sleeping child.
2. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective.
Examples:Adjective Adverb hard hard fast fast faster faster late late early early earlier earlier straight straight better betterCompare:
a. It is a fast car.
b. He drives very fast.
c. He works hard.
d. He is a hard worker.
e. He is a better swimmer than me.
f. He swims better than me.3. WELL & GOOD : WELL is the adverb that corresponds with the adjective GOOD.
Adjective Adverb GOOD WELLExamples:
a. He is a good student.
b. He studies well.
c. She is a very good piano player.
d. She plays the piano very well.
e. They are good swimmers.
f. They swim very well.
COMPARING ADVERBS
1. The same structures are used for comparing adjectives or adverbs.
Examples :
A.Comparative + than
a. She plays the piano better than her brother.
b. Generally, women live longer than men.B.As....As
c. Roger dances as well as Michael.
d. Paul speaks French as fluently as Herman.C.Not as ... as
c. Roger does not dance as well as Michael.
d. Paul does not speak French as fluently as Herman.
MAIN CLASSES OF ADVERBS
1. Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner answer the question how?
They are generally placed after the direct object or after the verb?
They speak Italian badly. (after the direct object)
He swims well, (after the verb).
Examples:
a.He ran....rapidly, slowly, quickly
b.She spoke.... softly, loudly, aggressively
c. James coughed loudly to attract her attention.
d. She moved beautifully, like a gazelle.2. Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place answer the question where?
They are generally placed after the direct object or after the verb?
We bought our car here,(after the direct object).
I looked everywhere, (after the verb).
Examples:
a.John looked away, up, down, around...
b.I'm going home, out, back, there, nowhere, anywhere...
c. Here it is.d. His mother came out of the house and the boy ran towards her.
3. Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time answer the question when?
a. He is arriving soon, later, now..
b. Then, later, we went to bed.
Generally, the adverb of time is placed at the beginning or end of a sentence.
Examples:
a. I'm busy today.
b. Afterwards he apologised to her.
c. Finally she accepted his apology.
d. He fell again.
e. They will stay permanently.YET and STILL as adverbs of time
YET: is placed at the end of the sentence or after not.
a. Have you finished your work yet?
No, not yet.
b. They haven't met him yet.STILL: is usually placed before the verb but after the verb to be.
a. I am still hungry.
b. She is still waiting for you.
c. Jack still walks 10 kilometres a day although he's over ninety.d. My grandmother still talks of her childhood as if it were yesterday.
4.Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of frequency answer the question how often?
They go to the theatre often, sometimes, rarely, never, always...
Generally, they are placed:
a. after to be when to be is not an auxiliary :
He is always late for work.b. before the verb: in simple tenses
She often visits her mother.
Henry rarely eats meat.c. after the first auxiliary in compound tenses:
Jack has never been to Italy.
We are sometimes invited to dinner.e. At the beginning or end of a sentence :
Examples:
a. I sometimes go to England in the Summer.
b. They are always at home.
c. She has never learnt French.
d. They go to the cinema now and again.
e. Sometimes we stay at home and watch television.Common adverbs of frequency
(100%) always, often, frequently, from time to time, occasionally, sometimes, seldom, rarely, never (0%).
5. Adverbs of degree
Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity, or degree of an action.
Common adverbs of degree
Almost, nearly, quite, just, too, enough, hardly, scarcely, completely.
Adverbs of intensity, degree or quantity are generally placed :
a. Before the adjective or adverb being modified:
It was too cold to swim.b. Before the main verb:
He is just leaving.
They have almost finished.Examples:
a. She doesn't quite know what she'll do after university.
b. They are completely exhausted from the trip.
c. I am too tired to go out tonight.
d. He had hardly arrived before they started arguing.6. Enough
ENOUGH is placed after an adjective but before a noun
Examples:
a. Before a noun
- We have enough bread.
- They don't have enough food.b. After an adjective
- The dress was big enough for her.
- She is old enough to make her own decisions.7. Interrogative adverbs
The interrogative adverbs are:
WHY, WHERE, HOW, WHEN.
Examples:
a. Why are you so late?
b. Where is my passport?
c. How are you?
d. How much is that coat?
e. When does the train arrive?