Adverbs

1. Adverbs It would be best if you reviewed this presentation after you have understood all of the other parts of speech presentations.

2. For many, adverbs can be the most challenging part of speech to master. There are good reasons for their being challenging. First, unlike most parts of speech, they do many different jobs. They describe verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Next, unlike some other parts of speech, they can be found anywhere in the sentence. However, there are some general rules for finding them that can help. Adverbs answer questions of how, when, where, and to what extent. Here are some examples. Mandy caught that ball easily. (How did Mandy catch the ball?) “easily” is the adverb. Today Ernie cut the lawn. (When did Ernie cut the lawn?) “Today” is the adverb. Would you bring your skis here? (Where should you bring your skis?) “here” is the adverb. Keira thoroughly defeated her opponent in squash. (To what extent did Keira defeat her opponent?) “thoroughly” is the adverb.

3. As you may have learned already, if adverbs are challenging for you, then it would be wise not to look at a sentence and just pick them out. Instead, limit the number of words you have to look at by identifying some of the easier parts of speech – the nouns, the verbs, the prepositional phrases. Try this sentence, for example. Siobhan did not know Lisa well. The verb of the sentence is “did know” which is an action verb. The nouns are “Siobhan” and “Lisa.” There are no prepositional phrases. Now, instead of looking though all of the words, you have narrowed your possible adverbs down to “not” and “well.” The only parts of speech you have left are usually adjectives and adverbs. Because you know adjectives will appear in two different places in the sentence,they are easier to find than adverbs are. Because you have an action verb, you have eliminated one of the kinds of adjectives you will have to find. You are left with one type of adjective – the ones that come before the noun that they describe. So, does “not” describe “Lisa”? Does “well” come before a noun?

4. I hope your answer to both questions was “no.” As you move further along in studying parts of speech, you will learn to recognize some words as always being adverbs – “not” is one of those words; it does not describe Lisa; it does describe the verb, “did know.” It answers the question, to what extent did Siobhan know Lisa? “well” is also an adverb in this sentence. It describes the verb “did know” and explains the same question as “not” did -- to what extent did Siobhan “know” Lisa? Try another sentence, following the same process. The young man at the store kindly helped with the large boxes.

5. The young man at the store kindly helped with the large boxes. The verb of the sentence is “helped,” which is an action verb. The nouns of the sentence are “man,” “store,” and “boxes.” There are two prepositional phrases – “at the store” and “with the large boxes.” Start with the prepositional phrases. There is no unidentified word in the first prepositional phrase. Only one unidentified word, “large” appears in the second. Ask yourself whether “large” describes the “boxes.” If you answer is yes, then you have an adjective. The only remaining word is “kindly;” if it were an adjective, it would have to be describing a noun that followed it – but the verb gets in the way. You might also know that “ly” is often a signal that a word is an adverb. What question does the adverb answer? The answer is, of course, that it tells you know how the young man “helped” • Try another sentence – Quietly Katarina opened the door into the very dark room.

6. Quietly Katarina opened the door into the very dark room. The verb of the sentence is “opened,” which is always an action verb. The nouns are “Katarina,” “door,” and “room.” There is only one prepositional phrase – “into the very dark room.” Begin with the prepositional phrase. The only unidentified words are “very” and “dark.” Start with the noun and move backward. In other words, begin with “dark” and ask yourself whether it describes “room.” If the answer is yes, (it should be!) then try the next word, “very.” Does “very” describe the room? Hopefully, your answer is no. “Very describes to what extent the “room” is “dark,” or explains how “dark” the “room” is. In either case, “very” is an adverb because it describes an adjective. And “dark” is an adjective. The only other unidentified word in the sentence is “quietly.” What does “quietly” tell you or explain to you? It explains how she “opened” the door; therefore, since it describes the verb, the word “quietly” is an adverb. • Try another Did they talk long about Nicole’s long letter to Gabe?

7. Did they talk long about Nicole’s long letter to Gabe? The verb of the sentence is “did talk,” which is always an action verb. The nouns of the the sentence are “they,” “letter,” and “Gabe.” The prepositional phrases are “about Nicole’s long letter” and “to Gabe. ” Begin with the first prepositional phrase – the only unidentified words are “Nicole’s” and “long.” Start with the noun “letter” and move backward. Does “long” describe letter? I hope your answer is yes. Move back one more – does Nicole’s describe the letter. Again, I hope you answer yes. The other prepositional phrase has no unidentified words. The only unidentified word left over is “long.” Note how it is not before a noun that it describes. Then ask yourself what does it tell you or explain. The answer is that it tells you the extent to which they might have spoken. So, the first “long” in the sentence is an adverb and the second “long” (inside the prep. phrase) is an adjective. • Try another – find the adverbs, if there are any. Cleo moved fairly fast for a turtle.

8. Cleo moved fairly fast for a turtle. The verb of the sentence is “moved,” which is always an action verb. The nouns of the sentence are “Cleo” and “turtle.” The prepositional phrases is “for a turtle,” but there is no unidentified word. “fairly” and “fast” are the two unidentified words. Note how neither word is before a noun that it describes. It helps to know that if either was going to describe the noun “turtle,” it would have had to have been in the same prepositional phrase. And, if it either were going to describe the other noun, it would have come before the noun or followed a linking verb. Therefore, “fast” is an adverb; it tells you how Cleo moved. And “fairly” is an adverb because it describes another adverb by telling you how fast Cleo moved. • See if you find any adverbs in the following sentence. During the storm Carrie and Hadley moved below into the galley area.

9. During the storm Carrie and Hadley moved below into the galley area. The subject of the sentence is “moved,” which is always an action verb. The nouns are “storm,” “Carrie,” “Hadley,” and “area.” The prepositional phrases are “during the storm” and “into the galley area.” Only the second prepositional phrase has an unidentified word, “galley.” Since “galley” describes the “area,” “galley” is an adjective. The only unidentified words left over are “and” and “below.” “and” is a coordinate conjunction. “below” does not come after a linking verb and does not describe a noun. Instead it tells you where “Carrie and Hadley moved.” Therefore, it is describing the verb and is an adverb. • See if you can find any adverbs in the following sentence. Enrique always goes there after school.

10. Enrique always goes there after school. The verb of the sentence is “goes,” which is always an action verb. The nouns of the sentence are “Enrique” and “school.” The only prepositional phrase is “after school,” and all of its words are identified The words left over are “always” and “there.” “always” describes to what extent he goes there, and is therefore describing the verb. It is an adverb. “there” tells you where he goes, and therefore is also describing the verb. “there” is an adverb. • Try another Rebecca looked exhausted after the extremely challenging hike.

11. Rebecca looked exhausted after the extremely challenging hike. The verb is “looked,” which in this sentence, because Rebecca is not using hereyes to see anything, is a linking verb. “Rebecca” and “hike” are the only nouns in the sentence. The only prepositional phrase is “after the extremely challenging hike.” “challenging” describes the “hike” and is, therefore, an adjective. “somewhat” does not describe “hike;” Instead it explains to what extent the hike was “challenging.” Since it describes the adjective, it must be an adverb. “exhausted” is the only other unidentified word. It does not come before a noun, but it does follow the linking verb and it does describe Rebecca. Therefore, “exhausted” is an adjective. Working with linking verbs can be tricky; “exhausted” may have looked like an adverb there – so we will try another with a verb that might or might not be a linking verb. Because of her cold, Trisha’s voice unfortunately sounded terrible in that beautiful old ballad.

12. Because of her cold Trisha’s voice unfortunately sounded terrible in that beautiful old ballad. The verb is “sounded,” and in this sentence it is working as a linking verb. The nouns are “cold,” “voice,” and “ballad.” The prepositional phrases are “because of her cold,” and “in that beautiful old ballad.” In the first phrase “her” describes “cold;” therefore “her” is an adjective. In the second phrase, both “beautiful” and “old” describe the “ballad.” They are both adjectives as well, then. The only words left over are “Trisha’s,” ”unfortunately,” and “terrible.” “Trisha’s,” describes “voice;” therefore we know it is an adjective. “unfortunately” does not come before a noun, has an ly, and describes the circumstances of how her voice sounded. It is an adverb. “terrible” does not come before a noun, but it did come after a linking verb and describes her “voice” since, believe it or not, nothing is sounding. “terrible” is an adjective. You might also consider that if we were using the adverb for “terrible,” we would have used “terribly,” as in “He performed terribly in the clutch.” • Try another Dave bravely turned the faucet forcefully and stopped the terrible leak.

13. Dave turned the faucet forcefully and stopped the terrible leak. Two verbs in this sentence – “turned” and “stopped” – both are action verbs. The nouns of the sentence are “Dave,” “faucet,” and “leak.” There are no prepositional phrases The unidentified words are “forcefully,” “and,” “terrible.” “forcefully” does not come before a noun it describes, ends in ly, and describes how he “turned the faucet.” “forcefully” is an adverb. “and” is a coordinate conjunction. “terrible” comes before a noun and describes it. “terrible” describes the “leak” itself and therefore “terrible” is an adjective. • Try another Surprisingly, the weather turned cooler later in the afternoon around 4:00.

14. Surprisingly, the weather turned cooler later in the afternoon around 4:00. The verb of the sentence is again “turned” but this time it is a linking verb. The nouns of the sentence are “weather,” “afternoon,” and “4:00” The prepositional phrases are “in the afternoon” and “around 4:00” Neither has an unidentified word. The remaining words are “surprisingly,” “cooler,” and “later.” “surprisingly” explains how the weather’s changing was a surprise. Any time you have a word, especially when it ends in “ly,” describing a whole sentence, you can count on its being an adverb. “cooler” follows a linking verb and describes the noun before the verb. It is an adjective. “later” describes when the weather changed; it is not coming before and describing a noun, nor could we say it was describing the subject. Therefore “later” is an adverb. • Try another An ugly look from my neighbor rarely worried me.

15. An ugly look from my neighbor rarely worried me. The verb of the sentence is “worried,” which always works as an action verb. The nouns of the sentence are “look,” “neighbor” and “me.” There is only one prepositional phrase – “from my neighbor” with “my” working as an adjective to describe “neighbor.” The remaining, unidentified words are “ugly” and “rarely” “ugly” ends in “ly” but sits right before a noun and describes that noun “look.” Therefore, “ugly” is an adjective. “rarely also ends in “ly” but does not follow a linking verb, nor does it sit in front of a noun. What “rarely” does to is to explain to what extent or how often the speaker was worried. “Rarely” is an adverb. • Find any adverbs in the following sentence Grace offered some friendly advice about his rather disorganized garden.

16. Grace offered some friendly advice about his rather disorganized garden. The verb is “offered,” which is always an action verb. The nouns of the sentence are “Grace,” “advice,” and “garden.” There is one prepositional phrase “about his rather disorganized garden.” Begin with the prepositional phrase; start with the noun and move backward. “disorganized” describes the garden and is, therefore, an adjective. “rather” does not describe “garden.” One could not say a “rather garden” and make sense. “Rather” does describe “disorganized,” and so “rather” is an adverb. “his” does describe garden, for it is easy to say “his garden” and have it make sense. Therefore, “his” is an adjective. The only other word left unidentified is “friendly,” True, it ends in “ly” but more importantly, it comes before a noun and describes that noun “advice.” Therefore, friendly works as an adjective. • Find any adverb in the following sentence. Honestly William never appeared fearful to me.

17. Honestly William never appeared fearful to me. The verb of the sentence is “appeared,” which can be either linking or action. In this sentence it is a linking verb since William is not actually appearing anywhere. The nouns of the sentence include “William” and “me.” The only prepositional phrase is “to me” and has no unidentifiable word. The remaining, unidentified words include “honestly,” “never,” and “fearful.” “honestly” comes before a noun but does not describe it. It also happens to end in “ly,” which is often a signal for an adverb. Here it is as it describes how William “appeared” to the speaker. “Honestly” is an adverb. “never” does not come before a noun nor after a linking verb. Though it does not end in “ly,” it does explain how often William “appeared.” “Never” is always an adverb. • Try another Despite the delays due to the storm, Cliff seems in a very good mood today

18. Despite the delays due to the storm, Cliff seems in a very good mood today. The verb of the sentence is “seems” which is always a linking verb. The nouns of the sentence include “delay,” “storm,” “Cliff,” and “mood,” The prepositional phrases are “despite the delays,” “due to the storm,” and “in a very good mood.” The only unidentified words would be in the third phrase. Starting with “mood” and working backward, “good” describes “mood” and is therefore an adjective. “Very” cannot describe “mood” because a “very mood” makes no sense. Therefore, “very” must describe how “good” his mood is and be an adverb. There are no other unidentified words. • Try your hand at another – find the adverbs in the following sentence. Until the age of nearly fourteen Emily was a classically trained dancer.

19. Until the age of nearly seventeen Emily was a classically trained dancer. The verb of the sentence is “was,” which is always a linking verb. The nouns of the sentence are “age,” “seventeen,” “Emily,” and “dancer.” The prepositional phrases are “until the age” and “of nearly seventeen.” Only the second phrase has an unidentified word, “nearly,” which ends in “ly” but comes before a noun and describes it. Therefore, “nearly” is an adjective. The only other unidentified words are “classically” and “trained.” The easiest way to approach these two is to begin with the noun “dancer,” and work backward once again. “trained” is an adjective describing the noun “dancer.” And “classically” does not describe “dancer;” it also ends in “ly” and explains how she was “trained.” Therefore, “classically” is an adverb describing the adjective “trained.” Last one – enjoy! Isabelle sadly grew too tall for her intended Halloween costume.

20. Isabelle sadly grew too tall for her intended Halloween costume. The verb is “grew,” which is an action verb in this sentence. The nouns are “Isabelle,” and “costume.” The one prepositional phrase is “for her intended Halloween costume.” Start with the noun and move backward. “Halloween” is an adjective that describes the noun, “costume.” “intended” is an adjective that describes the noun, “costume.” If you have doubts, ask yourself whether you could say “intended costume.” “her” is an adjective that also describes “costume.” The only unidentified words are “sadly,” “too,” and “tall.” “sadly” obviously ends in “ly” and does not have a noun following it. Therefore, “sadly” is an adverb. “tall” could be an adjective, but here tells you how Isabelle grew. Therefore “tall” is an adverb. Lastly, “too” is a word that describes “tall. A word that describes and adverb is another adverb that explains exactly how tall Isabelle is during this Halloween time. • Congratulations – adverbs are challenging and with all the explanations, this one takes longer than most. We hope, however, the presentation helped you.