Adverb is a part of speech that adds meaning to a verb, to an adjective, to another adverb, or to an entire sentence. Adverbs are single words (quickly). Groups of words that act as an adverb are known as adverbials. These groups of words can take the form of adverbial phrases (in the morning) or adverbial clauses (if the meeting continues).
A speaker or writer uses adverbs or adverbials to add details that describe how, when, where, or why a thing happened. For example, My brother crawled becomes more specific when adverbs and adverbials are added: After the accident, my brother crawled painfully from the car. Adverbs and adverbials modify the verb crawled. After the accident is an adverbial phrase that tells when. The adverb painfully describes how, and the adverbial phrase from the car shows where.
Classifying adverbs and adverbials
Adverbs can be distinguished by their use as simple adverbs, sentence modifiers, conjunctive adverbs, or intensifiers.
Simple adverbs
are single words. Most of them end in –ly, as in certainly and deeply. Some simple adverbs do not have an –ly ending. They include above, ahead, down, too, and well.
A few simple adverbs may be used either as adverbs or as adjectives. They include better, early, fast, much, more, and late. These words function as an adjective when they modify a noun (a late breakfast) and as an adverb when they modify a verb (they arrived late). Another group of adverbs has two accepted forms: close, closely; cheap, cheaply; slow, slowly; even, evenly; deep, deeply; tight, tightly; loud, loudly. The –ly form is preferred in formal usage.
Not all words that end in –ly are adverbs. For example, lovely and jolly are adjectives.
Sentence modifiers
are adverbs and adverbials that modify the whole action of a sentence or clause rather than a single word in it. They often appear at the beginning of a sentence. For example:
Frankly, I don’t want to hear about it. As I recall, nobody asked any questions. Fortunately, we could reach him before he left town.
Conjunctive adverbs
serve a double purpose. Although these adverbs can modify other words or phrases, they frequently act as sentence modifiers. However, conjunctive adverbs additionally serve as structure words–words that connect one part of a sentence to another.
You have made a few payments; however, we must ask you to send checks regularly.
The adverb however connects the two clauses as a conjunction. It also modifies the final clause. Other words commonly used as conjunctive adverbs include therefore, still, otherwise, also, moreover, nevertheless, and yet. Phrases that are frequently used as conjunctive adverbs include for example, that is, on the other hand, and in conclusion.
Intensifiers
do not alter the meaning of the words they modify, but they add emphasis to those words. For example, when intensifiers are added—as in very proud, extremely quiet, quite concerned, and too loud—additional force is given to the verbs they modify.
Position of adverbs
An adverb can occupy a number of positions in a sentence:
Slowly she walked off the stage. She walked slowly off the stage. She walked off the stage slowly.
In these three sentences, the position of the adverb slowly changes the emphasis, but not the overall meaning, of the sentence. In some instances, however, the placement of certain adverbs can change both the emphasis and the meaning of a sentence. The following three sentences show how meaning can be changed by altering the placement of the adverb only:
Only my brother asked to see the gift. My brother only asked to see the gift. My brother asked to see only the gift.
Other adverbs whose placement can affect the emphasis and meaning of a sentence include almost, ever, hardly, just, merely, nearly, normally, quite, scarcely, and somewhat.
Usage
Adverb-adjective confusion.
Through usage, certain words have been established as only adverbs and others as only adjectives. Confusion between some of these adjectives and adverbs is common because they are similar in form. For example, sure is an adjective meaning firm or secure; surely is an adverb meaning certainly. Consider the use of adverbs in the following three sentences:
He was surely (not sure) afraid of his mother. It was a really (not real) good game. He did very well (not good) on his first test.
People often find the following adverbs and adjectives to be confusing:
Adjectives: good (kind, agreeable, satisfactory), real (authentic, genuine), sure (firm, secure), some (in an indefinite amount).
Adverbs: well (satisfactory, in a desirable way), really (actually), surely (certainly), somewhat (to a certain extent).
Confusion between adverb and adjective is common after linking verbs (some form of the verb to be or verbs like feel, seem, hear, or smell). A linking verb should be followed by an adjective modifying the subject, not an adverb. But the adverb form may be used to modify the verb. For example:
He felt bad (not badly) because he had played so poorly (not poor).
The adjective bad, modifying he, appears after felt. But poorly, the adverb, is used to modify played.
The use of the adjective most in place of the adverb almost appears frequently in informal usage. However, the less formal substitution should be avoided in formal writing.
Almost all the elephants died, not Most all the elephants died.
Unnecessary adverbs
can clutter and confuse a sentence. Often, a single specific verb can replace an adverb and sharpen expression. Hurried is preferable to moved quickly, and grasped is better than took eagerly. Such adverbs as hardly, barely, and scarcely carry a negative meaning. Using the adverb not with these words is unnecessary and confusing:
The family had scarcely enough to eat, not The family did not have scarcely enough to eat. I can hardly remember the incident, not I cannot hardly remember the incident.
Unnecessary adverbs also may merely repeat and confuse the meaning of the words that they modify. For example:
The old man reverted (not reverted back) to the days of his childhood. He advanced (not advanced forward) to his position in the line. This (not this here) book has more pictures than that (not that there) one.
Adverbs that split an infinitive.
An infinitive is the base part of a verb, such as go or see. It is often used with the word to, as in to go or to see. Splitting an infinitive means placing one or more words between to and the verb form, as in to quickly go or to readily see.
Splitting an infinitive with an adverb is a matter of style rather than correct grammar. It sometimes results in an awkward expression. This is especially true when the infinitive is separated from its verb by more than one word. For example:
We want to slowly and carefully reorganize the workflow of this organization.
He promised to faithfully and cheerfully work with his teacher.
In the first example, slowly and carefully splits the infinitive to reorganize. Reordering the sentence to read to reorganize slowly and carefully improves clarity. In the second example, the placement of the words faithfully and cheerfully splits the infinitive to work. The sentence would be easier to understand if the adverbs did not split the infinitive:
He promised to work faithfully and cheerfully with his teacher.
In other cases, however, splitting the infinitive may be the only way to get the special emphasis and meaning a writer wants. For example:
I prefer to actually see a play, not just read it.
Placing actually in any other position would alter the meaning of the sentence.
