When it comes to different parts of the sentence in English, adverbs are probably the hardest class to understand and get used to. This is because they can be placed in different positions within the sentence, and they also have different functions. Below we will look at how adverbs are formed and what kinds of word classes they modify.
Adverb suffixes
Although some adverbs are obvious, others could be a bit confusing because of their suffixes. Let’s examine different examples.
-ly
The most obvious suffix to recognize an adverb is the suffix -ly, which when attached to an adjective, turns it into an adverb. For example:
quick – quickly
mad – madly
bad – badly
beautiful – beautifully
graceful – gracefully
-wise, -way(s)
But other parts of the speech, like nouns, prepositions or determiners, can also be turned into adverbs. Here are examples of constructing adverbs using suffixes -wise or -way(s):
clock – clockwise
side – sidewise
design – designwise
length – lengthwise
other – otherwise
side – sideways
all – always
any – anyway
every – everyway
some – someway
-ward(s)
There are also adverbs that are constructed by adding suffix -ward(s) to some prepositions or prepositional noun phrases. For example:
back – backward(s)
west – westwards
for – forward
to – toward
on – onward
Be aware, however, that the presence of the suffix above doesn’t automatically mean that the word is an adverb. Some of these terms can be adjectives as well. For example, in the sentence, “I stepped forward to greet him,” the word “forward” is an adverb. But in the sentence, “I hope you don’t think I’m too forward,” “forward” is an adjective. The former describes a direction, while the latter refers to a person.
Functions of adverbs
Adverbs are the most often used to describe a place, manner, and time.
Place (where?)
These adverbs answer the question “where?”. This can refer to location or direction. For example:
This Pizza is made locally.
Many birds fly southward when it gets cold.
Manner (how?)
Manner adverbs show ways and means, intensification, and point of view. They answer the questions “in what way?”, “by what means?”, “to what extent?”, “how intensely?”, “from what point of view?”, and “from whose point of view?”. For example:
He spoke to her intensely. (in what way?)
A spinal fluid that is slightly hazy is briefly examined microscopically. (by what means?)
She absolutely refused to answer the question. (to what extent?)
I strongly believe in you. (how intensely?)
Financially, this will be a very good decision. (from what point of view?)
Although these questions might be a little hard to remember, all of them can be combined under the more broad “how?”.
Time (when?)
Time adverbs answer the question “when?”. This can refer to a point in time, duration, or frequency. The more specific questions to be asked are “at white time?”, “at what point?”, “for how long?”, and “how often?”. For example:
I will call you immediately. (at what time/point?)
She only lived there temporarily. (for how long?)
We will have this meeting biweekly. (how often?)
Similarly to the manner adverbs, the questions above could be put in the broad umbrella of “when?”.
Adverbs modifying other words
Although adverbs usually describe place, manner, and time, they can also modify other word classes such as adjectives, determiners, prepositions, noun phrases, and even other adverbs. For example, in the sentence “This car is expensive,” the word expensive is an adjective. But if we want to show how expensive the car is, we can say “This car is very expensive.” Very in this case is an adverb used to intensify the adjective. Some other examples are:
He’s not that smart.
This coffee is pretty good.
I know this material really well.
This house is quite old.
Some examples of adverbs that modify determiners are:
Almost all the employees are underqualified.
Nearly every building in this city is ruined.
All and every in the examples above are determiners, and almost and nearly modify them.
And lastly, adverbs can modify prepositions and noun phrases. Adverbs that modify prepositions are just, right, and well. For example:
He came just in time.
She went right into the river.
The building stood well over the bay.
The most common adverb that modifies a noun phrase is quite. For example:
This was quite a speech you gave during the meeting.
You can be quite a brat sometimes.
Keep in mind that some adverbs and adjectives are the same. For example, fast is an adjective and adverb at the same time. Some people say “fastly”, but this word actually doesn’t exist. For example:
I am a fast driver. (adjective)
I drive fast. (adverb)
Other examples of adverbs having the same form as adjectives are: hard, left, outside, right, straight, late, and well. Although words like hardly and lately do exist, they have a different meaning.
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Now write a few sentences of your own trying to use as many adverbs as you can remember. Put some of your sentences in the comment section or send me an email with some examples. Mastering syntax will make you more fluent and self-confident. Remember, the more you practice, the easier it gets.
Note: Most parts of the material in this post have been taken from the book Systems in English Grammar by Peter Master (chapter 12).
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