Adverbs

1. An adverb is a part of speech that modifies verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

2. Adverbs tell how, when, where, how much, and why.

3. Adverbs that modify adjectives and adverbs usually tell how much; adverbs that modify verbs tell how, when, where, and why.

4. Many adverbs are formed from adjectives and the suffix –ly.

a. Most adjectives that end in y change the y to i and then add the ly to form the adverb.

b. Most adjectives that have more than one syllable and end in le simply change the e to y to form the adverb.

c. Most adjectives ending in ic add ally to form the adverb.

5. Some common adverbs that are not formed from adjectives are never, not, here, there, then, when, where, always, too, now, and very.

a. The contraction n't stands for the adverb not.

6. Many adverbs can form comparisons.

a. They have the same three degrees: positive for one thing or person, comparative for two things or persons, and superlative for more than two things or persons.

b. Some adverbs use –er and –est to show comparison.

c. Most adverbs formed from adjectives use more or most to show comparisons.

d. Some adverbs are irregular.

e. Adverbs not formed from adjectives usually do not form comparisons.

7. In formal writing, avoid using the negative adverbs with other negative words. This is called a double negative.

8. To identify an adverb:

a. Does it end in –ly, and without the –ly, would it be an adjective? (Be careful: Some words that end in –ly are adjectives.)

b. Can it shift position in a sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence? It is probably an adverb.

c. Does it tell how, when, where, how much, or why?

9. Other parts of speech, as well as clauses and phrases, can also act as adverbs.

Notes:

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Adverb Vocabulary:

adverb:.................................... a part of speech that modifies verbs, adjectives, and other adjectives, and tells how, when, where, how much, and why.

contraction.............................. forming a new word by combining two or more words, omitting parts, and using an apostrophe to show where the parts were left out.

comparative:............................ an adverb form showing whether one thing, idea, or quality is greater or lesser than another. Used with two things being compared.

positive:................................... the standard form of an adverb.

superlative............................... showing a comparison in extreme form. The superlative of an adverb shows that a quality is the greatest or least of all. Used with three or more things being compared.

double negative........................ using more than one word in a sentence to express a negative.