ADVERBS

FORM = COMPARISON

A. DEFINITION: Adverbs modify VERBS, ADJECTIVES, or ADVERBS.

like adjectives, adverbs are modifying words
- they describe, alter, specify other words
unlike the other POS, adverbs modify 3 parts of speech
- specifically, adjectives and verbs and adverbs
- which 3 can be found in the word "adverb":
  - ad- for ADJECTIVES
  - verb- for VERBS
  - adverb- for ADVERBS

B. LOCATIONS:

can be located practically anywhere in the sentence
- however, it is good practice to keep the modifier and modified as close as possible
- to avoid any confusion
do NOT place adverbs in the middle of INFINITIVES
- do not "split infinitives"
- (“to boldly go” is incorrect)

C. QUESTIONS THEY ANSWER:

where
when
how
how often
to what extent

D. THAT'S AN ADVERB?!:

usually end in (-ly)
- however, NOT all adverbs end in (-ly)
- such as the following:
  - not, very,
  - tomorrow, today, yesterday,
  - here, there,
  - well, once,
  - seldom, never

E. INTENSIFIERS/LIMITERS:

as their names indicate, these adverbs intensify or limit the words they modify
- they are adverbs that enhance adjectives and adverbs
- they appear before the word they modify
in terms of effective academic writing, however, you should avoid most of these
- and choose more colorful, descriptive words
- otherwise, you might sound like that fifth-grade boy writing his first Valentine:
  - “I really, really, really like you, very, very, very much.”

very

really

truly

quite

pretty (as in “pretty old”)

brand (as in “brand new”)

absolutely

barely

hardly

scarcely

little (as in “little tired”)

fairly

DOUBLE NEGATIVES:
- also, beware using the negative limiters with other negative pronouns such as nobody, no one, none—
- these would form DOUBLE NEGATIVES
  - as in mathematics, double negatives make 2 negatives = 1 positive,
  - effectively changing the meaning of your sentence
    - Hardly no one studied for the grammar test.
    - When the teacher asked if anyone had questions concerning the material, no one said nothing.
  - REWRITE:
    - Hardly anyone studied for the grammar test.
    - When the teacher asked if anyone had questions concerning the material, no one said nothing.

F. TROUBLESOME PAIRS:

well-well:
- “well” is typically an ADVERB,
- yet when it describes someone’s health, it is an ADJECTIVE:
  - Schmidt played well in yesterday’s game.
  - My son Jefferson did not feel well yesterday.
real-really:
- Yes, little piggy, that house is made of real straw.
  - “real” modifies the noun “straw” -- adjective
- Franklin runs really fast for a turtle.
  - “really” modifies the verb “runs” -- adverb
less-fewer:
- (less):
  - adjective; a smaller, uncountable amount
  - (measured by amount, not number)
  - Use less salt the next time you make spaghetti sauce.
  - (“less trouble/time”)
- (fewer):
  - adjective; a smaller, countable amount
  - (“fewer trees”)
  - Drew Brees threw fewer interceptions in 2004 than he did the previous year.
farther-further:
- (farther):
  - refers to a greater distance, measurable
  - Due to changes in ballpark dimensions, ball composition, strike zone size, and training regiments, baseball players today can hit the ball farther than those of the previous generations.
- (further):
  - meaning to a greater extent, a longer time, a greater number
  - metaphoric
  - (“furthest thing from my mind”)
  - You have been caught plagiarizing your essay and have consequently failed the course; I will not discuss the matter any further.

G. MISPLACED or DANGLING MODIFIERS:

place modifiers as close to the words that they describe as possible
EXCEPTION:
- modifiers (adjectives) that come after LINKING VERBS
- The school bus used to transport the soccer team was blue.
misplaced modifying phrases or clauses (relative clauses or subordinate clauses) can cause confusion, so …
- place them either before or after the noun modified;
  - place the modifying phrase/clause at the START of the sentence; or
  - to follow the noun, transform the clause into a RELATIVE CLAUSE
    - (“that is” “which was”)
adjectival phrase:
- Proud of her achievement, Gloria displayed her “A” paper for all to see.
adjectival clause:
- The instructor who uses profanity in her lectures was fired.
SIMPLE SOLUTION:
- if you have an INTRODUCTORY phrase or clause,
- make sure that the noun that follows the COMMA is the word modified
  - (see “Gloria” above)
(A) ADVERBS and ADVERBIAL CLAUSES: (SUBORDINATING CLAUSES)
- Krystina snatched the water bottle desperately held by the team’s trainer.
  - was it snatched or held “desperately”?
  - so place the adverb either immediately before or after the verb it modifies:
  - “desperately snatched”* or “snatched desperately”
- After eating a bucket of “3-alarm” chicken wings, the bathroom echoed with Wang’s screams of pain.
  - the bathroom did not eat the wings
  - whatever comes after that comma is what's modified by the opening
  - After eating a bucket of “3-alarm” chicken wings, Wang screamed in pain in the bathroom.
- Get it? Here's an old Groucho Marx line to drive it home:
  - “The other day I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I’ll never know.”
(B) SPLIT INFINITIVES:
- infinitives = “to + verb”
  - in Latin, infinitives = one word
- so we cannot place an adverb between the preposition and the base form of the verb
  - Star Trek’s “…to boldly go where no man has gone before” is thus incorrect
- SIMPLE SOLUTION:
  - Place the adverb either before or after the infinitive
  - whichever sounds better to you as the writer
  - (though, most choose after):
    - “…boldly to go where no man has gone before.”
    - “…to go boldly where no man has gone before.”