Adverbs

Adverbs

An adverb is a word which describes or gives more information about a verb, adjective, adverb or phrase.

Adverbs usually describe how (he worked ambitiously), why (to boost his grades), when (yesterday), where (at school), or to what extent (for many hours).

Adverbs are used to modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

1.       Mary sings beautifully. (How does Mary sing? Modifies the verb "sings'.)

2.       David is extremely clever. (How clever is David? Modifies the adjective "clever':)

3.       This car goes incredibly fast. (How fast does the cargo? Modifies the adverb "fast'.)

Adjectives that are also adverbs

Adverbs are frequently formed from adjectives by adding "—ly" to the adjective. For example, "beautifully" from "beautiful", "quickly" from "quick", etc.

However, some adjectives retain their form when used as an adverb.

Adjective	Adverb
The journey was fast and enjoyable.	He was driving too fast.
Next week is cup final.	Wondering what would happen next.
The back pocket of his jeans was picked.	Sit back and relax.
The plants will grow into little bushes.	I was always a little afraid of her.
Her daughter is seriously ill.	Poor grammar may bode ill for CAT.
The team hoped for better weather.	He could do better if he tried.
How to obtain the best results from your machine.	Jokes are best avoided in essays.
We ate an early lunch.	I was planningto finish work early today.
He was the only child of his parents.	There are only a limited number of tickets available.
There was just enough room for two cars	Before he was old enough to shave, he bought an electric shaver.
I did not get much sleep.	Did it hurt much?
It would be some time before she was com   letel    well.	The whole team played well.
He had not travelled far.	He bowled from the far end.
A long straight road.	He gazed straight at her.
The queue for tickets was long.	How long have you been working here?

When “-ly” makes a difference

Some adverbs have two forms, the form ending in "- ly" and the form which is the same as adjective.

For example: loud, high, hard, near, late, pretty, low, deep, slow, fair, free, most, wrong,

direct, short, close, cheap etc.                                                                    

But in some cases, the meaning changes when "—ly" is attached to the adjective.

On the other hand, some words that do end in "—ly" are not adverbs but adjectives.

Examples: friendly, womanly, silly, frilly, courtly, saintly, nightly, daily.

Let us see how the addition of "-ly" makes a difference.

Adjective	Adverb
Some children are particularly quick learners.	You can make money quickly in Mumbai.
They were kept awake by loud music.	Speak loudly please.
The top of a high mountain may not be visible from the ground.	The sculpture stood about five feet high.
	He was highly regarded by his colleagues.
He loves sleeping on a hard mattress.	They work hard at B-schools.
	The party had hardly started when the police arrived.
The conflict is unlikely to be resolved in the near future.	A bomb exploding somewhere near caused a stampede.
	A rise of nearly 25 percent worried many.
She was half an hour late for her lunch appointment.	It happened late in 1984.
	She hasn't been looking too well lately
A pretty little girl with an engaging grin caught his fancy.	He looked pretty fit for his age.
	She was prettily dressed.
I hope we are doing the right thing.	Nothing is going right for me this season.
	We tasted the delicious cuisine for which the country was rightly famous.
The sun was low in the sky.	He was lying low for most of the time.
He maintains a rather lowly appearance
The lake was deep and cold.	Travelling deep into the countryside, he met man       people.
	The inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.
He used a slow dot-matrix printer.	It was a slow-moving    car.
	Walk slowly.
He believes he has a fair chance of success.	No one could say he played fair.
	The tea is fairly hot.
Some countries do not have a free Press.	Ladies were admitted free.
	You may speak freely.
Snakes are found in most countries.	The most important event of m        life
	I go there mostly in the evenings.
This is the wrong answer.	You got me all wrong.
	Wrongly written spellings put me off badly.
There is no direct flight.	They seem reluctant to deal with me direct.
	The houses were directly opposite.
The bed was too short for the two of us.	He pitched the ball short.
	The flight was hijacked shortly after takeoff.
A cheap and reliable solution.	He sells his goods cheap.
	The house was cheaply sold out.
The hotel is close to the sea.	The    stood close to the door.
	The team is closely held together.

Adjectives with no direct adverbs

Many adjectives have no direct adverbs. For example, friendly will have to written as "in a friendly way" or "in a friendly manner" to serve as an adverb.

The following is a list of adjectives, only some of which may be used as adverbs, as well.

Beastly, beggarly, bodily, bubbly, burly, burly, chilly, comely, comely, costly, courtly, crumbly, cuddly, daily, dastardly, deadly, deathly, disorderly, early, earthly, earthly, easterly, elderly, fatherly, fleshly, fly, fortnightly, friendly, gentlemanly, ghastly, ghostly, gingerly, gnarly, godly, godly, gravelly, grisly, heavenly, hilly, holy, homely, hourly, hurly, jolly, kindly, leisurely, likely, likely, lively, lonely, lordly, lovely, lowly, manly, manly, mannerly, masterly, mealy, measly, miserly, miserly, monthly, motherly, niggardly, nightly, northerly, oily, orderly, pally, pearly, portly, prickly, princely, quarterly, saintly, scaly, seemly, shapely, sickly, silly, slovenly, sly, southerly, spindly, sprightly, squirrelly, stately, steely, superbly, surly, timely, touchy-feely, ungainly, unlikely, unmannerly, unruly, unseemly, unsightly, weatherly, weekly, westerly, wily, wobbly, womanly, woolly, worldly, wrinkly, yearly.

Linking verbs

Linking verbs are verbs of sensation or existence.

Examples: feel, look, smell, sound, taste, act, appear, be, become, continue, get, go, grow, keep, lie, look, prove, remain, resemble, run, smell, seem, sit, stay, strand, taste, turn etc.

Let us look at an example to understand how linking verbs are different from transitive and intransitive verbs.

1.      LINKING: The nation's mood turned sour. (The subject is not engaged in an action. Turned" links "mood" and a state of being, "sour':)

2.      TRANSITIVE: The judge turned the pages quickly. (The subject was engaged in an action — "turned"— and that action transferred to an object — 'pages':)

3.      INTRANSITIVE: The lawyer turned suddenly toward the back of the courtroom. (The subject was engaged in an action — "turned"— and that action was done in a particular way — "suddenly"— but not transferred to someone or something.)

Here are some more examples:

Linking: You're growing happier every day.                        

Action: The plant is growing fast.

Linking: That doesn't appear to be correct.                          

Action: How did you suddenly appear?

Linking: That dinner looks tasty!                                        

Action: Look at this dinner!

Adverbs are not used with linking verbs, but adjectives are.

	••
	Action	Linking	Why?    The theory)
			Sylvia is not the stew! "Tasted"
1	Sylvia    tasted    the    spicy	The     squid    eyeball     stew	is  an  action  verb  in the original
	squid eyeball stew.	tasted good.	sentence and needs to be used
			as a   linking verb.
	I     smell     the     delicious	The mushroom and papaya	I am    not the aroma! "Smell" in
	aroma of a mushroom and	pizza smells heavenly,	this sentence, is an action verb.
	papaya    pizza  baking  in the
	oven.
2
	The     distressed     travellers
	looked     at     their      map,	The          map           looked	"Looked"    changed    from   action
3	wondering     how   the   Eiffel	hopelessly confusing.	to   linking.
	Tower      had      gotten      to
	Egypt.
	Swooping   out of the     clear		In    the    second    sentence,   the
	blue        sky,        Superman	Superman appeared happy	linking         verb         "appeared"
4	appeared   on   Lois  Lane's	to see Lois.	connects      "Superman"   to    his
	balcony.		state of mind, "happiness".

Good, well, bad, badly

These four words are very often misused. It is important to understand their correct use. Just to appreciate how 

important, digest this piece of information: The adjective "well" has three meanings: to be in good health, to be 

satisfactory, to appear well dressed.

Study these sentences.

1.       I feel bad.                                                                                

2.       The job was badly done.

3.       He feels good. (happy, in good mood)                            

4.       He feels well. (in fine health)

5.       Is the baby behaving well or badly?                                 

6.       She feels good in that suit.

7.       All is well that ends well.                                                      

8.       She did well in her exam.

9.     I feel good when I receive gifts.                         

10.   I feel well today.

11.  I feel bad about losing my job.                                              

12.   He wrote the document really badly. (Badly is an adverb)

13.  The doctor says I am completely well.                                 

14.   She feels bad about the news.

15.  You did a good job.                                                                

16.   You did the job well.

17.      You smell good today. (Describes your odour, not how you smell with your nose, so follow with the adjective.)

18.      You smell well for someone with a cold. (You are actively smelling with a nose here; so follow with the adverb.)

19.      I do not feel well.

20.      You do not look well today. (When referring to health, always use well.)

21.      "How are you?" "I'm good, thank you."

22.      After a bath, the baby smells so good.                                                                                              23.      Even after my careful paint job, this room doesn't look good.                                                                                           

Unless you make GOOD use of these adverbs, and are confident about using them WELL, you may fare BADLY on the CAT and that can be BAD for your future.

Incorrect	Correct
She feels badly about the misunderstanding.	She feels bad about the misunderstanding.
The car runs good most of the time.	The car runs well most of the time.
He was hurt bad.	He was badly hurt.
We work good together.	We work well together.
Sharon's cough sounds badly.	Sharon's cough sounds bad.

Rules of adverb usage

Position of adverbs

It is very important to know the correct place or position at which an adverb should be used in a sentence. A change in position can dramatically alter the meaning of a sentence.

See how the position of "only" affects the meaning of the following sentences.

1.          Only he took the French course. (There is one student who took French in the class.)

2.          He only took the French course. (He registered; he sat there; but he didn't really study or apply himself in anymeaningfu, way.)

3.          He took only the French course. (He didn't take any other course.)

4.          He took the only French course. (Only one French course of any kind was offered.)

5.          He took the French only course. (The entire course was conducted in French.)

6.       I just saw him at the gate. (Means I did not do anything else, viz., shake hands, talk etc.)

7.          I saw just him at the gate. (I saw only him and nobody else.)

If some stress is to be laid on a verb, or if a reply is to be given in a short form, all the adverbs should be placed before the auxiliary verbs or the single verb "be".

1.        He has again forgotten to bring his books.

2.      Yes, he always does forget to bring his books.

3.      "Are you free this evening?" "Yes, I usually am free in the evenings."

4.      "When does he go to Bombay?" "He already has gone to Bombay."

5.      "Do you travel by plane?" "Yes, I sometimes do."

If an adverb modifies the whole sentence or is meant to give very great stress, it is placed at the very beginning of the sentence.

        1.    Unfortunately a very serious accident occurred.   2.     Luckily no one was killed.

        3.    Out came the lion from the den and stood before us.

Too

"Too" means more than enough. Therefore, too should not be used in place of very or much, otherwise it would yield an absurd meaning. For example, if we say, "I am too happy to hear of your success", it would mean, "I am happy to the extent I should not have been." Certainly this cannot be the intention of the speaker. The correct form of this sentence would be, "I am very happy to hear of your success."

It should be remembered that "too" has a negative sense or the sense of undesirability. Too should be used keeping in mind this sense of its meaning and implication.

For example, the following sentences are wrong:

1.        Incorrect: Sachin Tendulkar is too good a cricketer.

2.        Incorrect: John Abraham looks too cool in this picture.

3.        Incorrect: You are too kind to me.

4.        Incorrect: She is too beautiful.

5.        Incorrect: He is too intelligent.

6.        Incorrect: You are too faithful to me.

In the following sentences, "too" is used correctly:

        1.    The day is too hot.

        3.    The house is too small for my family.

        5.    The weather is too cold.

        7.    He is too poor to buy a car.

        9.    The river is too deep for me to cross.

11. The problem is too difficult for me to solve.

Use of "very", "much"

   2.   The price is too high for me.

   4.   You are still too weak.

   6.   It is too much for me to bear.

   8.   He is too weak to run.

10. The enemy is too strong to be overcome easily.

"Very" is used with present participle,. and "much" with past participle or verb.

        1.    It was very surprising.

   3.    He was much surprised. (Not very surprised)  5.       He was much confused. (Not very confused)

        7.    He drinks much.

   9.    Incorrect: The news was very much interesting. 11. Correct: He was very much disappointed.    13. Correct: This is the very best book on Marketing

  2.   The game was very exciting.

4.    I was much shocked to hear the news. (Not very  shocked)

  6.   He talks much.

  8.   Incorrect: The news was much interesting. 10. Correct: The news was very interesting. 12. Incorrect: He was too much disappointed.

14. Correct: This is much the best book on Marketing.

With some past participles the use of very is correct.

1.      I was very pleased to hear the news.                   2.      He was very tired at the end of the journey.

"Very" is used before the positive degree of an adjective or an adverb, and "much" before the comparative degree of an adjective or an adverb. Very much can also be used (in place of much) in the comparative degree, but not in the positive degree.

1.        Ram's house is much bigger than Mohan's. (or very much bigger)

2.        Mohan is much more trustworthy than Sohan.

3.        Hari is much better placed than Rajesh.

4.        Ram is very intelligent.

5.        Mahesh is very poor.

Very and much can both be used in the superlative degree also but the rule_.is that "very" is used after the article "the", and "much" before "the".

        1.    He is much the best boy of the class.                    2.    Rakesh is much the richest man of the town.

        3.    Cow is the very gentlest animal.                           4.    This is the very best book available here.

Very much can be used with the verb in affirmative sentences only. Only much can be used in negative sentences.

1.      I love him very much.                                        2.      I don't love him much.

Very much, too much, much too and only too

All these four phrases have different meanings. "Very much" means "completely". "Too much" and "much too" mean "more than necessary or desirable". "Only too" means "much".

         1.    I am very much obliged to you.                           2      His performance is very much disappointing.

         3.    It gives me too much pain.                            '     4      It is much too painful.

         5.    I am only too glad to be here.

"Too" and "even"

The difference between too and even is that too is used only for emphasis, while even is used in the sense of "against or contrary to hope or expectation."

For example, a brother is normally expected to help a brother, but if a brother does not help, we shall say:

Even my brother did not help me.

Similarly:

         1.    He helped me and my friend too.                           2.    He is intelligent and industrious too.

        3.    Even my father did not support me.                       4.    I could not even recognise him.

"Little" and "a little"

"Little" and "a little" have the same meaning as adverbs as they do as adjectives. "Little" is negative meaning "almost nothing" while "a little" means "not much".

1.        I little expected that he would pass. (There was almost no hope.)

2.        I was a little disappointed. (There was some disappointment—not much).

"Since" and "ever since"

These are both adverbs of time.

Since means from a certain point of time in the past, while ever since means from a certain point of time to the present.

They are used with the present perfect tense, but in indirect narration they are used with past perfect tense.

1.        I met him five years ago and have remembered him ever since.

2.        We were together in school days but we have met only twice since.

3.        He assured me that he had never done so since.

4.        We lived in Kashmir several years ago but we have remembered those happy days ever since.

Else ... but

"Else" is followed by "but" not "than."

       1.    None else but the Prime Minister will come.           2.     I met none else but your father.

       3.    It is nothing else but arrogance.

Seldom or never, seldom if ever

The correct expressions are seldom or never (not ever) and seldom if ever (not never).

1.     He seldom or never misbehaves with anybody.    2.     He seldom if ever drinks.

Before and ago

Both these are adverbs of time.

Before is used with simple past tens orpresent perfect tense.

Ago is used with simple past tense only (not with present perfect tense).

        1.    I never before met such a rude man.                     2.    I have seen Jaipur before also.

        3.    I met him a month ago.                                         4.    His father died a month ago.

Ago suggests past tense; therefore it should not be used with any form of the present tense.

1.      Incorrect: I have arrived here only a little while ago.

2.      Incorrect: I have completed my work an hour ago.

Yet, still, already, so far

        1.    He is still in service.

        3.    I still love you.

        5.    He has not come yet.

        7.    He has left for office already.

  9.    He has not yet left for office. 11. He has not yet come.

13. He has not met me so far.

  2.    You are still a student.

  4.    He still needs my help.

  6.    I have already finished my work.

  8.    I have not yet finished my work. 10. Are you not yet ready?

12. I have already met him.

Just

Just means right now or not long before. Normally it is used with present perfect tense.

1.        He has just arrived.                                                              2.       I have just finished my story.

Just can be used with simple past tense also, and there it means only or barely.

1.        He just caught the train.                                                      2.        He just managed to escape.

Just has one more meaning suggesting the sense of "at this very moment" or "exactly".

            1.    The clock has just struck two.                                             2.       He has just gone out.

            3.    This is just what I wanted.

Fairly, rather

Both these are adverbs of quantity. The difference between them is that fairly has the sense of liking or appreciation, while rather has the sense of disliking or disapproval. Therefore, care should be taken not to use expressions in which there may be mingling of liking and disliking.

For example, all the following expressions are incorrect:

All Incorrect: Fairly dull, fairly ugly, fairly bad, fairly slow, fairly cunning, rather intelligent, rather beautiful, rather good, rather quick, rather honest, rather gentle, etc.

In order to correct these expressions, we should use fairly in place of rather, and rather in place of fairly.

            1.     The weather is fairly pleasant. (Not rather pleasant) 

2.         The day is rather hot. (Not fairly hot)

            3.     The house is fairly comfortable.                                         

4.       The house is rather uncomfortable.

No, not, none

"No" is used like an adjective before a noun, after the following verbs: Hope, believe, think, expect, suppose, be afraid, etc.

"Not" is used in place of a noun clause. By this use the sentence becomes short.

1.	Can you go there? I am afraid not..	2.	Will he pass? I expect not.
3.	Is he fair? I suppose not.	4.	This is no good pen.
5.	There is no better pen.	6.	You can travel no faster by any means.
7.	Not a tree or bush was there.	8.	There was not a man in the hall.
9.	This is no good abusing him.	10.	This is no different from that.
11.	His behaviour towards us was none too good.	12.	He is none the better in spite of my help.

Hard, hardly

Normally "hard" is an adjective, but it can also be used as an adverb. As an adverb it means hard labour. It is used after the verb.

1.        He worked hard (not hardly) for the examination.

2.        He tried hard (not hardly) to win the prize.

"Hardly" is an adverb of degree. It means very little or scarcely. It is used before a single verb or after the first auxiliary in a compound verb.

1.        I have seen him only once and therefore I hardly know what type of man he is.

2.        He was so changed that I could hardly recognise him.

3.        It is a new medicine; it has hardly been tried yet.

For emphasis, "hardly" can be used at the beginning of a sentence also.

Hardly had the train stopped when he jumped out.

Late, lately

"Late" as an adverb means late in time.

1.     He comes late every day.                                      2.   The theft was committed late at night.

3.      He married late in life.

"Lately" means "recently".

1.     He has lately started a new business.                      2.   He has lately shifted to a new house.

Most, mostly

"Most" as adverb means "maximum" or "greatest".

1.     The man whom I like most is John.                         2.   The man who talks most is often hollow.

"Mostly" means "largely".

1.     His stock consists mostly of outdated things.           2.   The students were mostly inattentive.

3.     The audience consisted mostly of students.

•
	Common errors	The correct form	Why? (The theory)
			When home is used as an
			adverb  of  place,  neither
1	I am going to home.	I am going home.	a    preposition  nor    a
			relative          adjective
			should be used before it.
2	He left in the next morning,	He left the next morning.	If words that show time, such       as       morning, evening,   day,     night, month,  year,  etc.  have
3	I shall come Sunday.	I shall come on Sunday.
4	He did not go on that day.	He did not go that day.
			such     qualifying    words
			before    them    as   this,
			that,    next,   last,  all,
			etc.   no   preposition is
			used before them.
5	Don't come night.	Don't come in the night.	But if the time-showing
			words are used without
			the      qualifying     words
			(this,  that,  next,  last,
			etc.),                      proper
			prepositions  should  be
			used before them.
6	I       have      arrived      here	I arrived here yesterday.	In    a    sentence   in   the
	yesterday.		present  tense,  no adverb or       adverbial
			phrase     suggestive    of
7	I have passed MA last year.	I passed MA last year.	past    tense    should   be
			used.
	I    advise  you   to   carefully	I   advise  you  to  read  the
8	read the book.	book carefully.
			No    adverb    should    be placed  between "to" and
	I    request   you    to    kindly	I    request   you   kindly   to
9	grant me leave,	grant me leave,	the      verb,     to      avoid
			splitting  the infinitive.
	I   direct   you  to   punctually	I   direct  you  to  reach  the
10	reach the office every day.	office     punctually    every

Adverbs revisited

Incorrect	Correct
Roses smell sweetly.	Roses smell sweet.
The woman looked angrily.	The woman looked angry.
The woman looked angry at the beggar.	The woman looked angrily at the beggar.
Dolores bakes real good apple pies.	Dolores bakes really good apple pies.
	She walks a lot more slowly since the accident.
She walks a lot slower since the accident.
He sure works hard.	He surely works hard.
Talk quieter.	Talk more quietly.
This is a real tough problem.	This is a really tough problem.
He damn near killed me.	He nearly killed me.
The cat crept nearly.	The cat crept near.
He is so  rich.	He is very rich.
He went only that far.	He went only so far.
He is very humble to make such a tall	He is too humble to make such a tall claim.
claim.
I read the proof yesterday meticulously at	I read the proof meticulously at home
home.	yesterday.
He comes home late often.	He often comes home late.
He usually is seen playing with his club	He is usually seen playing with his club
mates.	mates.
He always is at home.	He is always at home.
I used to often take a break from my	I often used to take a break from my
packed schedule for playing tennis,	packed schedule for playing tennis.
It is enough hot to make you desire an ice-	It is hot enough to make you desire an ice‑
cream.	cream.
	She despised none of her lovers.
She did not despise none of her lovers.	OR
	She did not despise any of her lovers.
	She seldom or never has sweet talks with
She seldom or ever has sweet talks with	her son.
her son.	OR
	She seldom if ever has sweet talks with her
	son.

Exercise

Choose the right adverb in each of the following sentences.

1.       He fought (hard, hardly) for the No.1 spot.

2.       It would (hard, hardly) rain today.

3.       He never comes (lately, late).

4.       She is (pretty, prettily) dressed.

5.       You are (prettily, pretty) mistaken about him.

6.     The hare ran (more fast, faster) than the dog.

7.       The petrol price hike issue has been debated (hotlier, more hotly) than the urea scam.

8.       He is (that, so) intelligent that he does not need to attend classes.

9.       She is (too, very) intelligent.

10.    The match became (much, very) interesting..

11.    It is nothing else (than, but) fatigue.