Even those who claim that the English language is difficult cannot help but agree that the adverbs in the English language are incredibly easy to understand. They are simple to build, and there are very few exceptions to the rules.
You cannot begin to explain the construction of adverbs without understanding what they are all about. It is not difficult for us, Russian-speaking people, to learn to use this part of speech, primarily because the Russian language already has similar words that are built on the same principle.
If we turn to the Russian dialect, then it means a sign of the action of an object, its quality and condition. It answers the following questions: How? When? Why? How many? Where? Where? how long? An adverb can refer to an adjective and even another adverb, describing their characteristics. In a word, this part of speech is very capacious, without it the Russian language would be significantly impoverished.
English adverbs
Using adverbs is not a very difficult task, because we cope with it very well in our native speech. Adverbs in the English language are not fundamentally different from their Russian “brothers”, so their assimilation is very accessible and does not require much effort.
All adverbs in the English language are divided into three main groups, namely: simple (consisting of one word that just needs to be learned, like any other English), complex and derivative. Let's take a closer look at them.
Types of adverbs in English
- Simple adverbs that are represented in one word, and no endings or suffixes need to be added to them, for example: often, now, never.
- Derived adverbs, or adverbs formed by adding a suffix or ending. Such suffixes are: ly, ward(s), like. For example, cold+ly - coldly - cold, slow+ly - slowly - slowly. Examples of the use of other suffixes are as follows: backwards - back, clockwise - clockwise.
- Complex adverbs consisting of two words that are written either separately or together. For example, sometimes - sometimes, everywhere - everywhere, everybody - everyone, everyone, forever - forever.
After studying the table, you will understand that there is nothing simpler than adverbs in the English language! The table is presented below.
Exceptions
Words that strongly resemble adverbs still exist in the English language. However, there are not many of them, and they are not difficult to remember.
For example, the word hardly very similar to an adverb, although in fact in translation it means “barely”, whereas the word hard is a simple adverb and is translated as “diligently.”
There are also a number of words that look just like adjectives, but are actually adverbs. Among these words are the following: friendly - friendly, silly - stupid, lovely - cute, olderly - elderly.
A completely logical question arises: how not to get confused and start using an adverb instead of an adjective in speech and vice versa?
In fact, everything is very simple: you just need to remember that in English everything is very clear, and every word has its place in a sentence. If the word causing doubt comes before a noun, it is an adjective; if it comes before a verb, then it is an adverb. For a clearer understanding, here are some examples:
They are so freindly people! - They are such friendly people! In this case, a noun is described, which means friendly- is an adjective.
He is driving very quickly - He drives the car very quickly. In this example quickly characterizes a verb, being, in turn, an adverb.
Adverb as an adverb
Adverbs can be divided not only according to their structure, but also according to the type of circumstance by which they are expressed.
- Temporal adverbs express temporal characteristics, for example: now - now, now, rarely. Adverbs of time in English are responsible for time indicators and are a very important part of speech.
- Adverbs indicating location: behind - behind, there - there, here - here.
- Adverbs that characterize how an action occurs: loadly - loud, sadly - sad, quietly - quiet.
- Adverbs characterizing quantity and degree: little - little, quite - quite.
Without such words, speech would look poor and meager, but, fortunately, they exist and greatly decorate the English language!
Matching adverbs and adjectives
Very often, adverbs are completely similar to adjectives, differing only in their place in the sentence, which helps to determine what is in front of us in this case.
For example, cheap- is both an adjective (“cheap”) and an adverb (“cheap”).
Let's look at examples:
- This car was very cheap. - This car was very cheap. In this case cheap refers to a noun, respectively, being an adjective.
- I have eaten very cheap - I ate very cheap. In this sentence, cheap characterizes an action and is an adverb.
Comparing adverbs
It turns out that English adverbs can also be compared, like adjectives.
The principle of operation is the same, namely: there are the same two degrees of comparison - comparative and superlative, which are formed in exactly the same way as in the case of adjectives. Isn't this a gift?
- The comparative degree can be obtained by adding the ending -er to the adverb if the word is simple. For example, hard+-er - harder. And of course, an example of use in a sentence: You should study harder and harder to learn French. - To learn French, you have to study harder and harder. If the adverb is long, then it is added more. For example: You look more happily than yesterday. -You look happier than yesterday.
- formed by analogy with the same degree as adjectives, namely by adding the ending -est for short words and most- for long ones. For example: he has run the fastest - He ran the fastest. Just don’t forget about the definite article the! Its presence is mandatory before the excellent
- However, even here there are exceptions. Let's look at them in table form:
As can be seen from the table, all exceptions almost exactly repeat the exceptions
Adverbs in the English language can and should be memorized and used for better assimilation.
Shall we practice? Yes, this is simply necessary! In order, write the degrees of comparison for the following adverbs:
- slowly;
- easily;
- perfectly;
- little;
- fast.
No doubt you did great. Congratulations! Using adverbs in English should no longer cause difficulties, for which you can be congratulated!
An adverb (Adverb) denotes a sign of an action or describes the circumstances under which an action is performed:
My son is four. He can't already read well.
My son is four years old, but he already great is reading.
We can talk about two ways to classify adverbs - by function in a sentence and by type.
Functional use of English adverbs
In a sentence, an adverb expresses a circumstance. This part of speech belongs to the verb group, as opposed to adjectives, which describe nouns. An adverb can perform more than just functions that determine a verb.
1. Characteristics of the action.
This group includes adverbs, which are modifiers of a verb. In this category, the adverb follows the verb:
He is driving dangerously. - He drives the car dangerously.
We are eating quickly. - We eat quickly.
2. Characteristics of another adverb.
She arrived too late. - She arrived too late.
I love you very much. - I love you very much.
3. Characteristics of the attribute (adjective)
Maria is so beautiful. - Maria is so beautiful.
They are too clever for you. - They're too smart for you.
4. Adverb as a conjunction
Adverbs can act as a conjunction, combining coordinating or subordinating clauses.
I don't understand why he is so shy. “I don’t understand why he’s so shy.”
She didn't tell me when she would come back. - She didn't say when she'll be back.
Both sentences are subordinate clauses. We are again faced with a case of use when this part of speech is so natural in our communication that many do not suspect that it is an adverb. We offer you examples of combining independent proposals:
The weather was fine, so we went for a walk. - The weather was great, so I went for a walk.
I'm going to Paris next week, nevetheless I will be available by phone. Call me anytime. - I'm going to Paris next week, but I'll still be available by phone. Call any time.
5. As question words
English adverbs can act as question words in special questions. These are words like when, why, how, how much, where:
Where is my mind? - What was I thinking?
When will you finish the painting? - When will you finish the picture?
Classification of adverbs by type
1. Adverbs of time - now, then, yesterday, tomorrow, always, never, since, rarely, still, yet, not often, etc. Don't confuse an adverb with an adverb. The second is a member of a sentence, not a part of speech, and can be expressed by a noun with a preposition, for example on Monday, last Summer. This applies not only to adverbs of time, but to all adverbs and circumstances in general:
It doesn't work on Mondays.- noun with preposition
It doesn't work yet. - adverb
2. Adverbs of place - here, there, above, below, elsewhere, anywhere, inside, where, etc.
Where is he? - Where is he?
It's inside. - It's inside.
3. Adverbs of manner of action. These adverbs characterize the action and answer the question “how?” how?" A large number of representatives of this group are formed from adjectives by adding the suffix -ly - easily, beautifully, quickly, slowly, etc.
There are several exceptions. For example, adjective good- good, but good - well.
It's a good book./ good- an adjective that characterizes the noun book.
I can read well. / well- an adverb of manner of action that characterizes the verb: I read (how?) - well.
4. Adverbs of measure and degree - little, much, too, hardly, enough, very, almost, etc. This group of adverbs talks about the extent to which this or that action was performed.
I hardly know him. - I barely know him.
I'm almost ready. - I'm almost ready.
Adverb formation
According to the nature of formation, adverbs are divided into simple(originally adverbs) and derivatives. Most often, the second group grows from adjectives by adding suffix -ly:
beautiful - beautiful ly
slow-slow ly
nice - nice ly
Be careful: not all words are suffix -ly are adverbs. For example, lovely(cute, cute) - adjective. In such cases, you need to consider the function in the sentence. If a word ending in -ly characterizes a noun - a lovely bag, then we have an adjective. If it characterizes an action, we are dealing with an adverb:
Do it nicely. - Do it well.
Practice thoroughly |ˈθʌrəli| and have a lovely time!
Victoria Tetkina
Adverb(Adverb) - a part of speech that denotes a sign or image of an ongoing action. Adverbs in English answer the questions:
- How? (How?)
- Where? (Where?)
- Why? (Why?)
- When? (When?)
- In what manner? (How?)
- To what degree? (In what degree?)
Simple and derived adverbs
Adverbs in English can be simple or derived. Examples of simple adverbs are the adverbs:
well , hard , much , quite , enough , always , once , very , often .
The usual way of forming derived adverbs in English is by adding a suffix -ly to nouns or adjectives. These derived adverbs are divided into two groups:
1) Coinciding in meaning with the nouns or adjectives from which they are derived:
2) Not coinciding in meaning with the adjectives from which they are derived:
Adverbs that coincide with other parts of speech
Many adverbs in the English language are completely identical in form to other parts of speech and can be defined as adverbs only depending on their role in the sentence.
Adverbs that have the same form as adjectives
fast- fast; fast
long- long, long; for a long time
loud- loud; loud
late- late; late
early- early; early
wide- wide; wide
hard- solid; stubbornly, hard
| They took a fast train. | He rode fast. |
| That was a long way. | She waited long. |
| We heard a loud noise. | The teacher always reads loud enough. |
| We went there by a late train. | We came home late. |
| An early bird catches best worms. | You have come too early. |
| It was a wide road. | She opened her eyes wide, but saw nothing in the darkness. |
| It was a hard nut to crack. | Martin worked hard at his English. |
Note. There are some adjectives in English that end in the suffix -ly, which should not be taken as adverbs, for example:
love ly- cute, pleasant
friendly- friendly
man ly- courageous
Usually they are part of the circumstances of the course of action:
She did it in a love ly manner.
He speaks in a friend ly way.
She held the rifle in a man ly fashion.
Some adverbs that have the same form as adjectives also have a form with a suffix -ly, For example:
bright
- brightly; loud
- loudly; slow
- slow ly
(matching in meaning)
hard
- hard ly; late
- lately; near
- near ly
(different in meaning)
The sun shines bright (bright ly).
The sun is shining brightly.
She spoke loud (loud) ly).
She spoke loudly.
The old man moved slow (slow) ly).
The old man moved slowly.
She works hard.
She works hard.
She hardly works.
She doesn't work much (barely).
They came late.
They arrived late.
The rabbits have late ly become restless.
Recently the rabbits have become restless.
I live quite near.
I live very close.
I have near ly forgotten about it.
I almost forgot about it.
Adverbs that have the same form as prepositions and conjunctions:
after , before , since
Adverbs that have the same form as conjunctions:
when , where , but
I shall speak to you after dinner. (pretext)
I shall speak to you after you finish your dinner. (union)
I shall tell you about it after (afterwards). (adverb)
He returned before sunset. (pretext)
He returned before I had time to go away. (union)
I have never seen him before. (adverb)
They have not seen anyone since their arrival. (pretext)
They have not seen anyone since they arrived. (union)
They have not seen me since. (adverb)
When did you speak to her? (interrogative adverb)
I asked her when she would return. (connective adverb)
When she returns, I shall go to see her. (union)
Where is your friend? (interrogative adverb)
We don"t know where we shall meet. (conjunctive adverb)
The boy liked to sit where old birches grew. (union)
Nobody saw him but I. (adverb)
The food was plain but wholesome. (union)
In addition, a large number of prepositions can become adverbs when used as part of a compound verb:
The boys slide off the steep hill. (pretext)
But I put it off and put it off. (adverb - part of a compound verb)
He took it out of his pocket. (pretext)
I must find out where she lives. (adverb - part of a compound verb)
She brought a new toy for her child. (pretext)
She was looking for her gloves. (an adverb is part of a compound verb).
Please, put it on the table! (pretext)
Don"t put on this red dress! (adverb - part of a compound verb)
Syntactical Functions of Adverbs
An adverb in a sentence is an adverbial word that defines the time, place or nature of the action performed, sometimes its reason, purpose or result. Then it defines the verb. An adverb also determines the degree of quality or action, and then it determines an adjective or other adverb:
He will come soon.
They didn't come back.
The sun is down; therefore it is dark.
The tea is very hot.
She speaks English rather well.
If an adverb is used in an interrogative sentence, then it is interrogative adverb(Interrogative Adverb):
How can this be done?
Where is the source of this river?
When was that battle fought?
Why is she angry with you?
If an adverb introduces a qualifying clause, it is relative adverb(Relative Adverb):
It was in the year when the war broke out.
We could not find the house where he lived.
If an adverb introduces a subordinate clause of a subject, predicate or complement, then it is connecting adverb(Conjunctive Adverb):
When I shall do it is not clear yet.
The problem is where we shall find it.
I don't see how you are going to do this work.
We met him yesterday.
or
Yesterday we met him.
She is busy now.
or
Now she is busy.
Adverbs defining place of action(Adverbs of Place), usually appear at the end of a sentence or at the end before an adverb of time:
We shall meet here.
We shall meet there soon.
Adverbs that determine how often the action is performed(Adverbs of Indefinite Time), and adverbs with a negative meaning usually appear before the verb they define or in complex verb forms between the auxiliary and the main verb:
She always goes there on Sunday.
I have never seen such a beautiful picture.
We shall often go to the club now.
He never drinks coffee in the evening.
Adverbs defining nature of action(Adverbs of Manner), usually appear after the verb they define, or after an object in the sentence. Quite often they appear before the verb they define:
She sings beautifully.
I distinctly remember a hot afternoon at school.
He walked slowly.
They did their work very well.
Adverb only is used in a sentence to enhance the meaning of the word it defines and therefore can come before any word whose meaning it strengthens:
Only I went there. I just went there.
I just went there. I just went there.
I went only there. I only went there.
I saw only him. I only saw him.
Note. Words no And yes (Yes And No), which are used in answers to questions, show how a given thought is perceived, and therefore they are also classified as adverbs that determine the nature of the action.
Degrees of Comparison of Adverbs
In modern English, adverbs are morphologically unchangeable words. The change by comparison is the only formal change preserved in a small group of adverbs, mainly in modifier adverbs. nature of the action(Adverbs of Manner), and partly in adverbs certain And indefinitely(Adverbs of Definite and Indefinite Time).
Most adverbs are added to the comparative degree by the word more and in superlative - the word most :
slowly
- more slowly - most slowly
rarely
- more rarely - most rarely
The horse waited patiently for his master.
The dog waited more patiently than the horse.
We waited most patiently for the train.
Comparison is also made using words less And least(less and least):
bravely - less bravely - least bravely
Monosyllabic adverbs (often the same form as adjectives) have a comparative suffix -er and in the superlative - the suffix -est :
fast
- fast er - fast est
soon
- sooner - soo nest
She sings quite loud but they want her to sing loud er.
Of all the singers I have heard she sang loud est.
Several adverbs that coincide in their meaning with the corresponding adjectives form degrees of comparison from different bases:
badly(Badly) - worse
- worst
well(Fine) - better
- best
little(few) - less
- least
much(a lot of) - more
- most
far(far) - farther
(further
) - farthest
(furthest
)
They played tennis worse than I had expected and among them he played worst of all.
Now you speak better than you did last year.
I like her best of all.
They went farther and farther.
He didn't say anything further.
Among the independent parts of speech of both Russian and English lexical composition, adverbs (adverbs) occupy quite an important place. Adverbs in English are different in that they are often confused with adjectives and are sometimes used in the wrong place. The speaker's task in this case is not only to distinguish between an adverb and an adjective, but also to place this word in the right place in the sentence, since sometimes its position can change depending on different circumstances. Such difficulties require us to consider what an adverb is in the English language, how this part of speech differs from others, and also to determine how its main forms are formed.
Main features and features
In order to understand how to distinguish an adverb from other parts of speech, you need to ask a question about the word. Adverb is distinctive in that it always identifies the verb form (as opposed to a preposition or adjective, which is always associated with a noun or pronoun) and answers the question how? In sentences, as a rule, it acts as an adverbial modifier.
Despite the rather significant difference compared to adjectives, the rule of grammar still provides for some connection between these two parts of speech. This is expressed in the fact that adverbs formed from adjectives are often found. In this case, adverb suffixes come into play, and the most common one is the popular suffix –ly. This is especially common in long structures; polysyllabic adjectives to which such a suffix is added become adverbs. Here are some examples with translation:
beautiful (beautiful) – beautifully(Beautiful)
thorough (thorough) – thoroughly(thoroughly)
easy (easy) – easily(easily)
wonderful (wonderful) – wonderfully(Amazing)
strong (strong) – strongly(strongly)
However, there are not only derived words, but also those that coincide in their forms with adjectives. Typically this refers to monosyllabic adverbs, which have exactly the same structure as adjectives. Examples of adverbs of this kind are fast (quickly), quite (quietly), hard (hard), etc.
Structure of English adverbs
The formation of adverbs in the English language occurs according to four main types of formation of these parts of speech. Thus, this classification provides the following types of possible adverbs in terms of their structure:
1. Simple. Their essence lies in the fact that no word-forming morpheme is placed with them: fast (quickly), then (then), soon (soon), here (here), etc.
2. Derivatives. A similar word is usually formed using a suffix. The most popular morpheme is the suffix –ly, but other variants are sometimes used: slowly (slowly), headlong (headlong), likewise (also), freely (freely), etc.
3. Complex. Among the words defined in this category, those that consist of two stems, forming a single and whole adverb, stand out: nowhere (nowhere), everywhere (everywhere), sometimes (sometimes), anyhow (one way or another), etc.
4. Composite. Their essence is that they usually consist of two separate words, but the adverb translation will be usual: at last (in the end), at once (immediately), at least (finally), in vain (in vain), etc.
Types of English adverbs by meaning
This or that type of adverbs is determined not only by their structure, but also by the meaning that they convey. So, in English sentences, adverbs are of the following types:
- adverbs of time in English they reflect the moment at which the action takes place. Typical adverbs of time include: yesterday (yesterday), tomorrow (tomorrow), soon (soon), etc.
- adverbs of frequency in English they indicate how often a particular process is performed. Here the words frequency or regularity are used directly. These are adverbs of frequency such as often (often), rarely (rarely), sometimes (sometimes), etc.
- adverbs of place in English they show a specific location. Such words are sometimes presented in literature as demonstrative adverbs: there (there), here (here), up (above).
- adverbs of manner show exactly how, that is, in what way the action was performed. Typical adverbs of manner in English are hard (hard), slowly (slowly), kindly (kindly), etc.
- adverbs of possibility and probability (opportunities and probabilities) carry varying degrees of certainty and often reflect uncertain contexts: certainly (obviously), indeed (in fact), perhaps (probably), etc.
- reasons and goals answer the question why, why: therefore (hence), hence (from here), consequently (as a result)
- relative adverbs in English, as a rule, parts of sentences are connected with each other: the place where... (place where...), the reason why... (reason why...), etc.
- adverbs of measure, quantity and degree (measures, quantities and degrees) show the total number or ratio to a particular degree: enough (enough), very (very), exceedingly (extremely), etc.
Place in sentence
Determining the place of an adverb in an English sentence is quite simple: as a rule, such a word is used after the verb. However, there are also some special adverb clauses in which adverbs can become either initial or final position.
In the first case, the structure is placed at the beginning when it is necessary to expressively emphasize a particular situation:
Today she is 18! – Today she is 18! (Emphasis on the fact that she turned 18 not yesterday or tomorrow, but today)
Adverbs that do not have the suffix –ly are often placed at the very end:
You are to come at 10 sharp – You must come exactly at 10
Degrees of comparison
The use of adverbs in degrees of comparison is also possible, and here the comparative and superlative forms are also distinguished. Nevertheless, there is still some difference from adjectives: firstly, in superlative degree the article the is not needed, therefore adverbs do not describe nouns, and secondly, the endings of words do not play any role. The principle here is quite simple: you need to look at the syllables. For monosyllabic words the suffix –er/–est is added, and for polysyllabic words the words more and most are added.
In addition, there are also exceptions that in many ways resemble words from the adjective category. However, most forms are still different, and any table with exceptional cases will reflect this. For example, there is no adverb bad, it is an adjective, and adverb would look like badly. Here are some special words like this:
Proverbs and sayings
Proverbs with adverbs in English are quite common. Of course, these sayings do not consist exclusively of adverbs, but the latter sometimes play an important role in them. For example:
It’s never too late to learn – It’s never too late to learn
A friend in need is a friend indeed – A friend is known in need
Lost time is never found again – Lost time cannot be returned
All these conditions and features of English adverbs play a very important role in the process of learning the language, since the essence of the whole phrase largely depends on the correct use of this part of speech. Various exercises and training materials can help in training the use of adverbs and learning all the special cases.
Here you can find an adverb in the English language/English adverb/English Adverb.
ADVERB
In English, as in Russian, an adverb is a part of speech that denotes a sign of an action, state or quality.
According to their structure, adverbs are divided into:
1. Simple, consisting of only one root:
now - now
well - good
there - there
2. Derivatives, which include suffixes and prefixes:
orally - orally
indeed - indeed
uphill - uphill
3. Complex, consisting of several roots:
anyhow (any + how) - in any case, not at all
everywhere (every + where) - everywhere
4. Compounds consisting of several words:
by all means - required
for ever - forever
in a friendly way - friendly
as far as - as far as possible
According to their meaning, adverbs are divided into:
1. Adverbs of time (these include adverbs of definite and indefinite time):
today - today
soon - soon
since - since
already - already
never - never
2. Adverbs of manner:
slowly - slowly
often - often
3. Adverbs of place:
inside - inside
here - here
4. Adverbs of measure and degree:
much - a lot
very - very
5. Interrogative adverbs:
how - how
when - when
In a sentence, adverbs most often perform the function of adverbs:
It is never too late to learn. (circumstance of time)
It's never too late to learn.
DEGREES OF COMPARISON OF ADVERBS
Some adverbs of manner and time have comparative and superlative degrees of comparison.
Degrees of comparison of monosyllabic adverbs are formed in the same way as degrees of comparison of monosyllabic adjectives, i.e. by adding to the base of the adverb the suffix -er in the comparative degree and the suffix -est in the superlative degree:
late - late - later - latest
fast - faster - fastest
Degrees of comparison of polysyllabic adverbs are formed in the same way as degrees of comparison of polysyllabic adjectives, i.e. using the words more in the comparative degree and most in the superlative degree:
necessarily - necessary - more necessarily - most necessarily
carefully - carefully - more carefully - most carefully
From some adverbs, degrees of comparison are formed by changing the root vowel or stem of the word.
You need to remember them:
well - good better - better best - best
badly - bad worse - worse worst - worst of all
little - little less - less, less least - least of all
much - a lot more - more, more most - most, most of all
far - far further/ farther - further furthest/ farthest - farthest