Just as an adjective describes, or qualifies or modifies, a noun, so an adverb typically modifies a verb. It tells how, when, where, why, or how often an action takes place: He plays well; Jane left sulkily; They arrived late; Don’t sit there. Adverbs share many of the features of adjectives, such as comparison – tiredly, more tiredly, most tiredly.
The most typical kind of adverb is derived from an adjective by adding -ly: tiredly, sulkily. But beware – many words ending in -ly are in fact adjectives: friendly, lonely, sometimes even kindly, as in She is a kindly old soul.
Adverbs are the ragbag of grammar: only, so, even, quite, soon, here, specially, prettily, probably, and however are adverbs, but grammatically they do not have a lot in common.
Adverbs can also modify adjectives and other adverbs, as in a very unusual colour, only four men, and They came extremely quickly. Sometimes, they appear ‘outside’ the normal structure of sentences, telling you something about the speaker’s attitude towards the event reported: Regrettably, we can’t come; Perhaps they’ll agree. They can also be used when making a transition from one sentence to another; Jane liked him a lot. I, however, know better – he’s an absolute rotter.
For Scientific english editing and Medical Writing Services visitwww.manuscriptedit.com
No comments:
Post a Comment