Adverbs
At school, you may have been told that adverbs end -ly and modify verbs. That is all true, but adverbs do far more than that description suggests.Adverbs can also modify adjectives and other adverbs. Although many adverbs end -ly, lots do not (e.g., fast, never, well, very, most, least, more, less, now, far, and there).
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Adverbs Modifying Verbs
An adverb that modifies a verb usually tells you when, where, how, in what manner, or to what extent the action is performed. (NB: The ones that end ly are usually the ones that tell us how the action is performed, e.g., quickly, slowly, carefully, quietly.)Here are some examples of adverbs modifying verbs:
- Anita placed the vase carefully on the shelf. (The word carefully is an adverb. It shows how the vase was placed.)
- Tara walks gracefully. (The word gracefully is an adverb. It modifies the verb to walk.)
- He runs fast. (The word fast is an adverb. It modifies the verb to run.)
- You can set your watch by him. He always leaves at 5 o'clock. (The word always is an adverb. It modifies the verb to leave.)
- The dinner guests arrived early. (Here, early modifies to arrive.)
- She sometimes helps us. (Here, sometimes modifies to help.)
- Will you come quietly, or do I have to use earplugs? (Comedian Spike Milligan) (Here, quietly modifies to come.)
- I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly. (Oscar Wilde) (Here, thoroughly modifies to know.)
Adverbs Modifying Adjectives
If you examine the word adverb, you could be forgiven for thinking adverbs only modify verbs (i.e., "add" to "verbs"), but adverbs can also modify adjectives and other adverbs. Here are some examples of adverbs modifying adjectives:- The horridly grotesque gargoyle was undamaged by the debris. (The adverb horridly modifies the adjective grotesque.)
- Peter had an extremely ashen face. (The adverb extremely modifies the adjective ashen.)
- Badly trained dogs that fail the test will become pets. (The adverb badly modifies the adjective trained.)
- She wore a beautifully designed dress. (The adverb beautifully modifies the adjective designed.)
(Note: The adjective trained is an adjective formed from the verb to train. It is called a participle.)
Adverbs Modifying Adverbs
Here are some examples of adverbs modifying adverbs:- Peter Jackson finished his assignment remarkably quickly. (The adverb quickly modifies the verb to finish. The adverb remarkably modifies the adverb quickly.)
- We're showing kids a world that is very scantily populated with women and female characters. They should see female characters taking up half the planet, which we do. (Actress Geena Davis) (The adverb scantily modifies the adjective populated. The adverb very modifies the adverb scantily.)
More about Adverbs
When an adverb modifies a verb, it can often be categorized as one of the following:Type | Examples |
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Adverb of Manner (how) | An adverb of manner tells us how an action occurs.
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Adverb of Time (when and how often) | An adverb of time tells us when an action occurs or how often.
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Adverb of Place (where) | An adverb of place tells us where an action occurs.
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Adverb of Degree (aka Adverb of Comparison) (how much) | An adverb of degree tells us to what degree an action occurs.
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- To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect. (Playwright Oscar Wilde) (The adverb thoroughly modifies the adjective modern.)
- If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing very slowly. (Burlesque entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee) (The adverb very modifies the adverb slowly.)
Even More about Adverbs
In all the examples above, the adverbs have been single words, but multi-word adverbs are common too. Adverbs commonly come as phrases (i.e., two or more words) or clauses (i.e., two or more words containing a subject and a verb). Below are some examples of multi-word adverbs. This list also includes adverbs of condition, adverbs of concession, and adverbs of reason.Type | Examples |
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Adverb of Manner | An adverb of manner often starts with a preposition (e.g., in, with) or one of the following: as, like, or the way. (These are called subordinating conjunctions.)
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Adverb of Time | An adverb of time often starts with a preposition or one of the following subordinating conjunctions: after, as, as long as, as soon as, before, no sooner than, since, until, when, or while.
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Adverb of Place | An adverb of place often starts with a preposition or one of the following subordinating conjunctions: anywhere, everywhere, where, or wherever.
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Adverb of Degree (aka Adverb of Comparison) | An adverb of degree often starts with one of the following subordinating conjunctions: than, as...as, so...as, or the...the.
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Adverbs of Condition | An adverb of condition tells us the condition needed before the main idea comes into effect. An adverb of condition often starts with if or unless.
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Adverbs of Concession | An adverb of concession contrasts with the main idea. An adverb of concession often starts with a subordinating conjunction like though, although, even though, while, whereas, or even if.
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Adverbs of Reason | An adverb of reason gives a reason for the main idea. An adverb of reason usually starts with a subordinating conjunction like as, because, given, or since.
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Why Should I Care about Adverbs?
At school, you may have been told that an adverb is a word that ends -ly and tells us how a verb is performed. Yes, that does describe an adverb, but it doesn't describe all adverbs, as we've seen. Here are the six most common issues related to adverbs.(Issue 1) Use adverbs ending -ly sparingly.
Professional writers (particularly fiction writers) don't like adverbs that end -ly. They consider them unnecessary clutter. If you were to attend a fiction-writing course, you would be taught to craft words that render -ly adverbs redundant. On that course, you would undoubtedly be shown this quote:- The road to hell is paved with adverbs. (Author Stephen King)
- Extremely annoyed, she stared menacingly at her rival. (Critics on that course would trash this.)
- Infuriated, she glared at her rival. (This is far sharper.)
(1) The adverb is a tautology (i.e., needless repetition of an idea).
- She smiled happily.
- She smiled disappointedly. (By the time your readers reach this sentence, they should know from context that it's a disappointed smile. The trick is to show them, not literally tell them, that she's disappointed. It's far more engaging. Less is more.)
- "Ow, pack that in," Rachel shrieked angrily. (You can scrap the adverb if it's implicit from the dialogue or context.)
- Sitting dejectedly in its cage, the parrot looked utterly unhappy. (This would cause a click-fest as those critics armed their red pens.)
- Looking miserable, the parrot lay on the floor of its cage. (This is sharper. Your readers will know that parrots don't ordinarily lie on the floor.)
- Your son is surprisingly handsome.
(Issue 2) Delete very and extremely.
Professional writers hate adverbs such as extremely, really, and very (called intensifiers). For them, using an intensifier demonstrates a limited vocabulary. It's a fair point. If you choose the right words, you can avoid intensifiers.Don't write… | Go for something like… |
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very bad | atrocious |
extremely hungry | ravenous |
really old | ancient |
incredibly tired | exhausted |
- Ireland is great for the spirit but
verybad for the body. (Actor Hugh Dancy)
(The deletion kills a word but no meaning.)
- Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very". Your editor will delete it, and the writing will be just as it should be.
(Issue 3) When an adverb modifies an adjective, don't join them with a hyphen.
When an adverb modifies an adjective, don't join the two with a hyphen.- I don't sleep with happily married men. (Actress Britt Ekland)
- Ironically, he described himself as "a professionally-qualified grammarian".
- The beginning is the most-important part of the work.
(translation of Greek philosopher Plato)
(Issue 4) When an adverb that could feasibly be an adjective modifies an adjective, use a hyphen.
A few adverbs (e.g., well and fast) look like adjectives. To make it clear your adverb is not an adjective, you can link it to the adjective it's modifying with a hyphen. The hyphen says "these two words are one entity," making it clear they're not two adjectives.- She's a well-known dog.
- He sold me six fast-growing carp. (The hyphen makes it clear the carp are ones that grow quickly and not growing ones that can swim quickly.)
- It's a well-known tactic.
- It's a widely known tactic.
(Issue 5) Make it clear what your adverb is modifying.
Whenever you use an adverb (a single-word or multi-word one), do a quick check to ensure it's obvious what it refers to. Here are some examples of badly placed adverbs.- Singing quickly improved his stammer. (It's unclear whether quickly modifies singing or improved. This is called a squinting modifier.)
- Peter told us after Christmas that he plans to diet. (Here, after Christmas sits grammatically with told but logically with plans. This is called a misplaced modifier.)
- I recorded the hedgehog feeding its hoglets cautiously. (It's unclear whether cautiously modifies recorded or feeding.)
Read more about misplaced modifiers.
It's worth mentioning limiting modifiers (e.g., hardly, nearly, only) because these commonly create logic flaws or ambiguity.
- I only eat candy on Halloween. No lie. (Actor Michael Trevino)
- I eat candy only on Halloween. (This is sharper. As a rule of thumb, the best place for only is never to the left of a verb.)
- Lee copied nearly all 10 of your answers. (This tells us Lee copied most of the answers.)
- Lee nearly copied all 10 of your answers. (Here, Lee might have copied none to nine.)
(Issue 6) Use a comma after a fronted adverbial.
When an adverbial phrase or clause is at the start of a sentence, it is usual to follow it with a comma.- In colonial America, lobster was often served to prisoners because it was so cheap and plentiful.
- One April day in 1930, the BBC reported, "There is no news."
- If you're called Brad Thor, people expect you to be 6 foot 4 with muscles. (Author Brad Thor)
When the adverbial is at the front, it's not a serious crime to omit the comma, but you should use one because it aids reading. When the adverbial is short (one or two words), your readers won't need helping, so you're safe to scrap the comma if you think it looks unwieldy.
- Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement. (Cartoonist Charles M. Schulz via Snoopy)
Read more about adverbial clauses.
Key Points
- Try to render adverbs ending -ly redundant with better word choice.
- Have you used very? Yes? Delete it.
- Don't join an adverb to an adjective unless that adverb is well.
- Put your adverbs close to what they're modifying and far from what they're not.
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