10.5
Adverbs
■ An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb by
making its meaning more specific.
Note how adverbs are used in the following sentence to modify an adjective
(few), a verb (have planned), and an adverb (successfully):
Very few people have ever planned a trip so successfully.
Adverbs indicate when, where, how, and to what degree.
We are driving to Georgia today.
Drive backward by putting the car into reverse.
We were profoundly disturbed by the announcement.
Study these examples of adverbs and the questions they answer:
How?
hurriedly
sorrowfully
steadily
Parts of Speech
Exercise 56
When?
then
finally
yesterday
Where?
here
nearby
underground
To What Extent?
so
often
very
Locating Adverbs
The following sentences are divided into three sections. In the first section, the adverb in
each sentence modifies the verb. In the second section, the adverb in each sentence modifies an adjective. In the third section, the adverb in each sentence modifies another
adverb. Write the adverb in each sentence and the word it modifies.
In the Path of Destruction
Section One: Adverbs That Modify Verbs
1. The tornado approached slowly from the east.
2. We evacuated our house quickly.
3. Heavy clouds were gathering overhead.
4. Then came a rumbling noise like that of a train.
Section Two: Adverbs That Modify Adjectives
5. We grew extremely nervous as we watched the distant funnel.
6. The mass exodus of fellow townspeople imprinted a very terrifying image on my mind.
7. People were leaving their houses at an incredibly slow pace.
Section Three: Adverbs That Modify Other Adverbs
8. Some people gathered dangerously close to the twister and took pictures.
9. At first, our car rocked rather gently from side to side as the winds increased.
10. The car jerked really violently as the tornado passed near us.
458
Unit 10 Parts of Speech
Like adjectives, some adverbs use different forms to signify degrees of
comparison.
POSITIVE
COMPARATIVE
SUPERLATIVE
leaped high
steps gracefully
skis well
swam far
sang badly
leaped higher
steps more gracefully
skis better
swam farther
sang worse
leaped highest
steps most gracefully
skis best
swam farthest
sang worst
Positive Degree (No comparison)
Donna pitched well in the softball game.
Comparative Degree (Comparison of two actions)
Brook pitched better than Donna did.
Superlative Degree (Comparison of one action with two or more other
actions)
Yvette pitched the best of all the pitchers in the bull pen.
Exercise 57
Improving Incorrect Comparisons
Parts of Speech
Read the following comparison sentences. If a sentence is correct, write correct. If a sentence has an incorrect comparison, rewrite the sentence, correcting the comparison.
(Note: Never drop the -ly from an adverb. Either add more or most in front of the
adverb, or change the y to an i and add -er or -est to the end of the adverb.)
Flying the Friendly Skies for Nothing
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Business people travel more fast by plane than by car or train.
They also more often choose those airlines that offer frequent flier points.
Some frequent flier programs are conducted more efficiently than others.
Of all the programs offered in the United States, the one that runs the more smoothly
attracts the most participants.
The program that gives business fliers the most points per trip draws the best trade of
all.
When an airline changes its policies most unexpectedly, travelers become dissatisfied
with that company.
After business fliers hear that an airline is offering a better frequent flier package than it
did in the past, fliers begin to talk most positively about using that airline.
The closer an airline gets to reducing or abolishing its frequent flier activities, the most
slowly it sells tickets.
Since some airlines perform more badly than others in important areas such as on-time
arrivals and keeping track of luggage, frequent flier points may be an enticement to
travel with those airlines.
Airlines that retrieve lost luggage more slowly than others are nightmares for frequent
travelers.
10.5 Adverbs
459
Exercise 58
Writing the Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adverbs
Write the comparative and superlative forms of the following adverbs. Reminders: Do
not add -er or -est to adverbs that form the comparative and superlative forms by means
of more and most. Also, do not drop the -ly on adverbs that end in -ly. Often, dropping
the -ly turns an adverb into an adjective. (For example, suddenly is an adverb; sudden is
an adjective.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
well
seldom
slowly
violently
unexpectedly
Exercise 59
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
loosely
early
close
soon
often
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
late
loudly
noisily
suddenly
quickly
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
low
straight
kindly
graciously
far
Identifying Modifiers
Read the following sentences. Look at the underlined words. Decide if each word is an
adjective or an adverb. Write your answers on your paper in the order that the words
appear in the sentences.
The Eyes Have It
Parts of Speech
1. The inconvenience of conventional eyeglasses led to the invention of plastic corrective
lenses worn directly on the eyeball.
2. Contact lenses have the clear advantage of being more carefully protected by the shape of
the skull than eyeglasses are.
3. Contact lenses also provide a desirable alternative for persons unhappy with conventional glasses for cosmetic reasons.
4. Most modern contact lenses are plastic, and they cover only the cornea of the eye.
5. Recent innovations such as these are hailed by some physicians and criticized by others.
Exercise 60
Identifying Adverbs
On your paper, write the twenty adverbs that appear in the following paragraph. Then
write the word or words each adverb modifies. (An adverb can modify a verb, an entire
verb phrase, an adjective, or another adverb.)
First Victory
1Although
she had entered competitions before, Marilyn had never taken first place in a
race. 2She waited quite nervously at the starting line, flexing her arms and legs repeatedly.
3Before Marilyn felt entirely ready, the starter raised his pistol high above his head. 4The
pistol exploded noisily, and its echo resounded even more piercingly off the school building.
5With expressions grimly set, the runners rapidly circled the track. 6Marilyn found that she
was running tirelessly and effortlessly. 7Soon she neared the front of the pack. 8For the
first time in her life, no one would leave her behind. 9She pulled ahead with every powerful
stride. 10To the sound of cheers, she crossed the finish line first and waved triumphantly
to the crowd.
460
Unit 10 Parts of Speech
You may place an adverb that modifies a verb in different positions in relation to the verb. If an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, however,
you must place it immediately before the word it modifies.
MODIFYING A VERB
Apparently he ate last.
He apparently ate last.
He ate last, apparently.
MODIFYING AN ADJECTIVE
Yogurt is very good for you.
MODIFYING AN ADVERB
Only rarely do I eat dessert.
Exercise 61
Locating Adverbs That Modify Verbs
Copy the following sentences. Draw an arrow from the adverb to the verb being modified. If the sentence contains a verb phrase, the adverb modifies all the words in the
phrase.
Trained seals will graciously provide hilarious and unbelievable performances.
Trainers frequently drop tiny fish into the seals’ mouths.
Do you think seals ever tire of those same seafood treats?
If a seal performs badly, the show remains enjoyable.
Since seals have fins for feet, they can clap rapidly, a most humorous trick.
Exercise 62
Parts of Speech
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Locating Adverbs That Modify Adjectives
Copy the following sentences. Draw an arrow from the adverb to the adjective being
modified. Then circle the noun or pronoun being modified by the adjective.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Strangely moody, house cats are often overlooked as trainable.
Ordinary cats can be unusually good performers, however.
A truly excellent example of a group of trained cats is located in Key West, Florida.
These cats’ abilities are too good to be believed by the many people who have seen the
cats perform on television or during sidewalk shows in Key West.
5. Their trainer has taught them a rather large number of tricks.
Exercise 63
Locating Adverbs That Modify Other Adverbs
Copy the following sentences. Draw an arrow from the adverb modifying another adverb
in each sentence to the adverb being modified. Then circle the verb being modified by
that adverb.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Dogs almost always bark when they are hungry.
They may bark too eagerly for food.
Dogs, however, will wait somewhat longer than people.
Trained dogs have performed really well when they knew that food was to be their
reward.
5. One dog howled a tune very loudly to receive his food.
10.5 Adverbs
461
Exercise 64
Positioning Adverbs
Rewrite each of the following sentences, using the verb-modifying adverb that appears in
parentheses. Then rewrite each sentence again, placing the same adverb in a different
position.
Richard Allen, Religious Leader
Parts of Speech
1. Born a slave before the American Revolution, Richard Allen showed his religious leanings. (quickly)
2. Allen’s eloquent preaching converted his own master, a Delaware farmer. (soon)
3. The farmer freed Allen and his family. (gratefully)
4. Allen traveled and preached to listeners of all races. (fervently)
5. Beginning in 1784, he worked with Bishop Francis Asbury, a Methodist evangelist.
(diligently)
6. Crowds of free African Americans responded to his preaching at Saint George’s Church
in Philadelphia. (enthusiastically)
7. In reaction to discrimination there, Allen’s congregation established its own organization
in 1787. (proudly)
8. Allen argued for a majority of his parishioners to remain within the Methodist Church.
(persuasively)
9. In 1794 Bishop Asbury blessed the new congregation’s building. (formally)
10. Allen presided over the establishment of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which
today has over two million members. (eventually)
Exercise 65
Identifying Adverbs
On your paper, write each of the twenty adverbs that appear in the following paragraph.
Then write the word or words that each adverb modifies.
Elizabeth Gray Vining, Royal Tutor
1Elizabeth
Gray always wanted very much to be a writer. 2She eagerly took to writing during her years at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. 3The young student was
“exceedingly gratified” when a story she really intended for children was published in a
church magazine. 4Graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 1923 when she was only twenty,
Gray immediately began looking for a job. 5Finally, she took a teaching position and began to
work hard on what was eventually published as Meredith’s Ann, her first novel for girls. 6She
later attended Drexel Institute, earning a degree in library science, and in 1926 she moved to
North Carolina to work as a librarian. 7There Gray wrote several acclaimed history books for
young people and was married to Morgan Vining. 8In 1933, after only four years of marriage,
her husband was killed in an automobile accident. 9Elizabeth Gray Vining’s highly unusual
appointment as tutor to Crown Prince Akihito of Japan took place in 1946. 10Wanting his son
to learn English, the emperor quite surprisingly chose Vining as the boy’s teacher.
11Subsequently she also taught Akihito’s brothers, sisters, and classmates. 12In her book
Windows for the Crown Prince, Vining vividly describes her years as a royal tutor in Japan.
462
Unit 10 Parts of Speech
Negative Words as Adverbs
The word not and the contraction -n’t are considered adverbs. Other negatives can function as adverbs of time, place, and degree.
I can’t be late.
The bus is nowhere in sight.
Some Common Adverbs That Convey a Negative Meaning
no
never
none
nothing
never
hardly
scarcely
barely
In your writing, avoid using the adverbs above with other negative words.
INCORRECT We can’t hardly wait until our trip to Germany.
CORRECT
We can hardly wait until our trip to Germany.
INCORRECT I never told no one where you hide your spare car key.
CORRECT
I never told anyone where you hide your spare car key.
OR
I told no one where you hide your spare car key.
Exercise 66
Avoiding the Use of Double Negatives
Parts of Speech
For each sentence below, select a word from the pair in parentheses. Your choice should
create a sentence that contains only one negative. Write your choices on your paper.
Climb Every Mountain
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
There wasn’t (no, any) easy trail to take up the mountain.
I (can, can’t) barely understand why the hiking club chose this mountain for its hike.
When I looked for a safe way to cross the stream, I found that there (wasn’t, was) none.
My hiking partner doesn’t want to carry (nothing, anything) except her water bottle.
The hiking club didn’t consider attempting (any, no) out-of-state trips this year.
Exercise 67
Rewriting Incorrect Sentences
The sentences below contain double negatives. Rewrite them to create five correct sentences. There will be more than one way to rewrite each incorrect sentence.
Jack Nicholson
1. Hard work doesn’t mean nothing to an accomplished actor such as Jack Nicholson.
2. He probably doesn’t have no free time because he is so busy starring in films, directing
movies, or writing screenplays.
3. Nicholson doesn’t rarely play comical characters; instead he chooses sinister parts.
4. While watching Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, I wasn’t scarcely able to
contain my anger at the way he was treated by the hospital personnel.
5. Nicholson won’t accept no acting parts that underplay his outstanding ability.
10.5 Adverbs
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