Adverbs

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Adverbs are words that modify

[li]a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?) [/li][li]an adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?) [/li][li]another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly did she move?)[/li]

As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened. Adverbs frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not ending in -ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. The words lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives:

[li]That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.[/li]

If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a sentence), it is called an Adverb Clause:

[li]When this class is over, we're going to the movies. [/li]

When a group of words not containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb, it is called an adverbial phrases. Prepositional phrases frequently have adverbial functions (telling place and time, modifying the verb):

[li]He went to the movies. [/li][li]She works on holidays. [/li][li]They lived in Canada during the war. [/li]

And Infinitive phrases can act as adverbs (usually telling why):

[li]She hurried to the mainland to see her brother. [/li][li]The senator ran to catch the bus.[/li]

But there are other kinds of adverbial phrases:

[li]He calls his mother as often as possible. [/li]

Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb. Thus we would say that \"the students showed a really wonderful attitude\" and that \"the students showed a wonderfully casual attitude\" and that \"my professor is really tall, but not \"He ran real fast.\"
Like adjectives, adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms to show degree.

[li]Walk faster if you want to keep up with me. [/li][li]The student who reads fastest will finish first. [/li]

We often use more and most, less and least to show degree with adverbs:

[li]With sneakers on, she could move more quickly among the patients. [/li][li]The flowers were the most beautifully arranged creations I've ever seen. [/li][li]She worked less confidently after her accident. [/li][li]That was the least skillfully done performance I've seen in years. [/li]

The as — as construction can be used to create adverbs that express sameness or equality: \"He can't run as fast as his sister.\"
A handful of adverbs have two forms, one that ends in -ly and one that doesn't. In certain cases, the two forms have different meanings:

[li]He arrived late. [/li][li]Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything.[/li]

In most cases, however, the form without the -ly ending should be reserved for casual situations:

[li]She certainly drives slow in that old Buick of hers. [/li][li]He did wrong by her. [/li][li]He spoke sharp, quick, and to the point.[/li]

Adverbs often function as intensifiers, conveying a greater or lesser emphasis to something. Intensifiers are said to have three different functions: they can emphasize, amplify, or downtone. Here are some examples:

[li]Emphasizers:
[li]I really don't believe him. [/li][li]He literally wrecked his mother's car. [/li][li]She simply ignored me. [/li][li]They're going to be late, for sure.[/li]
[/li][li]Amplifiers:
[li]The teacher completely rejected her proposal. [/li][li]I absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings. [/li][li]They heartily endorsed the new restaurant. [/li][li]I so wanted to go with them. [/li][li]We know this city well.[/li]
[/li][li]Downtoners:
[li]I kind of like this college. [/li][li]Joe sort of felt betrayed by his sister. [/li][li]His mother mildly disapproved his actions. [/li][li]We can improve on this to some extent. [/li][li]The boss almost quit after that. [/li][li]The school was all but ruined by the storm.[/li]
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Adverbs (as well as adjectives) in their various degrees can be accompanied by premodifiers:

[li]She runs very fast. [/li][li]We're going to run out of material all the faster [/li]