Adverbs- Definition, Kinds with examples and rules

Adverbs:

An adverb is a part of speech that modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb. It provides more information about how, when, where, or to what extent an action or state is happening. Adverbs often end in -ly, but there are also many adverbs that do not follow this pattern. Here are some examples of adverbs:

1. She ran quickly.
2. He speaks fluently.
3. The car is parked outside.
4. They arrived early.
5. She sings beautifully.
6. He drives carefully.
7. They played soccer yesterday.
8. She danced gracefully.
9. The students worked diligently.
10. He smiled warmly.

In these sentences, the adverbs "quickly," "fluently," "outside," "early," "beautifully," "carefully," "yesterday," "gracefully," "diligently," and "warmly" modify the verbs or adjectives to provide additional information.

Kinds of Adverbs:

Adverbs can be categorized into several different types based on the kind of information they provide. Here are some common types of adverbs:

1. Adverbs of manner: These adverbs describe how an action is performed or the way in which something happens. Examples: slowly, quickly, beautifully, carefully.

2. Adverbs of time: These adverbs indicate when an action takes place or the frequency of an action. Examples: yesterday, now, often, always.

3. Adverbs of place: These adverbs indicate where an action occurs or the location of something. Examples: here, there, nearby, outside.

4. Adverbs of degree: These adverbs express the intensity or extent of an action or quality. Examples: very, extremely, quite, too.

5. Adverbs of frequency: These adverbs describe how often an action occurs. Examples: always, never, occasionally, frequently.

6. Adverbs of certainty: These adverbs indicate the level of certainty or doubt about something. Examples: certainly, surely, maybe, possibly.

7. Interrogative adverbs: These adverbs are used to ask questions about time, place, manner, reason, etc. Examples: when, where, how, why.

8. Relative adverbs: These adverbs introduce relative clauses and show the relationship between the main clause and the subordinate clause. Examples: where, when, why.

9. Conjunctive adverbs: These adverbs connect ideas or clauses together. Examples: however, therefore, furthermore, nevertheless.

10. Adverbs of reason: These adverbs provide the reason or cause for an action. Examples: because, therefore, hence, thus.

Comparision of Adverbs:

Adverbs can be compared to express different degrees of intensity or comparison. The three degrees of comparison for adverbs are:

1. Positive degree: This is the base form of the adverb, without any comparison. Example: She sings beautifully.

2. Comparative degree: This form is used to compare two actions or qualities, indicating that one is done to a greater or lesser extent than the other. Comparative adverbs are formed by adding "-er" to the base form of the adverb, or by using "more" before the adverb. Example: She sings more beautifully than her sister.

3. Superlative degree: This form is used to compare more than two actions or qualities, indicating that one is done to the greatest or least extent among a group. Superlative adverbs are formed by adding "-est" to the base form of the adverb, or by using "most" before the adverb. Example: She sings the most beautifully in the choir.

Here's a comparison of adverbs using the adverb "quickly":

• Positive degree: He runs quickly.
• Comparative degree: He runs more quickly than his friend.
• Superlative degree: He runs the most quickly among all the athletes.

It's important to note that not all adverbs follow the "-er" or "-est" pattern for comparison. Some adverbs use "more" and "most" instead. Examples include "easily" (comparative: more easily, superlative: most easily) and "carefully" (comparative: more carefully, superlative: most carefully).

Additionally, some adverbs have irregular forms for comparison. For example, "well" becomes "better" in the comparative degree and "best" in the superlative degree.

Comparing adverbs allows us to express variations in intensity or to compare the degree to which an action is performed.

Position of adverbs:

 Adverb should be positioned as closely as possible to the verbs they qualify. This is because the meaning of a sentence can change with a change in the position of the adverb.

Here are some rules regarding the position of adverbs.

Rule 1: When the verb is intransitive the adverb is placed immediately after it.

• He ran slowly.
• She sang beautifully.
• He spoke loudly.
• She arrived late.

Rule 2: when the verb is transitive, the adverb is placed immediately after the object. For example,

• She faced the struggle bravely.
• He offered his help happily.
• She sang the song beautifully.
• He cooked the pizza well.

Rule 3: Adverbs of time and frequency usually come before the verb. For example

• He never admitted his fault.
• Always speak the truth.
• He is usually late for school.

Rule 4: when the verb consists of an auxiliary and a main verb, the adverb is placed between the two. For example,

• They have never invited us to their new house.
• I have always wanted to be an artist.
• He was greatly admired for his talent.

Rule 5: An adverb that modifies an adjective or another adverb, comes before it. For example,

• She is very smart.
• They are highly educated.
• The girl sang so melodiously that she got a standing ovation.

Rule 6: The adverbs only, merely, even, not and never, are usually placed before the words they modify. For example,

• I merely wanted to know the cost.
• She never keeps her promise.