THE PARTS OF SPEECH nounverbpreposition pronounadverbconjunction adjective interjection

ADVERB: is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Most adverbs end in –ly. Just as an adjective makes the meaning of a noun or pronoun more definite/specific, an adverb makes the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or an adverb more definite/specific. QUICK REVIEW An adjective answers what three questions?

AN ADVERB ANSWERS THESE QUESTIONS: HOW? WHEN? WHERE? TO WHAT EXTENT?

ADVERBS ANSWERING “HOW” She quickly agreed to my idea. The rain fell softly. You need to drive carefully in this weather. She did well on the test. Now you try it! Come up with a sentence that contains an adverb that answers “how.”

ADVERBS ANSWERING “WHEN” May we go tomorrow? Be sure to water these flowers daily. We’ll see you later. I did my homework yesterday. Now you try it! Come up with a sentence that contains an adverb that answers “when.”

ADVERBS ANSWERING “WHERE” We lived there for two years. I have the tests here. Please step up! I fell down. Now you try it! Come up with a sentence that contains an adverb that answers “where.”

ADVERBS ANSWERING “TO WHAT EXTENT/TO WHAT DEGREE” I am completely content. He hardly moved. I am too honest to cheat. I never sing in front of other people. I can’t dance. Now you try it! Come up with a sentence that contains an adverb that answers “to what extent.”

ADVERBS MODIFYING VERBS The children laughed loudly. I could almost smell the skunk from here. First write your names on the exam. I will meet you there tomorrow. What questions do each of these adverbs answer?

ADVERBS MODIFYING ADJECTIVES Beth did an exceptionally fine job. She is a very good worker. Slightly cooler temperatures are expected. That baby is so cute. You are too late for the party.

Adverbs that frequently modify adjectives completelyespeciallyquite dangerouslyextremelyrather definitelylargelysurprisingly dreadfullymainlyterribly entirelymostlyunusually

ADVERBS MODIFYING OTHER ADVERBS Calvin was almost always there. We’ll meet shortly afterward. She crawled through extremely carefully. Note: Although most adverbs end in –ly, the –ly ending does not automatically mean that the word is an adverb. Many adjectives end in –ly as well (such as the daily newspaper…only child…friendly person, etc.)…so be careful!!!

As stated, you have also noticed that not all adverbs end in –ly (such as far, not, too, etc.), so the only way to really tell if something is an adverb is to ask yourself what question the word is answering. This is where it becomes very important to differentiate between the adjective and adverb questions. They must be memorized!!!

GIVE THIS A TRY! Each person in your section must come up with a different adverb to modify an action verb that begins with the letter _____. For example, if your group was assigned action verbs that begin with the letter “e”, you might come up with creative things like… emphatically exclaimed, energetically entertained, eagerly employed, enthusiastically explained, earnestly evaluated, etc. Good luck!!!

om/watch?v=14fXm4F OMPM School House Rocks—Get Your Adverbs Here!

Activity Complete Exercise 17 on page 394 of your Elements of Language textbook.