Acverbs and adverbial phrases (0)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases  
 
Table of Contents 
 
Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases ........................................................... 2 
Types  of Adverbs ..................................................................................... 2 
Position  of Adverbs.................................................................................. 4 
Yet, stil ,  already ....................................................................................... 6 
 
Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases 
  
An adverb describes a verb , an adjective , another adverb or a whole sentence. 
Adverbs can be divided according to the information that they give. 
  
Types of Adverbs 
  
1. Some adverbs tell us how somebody does something or how something   
happens. These are called Adverbs of Manner . 
Please  speak  quietly. 
Tom drove carefully  along  the  narrow  road. 
  
2. Some adverbs tell us where. These are called Adverbs of Place : 
She put the book on the table. 
  
3. Some adverbs tell us when. These are called Adverbs of Time. 
We met  them  at five o´ clock . 
  
4. Some adverbs tell us how often. These are called Adverbs of Frequency . 
       E.g. always, sometimes, often,  never ,  usually , seldom, hardly ever, and rarely: 
She never  comes on time. 
They usually  work  on Saturday mornings. 
I have always loved plays written by Oscar  Wilde . 
  
5. Some adverbs tell us how much. These are called Adverbs of Degree .     
E.g. definitely, absolutely, obviously, possibly, just,  certainly , very,  quite ,   
rather: 
   He 
is definitely the right man for the job. 
 He 
would certainly have been chosen for the team if he hadn’t injured  
         his knee. 
        
 
2 
6. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective. This is the case with   
hard , fast,  late . 
  
Adjective   
 
 
 
Adverb 
Jack is a very fast  runner . 
 
Jack can run very fast. 
                        Ann 
is 
a 
hard worker. 
  Ann 
works  hard.                    
                                                                        Ann 
hardly ever works hard.   
 The 
train  
was 
late. 
  Tom 
got 
up 
late this  morning . 
                         NB! hardly  means  very little , nearly not; hard means very much            
 
 
  
7. Many adverbs end in -ly, because many adjectives can be made into    
adverbs by adding –ly.     
       E.g.  quick /quickly, slow /slowly, brave/bravely, careful/carefully,   
       bad/badly: 
        
They didn’t go out because it was raining heavily. 
 
 
Colin  was disappointed to see how badly his son had done at the  exam . 
  
NB! At the same time there are some adjectives which end in –ly as well. The 
most common are  friendly , lively, lovely, ugly, silly, cowardly: 
Nobody  has ever been so friendly to me. (adjective) 
He greeted me in a most friendly manner. (adverb) 
I don’t like your cowardly behaviour. (adjective) 
He betrayed me in a most cowardly way. (adverb) 
 
8. Sentence Adverbs are words or phrases like certainly, perhaps , luckily, of  
course . They say something about the situation described in the whole sentence. 
 
 
Fortunately, the weather  stayed fine. 
   We’ll 
probably have to wait for another bus. This one is  full . 
   I 
certainly didn’t expect  such a beautiful present ! 
He was late, of course. 
  
 
3 
Position of Adverbs 
  
Adverbs of Manner normally come  
 1.  1) at the end of a statement : 
 
    
Since  then I have answered all the  letters  personally. 
             2) in shorter sentences they can stand  in front of the verb: 
           
He quietly  shut  the  door . 
             3) but after the verb to be 
          
Mary is frequently late.   
       2. before  Adjectives and other  Adverbs:
reasonably cheap  
(adverb + adjective) 
terribly  sorry  
 
(adverb + adjective) 
incredibly quickly 
(adverb + adverb) 
It’s a reasonably cheap  restaurant  and the food is extremely  good . 
I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. 
Maria learns  languages  incredibly quickly. 
  
       3. before a Past Participle (injured/organised/written etc.): 
Two people were seriously injured in the accident . 
The meeting  was very badly organised.  
  
Adverbs of Place (where?) 
       1. Usually the verb and the adverb of place go together: 
go home 
live  in a city 
        If the verb has an  object , the adverb of place comes after the verb + object: 
 take somebody home 
 meet a friend  in the street  
  
 
4 
Adverbs of Time (when? /how often? /how long?) normally go after adverbs of 
place: 
 
 
 
 
 
place 
  time 
Tom walks   
to work 
 
every morning. 
She has been 
in Canada  
since April. 
We arrived    
at the airport  
early . 
  
It is usually possible to put the adverb of time at the  beginning of the sentence: 
On Monday I’m  going to  Paris . 
Every morning Tom walks to work. 
  
Some adverbs, such as Adverbs of Frequency and Degree 
(always/also/probably) go with the verb in the  middle of a sentence: 
Tom always  goes  to work by train. 
We were  feeling  very tired and we were also hungry. 
Your car has probably been stolen . 
  
a)  If the verb is one word (goes/ fell /cooked), the adverb usually goes before   
the verb: 
 
 
 
adverb   verb 
Tom  always 
 
goes to work by train. 
  
b) but after the verb ‘be’ (am/is/are/was/were): 
We were feeling very tired and we were also hungry. 
  
c) if the verb is two or more words (can remember /doesn’t  smoke /has been 
stolen etc.), the adverb goes after the first verb (can/doesn’t/has etc.): 
verb 
1  adverb  verb 
2 
I   can   
 
never  
 
remember his name. 
Ann  
doesn’t 
 
usually 
 
smoke.
Your car  
has   
 
probably   
been stolen. 
 
NB! In negative sentences probably goes before the negative: 
I probably won’t see you.  OR    I will probably not see you. 
 
5 
  
We also use all and  both  in these positions : 
We all  felt  ill after the  meal . 
My  parents  are both teachers. 
Sarah and  Jane  have both applied for the job. 
  
Sometimes we use is/will/did etc. instead of repeating part of a sentence. Note  
the position of always/never/ etc. in these sentences: 
He always says he won’t be late but he always is. (= he is always late) 
I’ve never done it and I never will. (= I will never do it) 
  
Phrases like every day,  once a week or most evenings go in front or end 
position. 
 
 
Every day we go jogging. We go jogging every day. 
 
 
I have driving lessons three times a week. 
  
Also usually goes in mid position, but too and as well go in end position. 
Ann bakes lovely cakes. She also  makes bread . /She makes bread too/as 
well. 
  
Yet, still , already 
  
Yet means that something is expected to happen . 
 
 
Have you had a  holiday  yet? (It’s time to have a holiday.) 
  
Still means ‘going on longer than expected’. 
I’m still  working on my project. (There is no time for a holiday yet.) 
  
Already means ‘sooner than expected’. 
 
 
I’ve already  passed  all the exams . (Long before the deadline .) 
  
Yet usually goes at the end of a negative statement or question. 
 
 
Kate has received  a present, but she hasn’t opened it yet. 
 
 
Have they  sent  you the tickets  yet? – No, not yet. 
 
6 
  
In a  positive statement, still and already usually go in mid position, like adverbs 
of degree and frequency. 
 
 
I sent her an e-mail a week ago, and am still  waiting  for a  reply . 
 
 
You don’t have to tell me that horrible news, I already  know . 
  
Still can be used in a negative statement, where it goes before  haven ’t, can’t, etc. 
It’s nearly bed-time, and you still haven’t  finished your homework . (Hurry 
up!) 
 
 
Alison is fifteen and she still can’t  swim . (High time to learn!) 
  
Still is more emotional than yet. It usually expresses surprise or anger at the 
fact that something is taking longer than expected. 
Rita hasn’t booked our holiday yet. ( neutral  – it’s OK; there’s still plenty of 
time) 
Rita still hasn’t booked our holiday. (emotional – soon it may be too late!) 
  
In a question still and already usually go after the subject . 
 
 
Are you still waiting after all this time? 
   Has 
John already applied for the job? 
 
 
 
7 

Document Outline

•  
•  Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases 
• Types of Adverbs 
•  Position of Adverbs 
• Yet, still, already