- •Adjective
- •3.1. Definition
- •3.2. Morphological structure of adjectives
- •3.3. Classes of adjectives
- •3.3.1. Qualitative adjectives: the category of comparison
- •Inner — — innermost
- •3.4. Syntactic functions of adjectives
- •7.1. Definition
- •7.2. Morphological structure of adverbs
- •7.5.7. Adverbs denoting the quality of an action
- •7.5.2. Adverbs denoting circumstances
- •7.6. Syntactic functions of adverbs
7.2. Morphological structure of adverbs
According to their morphological structure adverbs are classified into 1) simple, 2) derivative, 3) compound, 4) complex.
Simple adverbs are devoid of affixes and consist of a root-stem: enough, back, here, there, then, quite, well, rather, too.
Derivative adverbs are formed by means of suffixes. The most productive adverb-forming suffix added to adjectives is -ly. For example: slowly, widely, beautifully, heavily, easily, lazily, differently, simply, etc.
There are also -ward/-wards suffixes: northward/ northwards, southward/southwards, earthward/earthwards, downward/downwards.
Compound adverbs are made up of two stems: anywhere, anyway, anyhow, sometimes, somehow, nowhere, clockwise, likewise, longwise.
Complex adverbs include prepositional phrases like at a loss, at work, by name, by chance, by train, in debt, in a hurry, in turn, etc. (See 2.4.1.4., 2.5.3., 2.6.3.)
7.3. Classes of adverbs
According to the meaning adverbs can be divided into 2 main classes: 1) adverbs that denote the quality of an action, or the manner in which an action is performed, such as well, kindly, by heart, in turn and so on; 2) adverbs that denote various circumstances in which an action takes place, such as today, tomorrow, now, before, already, etc.
7.5.7. Adverbs denoting the quality of an action
Adverbs denoting the quality of an action include words that answer the question how? They can be further divided into 3 groups. They are as follows: a) adverbs of manner, b) adverbs of degree or quantity, c) adverbs of frequency.
Adverbs of manner are largely words derived from qualitative adjectives. For example: kindly, quickly, lazily, heartily, slowly, willingly, badly, well, fluently, beautifully, etc. They may have degrees of comparison.
This group also comprises numerous preposition + noun set phrases like at a loss, by name, in a hurry, in the main and others presented in sections 2.4.1.4., 2.5.3., 2.6.3. Besides it includes set expressions of another type, such as at once, at last, at least, one by one, head over heels, etc.
Adverbs of degree or quantity denote the degree of a quality, expressed by adjectives and adverbs, or point out the extent to which an action is performed. They are the following: very, most, quite, almost, nearly, only, merely, entirely, altogether, totally, wholly, utterly, exceedingly, too, sufficiently, enough, little, much, partly, half, hardly, scarcely and so on.
Adverbs of frequency include words like often, frequently, seldom, rarely, sometimes, occasionally, usually, always, ever, never, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, once, twice, firstly, secondly, finally, eventually, etc.
Besides this group comprises a number of set expressions like as a rule, as usual, at first, in general, in the beginning, in the end, at last, etc.
7.3.1.1. Adverbs and adjectives
Not infrequently adverbs and adjectives turn out to be so closely related to each other as far as their function in a sentence is concerned that one finds it difficult to tell one from another. Here are some points to take into consideration.
a) Some adverbs of manner are homonymous with their corresponding adjectives, such as early, friendly, lively, late, hard, long, far. For example: She rises early. (Compare: She is an early riser.) We arrived home late. (Compare: We were late for the party.) He worked hard to
get a promotion. (Compare: He got a promotion because of his hard work.) Stay as long as you like. (Compare: She is staying with us for a long time.)
Note that sometimes, homonymous adverbs and adjectives differ in meanings: pretty as an adverb is an informal word for «very», pretty as an adjective is «attractive». Compare: I'm pretty sure you'll say yes. It's pretty cold today. — She was a pretty girl of sixteen. What a pretty little garden!
b) Some words have two adverbial forms, both are used to modify verbs: cheap — cheaply, close — closely, dear — dearly, direct — directly, late — lately, loud — loudly, pretty — prettily, right — rightly, slow — slowly, sure — surely, wrong — wrongly, wide — widely. The choice is generally a matter of usage with forms in -ly considered more formal, the shorter forms more emphatic: Buy cheap and sell dear. — He loves his wife dearly. The dresses were cheaply made. We live close to the church. They sat close together. — It was a closely guarded secret. Mail the order direct to me. — The clerk went directly home. Don't speak so loud. — The child called loudly to the lifeguard. Turn right at the crossroads. Did I do it right/wrong? He was standing right in the middle of the room. — You were rightly informed. We believe, rightly or wrongly that they have been badly treated. Go slow. — John drove so slowly that he was late.
Note that in some cases the homonymous forms differ in their meaning: late means «after the necessary or expected time», lately — «in the recent past»; pretty means «very», prettily — «nicely, attractively». He always works late. — He hasn 't been feeling well lately. This work
of yours is a pretty poor effort. — He was never expected to behave prettily.
c) Both adjectives and their corresponding adverbs such as firm — firmly, silent — silently, complete — completely, quiet — quietly, etc. function as modifiers: the modifier should be an adjective if it denotes the condition of the subject, but an adverb if it explains the action of the verb. Compare. We stand firm in our opinion. — We stand firmly by our decision. They stood silent as the ambulance passed. — They listened silently to the soloist. The house has been restored complete in every detail. — The house has been completely restored. The patient remained quiet. — He walked quietly around the room.
Such verbs as be, become, appear, seem, prove, turn out, get, grow, feel, look, smell, sound, taste, used as link-verbs take an adjective to denote the quality or the condition of the subject: The new secretary appears competent. The patient seems better today. She always looks cheerful. The flowers smell sweet. Susan felt bad about the delay.
The adjective bad and the corresponding adverb badly are both almost equally acceptable when following feel, although bad is usually preferred in formal writing. When preceded by look, smell, etc. the usual choice is bad. (See 3.4.)
d) There is also a special group of words in English formed with the prefix a-, such as afire, aflame, ajar, agog, aloof, alike, etc. which can be used as both adverbs and adjectives. Compare: He set the house afire. — He went on working afire with enthusiasm, (figurative use) — She treats all her children alike. — The two brothers are very much alike. (See 3.4.)
Such words as little, a little, few, a few, much may function as adjectives, pronouns and adverbs. Compare: We have a little milk and few eggs. I've got much work to do. (adjective) There is only a little left, (pronoun) Can stay a little longer? This picture is much admired, (adverb) See also 3.3.1.
7.3.1.2. Degrees of comparison of adverbs Adverbs of manner derived from qualitative adjectives usually form their degrees of comparison analytically, by adding more and most. For example: rarely — more rarely — most rarely, slowly — more slowly — most slowly, quickly — more quickly — most quickly, beautifully — more beautifully — most beautifully.
Some one-syllable adverbs homonymous with adjectives like long, wide, fast, hard, far, near, late form their degrees of comparison as the adjectives do: long — longer — longest, wide — wider — widest, hard — harder — hardest, etc. For example: I can't wait for you longer than half an hour. You must work harder to pass the examinations.
Some adverbs have irregular forms of comparison homonymous with the corresponding adjectives. For instance: well — better — best, badly — worse — worst, much — more — most, little — less — least. Besides, the adverbs far, near, late homonymous with the adjectives have suppletive forms of comparison: near — nearer — nearest, next, far — farther/further — farthest/furthest, late — later — latest. (See 3.3.1.)