ADVERBS AND ADVERBIAL PHRASES
Formation, Types and Position
Formation of adverbsAdverbs are often formed from adjectives by
adding –lyBUTThere are also many other adverbs which are NOT formed from adjectivesAnd which do NOT end in –ly
always, never, just, twice a weekThere are also some words in –ly which are NOT adverbs
friendly, likely, lovely, silly, lonely
Angry, Bad, Basic, Careful, Dramatic, Fast, Good, Healthy, Incredible, Lucky, Occasional, Probable, Scientific, Slow,
Straight, Terrible, Unfortunate
+ -ly -le→-ly -y→-ily -ic→-ically Irregular
Angry, Bad, Basic, Careful, Dramatic, Fast, Good, Healthy, Incredible, Lucky, Occasional, Probable, Scientific, Slow,
Straight, Terrible, Unfortunate
+ -ly -le→-ly -y→-ily -ic→-ically Irregular
BadlyCarefully
OccasionallySlowly
Unfortunately
ProbablyIncrediblyTerribly
AngrilyHealthilyLuckily
BasicallyDramaticallyScientifically
FastWell
Straight
Types of Adverbs
Manner How? well, happily Place Where? here, thereTime When? now, todayFrequency How often? always, neverDegree How much? extremelySentence A comment hopefully
Positions of Adverbs
a) Tom has been working.
b) extremely tired
PRECEDING the modified word (adj/adv)
FRONT MIDDLE END
Positions of Adverbsa) Tom has been working.
b) extremely tired
PRECEDING the modified word (adj/adv) DEGREE
FRONTSENTENCE
Time!Frequency!
MIDDLEFREQUENCYManner!Sentence!
ENDMPT
1. I LIKE VERY MUCH CHAT SHOWS AND PHONE-INS.
2. SOMETIMES THE WEATHER FORECAST IS COMPLETELY WRONG.
3. HE’S PROBABLY GOT LOST.4. I RARELY GO TO THE CINEMA NOW I’VE GOT
CABLE TV.5. I’LL GET IN TOUCH NEXT WEEK WITH HIM.6. SHE DANCES BRILLIANTLY THE TANGO.7. FORTUNATELY NOBODY WAS INJURED
SERIOUSLY IN THE ACCIDENT.8. ALMOST SHE MISSED THE INTERVIEW BECAUSE
HER CAR BROKE DOWN.9. I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU.10.SHE EVEN DIDN’T SAY GOODBYE WHEN SHE
LEFT.
Using adverbs to make a story more vivid
Make your language more vivid
1. It was raining. A man was walking along the pavement. He looked round and saw that a woman was following him.
2. It was raining heavily. A tall middle-aged man was walking quickly along the wet pavement. Suddenly he looked round and saw that an attractive dark-haired woman was following him.
A tortoise /ˈtɔː(r)təs/ was walking along the middle of the road. It was raining. He wasn’t looking where he was going and he crashed into a snail which was crossing the road. The tortoise disappeared into the crowds but the snail was injured. An ambulance arrived and took him to hospital, where he was operated on. It was a difficult operation but it was a success. After three days the snail felt better and was sitting up in bed reading.The police came to interview him and showed him photos of different tortoises to see if he could identify the one who had hit him. After seeing fifty photos of identical tortoises, the snail started crying and said,
‘I’m sorry. I can’t remember. Everything happened so quickly’
One day, a tortoise /ˈtɔː(r)təs/ was walking very slowly along the middle of the road. It was raining hard/a lot. Unfortunately he wasn’t looking where he was going and suddenly he crashed into a snail which was slowly crossing the road. The tortoise disappeared quickly into the crowds but the snail was seriously injured. Soon an ambulance arrived and took him to hospital, where he was operated on immediately .
It was a difficult operation but fortunately it was a success. After three days the snail felt much better and was sitting up in bed reading happily.The police came to interview him and showed him photos of different tortoises to see if he could possibly/correctly identify the one who had hit him. After seeing fifty photos of identical tortoises, the snail started crying quietly/sadly and said,
‘I’m terribly sorry. I can’t remember. Everything happened so quickly’
EASILY CONFUSED WORDS
• In the last few weeks, recently
lately
• In the last few weeks, recently
• now
At the moment
• now
• Not on time, not early
late
• Not on time, not early
• Making big effort, not easy
hard
• Making big effort, not easy
• The fact is, to tell the truth
actually
• The fact is, to tell the truth
• Not far
near
• Not far
• Almost nothing
hardly
• Almost nothing
• For a particular reason (goes with adjectives)
specially
• For a particular reason (goes with adjectives)
• Above all , in particular
especially
• Above all, in particular
• almost
nearly
• almost
• Finally (used on its own)
In the end
• Finally (used on its own)
• The last part of (must be used with a noun)
At the end
• The last part of (must be used with a noun)
SENTENCE ADVERBS
1. I lost my wallet last week, but __________ I didn’t have any money or credit cards in it at the time.
• a) luckily• b) hopefully• c) generally• d) unfortunately
luckily
2. I waited ages for the bus; one _____________ came an hour later!
• a) generally• b) presumably• c) ideally• d) eventually
eventually
3. I’ve studied hard, so ___________ I’ll pass the exam.
• a) originally• b) hopefully• c) generally• d) apparently
hopefully
4. My grandad _________ has a little sleep after lunch.
• a) eventually• b) generally• c) hopefully• d) originally
generally
5. Have you heard the news? ____________ she’s left her husband for a younger man!
• a) luckily• b) presumably• c) potentially• d) apparently
Apparently,
6. If he’s found guilty he could __________ go to prison for a very long time.
• a) potentially• b) originally• c) eventually• d) luckily
potentially