Adverbs modify parts of speech other than nouns and are extensively used in English. They often end with -ly, but not always. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, and entire clauses or sentences. Conjunctive adverbs join two sentences. The adverb is a versatile part of speech that adds a lot to the English language.
An adverb is a modifying part of speech, aimed at something other than a noun. Not all languages use adverbs to accomplish this, as other parts of speech may fill the role, but English does use them extensively. In English, many of these words end with the suffix -ly, usually with an adjective as the root of the word, as in fast or intrusively. This isn’t always true, however, as an adverb doesn’t always use the ending -ly and some words that aren’t adverbs end with it — stinky and ally are two examples of exceptions. Adverbs are also often formed by taking a noun and adding the suffix -ways or -wise, as in sideways and contrariwise.
An adverb is often thought to modify a verb, both because it’s easier to remember – because of the noun – and because it’s the role most often played by this part of speech. It’s important to note, however, that it can also serve to modify other adverbs, adjectives, and entire clauses or sentences. It is usually meant to tell when something happened, where it happened, how it happened, how often it happened, or how it happened. Words or phrases that answer any of these questions are often said to fulfill the adverbial function, whether or not they are true adverbs.
The following sentence may provide an example:
The cyclist rode rapidly down the hill to the finish. The adverb quickly is used to answer the question, how did the cyclist ride down the hill?
There are four main roles an adverb can take: as an adjective, adverb, verb, or sentence modifier. Here are other examples:
The woman laughed heartily.
The adverb of the heart is modifying the verb laughed.
The gun was barely concealed.
It’s barely modifying the adjective hidden.
His partner told him he should tread more carefully in the future.
The adverb more is modifying another adverb, cautiously, which is in turn modifying the verb walk.
Sadly, he never listened to her advice.
Sadly edit the entire following sentence.
There is another use of the adverb, filled with a special set of words known as conjunctive adverbs. These words help to join two sentences in one sentence. Common examples include still, meanwhile, then, finally, also, and however. One can usually identify a subjunctive adverb by its use immediately after a semicolon as a way to join two clauses. Here is an example of a sentence that uses a subjunctive adverb to join two discrete elements:
It seemed that time had stopped in anticipation; finally, in a sudden whirlwind, the storm came.
In modern grammar, there is some discussion of the adverb as a less unobtrusive part of speech than has traditionally been taught. It has been pointed out that these words appear to serve such a wide range of functions that lumping them all together can be somewhat misleading. However, it cannot be denied that they add a huge amount to the English language.
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