ADVERBS What is an Adverb An ADVERB is

ADVERBS

What is an Adverb? An ADVERB is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. They describe: When Where How To What Degree Wow! That’s a lot of modification! Let’s split it up to look at it piece by piece.

Adverbs that Modify Verbs The football team played yesterday. When The bus driver drove west. Where The team ran quickly. How That man has frequently missed the games. Degree

Adverbs that Modify Adjs She is always beautiful. When That woman is nowhere near. Where That is physically impossible. How The water is very cold. Degree

Adverbs that Modify Other Adverbs The northern icily blowing winds are brutal. Where His weekly quarterly meetings are boring. When The dog barked increasingly loudly. How He can run very quickly. Degree

Comparative Adverbs Like Adjs, Adverbs can show degrees of comparison. Examples: Swims: Badly (positive); Worse (Comparative); Worst (Superlative) Plays: Well (positive); Better (Comparative); and Best (Superlative) Runs: Slowly (Positive); More Slowly (Comparative); Most Slowly (Superlative)

Negatives as Adverbs The word “not” and the contraction “n’t” are considered adverbs, just like negative adverbs such as nowhere and hardly. Examples The girl couldn’t sleep. That dog never bites. He cannot see. She can hardly eat. He didn’t smile. They are not trying.