Understanding Adverbs in English Grammar: A Complete Guide
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15 cards
Question: What is the primary function of adverbs in a sentence?
Answer: To modify verbs (and sometimes adjectives, other adverbs, or prepositional phrases) by indicating how, when, where, etc., something happens or is done
Question: Give three word classes that certain adverbs can modify besides verbs.
Answer: Adjectives (e.g., extremely happy), other adverbs (e.g., really slowly), and prepositional phrases (e.g., completely out of order).
Question: How are many adverbs formed from adjectives? Give the morpheme and examples.
Answer: By adding the derivational morpheme -ly: quick → quickly, sad → sadly, usual → usually.
Question: Which derivational morpheme forms adverbs from nouns and give examples.
Answer: -wise: clock → clockwise, tax → taxwise.
Question: Which derivational morpheme indicates direction and give examples.
Answer: -ward(s): back → backwards, west → westward(s), earth → earthwards.
Question: What do we do with adjectives that already end in -ly when forming adverbs? Name the exception.
Answer: Most use the structure in a ... way/manner (e.g., in a friendly way); they do not add another -ly. The exception that does add -ly is sly → slyly.
Question: List some adjectives that end in -ly and how their adverbial forms are expressed.
Answer: Adjectives: brotherly/sisterly, cowardly, friendly, heavenly, lively, lovely, motherly/fatherly. Adverbial forms: in a brotherly/sisterly way, in a co
Question: Name adverbs that are identical in form to their adjective counterparts.
Answer: early, late, hard, slow, fast, quick, long.
Question: What question do manner adverbs generally answer? Provide an example.
Answer: They answer How? Example: He spoke to her courteously (In what way?).
Question: What questions do place adverbs answer? Provide examples for location and direction.
Answer: They answer Where? (location) and Where to?/Where from? (direction). Examples: She lives there (location). The swallows fly southward in the autumn (d