Adverb

Averb: A word which modifies the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb is known as an adverb.

Ex: she writes quickly.

Khalid is very smart.

He explained the poem fairly well.

Kinds of Adverbs: adverb are divided into eight kinds on the basis of their use:

Adverb of Manner

Adverb of Place

Adverb of Time

Adverb of Certainty

Adverb of Degree

Interrogative Adverb

Relative Adverb

Adverb of Manner: An adverb used to show how an action is done is know as Adverb of Manner.

Ex: quickly, bravely, happily, hard, fast, well, clearly soundly, probably, possibly, evidently, unfortunately, luckily, sadly

Ex: They lived happily.

Ismail walks gracefully.

She speaks fluently.

Adverb of place: An adverb used to show where an action is done is known as an Adverb of place.

Ex: here, there, up, down, near, below, above, away, out, in every where, backward, within, by

Ex: I went there.

She stood near the gate.

Please come here.

Adverb of Time: An adverb used to show when an action is done is known as an adverb of Time.

Ex: now, then, today, tomorrow, early, soon, still, yet, before, late, ago, lately, dally, already, never, since, formerly.

Ex: My father is not at home now.

She will Come here soon.

She came late yesterday.

Adverb of Frequency: An adverb used to show often an action is done is known as an Adverb of Frequency.

Ex: once, twice, often, never, always, occasionally, again, frequently, seldom, sometimes

Ex: they talked to each other again.

We visited Jo's twice 

They never go to films.

Adverb of Certainty: An adverb used to show definiteness of the action is known as a adverb of certainty.

Ex: surely, certainly, definitely, obviously.

Ex: surely, she loves me.

I shall certainly help you.

Janet is obviously very clever.

Adverb of Degree: An adverb used to show how much or in what degree or to what extent an action is done is known as an adverb of Degree.

Ex: very rather, fairly, quite, too, almost, hardly, fully, enough, so, altogether, no, pretty, any, partly

Ex: we have eaten enough.

I am feeling much better.

He is very great.

Interrogative Adverb: An adverb used to ask question is known as an interrogative Adverb.

Ex: where, when, why, how

Ex: When will you come?

How long will you stay in Abuja?

Where did you go yesterday?

Relative Adverb: An adverb used to relate two clauses or statements is known as a Relative Adverb.

Ex: where, when, why

Ex: I did not know where she had gone.

Do you know when Ameer came here.

I don't know why she went to Rigasa.

POINT OF REMEMBER

1. Adverb of manner answers the question how?
2. Adverb of place answers the question where?
3. Adverb of time answers the question when?
4. Adverb of frequency answers the question how often?
5. Adverb of degree answers the question how much or in what degree or to what extent?
6. A simple Adverb is used to modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective or an adverb.
7. An Interrogative adverb is used to ask questions.
8. A relative adverb is used to join two clauses or statements.

A. SOME HINTS ON THE USE OF ADVERBS

1. Words used both as adjectives and adverbs

Some adverbs may be used both as adjectives and adverbs.

Adjectives	Adverbs
Bayo is speaking in a loud voice.	Bukola necer talks loudly
Kolade is a fast bowler	i cannot walk fast
My sister will come to Rigasa next week	I shall consider your case, when next i come here.
I tried to open the back door of my house.	she went back.
i have very little knowledge about computer	i know little about American s
I love hard work	i tried hard to know her name
Bukola is the best girl	I love my mother the best.
I pleaded with the police to take quick action.	Amaka ran away quickly.
I am going to Abuja by an early tain.	She came early today.
I give high value to money	I Don't aim high in life.
Muh'd is my only friend.	I only advise you.
I have money enough to buy the car.	She speaks well enough.
Kolade is a fast bowler	i cannot walk fast

2. Adverbs have two forms

Some adverbs have two forms and they have different meanings.

Hard and Hardly
Hard = diligently
Hardly = Scarcely
We must work hard
I could hardly believe it.

Near and nearly
Near = opposite to far
Nearly = almost
Please Come near.
He is nearly defeated.

Late and Lately
Late = opposite to early
Lately = recently
The train arrived late.
I have met Umar lately.

Pretty and pretily
Pretty = fairly 
Prettily = elegantly
I am pretty sure of my success.
Ummy was prettily dressed.

Clear and Clarity
Clear = quit or leave
Clearly = in a clear manner
Keep clear of the entrance.
You must see clearly.

Close and closely
Close = near
Closely = carefully
Come close to me.
Watch him closely.

Direct and Directly
Direct = without stopping
Directly = in a direct manner
The bus goes direct to Abuja.
He spoke to me directly.

Easy and Easily
Easy = lightly
Easily = without any effort
Take life easy.
Shaps leanrnt English easily.

Fair and Fairly
Fair = justly
Fairly = nicely 
You should play fair.
She spoke to me very fairly.

High and Highly
High = nobly
Highly = greatly
Always aim high in life.
He was highly praised.

Right and Rightly
Right = exactly
Rightly = correctly
I found the ring right here.
He wrote the spelling rightly.

Adverbs compounded with prepositions

Some adverbs are compounded with prepositions.

Ex: thereby	therefore
therein	thereof
thereon	thereto
there with	hereafter
hereby	herein
herein	hereup
herewith	hitherto
henceforth	henceforward
wherefore	wherein
whereon	whereof

5. Adverbs used in pair

Two adverbs are used together sometimes.

Ex: Again and again	Repeatedly
by and by	Before long
Far and wide	Comprehensively
Far and away	By a great deal
First and foremost	Firlt of all
Now and then.	From time to time, occasionally
Now and again.	At intervals, sometimes
Off and on	Irregularly, intermittently
Once and again.	On more than one occasion
Out and away.	Beyond comparison, by far
Over and above.	In addition to, besides, as well as
Over and over	Many times, frequently
Through and through	Thoroughly, Completely
To and fro	Backward and forward, up and down

6. Position of Adverbs

Adverbs of manner are commonly placed after the verb or object.

Ex: Nikola walks gracefully.

Nana speaks politely.

The doctor examined the patient carefully.

Adverbs of place and time may be placed after the verb or object.

Ex: She went there.

I searched everywhere for my book.

I saw a film yesterday.

Adverb of frequency and degree are generally placed between the subject and the verb and if the verb contains several words, adverbs are placed after the first word. 

Ex: My father never tells lies.

I have never seen such a smart boy.

I have often advised my sister to speak politely.

Some adverbs are placed after the auxiliary verbs. 

Ex: You are always careless of your health.

I was completely defeated in the game.

Adverbs must be placed before the auxiliaries like have to and used to.

Ex: I often have to attend drama classes.

He always used to sit in the garden.

I never used to visit Sokoto.

If more adverbs are used, the order of adverbs is: 

• Adverb of manner
• Adverb of place
• Adverbs of time

Ex: I enjoyed well as the picnic yesterday.

I met Nikola at the theatre yesterday evening.

I expressed my feelings very clearly at the function yesterday.

If an adverb modifies an adjective or adverb, adverbs are placed before it.

Ex: The book is rather dull and uninteresting.

I am quite happy today.

The girl is very beautiful.

The adverb "enough" should be placed after the adjective or adverb.

Ex: Bukola is clever enough to understand the poem.

Nafee is rich enough to buy the car.

The house is large enough to accommodate a family.

The word "only" should be placed before the work it modifies.

Ex: He only directed the film. [Nobody else but he directed the film]

Only he directed the film. [Nobody else but he directed the film]

He directed only the film. [He directed nothing else but the film]

7. Formation of Adverbs

(a) Adverbs of manner are mainly formed by adding 'ly' to the adjective.

Adjectives	Adverb
clever	cleverly
wise	wisely
kind	kindly
foolish	foolishly
quick	quickly
beautiful	beautifully
slow	slowly
grave	gravely

(b) When the adjective ends with 'y' prceded by a consonant,'y'is changed into 'i' and 'ly' added.

Adjectives	Adverb
happy	happily
ready	readily
heavy	heavily

(c) When the adjective end with 'ie', 'e' is changed into 'y'.

Adjectives	Adverb
single	singly
double	doubly

(d) Final 'e' is retained with the following words.

Adjectives	Adverb
extreme	extremely
extensive	extensively
intensive	intensively
comprehensive	comprehensively
wise	wisely
polite	politely
wide	widely
nice	nicely
Exception
true	truly
due	duly
whole	wholly

(e) For adjectives ending with 'able/ible', the final 'e' is dropped and 'y' is added.

Adjectives	Adverb
sensible	sensible
capable	capably
able	ably
considerable	considerably
probably	probably
possible	possibly

(f) Some adverbs are compounded with a noun or adjective.

sometimes	midday
meantime	midnight
meanwhile	midway
yesterday	otherwise

(g) some adverbs are compounded with 'a'.

Ex:

afoot	asleep	ahead
aboard	away	alive
abroad	along	aloud
anew

(h) some adverbs are compounded with 'to'.

EX:

today	behind	before
tonight	below	beneath
tomorrow	beyond	besides

8. Comparison of Adverbs

(a) Adverb with single syllable from their comparative and superlative by adding 'er' or 'est".

Positive	Comparative	Suparative
hard	harder	harderst
high	higher	highest
early	earlier	earliest
fast	faster	fastest
long	longer	longest
soon	sooner	soonest

(B) Adverb ending with 'ly' from their comparative and superlative by adding 'more' and 'most'.

Positive	Comparative	Suparative
swiftly	more swiftly	most swiftly
skillfully	more skillfully	most skillfully
quickly	more quickly	most quickly
fortunately	more fortunately	most fortunately

9. Adverb of irregular comparison

Positive	Comparative	Suparative
bad	worse	worst
good	better	best
much	more	most
little	less	least
near	nearer	nearest
far	farther	farthest
	further	furthest
late	later	last

Note: only Aveeb of manner, degree and time admit of comparison.
10. some adverbs cannot be comparef on account of their nature.
Ex: now, where, then, there.