Adverbs modifying adjectives

Adverbs modifying adjectivesProfessor Juan Carlos Collantes Alvarado

What's an adverb?

An adverb is basically a word that tells you how something happens or how somebody does something.

What's an adverb?

Examples:

• The train stopped suddenly.
• I opened the door slowly.
• Please, listen carefully.
• I understand you perfectly.

How do we create an adverb?

adjective + -ly = adverb

• Adjectives: quick, bad, sudden, careful, heavy
• Adverbs: quickly, badly, suddenly, carefully, heavily

Etcetera...

Adjectives:

• Sue is very quiet.
• Be careful!
• It was a bad game...
• I felt nervous.

Adverbs:

• Sue speaks very quietly.
• Listen carefully!
• Our team played badly...
• I waited nervously.

Adjectives and adverbs

Some words could be both, either an adverb or an adjective: hard, fast, late, early.Examples:

• Sue's job is very hard.
• Ben is a fast runner.
• The bus was late.
• The bus was early.
• Sue works very hard. (not hardly)
• Ben can run fast.
• I went to bed early.

Adjectives and adverbs

good (adjective) VS well (adverb)

• Your English is very good.
• It was a good game.

• You speak English very well. (not very good)
• Our team played well.

Adjectives and adverbs

But well is also an adjective. Examples:

• 'How are you?' 'I'm very well, thank you. And you?'

Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs like these are with a verb, at the middle of any given sentence. always, often, ever, rarely, also, already, all, usually, sometimes, never, seldom, just, still, both.

Adverbs of frequency

• My sister never speaks to me.
• She's always late.
• Do you often go to restaurants?
• I sometimes eat too much. / Sometimes I eat too much.
• Don't forget to phone Laura. I've already phoned her.
• I've got three sisters. They're all married.

Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency go before the verb.

• I always drink coffee in the morning.
• Helen often goes to London.
• You sometimes look unhappy.
• They usually drink tea at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
• We rarely watch the Tele. / We seldom watch the Tele.
• George is a good footballer, but he also plays tennis.
• I've got three sisters. They all live in Manchester.

Adverbs of frequency

But the adverbs of frequency go after the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were), no matter what.

• I'm always tired.
• They are never at home during the day.
• It is usually very cold here in winter.
• When I was a child, I was often late for school.
• Where's Laura? She's still in bed.
• I've got two brothers. They're both doctors.

Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency go always between two verbs when the first verb is an auxiliary, such as: will, can, could, do, does, did, have, has...

Adverbs of frequency

Examples:

• I will always remember you.
• It doesn't always rain here.
• Do you usually go to work by car?
• I can never find my keys!
• Have you ever been to Canada?
• Where's Laura? She's just gone.
• My friends have all gone to the cinema.

Adverbs modifying adjectives

When we have an adverb and an adjective in the same sentence, keep in mind that adverbs give us more information about the adjectives that come after them.

Adverbs modifying adjectives

Also, keep in mind that there is a certain degree of occurrence for these adverbs that go with adjectives, that is, that there is a percent possibility on how often they might happen.

Adverbs modifying adjectives

• extremely
• really
• very
• pretty
• fairly
• a little

Adverbs modifying adjectives

• Ancient Chinese were an extremely advanced civilization.
• They develop a really wide degree of culture.
• Although, they ate (and eat, even today) a very strange variety of animals.
• Their cooking techniques are pretty odd.
• Most of their land was fairly fertile.
• On the other hand, they were a little supersticious.

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

How do we distinguish an adverb from an adjective? And how do we use them? Take a look here, lad.

ADVERB OR ADJECTIVE?

REFLECTION...

Complement your storytelling by adding adverbs of frequency and adverbs with adjectives into different possible scenarios.

SOURCES:

• Essential Grammar in Use, Third Edition. Raymond Murphy. (c) Cambridge University Press, 2007.
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/

THANK YOU!