ADVERBS AND ADVERBIAL PHRASES

Formation, Types and Position

Formation of adverbsAdverbs are often formed from adjectives by

adding –lyBUTThere are also many other adverbs which are NOT formed from adjectivesAnd which do NOT end in –ly

always, never, just, twice a weekThere are also some words in –ly which are NOT adverbs

friendly, likely, lovely, silly, lonely

Angry, Bad, Basic, Careful, Dramatic, Fast, Good, Healthy, Incredible, Lucky, Occasional, Probable, Scientific, Slow,

Straight, Terrible, Unfortunate

+ -ly -le→-ly -y→-ily -ic→-ically Irregular

Angry, Bad, Basic, Careful, Dramatic, Fast, Good, Healthy, Incredible, Lucky, Occasional, Probable, Scientific, Slow,

Straight, Terrible, Unfortunate

+ -ly -le→-ly -y→-ily -ic→-ically Irregular

BadlyCarefully

OccasionallySlowly

Unfortunately

ProbablyIncrediblyTerribly

AngrilyHealthilyLuckily

BasicallyDramaticallyScientifically

FastWell

Straight

Types of Adverbs

Manner How? well, happily Place Where? here, thereTime When? now, todayFrequency How often? always, neverDegree How much? extremelySentence A comment hopefully

Positions of Adverbs

a) Tom has been working.

b) extremely tired

PRECEDING the modified word (adj/adv)

FRONT MIDDLE END

Positions of Adverbsa) Tom has been working.

b) extremely tired

PRECEDING the modified word (adj/adv) DEGREE

FRONTSENTENCE

Time!Frequency!

MIDDLEFREQUENCYManner!Sentence!

ENDMPT

1. I LIKE VERY MUCH CHAT SHOWS AND PHONE-INS.

2. SOMETIMES THE WEATHER FORECAST IS COMPLETELY WRONG.

3. HE’S PROBABLY GOT LOST.4. I RARELY GO TO THE CINEMA NOW I’VE GOT

CABLE TV.5. I’LL GET IN TOUCH NEXT WEEK WITH HIM.6. SHE DANCES BRILLIANTLY THE TANGO.7. FORTUNATELY NOBODY WAS INJURED

SERIOUSLY IN THE ACCIDENT.8. ALMOST SHE MISSED THE INTERVIEW BECAUSE

HER CAR BROKE DOWN.9. I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU.10.SHE EVEN DIDN’T SAY GOODBYE WHEN SHE

LEFT.

Using adverbs to make a story more vivid

Make your language more vivid

1. It was raining. A man was walking along the pavement. He looked round and saw that a woman was following him.

2. It was raining heavily. A tall middle-aged man was walking quickly along the wet pavement. Suddenly he looked round and saw that an attractive dark-haired woman was following him.

A tortoise /ˈtɔː(r)təs/ was walking along the middle of the road. It was raining. He wasn’t looking where he was going and he crashed into a snail which was crossing the road. The tortoise disappeared into the crowds but the snail was injured. An ambulance arrived and took him to hospital, where he was operated on. It was a difficult operation but it was a success. After three days the snail felt better and was sitting up in bed reading.The police came to interview him and showed him photos of different tortoises to see if he could identify the one who had hit him. After seeing fifty photos of identical tortoises, the snail started crying and said,

‘I’m sorry. I can’t remember. Everything happened so quickly’

One day, a tortoise /ˈtɔː(r)təs/ was walking very slowly along the middle of the road. It was raining hard/a lot. Unfortunately he wasn’t looking where he was going and suddenly he crashed into a snail which was slowly crossing the road. The tortoise disappeared quickly into the crowds but the snail was seriously injured. Soon an ambulance arrived and took him to hospital, where he was operated on immediately .

It was a difficult operation but fortunately it was a success. After three days the snail felt much better and was sitting up in bed reading happily.The police came to interview him and showed him photos of different tortoises to see if he could possibly/correctly identify the one who had hit him. After seeing fifty photos of identical tortoises, the snail started crying quietly/sadly and said,

‘I’m terribly sorry. I can’t remember. Everything happened so quickly’

EASILY CONFUSED WORDS

• In the last few weeks, recently

lately

• In the last few weeks, recently

• now

At the moment

• now

• Not on time, not early

late

• Not on time, not early

• Making big effort, not easy

hard

• Making big effort, not easy

• The fact is, to tell the truth

actually

• The fact is, to tell the truth

• Not far

near

• Not far

• Almost nothing

hardly

• Almost nothing

• For a particular reason (goes with adjectives)

specially

• For a particular reason (goes with adjectives)

• Above all , in particular

especially

• Above all, in particular

• almost

nearly

• almost

• Finally (used on its own)

In the end

• Finally (used on its own)

• The last part of (must be used with a noun)

At the end

• The last part of (must be used with a noun)

SENTENCE ADVERBS

1. I lost my wallet last week, but __________ I didn’t have any money or credit cards in it at the time.

• a) luckily• b) hopefully• c) generally• d) unfortunately

luckily

2. I waited ages for the bus; one _____________ came an hour later!

• a) generally• b) presumably• c) ideally• d) eventually

eventually

3. I’ve studied hard, so ___________ I’ll pass the exam.

• a) originally• b) hopefully• c) generally• d) apparently

hopefully

4. My grandad _________ has a little sleep after lunch.

• a) eventually• b) generally• c) hopefully• d) originally

generally

5. Have you heard the news? ____________ she’s left her husband for a younger man!

• a) luckily• b) presumably• c) potentially• d) apparently

Apparently,

6. If he’s found guilty he could __________ go to prison for a very long time.

• a) potentially• b) originally• c) eventually• d) luckily

potentially