Everyday Grammar: Beating Problems with Adverbs
2024-08-16
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1For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
2This week, we're going to talk about some common problems with adverbs.
3Basically, adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
4For example, "I ran quickly to the store."
5The adverb quickly describes the verb run.
6If a word is not easy to classify as a noun, verb, or adjective, it is probably an adverb.
7Some of the most common words in English are adverbs, including up, so, just, then, how, now, also, here, and more.
8Adverbs usually describe verbs.
9They express when, how, where, and why an action is done.
10Many adverbs are easy to find because they have the -ly ending, such as quickly, surely, and certainly.
11However, many adverbs do not have the -ly ending.
12Adverbs can also describe adjectives. For example, "It is really cold today."
13In this example, really is an adverb that describes the adjective cold.
14Adverbs can describe other adverbs.
15For example, "I will probably never go back." Here, the adverb probably describes the adverb never.
16Where do adverbs go in a sentence? Well, it depends.
17Some adverbs can go almost anywhere in a sentence.
18Let us look at the adverb sometimes.
19It can go at the beginning of the sentence as in, "Sometimes, I walk to work."
20It can go after the subject: "I sometimes walk to work."
21Or it can go at the end of the sentence: "I walk to work sometimes."
22Other adverbs can only go in the middle of a sentence. The adverb probably is an example.
23"She will probably leave early."
24It is incorrect to say, "Probably she will leave early" or "She will leave early probably."
25Other such adverbs are never, rarely, seldom, and always.
26These are called mid-sentence adverbs.
27They usually go between the subject and the main verb.
28Different types of adverbs have different sentence positions.
29Adjectives describe nouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
30Take the sentence, "She is careful."
31The adjective careful is describing the noun she.
32But if you said, "She walks carefully," the adverb carefully is describing the verb walk.
33Native speakers sometimes confuse adverbs and adjectives.
34The words hard and hardly are especially difficult.
35Hard is both an adjective and an adverb.
36You can say "The bed was hard," using the adjective, which means it is "very firm."
37You can also say, "I worked hard," using the adverb, which means "with a lot of effort."
38Hardly is an adverb. A long time ago, it meant "in a hard manner," but its meaning has changed.
39People used to say "not hardly." Over time, the word "not" disappeared.
40Since the 1500s, hardly has meant "almost not" or "barely."
41For example, "I hardly had time to finish the project."
42This conflicting meaning of hard and hardly has become the basis for jokes.
43Listen to cartoon character Homer Simpson playing with the confusion between hard and hardly.
44In the scene, Homer's co-workers are replaced with robots.
45"So you guys are my new co-workers. So working hard or hardly working? (laugh). I said, 'Working hard or hardly working?' 'Working hard or hardly working? WORKING HARD OR HARDLY WORKING?' IT'S A SIMPLE QUESTION!"
46Homer is asking the robots if they are working hard (working with energy) or hardly working (only working a little).
47The robots, with their exact reasoning, do not understand the word play in the question.
48We will leave you with a song that uses the adverb softly in an unexpected way.
49Listen to the Fugees' version of the classic song "Killing Me Softly with His Song."
50Strumming my pain with his fingers
51Singing my life with his words
52Killing me softly with his song
53Killing me softly with his song
54I'm Jonathan Evans.
55And I'm Ashley Thompson.
1For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. 2This week, we're going to talk about some common problems with adverbs. Basically, adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. For example, "I ran quickly to the store." The adverb quickly describes the verb run. 3What is an adverb? 4If a word is not easy to classify as a noun, verb, or adjective, it is probably an adverb. Some of the most common words in English are adverbs, including up, so, just, then, how, now, also, here, and more. 5Adverbs usually describe verbs. They express when, how, where, and why an action is done. Many adverbs are easy to find because they have the -ly ending, such as quickly, surely, and certainly. However, many adverbs do not have the -ly ending. 6Adverbs can also describe adjectives. For example, "It is really cold today." In this example, really is an adverb that describes the adjective cold. 7Adverbs can describe other adverbs. For example, "I will probably never go back." Here, the adverb probably describes the adverb never. 8Where do you put the adverb? 9Where do adverbs go in a sentence? Well, it depends. 10Some adverbs can go almost anywhere in a sentence. Let us look at the adverb sometimes. It can go at the beginning of the sentence as in, "Sometimes, I walk to work." It can go after the subject: "I sometimes walk to work." Or it can go at the end of the sentence: "I walk to work sometimes." 11Other adverbs can only go in the middle of a sentence. The adverb probably is an example. "She will probably leave early." 12It is incorrect to say, "Probably she will leave early" or "She will leave early probably." Other such adverbs are never, rarely, seldom, and always. These are called mid-sentence adverbs. They usually go between the subject and the main verb. Different types of adverbs have different sentence positions. 13What's the difference between adverbs and adjectives? 14Adjectives describe nouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Take the sentence, "She is careful." The adjective careful is describing the noun she. But if you said, "She walks carefully," the adverb carefully is describing the verb walk. 15Do you think this is hard? Hardly! 16Native speakers sometimes confuse adverbs and adjectives. 17The words hard and hardly are especially difficult. Hard is both an adjective and an adverb. You can say "The bed was hard," using the adjective, which means it is "very firm." You can also say, "I worked hard," using the adverb, which means "with a lot of effort." 18Hardly is an adverb. A long time ago, it meant "in a hard manner," but its meaning has changed. People used to say "not hardly." Over time, the word "not" disappeared. Since the 1500s, hardly has meant "almost not" or "barely." For example, "I hardly had time to finish the project." This conflicting meaning of hard and hardly has become the basis for jokes. 19Listen to cartoon character Homer Simpson playing with the confusion between hard and hardly. In the scene, Homer's co-workers are replaced with robots. 20"So you guys are my new co-workers. So working hard or hardly working? (laugh). I said, 'Working hard or hardly working?' 'Working hard or hardly working? WORKING HARD OR HARDLY WORKING?' IT'S A SIMPLE QUESTION!" 21Homer is asking the robots if they are working hard (working with energy) or hardly working (only working a little). The robots, with their exact reasoning, do not understand the word play in the question. 22We will leave you with a song that uses the adverb softly in an unexpected way. Listen to the Fugees' version of the classic song "Killing Me Softly with His Song." 23Strumming my pain with his fingers 24Singing my life with his words 25Killing me softly with his song 26Killing me softly with his song 27I'm Jonathan Evans. 28And I'm Ashley Thompson. 29See this excellent reference on adjectives and adverbs from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab. 30Adam Brock wrote and produced this story. Jill Robbins was the editor. 31______________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33adverb - gramm. term. a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence and that is often used to show time, manner, place, or degree 34adjective - gramm. term. a word that describes a noun or a pronoun 35classify - v. to consider (someone or something) as belonging to a particular group 36word play - n. playful or clever use of words