5. Adverbs modify not only verbs. They are also often used to modify an adjective or another adverb. Here are a few of the more frequent such adverbs; very, extremely terribly, fairly, somewhat, too, almost, quite. Bill Gates is very rich. He runs his company quite efficiently.
Some adverbs are used almost exclusively with certain adjectives.
You should learn and use these adjective-adverb combinations. A good dictionary should be able to give you this information.
Task 1. Insert the appropriate adjective or adverb in the blanks in the following sentences.
1. A servant thought that Charles Darwin was ___ (idle/idly) because he stared at an anthill for an hour.
2. Darwin wanted to observe every creature in ___ (minute/ minutely) detail.
3. He studied ants and turtles ___ (particular/particularly) ___ (close/closely).
4. Darwin always held a ____ (powerful/powerfully) affection for family.
5. He wanted to observe ___ (accurate/accurately) human beings' emotions.
6. Darwin argued that love, affection, morality, and sympathy had ___ (gradual/gradually) developed from our primate.
7. Even baboons can feel ___ (evil, evilly) passions.
8. When corroding the proofs for his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Lower Animals, Darwin ___(emphatic/emphatically) deleted (he word "lower."
Tricky Adjective and Adverb Forms
1. Some adverbs do not add -ly to the adjective form.
They seem to be good writers. They write well.
He is a fast swimmer. He swims fast
She is a hard worker. She works hard.
Take care with hard and hardly. The adverb farm hardly does exist, but it is not associated with the adjective hard and it has negative connotations, It means
’scarcely' or '‘almost not at all.”
He hardly ever offers to help.
I’d hardly describe her looks as beautiful!
2. After linking verbs such as feel, seem, and income, use an adjective.
The teachers feel bad.
Some verbs (such as appear, look, see, smell, taste) can be used as either linking verbs or action verbs.
She looked sad when she heard the news, look – linking verb)
She looked sadly around the room, (look – action verb)
Never place an adverb between a verb and the direct object. The following sentence is incorrect in English.
The teacher reviewed systematically the lenses.
He is certainly very intelligent/ he is very intelligent, certainly
3. Another type of adverb that can move around in the sentence is one that modifies the whole sentence, for example, fortunately, actually, obviously, certainly, and recently.
Certainly, he is very intelligent.
He is certainly very intelligent.
He is very intelligent, certailnly.
4. The adverb only also has the ability to move around in the sentence, but its position changes the meaning of the sentence.
In the following sentence – the context of which is a bus accident – the word only can be inserted at each one of the points (1-6) indicated. Except for when it appears at points 4 and 6. the position of only changes the meaning of the sentence. Can you work out the fixe different meanings of this sentence, depending on the position of only?
(1) The (2) passenger (3) hint (4) his (5) arm (6).
5. Many adverbs of frequency (such as always, sometimes, often, seldom, usually, frequently) modify the whole sentence and not just the verb. They usually occur in the middle position in a sentence after the subject.
He always behaves tactfully, (before a main verb)
He has always spoken tactfully to his boss, (after the first auxiliary verb)
He is always tactful, (after be as the main verb)
6. Adverbial phrases are best placed at the end of a sentence.