Questions Answered by Adverbs
When we first learn about Adverbs from Schoolhouse Rock, we are blithely told that they are formed from adjectives and conveniently end in -LY.  This standardized approach to English, in this case, forming adverbs from adjectives, I've read, took hold in the 1700s.  Examples are "happily, courageously, blithely, conveniently."  The basic formula is that we simply add -LY to an adjective: happy + LY = happily, courage + LY = courageously, convenient + LY = conveniently, etc. That's true enough and it probably covers most of the adverbs out there.  

However...and NOTHING against Schoolhouse Rock!... this easy, "Adverbs 101" approach leaves a lot of important and frequently used adverbs out in the cold (see the second chart below), which is sad.  Even worse, it can be downright misleading, maybe even, shall we say, downrightly dangerous... Whoops, case in point: "downright" (a "to what degree" adverb) is already an adverb; no need to add LY.  ("Downrightly," sorry to say, is not even a word.)  

So looking for -LY endings is not the magic bullet. You see, there are also a number of words ending in LY that are not adverbs.  These include adjectives formed by adding LY to nouns, such as love + LY = lovely, or mother + LY = motherly, as in "lovely day," or "motherly concern."  So this is a friendly reminder (what kind of reminder?) that if we just scan the page, on the prowl for words ending in -LY, we will be quite misinformed.  (Hmm, can you find the two adverbs in the previous sentence?)  It turns out that the practice of adding -LY to nouns to form adjectives was something from Middle English, and when this came to an end, it "paved the way" for adverbs to take over the -LY ending.

As you will soon see, knowing the questions that adverbs answer is the best way to learn to identify adverbs. These five  questions are HOW, WHEN, WHERE, TO WHAT DEGREE, and WHY.  This approach works wonders and will get you thinking grammatically, rather than just hunting simplistically for words ending in LY.  
Adverbs add style, subtlety, and specificity to our writing.  Pick 2 of these sentences and add 3 adverbs to each. *
 You can use your own or borrow from the lists below.   1. The rain fell.  2. The car skidded.  3. The flower opened. 4. The dog barked. 5. The child smiled.
Write down ten short sentences (using two verbs if possible), each one answering a different adverb question. *
Examples: “I ran fast.  I ran incredibly fast.  I ran there.  I ran yesterday.  I ran to catch our bus.”
Then combine one set of these short sentences into one or two long sentence(s) that answers all of these questions.   *
Arrange the adverbs so the sentence sounds natural; if it sounds better in two sentences, that’s okay.  Example: “Yesterday I ran downtown incredibly fast to catch the bus.”  
Single-word adverbs --> Adverb Phrases.  When phrases (and clauses) answer these questions, they are acting as adverbs.
Add more specific information by changing a vague adverb into a prepositional phrase that acts as an adverb.  Example:  We went there. --> We went to the beach.
Your Last Name, First Name *
Your English Class *
Submit
Clear form
Never submit passwords through Google Forms.
This content is neither created nor endorsed by Google. Report Abuse - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy
Google Forms