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Adverbs

   I am doing adverbs next, because I hate them with a passion.  I just read that Hemingway hated them too and advised writers to avoid them. I feel justified! I don't understand how and when to use them, ironically because adverbs answer the questions how, when, why, what, and where.

   I don't like them at all and I suffer extremely strong resistance and most exceptionally severe discomfort whenever  I try to identify them. They occur in the most unlikely places, usually inside the sentence raising all kinds of havoc. (Note: most and unlikely are adverbs I used above as are extremely and exceptionally.)

   In my readings on the web, I nailed down a few easy ways to identify them. A simple definition, with all it's extra meanings, and exceptions, is NOT possible. The uses of adverbs is difficult, identifying them is equally difficult. They are many. Legion, in fact. I hate them and I want to not hate them quite so contemptuously. An adver is a worthy part of speech and I use them, but have always had an excrutiatingly harsh dislike for them. I will change. I hope. I give you:

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 Adverbs

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   An adverb is a word or group of words that modify (enhances, expands detail, or describes)  a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Many one-word adverbs end in “-ly,” such as he ran quickly. It answers the question from the verb-noun combination: How did he run. Adverbs can multiply into chains of words that describe: i.e., HE RAN EXTREMELY THOROUGLY AND PAINFULLY FAST.   How did he run? Fast. How fast did he run? Extremely, and painfully. How painfully? Answer: thoroughly.

   For me, and perhaps for you, the location of the adverb was extremely and thoroughly painful and the sentence was awkwardly constructed. How was the sentence constructed? Awkwardly. (Insert ear piercingly loud scream here)

    Other adverbs do not end in "ly". i.e.,  He ran fast enhances the verb. How did he run? Fast.

   Adverbs also modify (enhance, expand details, or describe) adjectives. i.e., the very tall man. How tall was the man? Very. The adverb, VERY, modifies or enhances detail about the adjective TALL, and TALL modifies or describes the noun MAN. This is one way (among many unfortunately) to locate adverbs, especially if they are in front of adjectives that are in front of nouns.

   To understand the adverb, you must know which words are verbs, which are nouns, and which are adjectives. The key word in these definitions is MODIFY (to describe). Adverbs modify & will make clearer the meanings of verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Most adverbs end in “ly” i.e., freely, soundly, quietly, cheaply, heavily, interestingly, guiltily. (Note: Nouns used as the root word have "ly" at their ending are adverbs – another way to identify them.) ie, free sound, quiet, cheap, heavy, interest, guilty.  

   Most of the time, adverbs go directly in front of the verbs, adverbs, or adjectives that they modify. The rule is to keep the adverb close to the word it describes, usually directly in front of the nown or adjective.

   Placement is important to help identify adverbs and adjectives (usually – oh the exceptions will be equally painful) i.e., The dog very enthusiastically greeted the boy. How did the dog greet the boy? Happily. How happy was the dog? Very. Easy right. There’s more. How about The dog greeted the boy very enthusiastically? Very and enthusiastically comes after the noun and verb they enhance. That is when the question helps. How was the dog greeted? Enthusiastically. How enthusiastically? Very. It will take practice.

   Adverbs ask and answer questions  - that is one way to remember to go to the exercise of asking: What (way), When (time reference), Why (explanation), or How.  (Where? and What?  are questions for nouns and pronouns). 

   There is a term called adverbial clause. An adverb enhancement that is made up of  more than one word. The entire phrase (or clause) modifies (describes/enhances/) a verb, adverb, or adjective. If you wish to explore them, try Googling grammar adverbs". Note: The descriptions used by grammarians assumes you are a student of English and know terms – a lot of the time the explanations contain words and phrases you may not be aware of like predicate or antecedent. That is why I am literally spelling it all out simply. To open the door, invite you in. What is inside is where the adverbs really live.

   These adverb phrases are the great English judges that tell the reader how they are to view or feel about a word or group of words by answering the questions how, what (under what conditions), where, why, and when about a verb, adverb, or adjective that float in front of the subject or (noun).

   Adverbs answer questions. The questions apply to the words they modify or describe. When trying to determine if a word is an Adverb, you can ask the Adverb questions:

1.   HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

2.   WHAT HAPPENED?

3.   WHERE DID IT TAKE PLACE (what location)?

4.   WHEN DID IT HAPPEN (the time).

5.   WHY DID IT HAPPEN?

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   Now, this is the place where I get lost because I never memorized the questions. You may know the chain of question words: WHO, HOW-WHAT(condition)-WHERE-WHEN-WHY. (NOTE: For adverbs you do not ask WHO (person) AND WHAT (thing). They are the questions to ask for nouns(people and places and things) and PRONOUNS (substitute words for people and places). "What" if refering to "condition as a description" can be asked of an adverb. 

   How, what where when and why are the questions. If you have these questions in mind, you are ready to create and use adverbs because you know the ADVERB QUESTIONS. If you don’t know the question chain, stop and memorize it now because ADVERBS can not exist without answering one of these questions about a verb, adverb, or adjective. If the questions are answered, it's a safe bet that it is an adverb (usually, maybe 95% of the time).

   NOTE: To avoid confusion - it is a mistake to think that the noun or subject of the sentence is the questions being answered. It is not, it answers (gives information about) the verb, adverb, or adjective. That is why it is so hard because we are used to asking questions about nouns: people, places, and things. Remember that and you will not get quite so tripped up later. And you will get tripped up.

   English inherited a lot of rules for grammar from France; in the year 1066 when France invaded and took over England (The Norman Conquest) making French the national language. Of course, English was already influenced by native British Isles (from people who were angles, picts, celts, saxons AND SCANDINAVIAN – Vikings were actually kings of England once and settled there).

   Tribal languages had a role in shaping Old English as well. There are three evolutionary stages of English. Old English (seldom written - by kings and the clergy, mostly verbal for the laity). Middle English (the beginning of standardization and loss of dipthongs ie, eu, ae, ei – double vowels). Modern English (followed the French infusion into the language that standardized vowels called THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFt). Really folks, I have so little use for this information and decided to bore you with it.

   Add into the language the contribution of THE FOLK”: The slang of the time, songs, poetry, the colloquial expressions, the aphorisms, the sayings, that equal the idiomatic aspects in a language, tend to corrupt strict grammatical laws (or foce them to make exception to the laws). And laws they are.

   Note: Most British and Americans do not speak perfect English. Brits are better at it, but lower classes of people tend to create their own version of Ebonics – clinging to old roots, scottish, irish, Danish. Descendents of Celtish are presently fighting to keep the language alive. That is why English is soooooo hard to learn. A lot of rules that are laws with a lot of exceptions.

   Grammarians know the exceptions even in defiance of contemporary practice. i.e. in the phrase "...crews’ poem..." the apostrophe indicated it is possessed by Crews. The law states Crews’s is corrtect. It is one of the areas where the law is showing stress and going out of usage. The extra "s" is not needed and is fading (this is a sign that the language is not static – it changes as verbalization and written forms of a language grow and evolve.) Words like Thus and hence are endangered also. Tis, thou (total no nos) are gone. The noun cases: Thee, Thou, Thine – gone! They are called archaic but they were very much accepted inside Middle English.  

   Adverbs: He ran quickly. He ran exceptionally fast. Both sentences end in adverbs. exceptionally enhances fast, fast describes how he ran. How did he run? Fast. How fast did he run? Fast. Okay simple. These adverbs modify the verb or the adverb, but  It gets trickier when adverbs start modifying other adverbs or enhance or describe other adverbs using adverbial clauses. The adverb questions become the best factor that locates one or more adverbs and the adverb or verbs they enhance or describe in greater detail.

   Now the harder part that drives me to drink and I don’t drink much. Adverbs alter, clarify, enhance or change other adverbs. i.e., he ran extremely fast. Fast (a word not ending in ly) is an adverb that answers how did he run. Extremely (a word ending in ly) how fast? There are lists of them. It might be wise to google Lists of Adverbs. I did and I was enormously impressed and extremely pissed off. The very hard exercise is to name which of the questions the adverbs answer.

    I liked the adverb: "soon". When will it happen? Soon. Adverbs and time are very close relatives. If a time or temporal condition is under discussion in a line, clause, phrase, or sentence, then there may be an adverb lurking about somewhere describing it. Another clue to how to identify adverbs and adverb clauses.

   Adjectives modify nouns (a person, places or thing). And adverb is usually in front of the adjective that is in front of the noun. It is talking about the noun but it describes the adjective. That's the tricky part that must be remembered. Remember also that the adverb may not be in front of the noun, it may be at the end of the sentence. (Please pass the bullets).

   Example:  The woman wore an extremely bright red suit. Extremely modifies bright. Bright is an adverb that modifies the adjective red. Red is the adjective that modifies the noun SUIT. How red was the suit? Bright. How bright was the suit? Answer: extremely. Extremely is the adverb that describes (modifies) the color of the noun. Double adverbs usually indicate an adverb is enhancing the definition of another adverb.

   This is why I very much detest adverbs. Modifying nouns with adjectives is easy for me to accomplish and with little effort. Modifying verbs, adjectives, and adverbs makes my mind do the most incredibly strange and insanely odd cartwheels. Note: detest, modifying, and to accomplish are verbs used above, very modifies (DESCRIBES) much and very modifies detest (the verb).

   Also note: incredibly strange cartwheels (example of double adverbs) and insanely odd cartwheels. Hint: strange and odd both enhance the noun cartwheels and are therefore adjectives. It forms a little chain. If a series of words are describing a noun that is a clue that points to an adverb modifying an adjective that modifies that noun. DO YOU HAVE A HEADACHE YET? WHY? HOW? WHEN DID IT START? 

   Maybe another example. Remember, adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

i.e., The river flowed exceptionally fast.  Both words, exceptionally and fast are adverbs. How did the river FLOW (verb – the verb is enhanced here) Answer: fast. How fast? Exceptionally. The adverb modify (describe) the verb. Also, exceptionally describes fast (an adverb modifying another adverb). How fast was the flow? Exceptionally. How did the river flow? Answer: fast.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

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   Wikipedia: A conjunctive adverb is an adverb that connects two independent clauses. Conjunctive adverbs show cause and effect, sequence, contrast, comparison, or other relationships. The adverbs and adverbial phrases that fit the criteria for a conjunctive adverb are always modifiers of the predicate in the first independent clause.

   Note: usually but not always, a semi-colon indicates the end of the (predicate) the complete sentence that precedes the description or enhancement. i.e., He ran exceptionally fast; consequently, well positioned feet carried him to the finish line. The conjunctives form bridges that lead to extended adverbs (descriptions and enhancements of what went before – the preceding subject clause, the precedent).

A LIST OF CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS:

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certainly

wherein

 comparatively

consequently

contrarily

conversely

currently

elsewhere

equally

 eventually

finally

further

furthermore

hence

henceforth

however

in addition

in comparison

in contrast

in fact

incidentally

indeed

instead

just as

likewise

meanwhile

moreover

namely

 nevertheless

next

nonetheless

notably

now

on the other hand

otherwise

rather

similarly

still

subsequently

that is

then

thereafter

therefore

thus

undoubtedly

 although

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   To start: if you don't know the meaning of these words, look them up - they will be under adverbs as a part of speech. 

   If you Google Conjunctive Adverbs , they will not be easily explained because the relationship is complex. Most of these words answer the question HOW? Please not that some of them are time references WHEN? or vaguely reference WHERE? (as in a placement relationship). That is when such adverbs get “hazy”. Hard to identify. WHY is even more difficult to locate but behind a conjunctive adverb is where they mostl likely will live. i.e., He wrestled long and mightily with the ogre, consequently he won the prize. Why did he win the prize? The entire sentence enhances why he won. 

   Yes, you can sign yourself into a mental institution now. Note too that: wrestled controls the adjective Long. How much time passed as he wrestled (long). Mightily ends in ly and answers How did he wrestle (verb). It’s like a little game answering trivia questions. How, why, what condition, where, when.

   Conjunctive adverbs show many different kinds of relationships between the simple sentences they connect. I think of them as kinships that  compare verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. That is really inaccurate, but it is a clue to identifying them by how they function.

   How a word is functioning (acting on other words in the sentence) points precisely to what part of speech defines them. Remember adjectives enhance nouns first, then adverbs enhance the adjective. It forms a chain.

   Exceptions: Conjunctive adverb phrases can appear anywhere in the sentence (beginning, middle, or end). i.e., As well as, so far as: which is also why I hate them - they tend to disappear in a sentence and can be lurking anywhere. Simple adverbs are close to the verbs, adjectives, and adverbs they modify, usually in a chain. Conjunctive adverbs tend to roam. Oh joy!

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EXAMPLES OF CONJUNCTIVE PHRASES:

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   The players responded surprisingly well to all the pressures of the playoffs. (how did they respond (verb)? - surprisingly well)

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     The best way to preserve the flavor and texture of fresh vegetables is to cook them as quickly as possible. (how were they cooked (verb is to cook)? as quickly as possible)

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    As quickly as possible we cleaned the fish and placed them in coolers. (How were they cleaned? (verb) as quickly as possible) Note: conjunctive adverb is in the front of the sentence and is before the subject “we”.

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    The air was warm, stirred only occasionally by a breeze. (When was the air stirred? (verb) only occasionally)

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    Only occasionally is there a rumble in the sky or a hint of rain. (When was there a rumble? only occasionally)

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   "If youth be a defect, it is one that we outgrow only too soon." (James Russell Lowel) (When do we outgrow (verb)? only too soon)

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   Insert SCREAM here! This lesson gives me a headache. You have to work a bit to grasp adverbs. Read it over and over until it sinks in. Conjunctive adverbs make no sense to me especially since they can go anywhere in the sentence. 

   Grasp them, don't grasp them, but use them in your writing. Get away from simple sentences, learn to be more complex connecting sentences and phrases (clauses) with adverbs (phrases) and adverbial phrases (with simple sentences).

   Note: in poetry a semi-colon serves to condense and pull tight these descriptive words without all the connective tissue. It is an editor’ tool semi-colons – they cause a full pause and a half because a period causes a full paus and a comma is a half pause long. The semi-colon. Inside those pauses are words that have evaporated, been edited out with one punctuation mark. Two full stopes: The colon, two periods stacked. A really big explanation of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to on the other side of A COLON. I use them in prose a lot, but prfere the semi-colon for poetry. Personal preference, but also when reading a poem it is a direction on where to pause briefly.

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   Forming the right adverb question is stressful to me. There's more, a lot more, but I'll stop here and go take an Advil. While I do that please notice that adverb is a combination of adjective and verb - a bit of a clue lives in the term to help you remember what it does and how it functions or acts on what other parts of speech (verbs, adjectives, and adverbs).

   Adjectives describe nouns. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, adverbs.

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   Find them, learn them, and use  adverbs in a sentencea or poetic lineaa. I wish you luck with adverbs and hope you learn to dislike them as much as I do. Go forth and used them well. I will be at the medicine cabinet.

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Lady A

Revised 02-02-19

801a

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