English Grammar and Composition chapter 7: The Adverb

7/1: Adverbs and their Functions

A . Read the following conversation and notice the underlined words:

Alim : Where are you now?

Hasan : I'm going home after finishing my exam.

Alim : How did you do in the exam?

Hasan : I've done very well.

Alim : Can you see me tomorrow?

Hasan : Why?

Alim : I've an urgent talk with you. I'm eagerly waiting for you.

Hasan : Okay, I'll certainly see you.

Do these words tell you anything about the time, place and manner of an action? Yes, they do and so they are adverbs. An adverb is a part of speech which usually modifies the meaning of a verb. It generally says where, when and how an action takes place.

B . The main function of an adverb is to modify a verb. But it has some other subsidiary functions too. Look at the following examples:

This mango is very sweet.

You have done quite well.

Nearly everybody was late.

The grapes were well within my reach.

I can't go there just because I'm ill.

Fortunately, he survived the accident.

Notice the items after the adverbs in these sentences. You can then see that adverbs may modify an adjective (sweet), another adverb (well), a pronoun (everybody), a preposition (within), a conjunction (because) and a sentence (he survived the accident). These are the different functions of an adverb.

Printed page 112

C . Read the following sentences. Identify the adverbs in them and say which words they modify.

He is going abroad soon.

I have done very badly in the exam.

They live upstairs.

The girl is fairly tall.

She seldom visits me here.

He was almost dead then.

They rarely talk with each other.

Unfortunately, he failed the test.

He lost almost everything.

He came here simply because he wanted to meet me.

It is absolutely beyond my capacity to help you.

7/2: Kinds of Adverbs

A . Read the following passage and notice the adverbs:

Salam is trying hard to go abroad for higher studies. He saw me today to discuss the matter with me. He often seeks my advice.

There are four adverbs in this passage and they are of four different kinds.

• The adverb 'hard' answers the question "how?". It is called an adverb of manner.

• "Abroad" answers the question "where?". It is called an adverb of place.

• "Today" answers the question "when?". It is called an adverb of time.

Printed page 113

• "Often" expresses the frequency of an action. It is called an adverb of frequency.

• These are the four main types of adverbs.

Now, identify the four kinds of adverbs in the following passage.

Khan is a busy man. He seldom calls me. But yesterday he requested me to go downtown with him. I could not say no to him. He invited me very cordially.

B . There are also some other kinds of adverbs. Read the following sentences and notice the adverbs in them.

(i) The boy is very smart.

He is too weak to walk.

The girl is fairly tall.

He looked at me quite indifferently.

His statement was absolutely true.

These are called adverbs of degree. They intensify the meaning of an adjective or adverb. In current English, they are called Intensifiers.

Think of two/three other adverbs of degree and make sentences with them.

(ii) Where are you going?

When do you sleep at night?

How did you do the work?

Why are you laughing?

These are called interrogative adverbs. These adverbs are used for asking questions about the place, time, manner and cause of an action.

Notice where they are used.

(iii) You will surely/certainly pass the exam.

I did not go there.

'Do you like cricket?' 'Yes, I do.'

'Will you come here?' 'No, I won't.'

Printed page 114

There are adverbs of affirmation and negation in these sentences.

C . Adverbs may take different positions in a sentence. Look at the following examples:

The boy is reading loudly.

They were boating downstream.

I am very busy now.

The adverbs of manner, place and time are usually used after the verbs they modify. Use some other such adverbs in this position.

But an adverb of frequency is usually used between the subject and the verb. For example:

He always speaks the truth.

It hardly rains here.

They rarely eat together.

He usually comes here in the afternoon.

Adverbs of degree are used before an adjective or adverb. For example:

He is totally mad.

It is raining very hard.

Interrogative adverbs are always used at the beginning of a sentence. For example:

Where was he born?

Why are you so callous?

Adverbs actually do not have any fixed position in a sentence. They can change their position to serve different functions.

Printed page 115

7/3: Adverbials

A . Read the following questions and think of their answers:

When will you see me?

Where are you going now?

How is it raining?

How frequently does he visit you?

Why are you waiting here?

Each of the first four questions can be answered by using a single word. For example, you can say:

I shall see you tomorrow.

I am going downstairs.

It is raining hard/heavily.

He scarcely visits me.

These single words are adverbs. You have seen their use in the preceding lessons. But you can answer any of the above questions by using a group of words. For example, you can say:

I shall see you in the afternoon.

I am going to school.

It is raining very hard.

He visits me thrice a week.

I am waiting here to receive my friend.

These are all adverbial phrases. An adverbial phrase is a group of words that modifies a verb in the sentence.

Identify the adverbial phrases in the following conversation:

Mukta: When are you going to Dhaka?

Mukul: I'm going there next week.

Mukta: Why are you going?

Mukul: I'm going there to attend a seminar.

Printed page 116

Mukta: How are you going?

Mukul: I'm going by bus.

B . Adverbs and Adverbial phrases have a common name. This name is Adverbial. That means, an adverbial is a single word or a group of words which modifies a verb. Look at the underlined words/phrases in the following sentences:

(i) Rashid saw me yesterday.

I asked him to come in the morning.

It was raining then.

I shall go to Dhaka next week.

These words/phrases are called adverbials of time.

(ii) Can you come here?

I went there to invite my friend.

He was born in a big city.

I am living in an apartment.

These words/phrases are called adverbials of place.

(iii) He speaks loudly.

She was brutally killed.

The problem was solved in an amicable way.

He was wounded very seriously.

These words/phrases are called adverbials of manner.

(iv) It often rains here.

He never tells a lie.

She phones me four times a day.

I go to Dhaka almost every week.

These words/phrases are called adverbials of frequency.

Printed page 117

(v) I went home to take rest.

He is going abroad for higher studies.

She studies hard to pass the exam.

They jumped into the pond to save the child.

These phrases are called adverbials of purpose.

(vi) An adverbial may also be a dependent clause in a complex sentence. For example:

I shall go home after he comes.

The girl had been married off before she was 18.

You can sit wherever you like.

It is raining like the sky is falling.

The flight was delayed because the weather was foggy.

Note: Anything—be it a word, phrase or clause—that modifies a verb is an adverbial. All adverbs are adverbials but all adverbials are not adverbs.

C . Read the following passage and identify the different kinds of adverbials in it:

One day I was sitting alone upon a bench at a park near my house. Suddenly, a young girl arrived there. She was beautifully dressed. She sat beside me and began to talk to me very cordially. We talked for about half an hour and then we began to walk together. Within a short time we became good friends. When we parted, we promised never to forget each other. We now phone each other every day. We visit each other almost regularly.