Adverbs: Wake up your mojo!

adv.

adverb: part of speech that gives words and sentences their mojo. Adverbs provide descriptive detail that modify (change, adjust, amend) a word, idea, or sentence. They modify verbs, adjectives, clauses, sentences, and even other adverbs.  The three most common adverbs used in English Language are: not, very, and too.  They look and behave like an adjective, but they are very different, so stay with me here.  Adverbs focus on the verb.  Adjectives focus on the noun.

• verb modifier: Joan is really excited.
• adjective modifier: Joan loves the really big diamond that Steve gave her.
• adverb modifier: Joan screamed quite angrily when she learned that the diamond was fake.

     While other words discuss what happened, or who it happened to or with, the adverb describes how it happened. Adverbs make writing more precise and interesting. Consider how the following three sentences change with the addition of an adverb:

• The dog bit the little girl.
• The dog accidently bit the little girl.
• The dog bit the little girl intentionally.

     In the second sentence, the word accidently explains that the dog did not mean to bite the little girl. Maybe the dog was eating and the little girl stuck her hand in the dog bowl.   In the third sentence, the word intentionally explains that the dog bit the little girl on purpose. Think about it; two simple words, accidently and intentionally could mean the difference between the dog being labeled as vicisous, and possibly be put to sleep, and the dog being a big goof.

adverbs of manner: describe how something happens. Adverbs of Manner mainly modify verbs. Common adverbs of manner include:

carefully     correctly     eagerly     easily     fast

quickly         quietly         well

For example: Tina carefully picked up the pieces of broken glass.

adverbs of place: describe where something happens. Most adverbs of place double as prepositions. Adverbs of place mainly modify verbs.  Common adverbs of place include the following:

abroad     anywhere    downstairs     here     between     beside

around     in                    nowhere          out       outside       somewhere

there         underground          upstairs

Example: My dog never sleeps outside.

adverbs of purpose: describe why something happens. Here are some common examples:

so     so that     to     in order to     because     since

accidentally          intentionally          purposely

Example: I'll pay for dinner because you bought lunch.

adverbs of degree: clarify the degree or extent to which something happens. Adverbs of degree can modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. Common examples include:

a lot      really      almost       about      extremely      very

quite      arrogantly       affectionately       angrily

adverbs of frequency: describe how often something happens.  Adverbs of frequency mainly modify verbs.  Common examples include:

always     every     never     often     rarely  seldom     sometimes         usually

Example:  Felicia and James seldom argue.

adverbs of time: describe when something happens.  Common examples include:

after     already     during     finally     just     last     later     next  

now       recently   soon         then         tomorrow      when    while    yesterday

Example: Michael left after Kelly embarassed him.

         

     The most popular adverbs—very, extremely, and really—are, unfortunately, also the most unoriginal and boring.  When you write, pay close attention to how often you use those three words.  Most of the time, your sentence will still be just as strong without them.  Consider these three sentences:

• James is very brilliant.  Eliminating the word "very" does not minimize James' brilliant mind at all.
• My dog's farts smell extremely bad.  Should you choose to leave out the word "extremely," your readers' will still get the point.
• Sidney left early because she was really mad.  The fact that Sidney left early because she was mad says enough.

interrogative adverb: Used at the beginning of a question. The interrogative adverbs describe how, when, where, and why.

• How did you prepare that cobbler?
• Where are you going after the show?
• Why did you walk out on me?

adverbial:  a word or a group of words that modifies or describes something about the sentence or the verb.  Adverbs answer questions such as how?, when?, where?, and to what extent?:  This is known as the adverbial function.  Added to other words, the adverbial creates what is called an adverbial phrase or adverbial clause. 

adverbial adjunct: an add-on component (adverbial) within the sentence structure that usually defines the conditions in which the action or state expressed by the verb take place.  

An adjunct can be a single word, a phrase, or a clause; and, it is totally optional.  If you need to trim your words, remember to look for adverbial adjuncts that you could do without.

• Single word: Karen is moving out today. 
• Phrase: She will move later this evening. 
• Clause: Karen will move after she cleans her room.

conjunctive adverbs: these are the black sheep of the adverb family because they are easily confused with true conjunctions.  They link two items together in meaning, but they are not considered strong enough to join two independent clauses together with only a comma, as true coordinating conjunctions do.  Some of the most common conjunctive adverbs are:

also    consequently     finally     furthermore     hence   however      incidentally     indeed      instead     likewise    meanwhile     nevertheless      nonetheless      otherwise    still   then    therefore     thus

You can also think of a conjunctive adverb as the before, after, and in-between sentence buddy. Starting with the sentence: Shelly gave her younger brother, Richard, a black eye; consider these three add-on examples:

• before: However, when Shelly's mom realized that Shelly hit her brother accidently, she didn't punish her daughter.
• after: Shelly's mom put an ice pack on Richard's eye also.
• in-between: Shelly's dad didn't believe it was an accident; consequently, Shelly wasn't allowed to play anymore.

forms of comparison: adverbs have three comparitive forms:

• positive degree: expresses the quality without comparison.
• comparative degree: compares two verbs, adjectives, or adverbs.
• superlative degree: compares three or more verbs, adjectives or adverbs.

Spelling points:

• —l ending:  add—ly; joyful/joyfully.
• —y ending:  change to —ily; happy/happily
• —ble ending: change to—bly; able/ably

Punctuation points:

• A conjunctive adverb joins two independent clauses with a semicolon; a comma is also placed after it.  Example: I thought the show was funny; however, to some, it was offensive.
• If a conjunctive adverb is used at the beginning of a sentence, comma is used to set it off.  Example:  Moreover, you need to call her.
• If conjunctive adverb is placed within a clause, commas are used to set it off.  Example:
  I walked all the way home, therefore, I was tired.