Adverbs Part II

Adverbs of Degree

She almost finished the work.

The Verb here is finished and the Adverb is almost which is telling us about the amount of the work finished. The question being asked is: How much of the work did she finish?  

They were completely surprised by the windfall.

The adverb here is completely which is showing the degree to which ‘they’ weresurprised which is the Verb.  The question being asked here is: How much were they surprised?

The Adverbs of Degree are used to show to what extent or how much has an action been done or will be done. Other examples of these Adverbs are - Fully, Partially, Altogether etc.

Adverbs of Confirmation and Negation

They will certainly like this vase.

The Adverb here is certainly which is reinforcing the Verb like in answer to the question: Will they like this vase?

He never leaves his house.

The Adverb never is negating the Verb leave. It is answering the question in denial: Does he ever leave his house?  

These Adverbs either confirm or deny the action of the Verb. They are also used to reinforce the action that is described by the Verb. Other examples of Adverbs of Confirmation are - Definitely, Absolutely, Surely etc. Examples for Adverbs of Denial or Negation are - No, Don’t, Can’t etc. 

Adverbs of Comment

These Adverbs are used to make a comment on the entire sentence. They give a look at the speaker’s viewpoint or opinion about the sentence.  These Adverbs don’t just change or describe the Verb; they influence the whole sentence.

They found his secreteasily.

+

Unfortunately

Unfortunately, they found his secret easily.

 Here, we see that adding the Adverb unfortunately has changed the entire tone of the sentence. Earlier, it was a passive tone, now it has a negative or disappointed tone. 

Other examples of Adverbs of Comment are -

• Luckily, the dog did not bite the children.
• Happily, the power returned before the big match.
• Did he honestly expect me to lie for him? (Adverb adds comment on the anger of the speaker.)
• And they would win the world cup, obviously. (Can be said in a sarcastic as well as positive manner)

Adverbs of Conjunction 

These Adverbs are used to connect ideas or clauses, they are used to show consequence or effect or the relation between the two clauses.  To use these Adverbs to conjugate two clauses you need to use a semicolon (;) to connect them.

Clause 1: He was going for an important interview.

Clause 2: He made sure he reached on time.

He was going for an important interview; accordingly, he made sure he reached on time.

Here, we see how the Adverb ‘accordingly’ is joining the two clauses and showing the relation between them with the use of a semicolon (;).  Accordingly means- therefore or that is why.

A few other Adverbs of Conjunction are -

• However             -  Yet, on the other hand, in spite of
• Consequently   -  As a result, resulting in
• Moreover           - Beside, in addition 
• Conversely         - Opposite of, contrary to