2.5 Adverbs

Day 1: What is an adverb?

An Adverb is a word which tells us more about a Verb. It may also be used to tell more about an Adjective or another Adverb.

一個副詞是一個可以告訴我們更多關于動詞的信息的單詞.它可能用來告訴我們更多關于形容詞或者其他副詞.

A. Kinds of Adverbs

1. Adverbs of Time時間副詞

Such adverbs tell us the time when an action happens. They answer the question “when”.

e.g.: I have seen him before.

I saw him yesterday.

He is visiting me today.

He phoned you a few minutes ago.

Other Adverbs of Time:

tomorrow, daily, once upon a time, always, afterwards, soon, long ago, at once, lately, already, since, never, formerly, now, just, etc.

2. Adverbs of Place地點副詞

Adverbs of place tell us where an action is done. Therefore, they answer the question “where”.

e.g.:  He went upstairs.

        They went in.

            The dog follows him everywhere.

Other Adverbs of Place:

      back, backward, forward, backwards, forwards, away, up, down, downstairs, out, inside, outside, there, anywhere, etc.

3. Adverbs of Number數字副詞

Adverbs of Number tell us how often an action is done. Therefore, they answer the question “how often” or “how many”.

        e.g.: He washed his hair once a week.

           The teacher explained the whole paragraph twice.

           He went there four times.

Other Adverbs of Number:

once, again, thrice, twice, etc.

4. Adverbs of Manner方式副詞

Adverbs of Manner tell us how an action is done. Therefore, they answer the question “how”.

e.g.: She speaks clearly.

He works very hard.

The baby slept soundly.

He walked slowly.

Other Adverbs of Manner:

quickly, easily, happily, bravely, quietly, gently, nicely, etc.

5. Adverbs of Degree程度副詞

Adverbs of Degree show to what extent an action is done.  These adverbs often qualify another adverb or an adjective.

e.g.: She sings pretty well.

I am greatly disappointed.

He writes very carefully.

She is rather lazy.

Other Adverbs of Degree:

quite, fairly, nearly, almost, too, wholly, partly, any, fully, enough, so, altogether, much, as, etc.

6. Interrogative Adverbs疑問副詞

An Interrogative Adverb is used to ask questions.

e.g.: Where have you been?

When will you come?

Why don’t you answer my question?

How did you do that?

How far can you run?

7. Adverbs of Negation and Affirmation肯定和否定副詞

e.g.: I certainly did.

Yes, I do.

No. I don’t know him.

B. Formation of Adverbs

1. Most Adverbs are formed from Adjectives by adding “-ly”.

大多數副詞是在形容詞後面添加ly形成的.

2. If an Adjective ends in “y” preceded by a consonant, the Adverb is formed by changing “y” into “i” and adding “ly”.

如果一個形容詞以y結尾,y之前是一個輔音字母,副詞就是通過把y變成I,然後加ly.

3. If an Adjective ends in “le”, simply change “e” into “y” to form the Adverb.

如果一個以le結尾的形容詞,就將e變成y形成副詞.

4. Some Adverbs have the same form as the Adjectives they relate to.

一些副詞有和形容詞同樣的形式.

5. Some words can be put together to form a phrase which is then used as an adverb.  These are called Adverbial Phrases.

一些單詞能够放在一起形成詞組當成副詞使用.這些就叫做副詞詞組.

e.g.: all at once, at once, at present, at last, at least, in the past, in front of, etc.

Let’s do some exercises to see how well you understand this topic.

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