ADVERBS
Adverbs are the most versatile part of speech in terms of
their qualifying ability as well as their position in a sentence. Basically,
adverbs are qualifying words that qualify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs
as well. In addition to this, they also qualify phrases, clauses and full sentences.
As regards their position, adverbs can be placed at the beginning, in the
middle or at the end of a sentence depending upon the word or group of words
that needs to be qualified by them.
Examples of Adverbs : always, ever, never, nicely, urgently,
carefully, seldom, beautifully, than, smoothly, dangerously, specifically,
extremely, slow, fast, seemingly, traditionally, majestically etc.
Like other parts of speech, certain adverbs can also be used
interchangeably as other part of speech without any change in their form. For
example, ‘fast’ can be used as an adverb as well as an adjective without
changing its form.
Keeping their versatility in mind, adverbs need to be
studied in detail with regard to following main aspects.
- Formation of Adverbs
- Degrees of Comparison of Adverbs
- Types of Adverbs
- Position of Adverbs in a Sentence
- Adverbs vs Adjectives
- Adverbs OR Relative Pronouns
- Adverbial Phrases
- Adverbial Clauses
- Appropriate Use of Adverbs – Points to be Observed