A knowledge of adverbs is necessary to identify errors in modifier confusion and some types of misplaced modifiers.
Adverbs give information about an action or quality’s manner (answering the question “How?”), time (answering the question “When?”), place (answering the question “Where?”), degree (answering the question “How much?” or “To what extent?”), or number (answering the question “How many times?” or “In what order?”).
Bob ate hungrily. (How did he eat?)
Sally went shopping yesterday. (When did she go?)
I put the tickets there. (Where did I put them?)
He is incredibly funny. (To what extent is he funny?)
I already told you twice. (How many times did I tell you?)
We got to the party first. (In what order did we get there?)
Many adverbs end in “-ly,” but not all words that end in “-ly” are adverbs. Do not mistake adjectives such as “friendly” and “lonely” for adverbs.
An adverb can be a single word, a phrase, or a clause.
Bob ate hungrily. (”Hungrily” is an adverb that is a single word.)
Bob ate with great hunger. (”With great hunger” is a prepositional adverb phrase.)
Bob ate because he was hungry. (”Because he was hungry” is an adverb clause.)
A conjunctive adverb connects two independent clauses. These are some of the more common conjunctive adverbs:
- therefore
- however
- nevertheless
- nonetheless
- still
- moreover
- consequently
Bob was hungry; therefore, he ate a cookie.
The conjunctive adverb “therefore” connects the independent clauses “Bob was hungry” and “he ate a cookie.” Note the punctuation in this sample sentence: the first independent clause is followed by a semicolon, and the conjunctive adverb is followed by a comma.
Adverbs such as “almost,” “only,” and “merely” should be located next to the words they modify to avoid confusion.
Bob only ate two cookies.
In this sentence, “only” modifies the verb “ate.” This means that all Bob did to the cookies was eat them. He did not bake them or dunk them into milk; he only ate them. While it may be true that all Bob did to the cookies was eat them, if the purpose of the sentence is to explain that he ate no more than two cookies, the word “only” does not express that meaning in this position. Move “only” next to the word it modifies to express this meaning.
Bob ate only two cookies.
In this sentence, “only” modifies the adjective “two.”
The term “split infinitive” refers to the placement of an adverb between “to” and the verb in an infinitive. The use of split infinitives is quite controversial, as many grammarians and writers sanction their use in instances in which avoiding them would result in awkward or confusing syntax. Others believe that split infinitives should never be used under any circumstances and that sentences should be rewritten to avoid their use. Standardized examinations treat split infinitives as errors to be identified and corrected.
Be sure to completely close the window.
The adverb “completely” splits the infinitive “to close.” To avoid the use of a split infinitive, move the adverb to the end of the sentence.
Be sure to close the window completely.
One of the most notable instances of the use of a split infinitive is the expression “to boldly go where no man has gone before” from the opening credits of Star Trek. Consider how the flow of the words changes when the syntax is rearranged to avoid the split infinitive: “to go boldly where no man has gone before” or “boldly to go where no man has gone before.”
