Chapter 13

AdverbsAdverbs

McGraw-Hill/IrwinBusiness English at Work, 3/e © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adverbs

An adverb answers these questions:

How? In what manner?

patiently, boldly, slowly, softly, enthusiastically

When?

recently, later, finally, daily, again, formerly

Where?

outside, here, down, forward, up, away

To what extent? To what degree?

extremely, very, too, rarely, completely, frequently PP 13-2

Adverbs—Modify Verbs

Place the adverb before or after the verb that is modified.

When businesses knowingly deceive customers, they are violating ethical standards.

Do not copy paper or electronic documents illegally.

PP 13-3

Adverbs—Modify Adjectives

Place the adverb immediately before the adjective.

The courtesy of greeting others within your own firm is universally acceptable in the United States.

In some countries, greetings are very expressive and elaborate.

Outsourcing is becoming an increasingly popular way for businesses to lower expenses.

PP 13-4

Adverbs—Modify Other Adverbs

Place the adverb immediately before the adverb being modified.

We very precisely judged the commute time to our new client’s office.

Ruby did extremely well on the ethics section of her real estate exam.

PP 13-5

Adjective Base Used to Form Adverbs

Add ly to an adjective root to form the majority of adverbs.

cautious cautiouslyextreme extremelyperfect perfectlyskillful skillfully

Adjective Adverb

PP 13-6

Noun Base Used to Form Adjectives Ending in ly

Use root words to identify words ending in ly as adjectives or adverbs.

brother brotherlyneighbor neighborlyearth earthlyworld worldlylove lovely

Noun Adjective

PP 13-7

Adverbs Formed From Adjectives Ending in y

Change the y to i and add ly to an adjective ending in y to form an adverb.

busy busilyeasy easilyheavy heavilymerry merrily

Adjective Adverb

PP 13-8

Adverbs Formed From Adjectives Ending in ible or able

Drop the final e on adjectives that end in able or ible before adding the y to form the adverb.

forcible forciblyterrible terriblypossible possibly

Adjective Adverb

PP 13-9

Adverbs Formed From Adjectives Ending in ic

Add ally to adjectives ending in ic to form the adverb.

chronic chronicallylogic logicallymagic magicallyscenic scenically

Adjective Adverb

PP 13-10

Other Adverbs

The following list includes some adverbs that do not end in ly.

again more sometimesalmost much soonalways near thendown now therefar nowhere toofast often twicehard once up

PP 13-11

Adverbs and Hyphenation

Do not hyphenate an expression made up of

an adverb ending in ly and an adjective.

Examples

a carelessly written memoa richly deserved awardan internationally recognized signa highly successful business

PP 13-12

Verbs—Action Versus Linking

Use an adverb to modify action verbs.

Tucker intentionally withheld confidential information.The employee thoughtlessly made an inappropriate comment to Julie.

Use an adjective, not an adverb, after a linking verb to describe the subject.

The manager felt bad about the dependence on temporary workers.Karen seems distraught over the missing computer disk. PP 13-13

Verbs—Both Linking and Action

Clarify the intent of the sentence before making a decision about such verbs as look, taste, or feel.Use adverbs when these words are action words.

He hurriedly looked for the contract on his desk.

Use adjectives when these words function as linking verbs.

Things looked bad for Jerome after he lost his job.

PP 13-14

Adjectives and Adverbs With the Same Form

Some adverbs and adjectives that have the same form include fast, first, last, early, and right.

Use an adjective to modify a noun or pronoun.

Turn left at the first stop sign.

Use an adverb to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Return Andrew’s phone call first.

PP 13-15

One-Syllable Adverbs

Add er to the positive form for its comparative degree.Add est to the positive form for its superlative degree.

Positive Comparative Superlative

fast faster fastestlate later latestsoon sooner soonest

PP 13-16

Two-Syllable Adverbs

Add er or the word more or the word less before the positive form for the comparative degree.Add est or the word most or the word least for the superlative degree.

Positive Comparative Superlative

quickly more quickly (quicker) most quickly (quickest)nearly more nearly most nearly

PP 13-17

Three-Syllable Adverbs

Add the word more or the word less before the positive form to form its comparative degree.Add the word most or the word least before the positive form to form its superlative degree.

Positive Comparative Superlative

efficiently more efficiently most efficientlydangerously more dangerously most dangerouslyreliably more reliably most reliably

PP 13-18

Irregular Adverbs

Use irregular comparisons for some adverbs.

Positive Comparative Superlative

well better bestbadly worse worst

PP 13-19

Absolute Adverbs

Some adverbs do not allow for comparisons

no now past basicallythere here partly sometimestoo very annually

We feel that we need more telephone lines now.Ethics concerns today are similar to those in the past.

PP 13-20

Cautions for Using Not and Never

Use not in a negative statement.Place not between the helping verb and the main verb in a sentence.

Some employees do not treat all customers with respect.

Use never as a stronger word than not to mean “at no time.”

Being rude to a customer is never acceptable.

Refrain from using never if not will suffice.

PP 13-21

Cautions for Using Contractions

Use an apostrophe to take the place of the missing letter or letters in such words as

aren’t doesn’t can’t isn’twouldn’t hasn’t don’t

He doesn’t anticipate rewriting the code of ethics for several years.

She hasn’t missed a day of work this year.

PP 13-22

Double Negatives

Double negatives are two negative words used in a sentence. This combination gives the clause a positive meaning rather than the intended negative meaning.

I have not seen no evidence of employee theft. Incorrect

I have seen no evidence of employee theft.I have not seen any evidence of employee theft.

Correct

PP 13-23a

Double Negatives

I couldn’t hardly believe that the computer was missing. Incorrect

I could hardly believe that the computer was missing.I could not believe that the computer was missing.

Correct

I can’t go nowhere until I help these customers. Incorrect

I can go nowhere until I help these customers.I cannot go anywhere until I help these customers.

Correct

continued

PP 13-23b

Placement of Only

Place the adverb only immediately before the word or group of words it modifies.

Only long-time employees can take vacations during June.Long-time employees can take vacations only during June.

Place the adverbs merely and nearly as close as possible to the words modified.

We filled nearly all of the orders yesterday.

PP 13-24

Adverb Clauses

Use subordinating conjunctions such as after, although, before, because, if, unless, when, and while to introduce dependent adverb clauses.Place the adverb clause as closely as possible to the words modified.

PP 13-25a

Adverb Clauses

Use commas after introductory adverb clauses that precede independent clauses.

Although he broke no laws, his actions were still unethical.

Do not use commas to set aside adverb clauses that follow independent clauses.

Plan to arrive 10 minutes before the meeting begins.We will start the meeting after serving refreshments. PP 13-25b

continued

Farther/Further (Adverbs)

Use farther to refer to physical distance.

We traveled farther from the airport than we anticipated to find our hotel.

Use further to mean additional or additionally.

He explained further the reasons for adjusting our work schedules.

PP 13-26

Good/Well

Use good as an adjective. Making ethical choices is often more important than being a good person.

Use well as an adverb.

The new code of ethics has worked very well during the past year.

Use well as an adjective in reference to the state of someone’s health. Although Anna was not well, she stayed at work long enough to complete writing the payroll checks.

PP 13-27

Most/Almost

Use almost as an adverb to mean “nearly.”Use almost if the word nearly can be substituted satisfactorily.

Almost all of us use our yearly vacation time.

Use most as a limiting adjective to modify a noun.

Most new supervisors have trouble with ethical situations.

Use most as the superlative degree in a comparison.

The speaker answered the question most effectively.

PP 13-28

Real/Really

Use real as a descriptive adjective to mean “genuine.”

Do not use real to modify another adjective.

We never knew the real reason for losing the Chinese contract.

PP 13-29a

Real/Really

Use really as an adverb to modify a verb or an adjective. Really used as an adverb to modify a verb means “genuinely” or “actually.”

Cynthia is really supportive of our efforts to improve customer satisfaction.

Substitute very for the word really to determine if really is the correct word when really is used as an adverb to modify an adjective.

What did the CEO’s comments really mean?

continued

PP 13-29b

Sometime/Sometimes/Some Time

Use sometime as an adverb to mean “at some unscheduled time” or “in the future.”Sometime next week we are meeting to revise our customer service policy.

Use sometimes as an adverb to mean “on some occasions.”We sometimes waive late payment charges.

PP 13-30a

Sometime/Sometimes/Some Time

Use some time as a phrase in which the adjective some modifies the noun time. Some time designates an “amount of time.”

The revision of the ethics policy will take some time.

continued

PP 13-30b

Sure/Surely

Use sure as an adjective. They thought that a lock on the supply cabinet was the sure solution for reducing theft.

Use surely as an adverb to mean “without a doubt.”Ellen surely makes an excellent impression on customers.

PP 13-31