We’llhave to eat here – everywhere else is full [36, 54].
He was famous, both at home and abroad [38].
A dog began to bark somewhere inside [38].
I was now far behind the others and I knew I couldn’t catch up [40].
The use of somewhere, anywhere and nowhere indifferent kinds of sentences is similar to the use of the corresponding indefinite pronouns some, any and no.
4. Adverbs of manner: badly, clearly, deeply, fast, how, quickly, sideways, sincerely, somehow, well, willingly, etc.:
His campaign was not going well [41].
The economic crisis reflects badly on the government’s policies [41].
We are sincerely grateful for your help [40].
Adverbs of manner saying how an action is performed can freely occur with dynamic verbs, but not with stative verbs:
He looked into the problem carefully [38].
He walked upstairs quietly [38].
The boy blushedviolently [36, 52].
5. Adverbs of degree or intensifiers can be used before adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs to give information about the extent or level of something: completely, enough, extremely, highly, muck, nearly, perfectly, pretty, quite, rather, really, so, somewhat, terribly, too, unusually, very, etc.:
Sometimes the UK seems completely isolated from the main stream of European culture [40].
The ambassador made a brief statement, saying that the talks had been very productive [38].
Myerssaid that two year prison sentence for rape was totally unacceptable and inadequate [38].
Adverbs of degree or intensifiers may be subdivided into three semantic groups:
1) emphasizers (emphasizing the truth of the communication): actually, at all, clearly, definitely, indeed, just, literally, plainly, really, simply, etc.:
What do you really think about it [41]?
When I told you to ‘get lost’ I didn’t expect to be taken literally [41].
Fameis often simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time
[40].
I just can't understand it[36, 60].
You haven't done it well at all [38].
2) amplifiers (expressing a high degree): absolutely, altogether, badly, bitterly, completely, deeply, downright, entirely, extremely, (by) far, fully, greatly, heartily, much, perfectly, pointblank, quite, terribly, thoroughly, utterly, very, etc.:
Each panel member should ensure that he or she thoroughly tests the case presented for project approval [40].
Artists are terribly difficult people for us ordinary mortals to deal with [40].
Because of the language barrier and culture shock, such insights are far too rare[41].
I told Fred pointblank that he had made a mistake [41].
He said the diesel costs £16,600, which is downright preposterous [38].
Local residents are deeply concerned about the threat to health posed by the power station [38].
For many years, the benefits of the expensive system greatly outweighed the disadvantages [40].
3) downtoners (lowering the effect): a bit, almost, barely, enough, hardly, kind of, (a) little, moderately, more or less, nearly, partly, quite, rather, scarcely, slightly, somewhat, sort of, sufficiently, etc.:
We took a slightly more direct root [38].
He was only partly responsible for the accident [38].
I kind of disapprove of such methods [40].
I think you'rea bit too young to be watching this[36, 62].
Almost nothing was done to improve the situation[40].
6. Focusingadverbs drawattention to the most important part of utterance. They can be of two kinds:
1) restrictive: alone, exactly, just, merely, only, precisely, purely, simply, especially, etc.:
Some students lose marks simply because they don't read the question properly [41].
It's important to write these goals down, rather than merely think about them [41].
2) additive: again, also, either, equally, even, too, etc.
She stayed and nursed him back to health again[38].
You must have a good education, but practical training is equally important[38].
7. Viewpoint adverbs are used to make clear what viewpoint the speaker is speaking from; that is, identifying what features of something are being talked about (economically, morally, politically, scientifically, weather-wise, financially, ideologically, industrially, environmentally, logically, medically, outwardly, technically, visually, etc.):
Financially, the accident has been a disaster for the owners of the tunnel [21, 156].
Geographically and linguistically, these islands are closer to the mainland than to the neighboring islands [21, 156].
Economically, the project is bound to fail [40].
The brothers may be alike physically, but they have very different personalities [40].
A number of phrases are used in a similar way (politically speaking, in political terms, in terms of politics, from a political point of view, as far as politics are concerned):
Politically/In political terms, this summer is a crucial time for the government [21, 156].
Financially/From a financial point of view, it is a good investment [21, 156].
8. Attitudinal adverbs which express the speaker's comment on the content of what he is saying. Such adverbs can be of two kinds:
1) adverbs expressing a comment on the truth-value of what is
being said, indicating the extent to which the speaker believes
what he is saying is true: admittedly, allegedly, apparently, certainly, decidedly, definitely, doubtless, maybe, obviously, perhaps, possibly, presumably, probably, quite likely, supposedly, surely, undoubtedly, etc.:
Few women, presumably, would want to return to the assumptions on which the old system was based [40].
He was supposedly delivering some papers to her but I think it was just an excuse to see her [40].
The impact, occurring shortly before midnight, apparently knocked out all communications before warning could be given [41].
Perhaps the public does not have much choice in the matter [38].
Certainly, he had very little reason to fear anyone [38].
2) adverbs expressing some attitude towards what is being
said: amazingly, cleverly, (in)correctly, curiously, foolishly, (un)fortunately, funnily enough, (un)happily, incredibly, ironically, (un)justly, (un)luckily, oddly, preferably, reasonably, regrettably, remarkably, sensibly, significantly, strangely, tragically, typically, unexpectedly, etc.:
He is wisely staying at home tonight [38].
Naturally we were extremely annoyed when we received the letter [38].
Attempts to denigrate his playing simply because of his popularity are misplaced but regrettably widespread [40].
9. Conjunctive adverbs: above all, accordingly, alternatively, anyhow, anyway, as a result, at any rate, besides, by the way, consequently, finally, first(ly), for all that, for example, further, furthermore, hence, however, incidentally, in other words, in spite of that, instead, in that case, lastly, likewise, meantime, mean while, namely, nevertheless, next, on the contrary, on the one (other) hand, otherwise, rather, secondly, similarly, so, still, that is, then, therefore, though, thus, too, yet, etc.:
I'd like you to do two things for me. First, phone the office
and tell them I'll be late. Secondly, order a taxi to be here
in about half an hour [18, 394].
Incidentally, he left you a message. It is on your desk [41].
I didn't like the food there. However, I didn't complain about it [38].
He has been working very hard. He looks fit, though [41].
10. Formulaic adverbs (markers of courtesy): cordially, kindly, please, etc.:
Will you kindly help me with the parcel [40]?
We cordially invite you to our party [40].
Let me have a look at the picture, please [38].
The adverbs when, where, how and why belonging to different semantic groups mentioned above have one point in common — they serve to form questions and introduce some kinds of subordinate clauses [15]. In the former case, owing to their auxiliary function, they are called interrogative adverbs (a). In the latter case, also owing to their auxiliary function, they are called conjunctive adverbs (b). In both cases they perform different adverbial functions in the sentence:
a) When did you see him last? (adverbial modifier of time)
Where are you going? (adverbial modifier of place)
How did you manage it? (adverbial modifier of manner)
Why didn't you tell me about it? (adverbial modifier of cause)
b) Sunday was the day when he was least busy.
(adverbial modifier of time)
The thing to find out was where he was then.
(adverbial modifier of place)
How it was done remains a mystery to me.
(adverbial modifier of manner)
I wanted to know why he had left us so abruptly.
(adverbial modifier of cause)
As is seen from the above examples, the conjunctive adverbs
can introduce attributive, predicative, subject and object clauses.
The adverb how, in addition to the above functions, can also
be placed at the head of an exclamatory sentence. In this case it is
often followed by an adjective or an adverb but it may also be
used alone. This how is sometimes called the exclamatory how [18, 395]:
How unfair grown-ups are!
Oh, how the baby cries! [18, 395]
2.2 Lexico-grammatical subdivision of adverbs
syntagmatic paradigmatic peculiarities adverbs english
Adverbs may be divided into three lexico-grammatical subclasses: qualitative, quantitative, and circumstantial [13; 13].
Qualitative adverbs show the quality of an action or state much in the same way as a qualitative adjective shows the quality of some substance (walks quickly and a quick walk, speaks loudly and a loud speech, etc). The connection between qualitative adverbs and adjectives is obvious. In most cases the adverb is derived from the adjective with the help of the most productive adverb-forming suffix –ly.
Qualitative adverbs, with or without –ly, are a subclass of adverbs with peculiar lexico-grammatical features. According to their meaning, the include adverbs of manner (well, badly, fast, quickly, clearly, suddenly, deeply, sincerely, willingly, sideways, somehow, how, etc.).
Qualitative adverbs usually modify verbs or statives. As they characterize the quality of an action or state, they are inwardly bound with a verb or stative and are usually placed as close as possible to the verb or stative they modify:
Tony and the daughter of the Polish governor catch one glimpse of each other and are madly aflame [16].
Table 1: Characteristic features of qualitative adverbs
| 1. Lexico-grammatical meaning | Show the quality of an action or state |
| 2. Typical stem-building affixes | -ly |
| 3. Morphological categories | Subclass of adverbs |
| 4. Typical patterns of combinability | Are placed to the verb or stative they modify |
| 5. Syntactic functions | Modify verbs or statives |
Here is the list of qualitative adverbs which describe the way in which is done [16, 291]:
Abruptly
Steadily
Accurately
Steeply
Awkwardly
Stiffly
Badly
Strangely
Beautifully
Subtly
Brightly
Superbly
Brilliantly
Swiftly
Briskly
Systematically
Carefully
Tenderly
Carelessly
Thickly
Economically
Effectively
Efficiently
Evenly
Explicitly
Faintly
Faithfully
Fiercely
Finely
Firmly
Peacefully
Peculiarly
Perfectly
Plainly
Pleasantly
Politely
Poorly
Professionally
Properly
Quietly
Casually
Thinly
Cheaply
Thoroughly
Clearly
Thoughtfully
Closely
Tightly
Clumsily
Truthfully
Comfortably
Uncomfortably
Consistently
Urgently
Conveniently
Vaguely
Correctly
Vigorously
Dangerously
Violently
Delicately
Vividly
Differently
Voluntarily
Discreetly
Warmly
Distinctly
Widely
Dramatically
Willingly
Easily
Wonderfully
Fluently
Formally
Frankly
Freely
Gently
Gracefully
Hastily
Heavily
Honestly
Hurriedly
Intently
Meticulously
Neatly
Nicely
Oddly
Patiently
Rapidly
Readily
Rightly
Rigidly
Roughly
Ruthlessly
Securely
Sensibly
Sharply
Silently
Simply
Smoothly
Softly
Solidly
Specifically
Splendidly
Quantitative adverbs show the degree, measure, quantity of an action, quality, state (very, rather, too, nearly, greatly, hardly, fully, quite, utterly, twofold, etc.). In traditional grammar they are referred to as adverbs of degree. They may be subdivided into several clearly pronounced sets [13, 224]:
1) adverbs of high degree. These adverbs are sometimes classed as "intensifiers": very, quite, entirely, utterly, highly, greatly, perfectly, absolutely, strongly, considerably, pretty, much;
2) adverbs of excessive degree (direct and reverse) also belonging to the broader subclass of intensifiers: too, awfully, tremendously, dreadfully, terrifically;
3) adverbs of unexpected degree: surprisingly, astonishingly, amazingly;
4) adverbs of moderate degree: fairly, comparatively, relatively, moderately, rather;
5) adverbs of low degree: slightly, a little, a bit;
6) adverbs of approximate degree: almost, nearly;
7) adverbs of optimal degree: enough, sufficiently, adequately;
8) adverbs of inadequate degree: insufficiently, intolerably, unbearably, ridiculously;
9) adverbs of under-degree: hardly, scarcely.
Many adverbs of degree are restricted to a small set of lexical items, e.g. deeply anxious, highly intelligent, strikingly handsome, sharply critical.
Some degree adverbs tend to be distinguished in terms of positive and negative attitude. Fairly, quite, entirely suggest a positive meaning:
I’m fairly certain I can do the job [38].
He plays quite well [38].
I entirely agree with you [41].
Rather, completely, utterly suggest a negative meaning:
The instructions were rather complicated [40].
The explosion completely destroyed the building [40].
She utterly failed to convince them [41].
The combinability of quantitative adverbs is more extensive than that of qualitative adverbs. Besides verbs and statives, quantitative adverbs modify adjectives, adverbs, indefinite pronouns, numerals, modals, and even nouns:
I quite like opera [41].
He had become fully aware of her [41].
Rather disconsolate she wandered out into the cathedral [38].
She knew it only too well [38].
Very probably he won’t budge [40].
Nearly everybody came to our party [40].
It was nearly ten [40].
He is wholly master of the situation [38].
The combinability of some adverbs of this class can be rather narrow. The adverb very (frightfully, awfully, etc.), for instance, mostly precedes those adjectives and adverbs which have opposites of comparison. It does not, as a rule, modify verbs or numerals. The combinability of nearly or almost, on the other hand, is so extensive, that these words are close to particles.
According to M. Y. Blokh, the degree adverbs, though usually described under the heading of "quantitative", in reality constitute a specific variety of qualitative words, or rather some sort of intermediate qualitative-quantitative words, in so far as they are used as quality evaluators [13, 224]. In this function they are distinctly different from genuine quantitative adverbs which are directly related to numerals and thereby form sets of words of pronominal order. Such are numerical-pronominal adverbs like twice, thrice, four times, etc.; twofold, threefold, many fold, etc. Thus, the first general subclass of adverbs is formed by qualitative adverbs which are subdivided into qualitative adverbs of full notional value and degree adverbs — specific functional words.
Circumstantial adverbs do not characterize the action itself but name certain circumstances attending the action described in the sentence and usually referring to the situation as a whole. Therefore circumstantial adverbs can be used in a sentence in which the only verb is a link-verb, that is, where no action is described: