Adverbs and prepositions
Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They indicate time, place, frequency, degree, and manner. Adverbial phrases are phrases that begin with adverbs.
Adverbs are grammatically irrelevant. They can move around in sentences without any grammatical effect.
Examples:
- However, the children rapidly outgrew their new clothes.
- The children, however, rapidly outgrew their new clothes.
- The children rapidly outgrew their new clothes, however.
Despite their grammatical irrelevance, many adverbs suggest relationships between objects, people, and ideas. Others have positive or negative connotations that affect what a sentence means, and still others tell us where and when events took place.
Conjunctive adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs are adverbs that can act as conjunctions. However, since they connect clauses and sentences to one another, it helps to think of them as transitions as well.
Conjunctive adverbs
| additionally | also | anyway | besides |
| similarly | likewise | conversely | certainly |
| hence | however | nevertheless | finally |
| moreover | nonetheless | therefore | consequently |
Commas often divide conjunctive adverbs from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
I understand that you have a lot of grading to do. Nonetheless, it is essential that all faculty submit their grades on time.
Here, nonetheless is both a conjunctive adverb and a transition word that means anyway. It dismisses whatever has come before, so the sentence is basically saying, “I don’t care about your problems. Get it done.”
Practice question
Jacqueline had a habit of paying her credit cards several days after they were due. ________ her credit rating was quite poor.
Choose the correct answer:
a. Consequently
b. Conversely
c. Moreover
d. Anyway
e. Besides
Correct answer:
The correct answer is a.
Consequently is correct. It means “as a result” and creates the correct cause-and-effect relationship.
b. Conversely is incorrect because it is a contrast word. The sentence calls for a cause-and-effect word.
c. Moreover is incorrect because it is an additive word, not a cause-and-effect word.
d. Anyway is incorrect because it dismisses what came before it.
e. Besides is incorrect because it means “anyway,” which does not fit the context.
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time indicate when events occurred, often by positioning them in relation to the timing of other events. Some adverbs of time, such as before, next, and after, can also function as subordinating conjunctions.
Adverbs of time
| before | after | now | then |
| next | later | yesterday | tomorrow |
| today | earlier | still | seldom |
| since | afterwards | already | last |
Example:
Let’s have lunch before we go to the movies.
Here, before organizes a proposed series of events.
Practice question
“I have _______ found it necessary to buy lunch,” remarked Algernon as he adjusted his bow tie, “because someone else will almost ___________ do it for me.”
Choose the correct answer:
a. Always…before
b. Seldom…already
c. Always…already
d. Seldom…always
e. Already…still
Correct answer:
The correct answer is d.
Seldom…always is correct. Seldom means “rarely,” so the sentence is saying that Algernon rarely pays for his own lunch because other people usually pay for him.
a. Always…before is incorrect because both halves are wrong and “will almost before do it for me” is nonsensical.
b. Seldom…already is incorrect because already does not fit grammatically.
c. Always…already is incorrect because it is contradictory.
e. Already…still is incorrect because it suggests that Algernon has lunch twice.
Adverbs of place
Adverbs tell us where things and people are, often in relation to the location of something else.
Example:
Mike sat behind Jasmine.
Adverbs of place
| above | across | alongside | beyond |
| behind | over | under | upstairs |
| inside | nearby | away | here |
| there | inside | outside | towards |
Adverbs of place help readers visualize a scene by establishing physical relationships.
Example:
Madeleine’s kite soared above the trees.
Practice question
Daniel stood _____ the house, looking _____ the street and wishing that it wasn’t another rainy day.
Choose the correct answer:
a. Inside…across
b. Above…towards
c. Alongside…under
d. Inside…outside
e. Across…inside
Correct answer:
The correct answer is a.
Inside…across is correct because both adverbs make sense in context and are physically plausible.
b. Above…towards is incorrect because it does not make sense for someone to stand above a house.
c. Alongside…under is incorrect because it is not possible to see under a street.
d. Inside…outside is incorrect because it is not possible to see outside a street.
e. Across…inside is incorrect because neither physical relationship is plausible.
Adverbs of degree
These adverbs indicate how much or how little there is of something.
Adverbs of degree
| much | less | barely | hardly |
| scarcely | enough | especially | almost |
| nearly | very | too | fully |
| somewhat | lots | exceptionally | virtually |
As with other adverbs, adverbs of degree are about relationships. However, they can have positive or negative connotations that affect the meaning of a sentence.
Consider the following:
Mark scarcely understood what Professor Chesmire was saying.
Mark almost understood what Professor Chesmire was saying.
In the first sentence, Mark’s understanding is scarce, or minimal. In the second, Mark is much nearer to comprehension.
Practice question
Sara’s father told Mrs. Alma, the first grade teacher, that Sara was _______________ creative and could therefore not be expected to complete boring grammar drills.
Choose the best answer:
a. Lots
b. Somewhat
c. Exceptionally
d. Fully
e. Virtually
Correct answer:
The correct answer is c.
Exceptionally is correct because it qualifies Sara’s creativity as much higher than average.
a. Lots is incorrect because “Sara was lots creative” is ungrammatical.
b. Somewhat is incorrect because it weakens the father’s claim.
d. Fully is incorrect because it is ungrammatical and unidiomatic.
e. Virtually is incorrect because it means “almost.”
Adverbs of manner
These adverbs explain how or how well an action is done. As the adverbs in the chart suggest, many adjectives become adverbs when the suffix -ly is added.
Adverbs of manner
| easily | lazily | well | really |
| slightly | hungrily | poorly | quickly |
| carefully | carelessly | greedily | slowly |
Practice question
Lily stared _____ at the cakes on display at the supermarket.
Choose the correct answer:
a. Hungrily
b. Easily
c. Well
d. Really
e. Slightly
Correct answer:
The correct answer is a.
Hungrily is correct because staring at cakes is an activity that often makes people hungry.
b. Easily is incorrect because it does not make sense when describing staring.
c. Well is incorrect because people do not stare well or poorly.
d. Really is incorrect because it means “truly” or “very.”
e. Slightly is incorrect because one either stares or does not stare.
Adverbs of frequency
These adverbs tell us how often an event occurred.
Example:
My parents had two newspapers delivered daily.
Adverbs of frequency
| always | never | sometimes | often |
| rarely | occasionally | daily | annually |
| once | twice | seldom | hardly ever |
Practice question
Bobbi had been to Manhattan occasionally, but _____ in December, so she was unprepared for the holiday crowds in midtown.
Choose the correct answer:
a. Never
b. Once
c. Sometimes
d. Often
e. Always
Correct answer:
The correct answer is a.
Never is correct because it accounts for Bobbi’s surprise at how crowded Manhattan was in December.
b. Once is incorrect because it means she had experienced holiday crowds before.
c. Sometimes is incorrect because it undermines the idea that she was surprised.
d. Often is incorrect because it undermines the idea that she was surprised.
e. Always is incorrect because the holiday crowds would not have surprised her.
Prepositions
Prepositions hold sentences together by expressing the relationships between the people, things, and ideas they discuss.
Example:
Dashaun got into the car and drove to the farmer’s market.
Here, the preposition into explains the relationship between Dashaun and the car. The preposition to identifies the goal of his driving.
Prepositions
| above | across | after | against | along |
| among | around | at | away/away from | before |
| behind | below | beneath | beside | between |
| by | down | during | for | from |
| in | inside | into | near/nearby | next to |
| off | on | onto | out of | outside |
| over | through | to | toward/towards | under |
| underneath | until | up | with | within |
Many adverbs of place and time can also function as prepositions because they indicate those relationships.
Example:
We went hiking after the rain stopped.
In this sentence, after acts as a preposition and an adverb of time.
The officer chased after the suspect.
Here, after clarifies a physical relationship between the officer and the suspect.
Practice question
When Mikey’s mother finally found his glasses, they lay flattened _______ a large pile of books and toys.
Choose the best answer:
a. Above
b. Among
c. Between
d. Near
e. Underneath
Correct answer:
The correct answer is e.
Underneath is correct because it explains how the glasses became flattened.
a. Above is incorrect because it does not explain the flattened condition of the glasses.
b. Among is incorrect because it suggests the glasses were part of the pile.
c. Between is incorrect because it suggests an unlikely arrangement of books and toys.
d. Near is incorrect because it does not explain how the glasses were flattened.