Adverbs and prepositions

Adverbs

Definitions

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, telling when, where, how often, how much, or how something happens. The test won’t ask you to sort them into kinds. It asks you to spot an adjective used where an adverb belongs (walked careful), a preposition that breaks an idiom (different than), and a transition word joined to a sentence with only a comma. The first two are collected at the end of the chapter; the comma error is covered under Conjunctive adverbs, next. An adverbial phrase is a group of words that does an adverb’s job, such as a prepositional phrase that tells when or where (after lunch, under the bridge).

Adverbs are usually grammatically optional: a sentence is complete without them, and many can move around in a sentence without changing its grammar.

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.

Even though they are grammatically optional, many adverbs suggest relationships between objects, people, and ideas that can be important to the meaning of a sentence. 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

Definitions

Conjunctive adverb

An adverb that connects clauses or sentences and functions like a transition.

Conjunctive adverbs connect the ideas in two clauses or sentences, so it helps to think of them as transitions. Unlike the joining conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), though, they cannot join two main clauses with just a comma.

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.

Watch out: a conjunctive adverb is not a joining word. When it links two complete sentences, use a semicolon or a period before it: “She paid late; consequently, her credit suffered.” Using only a comma there creates a comma splice.

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 “in spite of that.” It grants the point that grading takes time but insists that grades are still due on time.

Practice question

Jacqueline had a habit of paying her credit card bills 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:

Adverbs of time

Adverbs of time tell when events occurred, often in relation to other events. Some, such as before, after, since, and until, can also work as subordinating conjunctions.

before	after	now	then
next	later	yesterday	tomorrow
today	earlier	still	soon
since	afterwards	already	last

Example:

Let’s have lunch before we go to the movies.

Here, before is working as a subordinating conjunction, because a whole clause (we go to the movies) follows it. In I have seen that movie before, nothing follows before, so it is an adverb of time.

Adverbs of place

Adverbs of place tell where things and people are, often in relation to something else.

above	across	alongside	beyond
behind	over	under	upstairs
inside	nearby	away	here
there	downstairs	outside	everywhere

Many of these words can also be prepositions. What decides is whether a noun follows. In Mike sat behind, behind is an adverb. In Mike sat behind Jasmine, it is a preposition, and behind Jasmine is a prepositional phrase.

Adverbs of degree, manner, and frequency

Adverbs of degree tell how much (barely, almost, exceptionally), adverbs of manner tell how (carefully, slowly, well), and adverbs of frequency tell how often (always, rarely, daily).

Degree	Manner	Frequency
much	easily	always
barely	carefully	never
hardly	well	sometimes
almost	quickly	rarely
nearly	slowly	occasionally
exceptionally	poorly	daily

Adverbs of degree can change a sentence’s meaning sharply: compare the two sentences below.

Mark scarcely understood what Professor Chesmire was saying.

Mark almost understood what Professor Chesmire was saying.

In the first sentence, Mark’s understanding is minimal. In the second, he is close to understanding.

Many adverbs of manner are adjectives with -ly added: careful becomes carefully. That pairing is where the test’s adjective-and-adverb errors come from, as the end of this chapter shows.

Prepositions

Definitions

Preposition

A word that expresses the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in a sentence.

Prepositions express the relationships between the people, things, and ideas a sentence discusses: into the car, to the market, under the bridge. Many prepositions are also adverbs, and some, like after, can also be subordinating conjunctions.

We went hiking after the rain stopped.

Here, after introduces a full clause (the rain stopped), so it works as a subordinating conjunction.

The officer chased after the suspect.

Because a noun (the suspect) follows it, after is a preposition here, and after the suspect is a prepositional phrase.

Watch out: a prepositional phrase that sits between a subject and its verb doesn’t change the subject’s number. In “The list of items is long,” the subject is list (singular)—the prepositional phrase of items doesn’t count toward agreement, even though “items” sits right next to the verb. The agreement and parallel structure chapter covers subject-verb agreement in full.

On the test, prepositions cause errors in idioms, where a word takes one particular preposition by convention. Those are covered next.

Common adverb and preposition errors

Praxis Core usage questions ask you to find the error: parts of a sentence are underlined, and you pick the one that must change, or No error. Two patterns come up often with adverbs and prepositions.

Adjective vs. adverb

Use an adverb (often ending in -ly) to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Use an adjective only to modify a noun or to follow a linking verb like feel, seem, or be. Good is an adjective; well is its adverb counterpart.

Example: Find the error

Walking careful down the icy steps, Maria gripped the railing tightly and made it inside without falling.

A. careful   B. gripped   C. tightly   D. without falling   E. No error

Preposition idioms

Some verbs and adjectives pair with one specific preposition by convention rather than by rule: different from, capable of, comply with, consist of, interested in, responsible for. Watch for redundant prepositions too, like “off of” (just off) and “where…at” (just where).

Example: Find the error

The committee is different from last year’s, and it remains responsible for the budget, which must comply with state law even though nobody knows where the report is at.

A. is different from   B. responsible for   C. comply with   D. where the report is at   E. No error