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An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a determiner, a clause, a preposition, or a sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, or level of certainty by answering questions such as how , in what way , when , where , to what extent .
William Bullokar wrote the earliest grammar of English, published in 1586.It includes a chapter on adverbs. His definition follows: An adverb is a part of speech joined with a verb or participle to declare their signification more expressly by such adverb: as, come hither if they wilt go forth, sometimes with an adjective: as, thus broad: & sometimes joined with another adverb: as, how soon ...
In the first example, "soon" is an adverb (as distinct from a noun or a verb), which is a type of adverbial. In the second sentence, the modifying phrase "in an hour" has the same syntactic function (that is, to act adverbially and modify the base of the sentence "I'll go to bed"), though it does not contain an adverb.
An adverb phrase is a phrase that acts as an adverb within a sentence. [31] An adverb phrase may have an adverb as its head, together with any modifiers (other adverbs or adverb phrases) and complements, analogously to the adjective phrases described above.
An adverbial clause is a dependent clause that functions as an adverb. [1] That is, the entire clause modifies a separate element within a sentence or the sentence itself. As with all clauses, it contains a subject and predicate, though the subject as well as the (predicate) verb are omitted and implied if the clause is reduced to an adverbial phrase as discussed below.
Various sentences using the syllables mā, má, mǎ, mà, and ma are often used to illustrate the importance of tones to foreign learners. One example: Chinese: 妈妈骑马马慢妈妈骂马; pinyin: māma qí mǎ, mǎ màn, māma mà mǎ; lit. 'Mother is riding a horse... the horse is slow... mother scolds the horse'. [37]
In English grammar, an adverbial (abbreviated adv) is a word (an adverb) or a group of words (an adverbial clause or adverbial phrase) that modifies or more closely defines the sentence or the verb. [1] (The word adverbial itself is also used as an adjective, meaning "having the same function as an adverb".) Look at the examples below:
Here are some examples (note: the disjuncts that follow are 'sentence adverbs'): Honestly, I didn't do it. (Meaning "I'm honest when I say I didn't do it" rather than "I didn't do it in an honest way.") Fortunately for you, I have it right here. Frankly, this whole paragraph needs work. Interestingly, the comment made for a great topic of its own.