Chapter 121

ADVERBS.

§ 374. _Adverbs._--The adverbs are capable of being classified after a variety of principles.

Firstly, they may be divided according to their meaning. In this case we speak of the adverbs of _time_, _place_, _number_, _manner_.

§ 375. _Well_, _better_, _ill_, _worse_.--Here we have a class of adverbs expressive of degree, or intensity. Adverbs of this kind are capable of taking an inflection, viz., that of the comparative and superlative degrees.

_Now_, _then_, _here_, _there_.--In the idea expressed by these words there are no degrees of intensity. Adverbs of this kind are incapable of taking any inflection.

Adverbs differ from nouns and verbs in being susceptible of one sort of inflection only, viz., that of degree.

§ 376. Secondly, adverbs may be divided according to their form and origin.

_Better_, _worse_.--Here the words are sometimes adverbs; sometimes adjectives.--_This book is better than that_--here _better_ agrees with _book_, and is, therefore, adjectival. _This looks better than that_--here _better_ qualifies _looks_, and is therefore adverbial. Again; _to do a thing with violence_ is equivalent _to do a thing violently_. This shows how adverbs may arise out of cases. In words like the English _better_, the Latin _vi_ = _violenter_, the Greek [Greek: kalon] = [Greek: kalôs], we have adjectives in their degrees, and substantives in their cases, with adverbial powers. In other words, nouns are deflected from their natural sense to an adverbial one. Adverbs of this kind are adverbs of _deflection_.

_Brightly_, _bravely_.--Here an adjective is rendered adverbial by the addition of the derivative syllable -ly. Adverbs like _brightly_, &c., may be called adverbs of _derivation_.

_Now_.--This word has not satisfactorily been shown to have originated as any other part of speech but as an adverb. Words of this sort are adverbs _absolute_.

§ 377. _When_, _now_, _well_, _worse_, _better_--here the adverbial expression consists in a single word, and is _simple_. _To-day_, _yesterday_, _not at all_, _somewhat_--here the adverbial expression consists of a compound word, or a phrase. This indicates the division of adverbs into _simple_ and _complex_.

§ 378. Adverbs of deflection may originally have been--

a. _Substantive_; as _needs_ in such expressions as _I needs must go_.

b. _Adjectives_; as the _sun shines bright_.

c. _Prepositions_; as _I go in_, _we go out_; though, it should be added, that in this case we may as reasonably derive the preposition from the adverb as the adverb from the preposition.

§ 379. Adjectives of deflection derived from substantives may originally have been--

a. _Substantives in the _genitive_ case_; as _needs_.

b. _Substantives in the _dative_ case_; as _whil-om_, an antiquated word meaning _at times_, and often improperly spelt _whilome_. In such an expression as _wait a while_, the word still exists; and _while_ = _time_, or rather _pause_; since, in Danish, _hvile_ = _rest_.

_El-se_ (for _ell-es_); _unawar-es_; _eftsoon-s_ are _adjectives_ in the genitive case. _By rights_ is a word of the same sort; the -s being the sign of the genitive singular like the -s in _father's_, and not of the accusative plural like the -s in _fathers_.

_Once_ (_on-es_); _twice_ (_twi-es_); _thrice_ (_thri-es_) are _numerals_ in the genitive case.

§ 380. _Darkling_.--This is no participle of a verb _darkle_, but an adverb of derivation, like _unwaringûn_ = _unawares_, Old High German; _stillinge_ = _secretly_, Middle High German; _blindlings_ = _blindly_, New High German; _darnungo_ = _secretly_, Old Saxon; _nichtinge_ = _by night_, Middle Dutch; _blindeling_ = _blindly_, New Dutch; _bæclinga_ = _backwards_, _handlunga_ = _hand to hand_, Anglo-Saxon; and, finally, _blindlins_, _backlins_, _darklins_, _middlins_, _scantlins_, _stridelins_, _stowlins_, in Lowland Scotch.

* * * * *