CHAPTER V

ADVERBS

+189.+ +An adverb is a word which modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.+

The storm ceased _suddenly_.

A _very_ disastrous storm swept the coast.

The storm ceased _very_ suddenly.

+190.+ Adverbs are classified according to their meaning as: (1) adverbs of +manner+; (2) adverbs of +time+; (3) adverbs of +place+; (4) adverbs of +degree+.[24]

1. Adverbs of manner answer the question “How?” “In what way?”

They modify verbs or adjectives, rarely adverbs. Most of them are formed from adjectives by adding _ly_.

Tom answered _courageously_.

The poor child looked _helplessly_ about.

_Softly_ and _silently_ fell the snow.

The pain was _terribly_ severe.

The river rose _surprisingly_ fast.

2. Adverbs of time answer the question “When?” They usually modify verbs. Thus,--

The old castle is _now_ a museum.

He was _recently_ promoted.

I have been disturbed _lately_.

My friend arrives _to-day_.

James was _then_ a boy of seven.

I have _already_ rung the bell.

_Afterwards_ he regretted his haste.

3. Adverbs of place answer the question “Where?” They usually modify verbs. Thus,--

Come _here_.

_Yonder_ stands the culprit.

An old sailor came _forward_.

My sister is _out_.

I was _abroad_ that winter.

4. Adverbs of degree answer the question “To what degree or extent?” They modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Thus,--

Arthur is _rather_ tall.

Father was _much_ pleased.

Father was _very much_ pleased.

The task seemed _utterly_ hopeless.

That is _hardly_ possible.

That is _not_ possible.

+191.+ Some adverbs have the same form as the corresponding adjectives.

You have guessed _right_.

How _fast_ the tide ebbs!

The horse was sold _cheap_.

Tired men sleep _sound_.

Other examples are:--wrong, straight, early, late, quick, hard, far, near, slow, high, low, loud, ill, well, deep, close, just, very, much, little.

Under this head come certain adverbs of degree used to modify adjectives.

His eyes were _dark_ blue. [Compare: _very_ blue.]

That silk is _light_ yellow. [Compare: _rather_ yellow.]

These flowers are _deep_ purple. [Compare: _intensely_ purple.]

The water was _icy_ cold. [Compare: _extremely_ cold.]

That _dark_, _light_, etc., are adverbs in this use appears from the fact that they answer the question “How?” Thus,--“His eyes were blue.” “_How_ blue?” “_Dark_ blue.”

NOTE. In the oldest English many adverbs ended in _-ë_, as if formed directly from adjectives by means of this ending. Thus, the adjective for _hot_ was _hāt_, side by side with which was an adverb _hātë_ (dissyllabic), meaning _hotly_. In the fourteenth century this distinction was still kept up. Thus, Chaucer used both the adjective _hōt_ and the dissyllabic adverb _hōtë_, meaning _hotly_. Between 1400 and 1500 all weak final _e_’s disappeared from the language. In this way the adverb _hotë_, for example, became simply _hot_. Thus these adverbs in _-ë_ became identical in form with the corresponding adjectives. Hence in the time of Shakspere there existed, in common use, not only the adjective _hot_, but also the adverb _hot_ (identical in form with the adjective but really descended from the adverb _hotë_). One could say not only “The fire is _hot_” (adjective), but “The fire burns _hot_” (adverb of manner).

The tendency in modern English has been to confine the form without ending to the adjective use and to restrict the adverbial function to forms in _-ly_. Thus, a writer of the present time would not say, in prose, “The fire burns _hot_,” but “The fire burns _hotly_.” Nevertheless, a number of the old adverbs without ending still remain in good use, and must not be regarded as erroneous.

In poetry, moreover, such adverbs are freely employed; as,--“The boy like a gray goshawk stared _wild_.” [In prose: stared _wildly_.]

For adverbial phrases, see §§ 41–42, 475.

For the adverbial objective, see § 109.

+192.+ _Yes_ and _no_ are peculiar adverbs used in assenting and denying. Thus,--

Are you hungry? No.

NOTE. As now used, _yes_ and _no_ stand for complete sentences. Originally, however, they were modifiers, and hence they are still classed as adverbs. The original meaning of _no_ was “never.” Compare _never_ as an emphatic negative in modern English: as,--“Will you surrender?” “_Never!_” The oldest affirmative adverb was _yea_. _Yes_ was originally a compound of _yea_ with a form of _so_, and was used in emphatic affirmatives (like our _just so!_).

Other adverbs or adverbial phrases are sometimes used like _yes_ or _no_. Such are _certainly_, _assuredly_, _by no means_, _not at all_. In these cases, however, the modifying effect of the word or phrase may easily be seen when the sentence is supplied. Thus,--“Will you help me?” “_Certainly_ [I _will help_ you].”

+193.+ _There_ is often used merely to introduce a sentence in the inverted order (§ 5).

There is a hole in my shoe.

There are many strangers in town.

There rose a thick smoke from the volcano.

In this use, _there_ is sometimes called an +expletive+ (or “filler”). It is unemphatic, and has lost all its force as an adverb of place. Contrast “THERE [emphatic] stood an Indian under a tree” with, “There [unemphatic expletive] stood an Indian under a tree.”

RELATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS

+194.+ +Relative adverbs introduce subordinate clauses and are similar in their use to relative pronouns.+

I know a farmhouse {in which | _where_} we can spend the night.

_Where_ is an adverb of place, modifying _can spend_. But it also introduces the subordinate clause, as the relative pronoun _which_ does. Hence _where_ is called a +relative adverb+.

+195.+ The principal relative adverbs are:--_where_, _whence_, _whither_, _wherever_, _when_, _whenever_, _while_, _as_, _how_, _why_, _before_, _after_, _till_, _until_, _since_.

Because of their similarity to conjunctions, these words are often called +conjunctive adverbs+.

He had a fever _when_ he was in Spain.

Work _while_ it is day.

_As_ the ship passed, we observed that her decks were crowded with Malays. [Time.]

Keep to the right, _as_ the law directs. [Manner.]

You started _before_ I was ready.

Wait _until_ the car stops.

_Since_ you came, it has rained constantly.

_As_ and _since_ in the sense of “because,” and _while_ in the sense of “although,” are classed as conjunctions (§ 368).

The clauses introduced by relative adverbs may be either adjective or adverbial (§§ 49–50, 379–382).

NOTE. In “_The_ more you waste, _the_ sooner you will want” (and similar sentences) _the_ is not an article, but an old case-form of the pronoun _that_, used as an adverb of degree. We may expand the sentence as follows: “_To what extent_ you waste more, _to that extent_ you will want sooner.” Thus it appears that the first _the_ has a relative force, and the second _the_ a demonstrative force.

+196.+ +An interrogative adverb introduces a question.+

_Where_, _when_, _whence_, _whither_, _how_, _why_, may be used as +interrogative adverbs+. Thus,--

_Where_ are you going?

_Why_ must you go?

COMPARISON OF ADVERBS

+197.+ +Adverbs have three degrees of comparison,--the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.+

1. +Most adverbs are compared by means of _more_ and _most_.+

John came _promptly_. [Positive.]

Richard came _more promptly_ than John. [Comparative.]

Henry came _most promptly_ of all. [Superlative.]

2. +A few adverbs are compared by means of the endings _er_ and _est_.+ Thus,--

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

near nearer nearest soon sooner soonest

Further examples are:--cheap, dear, early, fast, hard, high, long, loud, quick, slow, deep.[25]

Some adverbs are compared in both ways. Thus,--

often, oftener _or_ more often, oftenest _or_ most often.

+198.+ Several adverbs have irregular comparison.

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

far } { farther { farthest forth } { further { furthest ill } worse worst badly } nigh nigher { nighest { next well better best { latest late later { last little less least much more most

These adverbs in the main have the same forms as the adjectives studied in § 185 above. Note, however: (1) that _good_ and _bad_ are never adverbs; (2) that _ill_ and _well_, _better_ and _best_, _worse_ and _worst_, may be either adverbs or adjectives. _Rather_ is now used in the comparative only.

USE OF THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

+199.+ +The comparative degree, not the superlative, is used in comparing two persons or things.+

+The superlative is used in comparing one person or thing with two or more.+

Right: Mary is the _more agreeable_ of the two. Mary is the _most agreeable_ of all the family.

Wrong: I like both Mary and Jane, but I am _fondest_ of Mary. I am studying Latin, history, and geometry, but I dislike the _latter_.

The same principle applies to adverbs.

John runs _faster_ than Tom. [Here the acts of two persons are compared.]

Which of you three can run _fastest_? [Here the acts of more than two are compared.]

NOTE. In older English the superlative sometimes occurs when only two objects are thought of. This use is still found in a few proverbial phrases: as,--“Put your _best_ foot _foremost_.”

+200.+ The superlative is sometimes used merely for emphasis, without implying any definite comparison: as--“My _dearest_ Kate!”

The superlative of emphasis is very common with _most_.

_Most potent_, _grave_, and _reverend_ signiors.--SHAKSPERE.

Justice had been _most cruelly_ defrauded.--WORDSWORTH.

Excessive use of this construction (like frequent repetition of _very_) is tiresome and weakens style.

Double comparison (as _more worthier_, _most unkindest_) is common in older English, but is now a gross error.

+201.+ When two adjectives or adverbs are contrasted by means of _than_, _more_ is used with the first.

Such indulgence is _more kind_ than wise.

This scheme is _more clever_ than honest.

He acts _more boldly_ than discreetly.

NOTE. The adverb _rather_ is often used with the first adjective or adverb (as,--“_rather_ kind than wise” or “kind _rather_ than wise”), but in a slightly different sense.

+202.+ Many adjectives and adverbs are, from their meaning, incapable of comparison. Such are:--

1. Adjectives expressing a quality as absolute or complete, and adverbs derived from such adjectives.

EXAMPLES: unique, universal, single, matchless, instantaneous, triangular, everlasting, infinite, mortal; uniquely, singly, eternally, mortally.

2. The adverbs _here_, _there_, _then_, _now_, _when_, and the like.

NOTE. Words like _perfect_, _exact_, _straight_, etc., are commonly said to be incapable of comparison, but this is an error. For each of these words may vary in sense. When _perfect_ (for example) denotes _absolute perfection_, it cannot be compared. But _perfect_ has also another sense: namely, “partaking in a higher or lower degree of the qualities that make up absolute perfection,” so that we may describe one statue as _more perfect_ than another, or one of three statues as the _most perfect_ of them all. In this use, which is unobjectionable, we simply admit that nothing in the world is absolutely flawless, and assert that the three statues approach ideal perfection in various degrees.

+203.+ An adjective phrase may sometimes be compared by means of _more_ and _most_.

I was never _more out of humor_ [= more vexed].

I think your last suggestion _most in keeping_ [= most appropriate].

NUMERALS--ADJECTIVES, NOUNS, AND ADVERBS

+204.+ +Words indicating number are called numerals. They are adjectives, nouns, or adverbs.+

There are _seven_ days in the week. [Adjective.]

_Twelve_ make a _dozen_. [Noun.]

I have called _twice_. [Adverb.]

+205.+ The chief classes of numerals are +cardinals+ and +ordinals+.

1. +Cardinal numeral adjectives (_one_, _two_, _three_, _four_, etc.) are used in counting, and answer the question “How many?”+

I had to pay _three_ dollars.

There were _forty-two_ vessels in the fleet.

NOTE. In such expressions as “The boy was _sixteen_,” the numeral is a predicate adjective limiting _boy_ (§ 172, 3). We need not expand _sixteen_ to “sixteen years old.”

2. +Ordinal numeral adjectives (_first_, _second_, _third_, etc.) denote the position or order of a person or thing in a series.+

Carl plays the _second_ violin.

Your friend is sitting in the _fifth_ row.

+206.+ All the cardinal and ordinal numerals may become nouns and may take a plural ending in some of their senses.

_One_ is enough.

_Four_ are missing.

The _nine_ played an excellent game.

Three _twos_ are six.

The men formed by _fours_.

_Thousands_ perished by the way.

Eight is two _thirds_ of twelve. [So regularly in +fractional parts+.]

NOTE. _Hundred_, _thousand_, _million_ were originally nouns, but are now equally common as adjectives. Other numeral nouns are:--twain, couple, pair, brace, trio, quartette, quintette, foursome, dozen, score, century.

+207.+ Certain numeral adjectives (_single_, _double_, _triple_, etc.) indicate how many times a thing is taken or of how many like parts it consists.

A _double_ row of policemen stood on guard.

A _fourfold_ layer of chilled steel forms the door.

Some of these words may be used as adverbs.

The cabman charged _double_.

His fear increased _tenfold_.

+208.+ Certain numeral adverbs and adverbial phrases indicate how many times an action takes place.

_Once_ my assailant slipped.

I rang the bell _twice_.

The river hath _thrice_ flow’d, no ebb between.--SHAKSPERE.

The only adverbs of this kind in ordinary use are _once_ and _twice_. For larger numbers an adverbial phrase (_three times_, _four times_, etc.) is employed. _Thrice_, however, is still common in poetry and the solemn style.