An ‘adverb’ is a word which modifies the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
1. Adverbs of Place: Words denoting ‘where the work is done’.
here, there, near, up, below, out, in, away, within, down, backward, outside, inside, far,etc.,
e.g.: He came in.
2. Adverbs of Time: Words denoting ‘when the work is done’.
ago, before, formerly, already, immediately, since, then, today, tomorrow, late, lately, never, still, just, soon, etc.,
e.g.: Please, come soon.
3. Adverbs of Frequency: Words denoting ‘how often or how many times the work is done’. frequently, usually, occasionally, regularly, never, always, once, twice, thrice, again, often, etc.,
e.g.: He usually drinks coffee.
4. Adverbs of Manner: Words denoting ‘how or in what manner the work is done’. clearly, quickly, beautifully, bravely, slowly, fast, loudly, well, thus, carefully, etc.,
e.g.: The doctor has advised me to walk slowly.
5. Adverbs of Degree / Quantity: Words denoting ‘how much or in what degree or to what extent the work is done’. sufficiently, fully, wholly, quite, extremely, rather, almost, so, any, enough, as, too, very etc.,
e.g.: He is rather busy today.
6. Adverbs of Affirmation / Negation: These adverbs say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ about the work that is done.
e.g.: The director told him not to be late.
7. Adverbs of Reason: These adverbs show the reason of the work that is done. hence, so, therefore, etc.,
e.g.: He, therefore, requested you for a loan.
8. Interrogative Adverbs: These adverbs are used in ‘asking questions’. why, how, when, where, etc.,
e.g.: Why is he unable to complete the work?
USES OF ADVERBS
Adverbs used both as adjectives and adverbs.
e.g.: Better: Ravi knows better than Rani. (Adverb)
He is not better than a miser. (Adjective)
Adverbs suffixed by ‘ly’ forming other adverbs.
e.g.: 1. He came near. (Adverb)
He is nearly happy. (Adverb)
2. He always comes to office late. (Adverb)
He has not been in the town lately. (Adverb)
3. The artist works hard. (Adverb)
The artist hardly works. (Adverb)
‘The’ used as an Adverb:
e.g.: The more you work, the more you earn.
The use of adverb ‘not’: The adverb ‘not’ is not used with words having negative meaning.
e.g.: The guide forbade us not to go beyond the fence. (Wrong)
The guide forbade us to go beyond the fence. (Correct)
COMPARISON OF ADVERBS
Positive Degree: ‘as …… as’ is used for positive
statement and ‘so ……… as’ is used for negative statement.
e.g.: Ishant bowls as fast as Yadav.
Praveen does not bowl so fast as Ishant.
Superlative Degree: In Superlative Degree ‘of all’ is used. It is important to know that ‘the’ is not used before the Superlative Degree of adverbs.
e.g.: Kiran runs fastest of all the competitors.
Read each sentence to find out whether there is any error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is no error, the answer is 5.
1. Vasu quickly completed the assignment (1)/ given to him (2)/ as he wanted to attend his friend’s marriage (3)/ without fail. (4)/ No
error (5).
2. The batsman gave (1)/ an easy catch. (2)/ He should have not
played (3)/ that ball thoughtlessly. (4)/ No error (5).
3. As he is, (1)/ some what fat (2)/ for his age. (3)/ He looks older
than all his brothers. (4)/ No error (5).
4. The doctor (1)/ comes on Thursdays (2)/ here (3)/ to examine
the patients. (4)/ No error (5).
5. ‘A bird in the hand (1)/ is worth two in the bush’. (2)/ You are proved to be (3)/ fairly foolish to give up your present job. (4)/ No
error (5).
6. Some philanthropists are (1)/ enough rich (2)/ to share their wealth (3)/ with downtrodden people. (4)/ No error (5).
7. Having met (1)/ after 30 years, (2)/ we exchanged banters (3)/ and heartily laughed for sometime. (4)/ No error (5).
8. The audience were not able (1)/ to perceive abstruse (2)/ things spoken by the speaker. (3)/ Hence, he explained vividly their meanings. (4)/ No error (5).
9. Since (1)/ he is a chain smoker, (2)/ I warn him always (3)/ against smoking heavily. (4)/ No error (5).
10. The Chairman of the institution (1)/ often has praised (2)/ Mr. Babji for his qualities (3)/ of head and heart. (4)/ No error (5).
11. I shall certainly contact (1)/ the president (2)/ immediately (3)/ after reaching Hyderabad. (4)/ No error (5).
12. He approached the Minister merely (1)/ with a request (2)/ for the kind help (3)/ in securing a job. (4)/ No error (5).
13. The checking squad (1)/ forbade the candidates (2)/ with printed / written material (3)/ not to enter the Examination Hall. (4)/ No
error (5).
14. No one scarcely (1)/ appreciates those people who resort to (2)/ undue accolades (3)/ for personal gains. (4)/ No error (5).
15. The worker cleaned the floor very tidy (1)/ and so was given (2)/ extra money for his sincerity (3)/ in doing even small things in a great manner. (4)/ No error (5).
16. The notification emphasises (1)/ that a candidate should be firstly diligent (2)/ and secondly intelligent (3)/ in carrying out the work entrusted to him. (4)/ No error (5).
17. Mr. Sivaram seldom or ever (1)/ comes late for recording. (2)/ Hence his punctuality (3)/ is liked by many organizers. (4)/ No
error (5).
18. It is nothing else (1)/ than (2)/ sheer personal vanity (3)/ to “blow one’s own trumpet”. (4)/ No error (5).
19. “I never remember (1)/ having hurt (2)/ people with harsh words”, (3)/ he said confidently. (4)/ No error (5).
20. Kiran appears so weak today (1)/ because of hard work (2)/ he turned out yesterday (3)/ from dawn to dusk. (4)/ No error (5).
21. The price of the product (1)/ is too high. (2)/ That is the reason (3)/ the consumers are not able to buy it easily. (4)/ No error (5).
22. It is much surprising (1)/ to find (2)/ that the institution has (3)/ very good percentage of successful candidates. (4)/ No error (5).
23. After protracted discussions, (1)/ the members are of the opinion (2)/ that the ensuring transparency (3)/ in administration
is not so easy as we conceive. (4)/ No error (5).
24. A friend of mine (1)/ had been (2)/ in the U.S.A. for 25 years. (3)/ But presently he is in India only. (4)/ No error (5).
25. He bears (1)/ trials and tribulations in his life (2)/ patiently. (3)/ Never he has begged his kith and kin for help. (4)/ No error (5).
26. He wants to complete the project (1)/ before the stipulated date. (2)/ But he has hardly (3)/ enough money for the purpose. (4)/ No error (5).
27. The instructor said to the student, (1)/ “Adhere to any method, (2)/ Which (3) / helps you solve the problem”. (4)/ No error (5).
28. You should be planned (1)/ in allotting time. (2)/ Divide your time wisely between (3)/ studying, playing, and practicing music. (4)/ No error (5).
KEY WITH EXPLANATIONS
1-1; It should be ‘Vasu completed the assignment quickly’. Adverbs should be placed after the objects of the transitive verbs.
2-3; It should be ‘He should not have played’. In a compound verb ‘not’ comes after the first auxiliary.
3-2; Replace ‘some what’ with rather. ‘Some what’ here is not correct.
4-3; ‘here’ should be placed before ”on Thursdays”. The adverb of place ‘here’ should precede the adverb of time ”on Thursdays”.
5-4; Replace ‘fairly’ with ‘rather’. ‘Fairly’ is used before only ‘positive adverbs’ and ‘positive adjectives’. It is not used for undesirable or things which are viewed with disapproval. In such cases, ‘rather’ should be used.
6-2; It should be ‘rich enough.’ The adverb ‘enough’ should be placed
after the word it qualifies.
7-4; It should be ‘laughed heartily’. Adverbs qualifying intransitive verbs should be placed immediately after them.
8-4; It should be ‘explained their meanings vividly’. Adverbs qualifying the transitive verbs should be placed after their objects.
9-3; It should be ‘I always warn him’. Adverbs of Time such as always, ever, seldom, often, sometimes, never, frequently, generally,
rarely and merely should be placed before the verbs they qualify.
10-2; It should be ‘has often praised’.
11-5; No error. When a verb consists of an auxiliary and a principal verb, the adverb qualifying it should be placed between the auxiliary and the principal verb.
12-1; It should be ‘he merely approached the Minister’. ‘Merely’ should be placed before the verb it qualifies.
13-4; Delete ‘not’. If there are two negatives in a sentence, it
gives a positive meaning. Two negatives can be used only to express a positive meaning.
14-1; It should be ‘Scarcely any one’. Two negatives should not be used in the same sentence unless we wish to make an affirmation. In this sentence, ‘Scarcely’ is negative and ‘no one’ is also negative. Hence ‘any one’ should be used.
15-1; It should be ‘very tidily’. Adjectives should not be used for adverbs.
16-2; Replace ‘firstly’ with ‘first’. While enumerating, we should say ‘firstly; secondly’, ‘thirdly’ etc., The word ‘first’ itself is
an adverb.
17-1; It should be ‘seldom or never’. ‘Seldom or never’ means ‘very rarely’. Hence this is the correct expression.
18-2; It should be ‘but. ‘Else’ should always be followed by ‘but’.
19-1; It should be ‘I do not remember ever’. ‘Never’ should not be used for ‘not’.
20-1; Replace ‘so weak’ with ‘very weak’. The Adverb of Degree ‘so’ must not be used absolutely (i.e. without a correlative).
21-2; It should be ‘very high’. The adverb ‘too’ means ‘more than
enough’. It should not be substituted for ‘very’ or ‘much’. ‘Too’ is usually ‘to’ or ‘for’.
22-1; It should be ‘very’ instead of ‘much’. ‘Much’ is used before Past Participles and adjectives. Very is used before Present
Participles.
23-5; No error As + adjective positive degree + as is used in affirmative sentences. So + adjective in positive degree + as is used in negative sentences.
24-4; Instead of ‘presently’, write ‘at present’. ‘At present’ means ‘at the present time’. ‘Presently’ means ‘shortly’.
25-3; It should be ‘Never has he begged’. When the words ‘never’, ‘seldom’, ‘rarely’, ‘neither’, ‘nor’, ‘not only’ and ‘no sooner’ are at the beginning of sentences, the verb comes before the subject as in the interrogative sentences.
26-3; Write ‘scarcely’ instead of ‘hardly’. ‘hardly’ refers to degree while ‘scarcely’ refers to ‘quantity’.
27-3; Replace ‘which’ with ‘that’. In relative sentences, ‘any’ is usually followed by ‘that’, not by ‘which’ or ‘who’.
28-5; No error. The word ‘divide’ is used with ‘between’.