OXFORD LEARNER''''S GRAMMAR 7 pptx

The best position may also depend on how long the adverbial is - whether it is a single word or a longer phrase.. But adverbs of manner and some adverbs of degree go after the second aux

185 The order of adjectives

speaker's opinion, come firs! Words expressing purpose or ty e such as

electromc, come later

B We sometmes use two nouns together

the town wall lhe Finance Minister winter evenings

Here we usc the nouns town and finance like adjectives, to modify wall and

m inister When we use both adjective and noun modifiers, then the

adjectives come firs!

th e old lawn wall the former Finance Minister dark wint e r evenings

C The different kinds of modifier usually go in the following order An adjective

in Group I comes first, and a word from Group 1 J goes closest to the noun

1 Opinion: beautiful, ni c e, wonderful, excellent, awful, etc

2 Size: long, large, small, short, tall etc

3 Most other Qualities: clear, busy, famous , friendly soft qUiet, etc

5 Shape: round , square, fal , chin , wide, narrow, etc

6 Colour: bJue, red, while , black etc

7 Participle forms: running m issing, covered, broken , etc

8 Origin: British, lealian , American, C hinese, etc

9 Material: sandy wooden , bric paper plastic, etc

10 Type: electronic, human , chemicaJ, domestic, urban,

m oney (problem s), etc

II Purpose: alarm (clock), tennis (cou.rl) , walking (boots),

etc Here are some examples

an old cardboard box (age + material)

a German industrial company (origin + type)

a large black pocket handkerchief (size + colour + type)

plastic packaging mmerials (material + purpose)

a small square room (size + shape)

a new improv ed formula (age + parriciplc form)

a nice , friendly person (opinion + quality)

two excellent public t ennis co urts (opinion + type + purpose)

In general, the modifier closest lO the noun has the closest association with the noun For example, in the phrase cwo excellent public tennis courts, the

word tennis is closely associated with cou rts, whereas excellent does not have

sllch a clear connection with courts

The rules are not a solute, and the order can sometimes be different For example, we sometimes prefer to put a short adjective before a long one

a big horrible building

NOTE

Otd ami YOll ng referring lO people o e n co me next to the noun

a dig nifie d old lady a pal e young mall

Here old and you ng arc not stro ngly s tre sse d

253

Adjectives

o A modifier can l:onsist of a rwo ~wo rd compound

a powerful high ~speed electric drill

an IB~carat gold cha in

an old pale blue football shirt

E Sometimes we use two adjectives of simil r meaning, for example two from Group 3 in C When thiS happens, the shorter one orten comes first

a bright, c heerful sm il e a soft , comfortable chair

Sometimes (\"0 different orders are both possihle

a peaceful, happy place I a happy, peaceful place

V' le often put a comma (or a short pause in speech) between two adjectives o( simil r meaning

F We sometimes put and between two attributive adjectives

a s oft, comfortable chair I a soft and comfortable c hair

We can do this when the adjectives have a similar meaning But we do not normally use and be(\veen adjectives with different kinds of meanings

a beautiful sandy beach (opinion + material)

We use and when the adjectives refer to different parts of something

a black and white sweater (panly black and partly while)

We use but when me adjectives refer to two qualities in contrast

a cheap but effecrive solution

G The order of predicative adjectives is less fixed than the order before a noun

We normally use mId before the last adjective

The chair was soft and co mfortable

We were a/l cold, wet, and hungry

An adjective expressing an opinion often comes las t

The city is old alld beautiful

We can use bllt when the two quaJiries are in contrast

The so/ulion is cheap bllt e ffective I cheap and effective

Nom

In informal English we ca n u se nice andllovely and before an adjective expressing a desirable qualilY·

The r oom UHIS nic e and warm (= nice ly warm)

186 Gradable and ungradable adjectives

254

Most adjectives are gradable - they express qualities which can exist in different grades or degrees For example, we can talk about different degrees

187 Amusing and amused i ntere s t ing and Interested

of warmth, difficulty, or tiredness

/t ' s very/extremely warm today

I thought th e test questions were fa i r l y difficull

f feel a bit tired now

Some adjectives are ungradable Many of them express qualities such as

magnificence or perfection, which cannot exist in different degrees We do not normally usc words like /Jery, extr eme ly,fairl y, or a bit with an ungradable adjective, but we can use absolutely

It 's absolutely boiling toda y I feel absolutely exhaus t ed now

With some ungradable adjectives we can also use com pletely or totally You're asking so mething that's comple t ely i mpossible , I'm afraid

It' s a totally incredible sw ry

Here arc some examples of ungradable adjectives

amazed delighted extraordinary impos s ible terrible amazing determined false incomprehensible terrific appalled devas t ated fascinated incredible terrified appalli n g devastating fascinating ludicrous terrifying

brilliant enormous gorgeous marvellous thrilling certain essential horrible pe r fect useless

We can lise really and so with both gradable and ungradable adjectives

The food was r ea ll y good/so good

The food was r eally de l icious /s o delicious

TIP

Don't use very with an ungradable adjective like freezing or ex c ellent

Say I t 's freezing or ]t 's very cold but NOT ~e" freezing

Say I t's exce llent or /t"s very good but NOT It's l;Ie" exeelielH

NOTE

a So m e t ime s in informal s peech, rather , fairly , r pretty is used with a n

ungradabJe adjective

The task ts fairly ir1l1mssible I feel pretty ex haus ted flOW

h For th e meanmg of quite \vith a gr<ldab le lungradablc adjectiv e, > 1 97

~7 Amusing and amused, inte r est i ng and

interested

Compare the adjectives ending in ·ing and -ed

255

Adjectives

The film made us laugh a lot Il was

very amusing

I talked to an interesting man

I find these statistics confusing

This weat.her is depressing, isn't it?

Adjectives ending in -ing express the

idea that something affects us A film

is amusing because it makes us

Adjectives ending in -ed express the

feelings we have about something

We are amused when we see something funny We can also be

imerested, exciled , or bored

exciting, or boring

~ - - -

-Some pairs of adjectives like this are:

alarming, amazing, amusing,

annoying, boring, confusing,

depressing, disappointing, exciting,

exhausring, fa sci nating, frightening,

interesting, pleasing, puzzling,

relaxing, shocking, surprising,

thrilling, tiring, worrying

alarmed, amazed, amused, annoyed, bored, confused, depressed, disappointed, excited, exhausted, fascinated, frightened, interested, pleased, puzzled, relaxed, shocked, surprised, thrilled, tired, worried

A The poor, the disabled, etc

Z56

We can use the + adjective to refer to some groups of people in SOCiety

In those days the poor had a miserable time

(= poor people in general)

There are more churchgoers among the old than among the young

( = old/young people in general)

We can also say poor people, old people, etc with the same general meaning

In those days poor people had a miserable time

\.vhen we want to talk about a specific person or group of people, we use

a young man, the old people, etc

A young man ha s been arrested ( N T A-yottng-has- )

The old people have gone on a coach trip (NOT -Fhe-oId-httfte - gOtte- )

The + adjective takes a plural verb

The old are more frequently ill than lhe rest of the population

But we do not add an ·s to the adjective (NOT t-Ite-t!ld3 )

Some adjeclives and participle forms llsed in this way are: hlin.d, dead, deaf, disabled, disadvQlllaged, elderly, handicapped, homeless, hungry, tilling,

middle-aged, old, poor, privileged, rich, sick, Sighted, strong, underprivileged, unempLoyed, weak, young

188 The + adjective

The adjective can have an adverb in front of it

the very rich lhe severely disabled lhe partially s ighted

Some adjectives normally have an adverb

the more/less fortunale the mentally ill

NOTE

a In a few wntCX IS , the + participle can mean a specific group of peopl e rather than people in gencwl

The injured were ltlkc tl to JlOspiUlf

It can also mean one specific p erSf)ll

The accu sed wa s found not gw/cy

b There are a few wor d s Ihal can come after alan referring to a specific person

Now a s uper s tar , size was all unknown only cwo years ago

c There are a few adje c ti e s that we ca ll use as nouns, such as colour words T he}' can

furlll a plural with -5

a black (= a black person) the Greens (= supporters of the green movemcnl)

d Some adJe cllves of nationality can be llsed w ith the 10 mean a whole people , e g the French, the Swiss

There are some adjectives and participle forms that we can use after th e tD refer to things in general which have a particular quality

Lots of people believe in the supernatural

It was a journey into the unknown

The supernatural means 'supernatural happenings in general'

Here the + adjectivel participle takes a singular verb

Th e new takes ouer from the old

Some words used in this way are absurd, mysterious, new, old, ordinary , supernal ural, unexplained, unknown

There are a few words that we can use after the with a more specific meaning

Arid lhell, sudden ly , the unexpected happened (= something that was unexpected)

Hav e you heard the latest? (= the latest news)

We fear the worst, but we must hope for the best

At this lime of year / leave home in the dark

I'm sorry, but you're asking the impossible

We use the + adjective/participle + thing to talk about a particular aspect of a situation This pattern is rather informal

The good thing about friends is that you can choo s e them , finlike relatives The annoying thing (aboUl it) was that there were empty s eats in tile

s tadium , but they still wouldn't lel us in

We cannot leave out thing here

In Ihis pattern with thing we can use many difFerent words Some of these

are: amazing, annoying, awful, best , funny, good, greal, interesting, nice, odd, remarkable, sad, strange, worst

257

Adverbials

189 Introduction

A Each of these sentences contains onc or morc adverbials

Slowly we were movin g forwards

The queue s tretched around the block

We have now been wailing forty minutes

Ellent uaily we reach ed lhe e ntrance

Very ofwn an adverbial is an extra clement which could be left out For example, we could say W e reached the e ntran ce without an adverbial Putting

in an adverbial adds something to the meaning It tells us how, when, or where something happe ed

B An adverbial can be a single word or a phrase A common kind of adverbial is

a pre ositional phrase

Th e queue stre tched arollnd the block I wish I'd stayed at home

An adverbial can also be a simple adverb e.g fon l.l ards patiently There can

be an adverb of degree (e.g ve1Y) in front of the adverb

The queue was movin g forwards Ev e ryon e waited very patiently

An adverbial can also be a noun phrase, although this is less frequent

We hav e been wai li ng forty minutes f heard th e n ews last week

TIP

Try not to confuse the words adverb and adverbia l

An adverb is a word class, like a noun or adjective An adverb is a word like softly , carefull y , now, today, there, ce rtainly

An adverbiaJ is a sentence element, like a subject or object It can be a

Single-word adverb, or it can be a phrase Examples are badly, maybe,

in a s trange way, at the moment, outside the college, this morning

C Sometimes an adverbial is necessary to complete a sentence > 4

The queue stretched around the blo c

The first p erformallc e is tomorrow

J put the ti cke t s in my wallet

Here the sentence would not make sense without the a verbial

D Some adverbials can also be used to modify other parts of the sentence For

258

example, an adverbial can come after a n ull :> 143

The performan ce yesterday was brilliant

The car in front of us was going very s l owly

The annoufl ce melll last week ca me as a shock to all of u s

190 The position of adverblal s

An adverb of degree can mOdify an adjective or an adverb > 196

The performance was quite good

Every one wail ed very pati e ntl y

A Introduction

The position of adverbials is a complicated area of grammar There is usually

morc than one possible place in a Sentence where an adverbial can go

Basically, it can go at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a

sentence

Front position: Naturally , we were hoping for good new s

Mid position: We were naturally hoping for good new s

End position: We were hoping for good n ews, naturally

For more details about each of these positions, > 8-F

Where we put an adverbial epends on a number of factors, such as what

type of adverbial it is - manner, or time, or frequency, and so on For details

about the position of the different types of adverbial, > 193-202

The best position may also depend on how long the adverbial is - whether it

is a single word or a longer phrase The choice is often a matter of style: for example, a long phrase goes better at the beginning or end of a sentence

rather than in the middle

I can ' t answer that qu es tion in a satisfactory way

( No ' r f-crm 'f in a smis.facttwy-way-tt~l- h{t {-t ftte$fffJn )

Another factor is the information structure of the sentence We sometimes

choose to put an adverbial in front position ro link with the previous sen/cnce

or to give greater emphasis to the adverbial > 34A

Th e man was taken to a police s tation There h e was sea r c h ed and found to

be carrying a quantity of heroin

I had a long wail In the end 1 gOl to see a do clO r

Sometimes (he choice of position can affect the meaning of a sentence

Clearly, h e didn ' t explain things (; It is clear that he didn't explain things.)

He did,, ' , explain thin gs clearly (:: He didn't explain things in a clear way.) NOTE

We s om c lim e s u se commas wilh adverhials Co mma s are m ore lik ely with lon ger phra s e s and wilh ce rtain I y es or adverbia l, such a s a Inuh a ver bial

B Front position

Front position is at the beginning of a clause

Sure enough, ther e was an enormou s qu e u e

Just wait a moment, c ould you?

After a while I got u s ed £0 the noi se of the traffi c

Most types of adverbial call go here

259

Adverbials

If there is a conjunction (e.g but, because), it comes before the adverbial in

front position

The noise of the traffic was terrib l e BUl aftrr a whil e J got u sed to il

We invest in shares because in the long ru~ their value w ill increase

We often put an adverbial In front position when it relates to what has gone before

We sLOppe d 10 ge t so m e p e tr ol And then the car wouldn't start

l'l l€ go t a bus) 1 week On Tuesday J have to go to London

For morc examples, :> 34A

C Mid pos i tio n

260

Mid position is close to the verb If there is an aux.iliary verb, the adverbial

usu lly comes immediately after it

Those kids are always hanging around th e s tr eets

The adverbial also comes immediately after the ordinary verb be

This camera is defillitely faulty

If there is a simplc·rcnse verb, the adverbial comes before it

We usually deal with the mail first

Here are some more examples of adverbials in mid position

(Auxiliary) (Otdinary Subject verb be) Adverbial (Verb)

I 've j ust had a cha t with Jill

Things will very soon star t to improlle

So m eone probably made 'the stOlY up

If there are two auxiliaries, then mid positionjs usually after the first one

I'v e just b ee n chatling to Jill

Things will s oon be looking up

But adverbs of manner and some adverbs of degree go after the second

auxiliary in mid position

We've be e n patient ly queuing for tickets

You cou ld have completely s poi led every thin g

NOTe

In a ques t ion Ihere is Inve rsion of su bject and aux.iliary before a n adverbial in mid position

fiaue you just had a chat with Jill?

How doe~ Mat/hew always look so sma rt ?

Here the adverbial rollows the s ubjecL

l

,

190 The pos ition of adverbials

D Phrases in mid position

Most types of adverbial can go in mid position Advcrbials in mid position arc

usually single-word adverbs, but a short phrase with an adverb of degree

su h as very, quite, or hardly is also possible

I would very much like to visit your CDum - ry

We hardly eller go out in lhe evenings

Must other kinds of phrase cannot go in mid position Compare these sentences

You always look smart (adverb in mid position)

You look sma rt all the lime (phrase in end position)

(NO T ¥(tu-all-the-time laak Sf1l8:1 t.)

But phrHses which are trulh adverbials, comment adverbials, or linking adverbials can sometimes go in mid position

Th e experiment has on the whole proved unsuccessful

This pattern is rather formal

E Mid position before an auxiliary

When there is an auxiliary verb, a mid-position adverb usually comes after the auxiliary > C

['v e always liked the Bealle s

You Ire obviously dying to make a sl an

But we sometimes put an adverb after the subject and before an auxiliary or before the ordinary verb be

1 always did lik e the Beatles

You obviously ARB in a bit of trouhle

This happens with emphatic do, or when the verb is stressed (o b vious l y ARE )_

Some adverbs such as truth adverbs usually come before a negative auxiliary

You obviously haven'l been lislening to me

It probably doesn't maller very much

Some adverbs can come before or after the negative auxiliary l.ook at these examples with really and deliberately

I really don't know the (.mswe r (I don't know at aiL)

I don't really know (h e answer (I am unsure.)

[ deliberately didn ' t leave (he compuler on (T left it off on purpose.)

I didn ' t deliberately leave the comp uter on (I left it on by mistake.) Luuk aL Lhe se examples where words arc left out after the auxiliary (wdl, do) Will you be going w th e party? , Yes, [ probably will

My husband u sually gets up early, but [ never do

Here the adverb comes after (he subject and before the auxiliary

An adverb also goes before hUlIe lO, used to, and oughe to

I never have to wail long for a bus

There definitely used to be a jo(){pmh through the woods

NOTE

With used to we can put the Hdverb afwr used, bill this is rather formal

There used definilely w he (1 jvolpfIlll through tile woods

26 1

Adverbials

F E nd p os iti on

Sometimes an adverbial comes at the end of a clause

II doesn't often min in t h e Sahara

Everyone waired very patie ntl y

I wish I'd stayed at home

Almost all types of adverbial can go in end position For details about more than one adverbial in end position, > 191

If there is an object, then the adverbial usually goes after it

1 wrapped the parcel ca r efully (NOT / wrapped ctlrejitHy-ffte-p<treel.l

We ' ll finish lhe joh next week (NOT Wt-H-{tttisft-.ne:xt-week-fflt!jttb )

But a short adverbial can go before a long object

I wrapped carefully all lhe glasses and ornaments

Here the adverb of manner can also go in mid position

J ca ref ull y wrapped all the glasses and ornaments

When there are two clauses, the position of the adverbial can affect

the meaning

They agreed immediately that th e goods would be r ep laced

(an immediate agreement)

They agreed that the goods would be replaced i m med i ately

(an immediate replacement)

TIP

Don't put an adverb in front of a short object

Say W e finish ed the job quickly, NOT Wt-jinishet1-qttie1<ly-the-job

191 Order of adverbials in end position

A Sometimes there is more (han one adverbial in end position Usually a

shorter adverbial goes before a longer onc

Sam waited impatiently outside the posr office

We sat indoors most of t he afte r noon

A policeman in spected the c ar t h oroug h ly i n a very officious man ner

B When there is a close lnk in meaning between a verb ana an adverbial then the adverbial goes directly after the verb For example, we usually put un adverbial of place next to go, come, ClC

f don't want to go to sch ool today

Why did you come home lale?

C Phrases of lime and place can go in either order

262

There was an accident l ast night Oil the by-pass

There was an a ccide m on the by-pass last night

192 Adverb forms

o Mi:lIlIler, lime, and place usually come before frequency

Sarah gets up e arl y occasionally

I can find my way around quit e eas ily , usuall y

The adverb of frequency can also go in front or mid position

Usually I ca n find my way a rou nd quite easily

I ca n usually find my way around quite easily

E When certain types of adverbial come in end position, we usually put them

last, as a kind of afterthought

Simo n has been delayed by th e traffic, perhaps (truth adverbial)

Someone handed tile money in at (h e police s lati on, incredibly

(comment ctdverbial)

I 've got a b i cycle I don' t ri de i t very often, how cue r (linking adverbiaJ) This happens more often in speech than in writing

A Look at these two examples

I' m going on holiday soon

I'm going on holiday shortly

Some adverbs, like soo n, have a form which is unrelated to other words Adverbs of this kind include always just, ofte n , neve r, perhaps, qu i te, racher,

se ld om, soo n, very

Many adverbs are formed from an adjective and · Iy , like shortly, which is

related to the adjective s hort

There are some spelling rules for adverbs ending in - I y

After a consonant, final y changes to i e.g easy -+ eas ily > 280A

With a consonant + I e , Ie changes to -Iy, e.g pr obab l e -+ probably > 278D The ending -i c changes to ically, e.g magic -+ magically > 278D

After II we add -y , e.g full-+ fully > 279B Note

B There arc some adjectives which end in - I y, e.g friendly We cannot add

another - 1) 1 (0 such an adjective Instead we can use a phrase with manner, way or fashi on

Adjective: We received a fri e ndly g r eet in g

Adverbial: They greewd us in a fri e ndly mann e r (NOT /1 i tJfltihlj )

Sometimes we can use anOther adverb formed fro;n an adjective of similar meaning

Adjective: That 's not very likely

Adverbial: That probably won', ha ppen

Some adjectives ending in - Iy are cosl ly, cowar dl y, friendly, likely , Ii IJely

l onely, lovely, s ill y, and ugly

263

Advcrbials

Participle forms stich as annoy in g and surprising form adverbs in - iy

Il was surprisirlgly cold for th e tim e of year

Rut we cannot usually form adverbs from participles ending in -ed

E l le ryone stared in astonishm e nt (

(NOT £tJerytme-staretl a518rtishedly ) t

The only exceptions are a few participles ending in - lell,

e.g excited, ex haU S led

T h e crowd s hout ed excitedly

C Some adverbs have the same form as adjectives

Adjective

Loui se caught the fast train

We didn't have a long wail

I had an early night

Adverb

The train was goi n g quite fast

We didn't hav e to wai t long

I we nt to bed e arly

Here are some more adverbs of the same kind

Th e man pointed th e gun straight at me

Can' t you s it still just Jar a minute?

The aircraft flew low over the town

H e th rew the ball high in the ai r

We were all trying hard not to laugh

For pahs of adverbs such as hard and hardly, > E

o Sometimes the adverb can be with or without I -ly In these examples there is

2 4

no difference in meaning, but it is more informal 10 leave out - I y

If you buy goods in bulk, you can se ll them cheap /c heaply

Do you h aue to talk so loud/loudly ?

Get there as quick/qui ck ly as you ca n

Go slow/slowly round this co rn er

Others are direct(/y), fair(/y), and tight(ly)

'A r e use the form without - l y only in frequent fombinations like talk l oud,

go s low , fly dir ect, or play fair With longer or less common expressions, we

use -ly

111e chairman cleared his th roat rather loudly

We TI red to ac t qui c kly :

NOTE

a Right a nd wrong ar e both adjectivl.'S and adverbs vf manner

I'll t ry to flo it right tll is time

Rig/lil y and wrongly express a comme nt

The care ta ker d ecided rightly to call the poli ce

b Fir:;! and la st arc botb adjectives an d adve rb s

Karen took first place/came first in tfle race

J-if'slly a nd lastl y a r e linking adv e rh s

First/Firstly , I'd like 10 thank you all for coming

192 Adverb forms

E There are some pairs such as hard and hardly which are both adverbs but

You de serve a rest he cause you'u e !.l.Jorked hard

It'll take hardly any litn e al all ( hardly any = almost no )

I often see my parents They Jive quite near

Beckham nearly scored, but his shot went just wide (:= almost)

I had to stay up late to finish my homework

I used to see a lot of Donna, but she hasn ' t been around lately (= recently)

The men raised their hands high in the air

The th eory is highly conlroversia i (= very)

How deep c an a submarine go?

The new tax is deeply unpopular (= very, intcnsely)

Employees of the airline trallel free

The prisoners can move around freely (= without being controlled)

The thing that annoys me most is that no one has apologized to me There may be a few showers, but it will be mostly dry (::: mainly)

For hardly expressing time, e.g we had hardly arrived when, , > 2380

F Hourly, daily , weekly, and rnolllhLy are formed from hour, day, etc They can

be either adjectives or adverbs

Adverb: The newsletter is publi s hed monthly

G Good is an adjective

I think it's a good design

W e ll is the equivalent adverb

/ Ihink the design works well

Well can also be an adjective meaning 'in good health'

Unfortunately my sister wasn ' t well enough to travel

flow are you?- Very well, lhank you.lFine, thank you

We often use well with a participle

The event was well organized

A well-built man in his t hirlie s came into the room

Other examples are: well-behaved , weLL-dressed, weLl-estahlished, welf-J e d, well-informed, well-meaning, well-preserved, weLL-timed

Sometimes we use good with a participle

Andrew is basically a good-natured person (lIe has a good nature.)

We do this with participles formcd from nouns, e.g good-hearted,

good - humoured, gOOd-tempered Note also good-looking

NOTE

The phrase all being tuelll if aU goes w e ll means ' if everything ! S all lighf'

We s hould amve lit abollt fiue o 'cl o k, all being weu'

265

Adverbials

193 Adverbials of manner

A Adjectives and adverbs

Look at these examples

Adjective

We're looking for a quick so lution

to the problem

Kate is fluent in Rus s ian

Try to mak e a sensible choice

An adjective comes hefore a nOlln

(e.g s olution ), or it is a complement

of be (is fluent)

Adverb

We want to solve the problel1'l quickly

She speaks Russian flu ently

Try to c hoo se sensibly

An adverb of manner comes after a verb (e.g c hoose) or after a verb + object (e.g so lve the problem )

Most adverbs of manner are formed from an adjective + -ly

Compare these different £)'pes of verb

Linking verb + adjective Action verb + adverb

(NOT He -mlt", eti-ptt/iff! )

A linking verb is a verb like be, s ee m , An action verb is a verb like listen ,

Some verbs can be either a linking verb or an action verb

Linking verb + adjective

The speake r looke d nervous

(looked = seemed/appeared)

TIle atmosphere grew tense

(grew = became)

The milk smelled funny

(smelled funny = had a funny

smell)

Action verb + adverb

He looked nervously around

(looked = directed his eyes)

(grew = increased in size)

S teve s melled the milk suspiciollsly (smelled = sniffed, used his nose)

B Prepositional phrases of manner

266

We can often use a prepositional phrase to express manner

f had (0 c hoos e my words ca r e full y / with ca r e

11le poli ce man in s p ec l e d lh e ca f officiously I in an officious manner

am', we di sc u ss IIli s sens ibly I in a sensible way?

T h e winning numb e r s ar e randomly cho sen/are chosen at random

194 Adverb.als of place and ti me

We can often use an adjective or adverb to intensify the meaning

I had to c hoo se my words wilh greatlconsiderable car e

Th e policeman in s p ected th e ca r in a very / an extrem e ly officious marmer

C Position of adverbials of manner

We pUI an adverbial of manner mostly in end position Here are some real examples from storieb

' I didn 't know whether to t ell yo u or not, ' s h e s aid anxiously

The s u.n sEill shone brightly on the quiet street

We continued our labours ill silence

A one·word adverb can sometimes come in mid position

1 quickly ran and got my coat

The adverbial can sometimes come in front position for emphasis

Gently fry the banana piec es

This is more common in writing than in speech The last two examples Clre from a novel and a cookbook

~ 94 Adverbials of place and time

A Position

Adverbials of place and time often go in end position

There has b ee n anoth er s hooting incident at a US high school

It's my brother's birthday tomorrow

A ferry was being repair e d last night after running aground in the Thames

The offi ce is cl osed for two weeks

For more than one adverbial in end position, > 191

Adverbials of place and time can also go in front position > 34A

We've got friends s taying till Friday And on Saturday my par en t s arrive

Here Saturday contrasts with Friday

Some short adverbials of time can go in mid pOSition

I've just remembered so m e thing We ' ll soon be home

These include: a lready, fJl once, finally, immediately, just (::::: a shan time ago),

no longer, now, recently, si n ce, soon, scifl, then, yesterday

Phrases of time and place can also come after a noun

The tenni s co urt s in the park aren ' t u sed very much

Exports last year broke all records

B Yet

We use yet to talk about something that is expecte

Have you found a job yet? N o, nol' yet

I gOI up lat e, I haven ' , had breakf as t yet

Yet comes at the end of a question or negative sta1ement

Adverbials

We can usc yet in mid position, but it is a Iinle formal

We have not yet rea c h e d a decision on the malter

Nail:

For ye t meaning ' but', :> 235A

eStill

We use still to talk about something going on longer than expected

I gOI up lat e, I'm still hOl J ing breakfast

Is your grandfather :;till working?

In positive statements and questions, still goes in mid position

In negative statements, scill goes before the auxiliary

The child still hasn't learned co read

This is more emphatic than The c hild hasn't {earned CO read yet

NOTE

a 511/1 tan go after a negil{lve auxiliary when we ex press su rpri se

You don ' l still use this old software do you?

This pattern is often followed by a question tag

b We ca n use still m front or e nd posillon to give It ex tra emphasis

You mean he' s 84 and ftilille ha s n't rellred 1

You meall Ife's 84 and he's working still!

o Already

We use already to talk about something happening sooner than expected

I got up early I've already had breakfa s t ,

Have you already r e plied to the letter ? - Yes, 1 answered it straight away

We use already mainly in mid position in posi9ve statements and questions

Al ready in front or end position has more emphasis

Already our n ew bos s has made big changes

Is ie lunch time already? How lime flies

Already can also go before a stressed auxiliary

When are you going to reply to the lett e r? I already HAVE replied lO it

E No longer, any more, and any longer

26B

We use no longer to talk about something corring to an end It goes in mid pOSition

J'm afraid the person concerned no longer l'vorks h ere

These products are no longer manufactured

No longer is a little ~ormal

We can also use a negative sentence with anj more or any longer in

end position,

They don't make these products any more

l'tn not going to waie here any long e r

195 Adve rbi als of frequency

We normally usc the adverbs long and far only in questions and negative statements

Have you bee" waiting long ?

It' s not far from h ere to the mOfOrway

In posilive statements we use a long time/a long way

I had to wail a long tim e / I had to wait ages

It's a long way from here to Vladivostock

But we use long and far after coo , so, and as, and before enough

The speech wen! 011 too long

I'm annoyed because I've had 10 wait so long /wait such a long lime

I don ' t live as far from the office as you do

Let's go back now We've walked far enough

NOTE

We can also use the com parativ e and super lnl ive forms of long and far In po si ll ve

statements

The Journey takes longer in the rush hour

I lille furthest from the uffice You aUli/le Ilearer than I do

G After and afterwards

We do not often use after as an adverb VVe usc afterwards or after thaI

I'll video the talk, so we can play it back afterwards

It's extra time now, and after thaI it'll be penallie s

But we can say the day after and the week after

I ordered a CD, and it a r rived the day after / the next day / a day later

I'm on holiday next week, so I'Ll see you the week after

Soon after and so on afterwards are both possible

The mall was taken to hospital and died soo n after / soon afterwards

95 Adverbials of frequency

A An adverbial of frequency says how often something happens

1 sometimes go out and get a take-away meal

The comp ul er crashes occasionally

Generally there'll be a party somewhere all a Saturd ay

Here are some common adverbs of fequency

someti lrl eS, occasionally seldom, rareiy not of len never, not ever

269

Adverbials

Seldom and rarely are a little formal

We seldom/rarely travel abroad

Often wilh the ncg;ltivc is neutral in style

We dOIl't often travel abroad

B An adverb of frequency usua y goes in mid position

The bus doesn ' t usually SlOp here

I ca n never open the se packets

It's always bu s y on a Friday

I often wonder who buys these things

C In a negative sentence, sometimes, occasiunally, and frequently go before the auxiliary in mid position

It's often cruwded in here You sometimes can 'I get a cable

Always and ever go after the negative auxiliary

I haven ' t always done thi s for a Uving , you know

As a general rule, often, normally, usuaJly , and generally go after the negative auxiliary

I don', often ride my bike 10 college

NOTE

Often, normally, u ~u(l.lIy, and generally can sometimes come before the negative auxiliary

The photocopier is " '( often working (= The photocopier is seldom working.)

The ph otocopier often isn ' t working (; The photocopier is often out of order.)

D Somp adverbs of frequency can go in front or end position

Normally I tip taxi drivers

We all make mistakes sometimes

These adverbs are normally usually, generally, frequently, sometimes,

and occasionally

Often can go in end position

Doctors get called out at night quite often

This happens especially with very or quite

A lot meaning 'often' goes in end position (and not mid pOSition)

I missed I.all my schooling I was ill a lot

The adverbs daily , weekly, etc go in end position

Are you paid weekly or monthly?

In instructions, always and never go in front position

Never try to adjust the machine while it is sw it c hed all

NOTE

For !lever, se ldom and rarely in front position with inversion of subject and auxiliary > lOF

Never have J felt betler

E Never is a negative word meaning 'not ever'

1 wOljld never do a Ihing like that (= I wouldn't ever do it.)

We never ask for yo ur password (::: We don't ever ask for your password.)

270

196 Adverbs of degree

We use eve r mainly in questions

Have you ever done any ballroom dancing?-No, nev e r

But we can also use ever with negative words such as not or hardly

I wouldn't ever do a thing like that

You hardly ever buy me flowers

We do not normally use ever in positive statements

I always buy a lottery ticket ( NOT f-ettet' · -huy-tt-ittttery-tieket.l

Ever can add emphasis to a negative

No one ever said that to me before_

Nothing ever happen s in this place_

I never ever want to see lhat awful man again

We can also use ever in a condition or a comparison

If you ever feel like a chat just drop in

The river was higher than I'd ever seen it

NOTE

If ever can go before the subject

II ever you /t.'eJ like a cliat , just drop in

F We can also use a phrase with every, most, or some to express frequency

Ellery summer we all go sailing together

The postman calls most days

Some evenings we don't have the television on at all

These phrases can go in front or end position

We can also use once , twice, three times, etc

The committee meets once a month

Two tablets to be taken three times a day

The car has already been repaired several times_

The!;e phrases usually go in end position, but they can go in front position for emphasis

Seve1l days a week we get lorries thunder ing past the building_

NOTE

Other phrases expressing frequency include as a rule (= normally), from rime to time

(= occasionally), and lJowand then ( = occasionally)

As a rule, Monday isn't a very busy day

Interest rates may be changed from time to lime

196 Adverbs of degree

A Modifying an adjective or adverb

We can usc an adverb of degree before an adjective

/t's a very simple idea

I get so bored with nothing to do

I think so, but I'm not absolute ly certain

It's getting a bit hOl in here

For the use of these adverbs with gradabJe and ungradable adjectives, > 166

271

Adverbials

We can also use an adverb of degree before another adverb

YOll co uld improlJe your performan ce quite easily

f'I/ have to decide fairly soon

I Iwrdly elJer see Kale nowadays

Here are some adverbs of degree

terribly (informal)' too, very fairly, pretty (informal), quite (= fairly> 197), rather, somewhat

a bit (informal) a little slightly

hardly, scarcely not at all

as, less, least, more, most, so

We can use a fraction or percentage

I still reel half asleep

The foreca.H WaJ ninety per cent accurate

B More details about adverbs of degree

272

After a phrase with very, we can add indeed for emphasis

The customer was red in the face He was very angry indeed

Awfully can go with desirable qualilies as well as undesirable ones

Thank you very much Tlral's aWfully kind of you

You mustlhink me awfully stupid

Somewhat, a little, a bil, and slighrly do nut usually go with desirable qualities We tend to use them to refer to undesirable aspects

These diagrams are a bit confusing

(BUT NOT :ntese diagfflmJ al e tl bil dear ,)

The journey was somewhat stressful

(BUT NO r 'fhe-jourl1€) wm SOll1elth'lfll elljo)'able.)

BlIt we can use an adjective expressing something desirable if it is in the

comparative form

The resl of [he journey was somewhat more enjoyable,

We can also usc nol very to express a low degree

These diagrams aren't very clear

The journey wasn't very enjoyable

We often use nol very in a negative judgement

The photos aren't very good

This is more usual than The photos aren't good or The photos are bad

196 Adverbs of degree

At all can go in end position, or it can go before the word it modifies

I didn', feel nervous at all I ' didn ' t f ee l at all nervous

NOT! :

a Real can be used in s tead of really especially in in fo r mal American English

Ie felt real good to have a shower

b In mformal English we can use ellat in s tead of so w h en we a r e making a cump, ll i s on

Maybe th e idea isn ' t so silly I thai s illy afrer all (= nOI as s illy as I thoughl )

C Modifying a comparative or a superlative

Some adverbs of degree can come before a comparative adjective or adverb

Tllis gadget makes the job much e a sie r

We'll h ave co mov e a bit qui c ker if we ' re going lO get there on tim e

Our pay rise is so small chat we 're no beller off/we aren't any better off

We can use a bit a little, a laC , any, mu c h, no, rather , s lightly somewhat,

and very much

With a superlative we can use eas ily or by far

This i s easily the most popular style

We offer by far the b es t v alue

By far can go in end position

We offer the best value by far

NOTE

Before as we can usc lwice , th ree limes , four Urne s, ere ,

Tile winner gOI twic e as many VOles as llie nomer - up

Tile new mall will be five tim es as big a t tile old onc

We can a l so u sc three times, four time s, etc b efore a co mp arat i ve

Tile new mall wi ll be jive limes bigg e r tllan ti, e old o u e

D Modifying a verb

VIe can use an adverb of degree to modify a verb

Do you really want to be successful in life?

We were rather hoping 10 hav e a look around

The doorman absolutely r efused to l e t us in

Th e suitcase was so heavy I could hardly lift it

In mid position we can use absolutely a lm ost co mpl e t e l y, Izardl y, just nearl y ,

quile, rather, really, sca r ce l y , s li g htly , and tocally,

'We often use an adverb of degree before a passive participle

Th e c ar was badly oomaged in lil t! ac c ident

Our sc h e dul e has b ee n comple t e l y disrupted by th e delays

Almost, just, and nearly go berore a negative auxiliary

I just don't see what th e problem is

Really can also go here > 1911E

Absolutely, co mpletely, rath e r and lOcally can go in either end position or

mid position

1 absolutely agree , I I agree absolutely

I comp l e tely forgot the tim e I I forgot the time comp l etely

273

Adverbials

Some adverbs go only in end position

First impressions maller a lot

I miss you lerribly

These are a bil , a little , a lot , awfully, more, (the) most, somewhat,

and terribly

We can use much or very much in a negative sentence or a question

I didn't enjoy the meal much I very much ,

But in a positive sentence we use very much and not much on its own

I enjoyed the meal very much

(NO T i-ffljoyeti-tite-Iftffil-mtteh )

NOTE

a Very much usually goes in end positio In rather formal English it can go in mid poliition

I would very much lik e to ac c ept your offer

b Before a paSSIve particlple we can usc either mu c h or very much

Politicums are generally (very) much distrusted by the public

E Modifying a preposition

Some adverbs of degree can modify a preposition

The offi c es are right in the centre of lown

The way Polly was behaving seemed very oul of character

I walked slralgllt irrlO a lamp-post

For more examples, > 2080

F Modifying a quantifier

274

We can use these combinations of adverb and quantifier

very/ so/ too + many/ much/few / little

Very few people have legs exacrly the same length

There are so many different products on the market

I've got 100 much work to do

such/rather/quite + a lOI (oj)

I've made such a lot of mistakes

There are rather a lot of dishes to wasil up

quite + a few l a bit (of!

There are quite a few dishes to wash up

liost quite a bit of money

almost/nearly + all/every

Almost all the chairs were occupied

There seems to be a plane crash nearly every week

hardly any

There ' s hardly any difference between the two designs