ADVERBS

 Look at the sentences

(i) He wrote neatly

(ii) This place is very beautiful

(iii) She pronounced the word quite correctly


The underlined words are adverbs. An adverb is a word, which often modifies the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.


Things to recall and remember :    * Kinds of adverbs and usage



Use an adverb to write another sentence about the situations.

It was an accident.                         He did it accidently.

His laugh was wicked.                    He laughed ___________.

She is very polite.                          She behaves ___________.

They wear different clothes.            They dress ___________.

He is good at singing.                     He sings ___________.

It was easy for him to win.              He won ___________.

She was happy.                             She laughed ___________.

adverbial clause of time

GRAMMAR FOCUS 

In all the sentences above each has a main clause and an adverbial clause of time, having one of the following as conjunction: when, while, until, whenever, before, as soon as, after.


In sentence 1, ‘when’ is used to talk about two events that happen at the same time, sometimes if one causes the other.

e.g. When you press the button, the door opens automatically.



In sentence 2, ‘while’ is used to show two longer actions that go on at the same time.

e.g. While I was reading my lesson, all others at home were watching TV.



In sentence 3, ‘until’ is used to say how far away a future event is.

e.g. I was reading the newspaper in the library until my friend joined me.


In sentence 4, ‘whenever’ is used to denote the action repeatedly occurring.

e.g. Whenever my friend called me over phone, I was not able to be at home to receive it.



In sentence 5, ‘before’ is used when the action in the main clause continues until the time represented in the adverbial clause.

e.g. My friend used to live with me before he got a transfer to Madurai.



In sentence 6, ‘after’ is used to denote two separate actions taking place one after the other.

e.g. After you switch on the computer, press ENTER key.



In sentence 7, ‘as soon as’ is used to mean ‘immediately after’.

e.g. As soon as I turned the ignition key, the engine started.

Adverbs of indefinite frequency

GRAMMAR FOCUS

Adverbs of indefinite frequency say in an indefinite way how often something happens.

e.g. I regularly do pranayama.

Adverbs of indefinite frequency are: usually, normally, regularly, occasionally, never, often, always, seldom, etc.

Adverbs of definite frequency are those that say definitely as to how often something happens.

e.g. Our family attends mass in the church every week.


There’s another class of adverbs called degree adverbs. In the questionnaire in B we use the adverbs never, rarely, sometimes, often and always for assessing the degree of frequency, if required, by assigning values to them in terms of numbers, (as given above) for some research purposes.

Another class of degree adverbs are very, too, extremely, quite, etc., which can be used before adjectives, verbs or other adverbs.

e.g. 1. The students are sad to hear about the fire accident in a school.

How sad are they?

They are extremely sad.

e.g. 2. Geetha will get a state rank in the public exam.

Are you sure?

I am quite sure.

How to use Adjectives and adverbs etc...

Adjectives and adverbs

Business is going from bad to worse. (deteriorate further)

They always do things in a big way. (on a large scale)

The government has taken a very hard line (not giving in) against illegal quarrying.

Orders for the new product are coming in thick and fast. (in large numbers)


Nouns

How can any one make ends meet (manage with the money) with just Rs.2000/- a month?

Your son’s behaviour is a matter of concern. (something to worry about)

The name sounds familiar but I can’t call her face to mind. (recall something from memory; recognise)



Nouns and adjectives

My uncle loves to tell us how to play cricket. He is an armchair expert.
(one who gives advice in an area in which he was not actively involved)

Ravi is our sincere employee. He has had a clean slate (a past record without discredit) for over twenty years.



Idioms and Prepositions 

The policeman went near the damaged car to have a look at close quarters. (very near)

r. Jacob is at the helm (in charge) of affairs in this hospital.



Verbal Idioms

No one can make a break even (make no profit or loss) in the first year of business.

Because of the steep rice in prices, people living on pension feel the pinch. (feeling unpleasant change in one’s standard of living)



Idiomatic Pairs

Let us settle the bill for the damage fair and square. (in a fair way)

I can hear you over phone loud and clear. (very clearly)

By and by (as time goes by) he will realise that my going to Delhi was the right decision.

Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are verbs that consist of two or three words. The first word is a verb and it is followed by an adverb or a prepositions or both. These adverbs or prepositions are sometimes called particles. In some cases it is easy to guess the meaning of the phrasal verb.

e.g.     *  I cannot put up with his behaviour any more. - tolerate

           * Nobody could quarrel with your conclusion. - oppose

Do not hang around here. - move with no aim They left Iraq before the war broke out. - started suddenly Generally when the verbs are transitive (they take an object) the phrasal verb is separable and the object can be between the verb and particle or after the particle.

e.g.      * He tore up the letter.

           * He tore the letter up.   

How to use the words Bark , Date, Tear, Bank and File as Adverb

Note: The following words may be used as verbs, nouns and/or adjectives or adverbs.

1. bark:
The barks of certain trees are used as medicine. (noun)
Dogs bark at strangers. (verb)

2. date:
Dates are good for health. (noun)
Can you postpone the meeting to a later date? (noun)

3. tear:
When she heard that she had won the first prize she had tears in her eyes.
(noun)
He usually tears all letters after reading them. (verb)

4. bank:
Madurai is on the banks of the Vaigai. (noun)
Most banks in this area are computerised. (noun)
It is unfortunate that most students bank on market guides while preparing
for their examinations. (verb)

5. file:
Where is my personal file? (noun)
File all these papers alphabetically. (verb)

6. sign:
Did you notice the sign? (noun)
Sign the papers. (verb)

7. leave:
Can you please grant me medical leave for ten days? (noun)
Please leave the hall immediately after the programme. (verb)

8. live:
This is a live telecast. (adjective)
Not many people live in extremely dry areas. (verb)

9. play:
The play was suspended because of rain. (noun)
Hamlet is considered the best play of Shakespeare. (noun)
Children love to play for long hours. (verb)

10. train:
The train was late by two hours. (noun)
Students trained in communication skills face interview boards confidently.
(verb)

TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS:

Look at these sentences.

• I saw a film
• She is arranging the flowers
• The dog bit a boy.

The words a film, the flowers and a boy are the ‘objects’ of the verbs saw, is arranging, and bit.
A verb which takes an object is called a transitive verb.

Now look at these sentences.

• The child is sleeping
• She sat down.
• He sneezed.

The verbs is sleeping, sneezed and sat down do not have objects.

A verb which does not take an object is called an intransitive verb.

Several verbs can be used as both transitive and intransitive.

Transitive	Intransitive
Latha started the quarrel.	The meeting started on time
I opened the door.	The library opens at 10 a.m
The government increased the price of petrol	The water level steadily increased.
They broke the window panes.	The pencil broke into two.