Adverb in Dictionary

An adverb is the invariable part of the sentence that the meaning of the verb can modify an adjective or another adverb or a whole sentence. For example, “I arrived well,” “We must wake up early.”

Semantically expresses circumstances of place, time, mode, quantity, order, doubt, among others, and its main function in the sentence context is that of circumstantial complement, for that reason it can answer questions such as where, how? and when?

On the other hand, morphologically the adverb is invariable in gender and number.

The word adverb derives from the Latin adverbium, which is formed by the prefix ad- (towards or together), verbum (word or verb), and the suffix -ium.

Classification of adverbs

Type Meaning Examples
Of place They express special circumstances. here, there, there, here, there, near, far, in front, in front, behind, inside, in, out, up, over, down, under, where, where.
Of time They express temporary circumstances. today, yesterday, tomorrow, afternoon, early, soon, never, now, then, while, before, after, last night, then, always, well.
So They indicate qualities, manners or clarify those of the adjective. good, bad, well, such, slowly, quickly, deliberately, even, as, worse, better, and adverbs finished in-mind.
Quantity They express quantitative modifications. much, little, something, nothing, very, fed up, too much, half, half, quite, more, less, almost, just, how much, what, so, so much, everything.
Of affirmation They are used to affirm. Yes, certainly, of course.
Denial They are used to deny. no, never, never, neither, nothing.
Of doubt They serve to express doubt or uncertainty. Maybe, maybe, maybe, possibly.

Degrees of the adverb

There are two types of degrees of adverbs:

Comparative degree: to compare two or more things. For example, “Carlota walks slower than Juan,” “he arrived early as his colleague.”

Superlative degree: it can be absolute and the ending is added – very / – very good or – bad / – err. For example, “Ramón arrived very late,” and relative adding to the adjective an adverb of quantity, such as, “his daughter is the sweetest.”

Adverbial phrases

Adverbial phrases are words formed by nouns or adjectives, with or without a proposition, which are equivalent to adverbs in their meaning and in their syntactic position. They are divided into different classes:

Latinismo: a priori, a posteriori, in vitro, ex aequo, ipso facto, among others.

Locutions that make adverbial sense: knowingly, on foot together, in the dark, occasionally, among others.

Propositional groups: functionally equivalent to the adverb as, blindly, in the dark, in a big way, upside down, with everything, in summary, finally, among others.

Adverbialized adjectives: high, low, clear (with verbs such as say, speak, sing); long and tended (with the verb to speak); Of course (with verbs such as seeing, understanding, explaining); firm, strong, fast (with verbs like walking, giving, hitting, stepping on), among others.

Adverbs examples

Below are some examples of adverbs:

  • Maria works far. (Adv. Of place)
  • I ‘m not at home yet. (Adv. Of time)
  • In this exam I went better. (Adv. Mode)
  • quite like soup. (Adv. Of quantity)
  • Actually I liked the book. (Adv. Of affirmation)
  • No I like your attitude. (Adv. Of denial)
  • Luis may not come today. (Adv. Of doubt)