What are adverbs?
What are adverbs? Adverbs describe verbs.
Adjective describe nouns, as in Sam is slow. (Slow describes the noun Sam)
Adverbs describe verbs, as in Sam drove slowly. (Slowly describes the verb drove)
There is the word verb inside of adverb.
Drove is a Verb
The verb“drove” is the action done by the noun “Sam” in these four sentences:
- Sam drove.
- Sam, who stepped on an ant (subject), drove.
- Sam, who was stepped on (object), drove.
- Sam, who was slow (being described), drove.
Hint: If you can add “ing” to the present tense of a word, then it is a verb, as in fly→flying.
Slowly is an Adverb
The adverb “slowly” describes NOT the noun Sam but the verb, which is the action done by the noun “Sam,” as in Sam drove slowly.
When we say Sam drove slowly, the noun “Sam” is not the one being described, but his driving or action is being described. It is the verb “drove” that is being described, not the noun “Sam.”
The adverb “slowly” describes NOT the noun “Sam,” but it describes the verb “drove”; it describes how Sam “drove” not how Sam is. The adverb slowly describes Sam’s driving condition. The adverb slowly describes Sam’s action of driving (Sam’s verbing).
Again, the adverb slowly described the verb “drove,” not the person who was doing the driving. It is safe to say that adverbs are also adjectives but they describe verbs, not nouns.
It is best to understand nouns and their adjectives before learning about verbs and their adverbs. Click here
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