Formation of Adverbs

 

(i)Adverbs of manner are often formed by adding "ly" to adjectives.

For example: clever →cleverly; wise → wisely; foolish → foolishly; loud → loudly; etc.

Example: 

• Akbar was a wise king.
• He ruled wisely for many years.

👉When Adjectives end in "y", then changing "y" to "i" and adding "ly" can also get the formation of adverbs.

For example: happy →happily; heavy →heavily; ready →readily, etc.

👉When adjectives end in "le". Adverbs can also be formed by removing the "e" and adding a "y" instead.

For example: single→ singly; double→ doubly etc.

(ii) Some adverbs can be derived from nouns and modifying adjectives.

For example:  Meanwhile→ Meantime, sometimes etc.

(iii) Some adverbs are compounds of nouns and "Prepositions" 

 

For example: afoot (= on foot)  abed (= on the bed), asleep (= in sleep), etc.

But some adverbs are a combination of nouns and prepositions.

For example: tomorrow, today, besides, betimes

Remember that the word "Be" is the old form of "by"(prepositions)

(iv) Some adverbs are compounds of prepositions and adjectives. 

For example: anew, aloud, along, Abroad, beyond, below, behind.

In these "a" and "be" are prepositions and the remaining are adjectives.

(v) Some adverbs are compounds of prepositions and adverbs.

For example: within, without, before, beneath etc.

👉 In these examples with, fore, neath, etc are adverbs and all the others are prepositions.

(vi) Some groups of adverbs are derived from the pronouns who, he, the(= that)

For example:

ADVERBS:

Pronouns         Place        Motion           Motion           Time              Manner

       ↓                     ↓              ↓  to              ↓from               ↓                      ↓

The(=that)      there         thither            thence             then                thus

   He                 here           hither             hence    

  Who              where        wither            whence           when               how

👉 We will use them like this:

• Then you don't go.
• Motion from thence.
• Go from here.
• Motion to thither.
• How do you do so?

(vii) Many of the words in the table above are compound words with prepositions.

For example: Therefrom, thereby, therewith, thereto, thereon, thereof, hereupon, herein, hereby, hereafter, wherein, wherefore, herewith, hereon, whereof, henceforward, thenceforth, hitherto, etc. 

(viii) 

• Far and near (= in all directions).
• Again and again (= before long, after a time, presently).
• First and foremost (= first of all).
• Now and then (= from time to time, occasionally).
• Off and on (= not regularly, intermittently).
• Over and over (= many times, frequently, repeatedly).
• Out and out (= decidedly, beyond all comparison).
• Over and above (= in addition to, besides, as well as).
• To and fro (= backwards and forwards, up and down).
• Once and again

Examples:

1. He now and then writes on fiscal questions.
2. I write to her now and then.
3. Good books should be read again and again.
4. The teacher told him to do the homework first and foremost.
5. I have told you once and again that you must not read such trash.
6. She was saying the same thing over and over.