feather home, and lined her own domicile with it. - John Burroughs. 7. I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble, or a prettier shell than ordinary, while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. - Sir Isaac Newton. THE ADVERB DEFINITION. -An adverb is a word used to modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; as, I am very glad that you have done so well. CLASSES According to their functions in the sentence, adverbs are of two classes: 1. Simple adverbs; 2. Interrogative adverbs. • A simple adverb modifies the meaning of the word with which it is used; as, But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead, Though the mills of God grind slowly, Wolf. Yet they grind exceeding small. -H. W. Longfellow. Extremes of fortune are true wisdom's test, And he's of men most wise who bears them best. An interrogative adverb is an adverb used to ask a question; as, When shall we three meet again?- Shakespeare. Where are the pure, whom thou wouldst choose to love thee? Why crisp the waters blue?—O. W. Holmes. Adverbs may be classified according to their meanings as follows: 1. Adverbs of place, answering to the question (a) where? (b) whither? (c) whence? as, (a) here, there, anywhere, yonder, etc.; (b) hither, thither, backward, etc.; (c) hence, thence, etc. 2. Adverbs of time, answering to the question when? as, now, to-day, yesterday, to-morrow, by and by, still, again, then, afterward, etc. 3. Adverbs of number; as, once, twice, thrice; first, secondly, thirdly. 4. Adverbs; of manner; as, how, well, ill, badly, Valoud, so, thus. 5. Adverbs of degree; as, very, too, almost, quite, much, little, no, more, most, less, least, and the before an adjective in the comparative degree. 6. Adverbs of cause; as, why, wherefore, whence. 7. Adverbs of assertion and denial; as, yes, yea, aye, nay, no, not. The classification of adverbs according to meaning is given, not to be learned by rote, but as an aid in parsing. When the is used before an adjective in the comparative degree, as, the more the merrier, it is not the definite article, but an adverb. In this use it is derived from an Anglo-Saxon case of the demonstrative that, meaning by so much. Yes and no, when standing alone in reply to questions, are not really adverbs. They are, in fact, the equivalents of sen tences. Many adverbs are composed of two or more words; as, from above, one by one, now and then, ever and anon, and the like. These may be called phrase adverbs. It can not be impressed too strongly or too frequently on the student, that the function which a word discharges in a sentence determines the part of speech to which it belongs: 1. Words that are ordinarily nouns are sometimes used as adverbs; as in the expressions, Stone dead. He cares not a cent. 2. Words that are ordinarily adjectives sometimes become adverbs; as, He speaks loud. He runs fast. The reason is that in olden times adverbs were formed from adjective by adding e; as, bright, brighte. In modern English the e has been dropped in these cases, and no other suffix substituted. 3. Words that are usually adverbs occasionally become nouns; as, Now (: the present time) is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. He came from abroad. = 4. Words that are usually adverbs become adjectives: (a) as modifiers; (b) as predicate complements. (a) Drink no longer water, but use a little wine, for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Bible. Even Homer sometimes nods. This example some grammarians would explain by supplying an ellipsis: Even (so careful a poet as) Homer sometimes nods. In the last example (b) here and away are usually parsed as adverbs. But a little consideration will show that the verb to be, when it is merely a copula, can not take a modifier. In the examples given above, the verb serves simply to assert locality. . Hence, here and away may be parsed as adverbs used as predicate adjectives. 5. The word as is used as a relative pronoun, as an adverb, as a conjunction, and as a preposition. In the sentence Such as I have I give, as is a relative pronoun. In the sentence, He is as clever as his brother, the first as is an adverb of degree; the second as is a conjunction. In the sentence, As I am your subordinate I will obey you, as (= because) is a conjunction (see p. 202). In the sentence, Ruskin is greatest as an art critic, as is a preposition. í Most adverbs of manner and degree admit of com parison: 1. Adverbs ending in ly are generally compared by prefixing more and most; as, POSITIVE keenly COMPARATIVE more keenly more beautifully SUPERLATIVE most keenly most beautifully 2. Some adverbs are compared by adding the suffixes er and 3. The following adverbs are either irregular or defective in Further and furthest are now generally used to express progress, advancement; farther and farthest to express distance in space. Rather is derived from an old adjective rathe, meaning early. Milton speaks of the rathe primrose, and Tennyson writes, Till rathe she rose, half-cheated in the thought. SUBSTITUTES FOR THE ADVERB Adverbial phrases or adverbial clauses may take the place of adverbs, generally with the result of making the statement more precise. MAX. SCH. GRAM.- - 13 |