Chapter 13

1. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Business English at Work, 3/e © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 13 Adverbs

2. Adverbs An adverb answers these questions: How? In what manner? patiently, boldly, slowly, softly, enthusiastically When? recently, later, finally, daily, again, formerly Where? outside, here, down, forward, up, away To what extent? To what degree? extremely, very, too, rarely, completely, frequently PP 13-2

3. Adverbs—Modify Verbs Place the adverb before or after the verb that is modified. When businesses knowingly deceive customers, they are violating ethical standards. Do not copy paper or electronic documents illegally. PP 13-3

4. Adverbs—Modify Adjectives Place the adverb immediately before the adjective. The courtesy of greeting others within your own firm is universallyacceptable in the United States. In some countries, greetings are veryexpressive and elaborate. Outsourcing is becoming an increasinglypopular way for businesses to lower expenses. PP 13-4

5. Adverbs—Modify Other Adverbs Place the adverb immediately before the adverb being modified. We veryprecisely judged the commute time to our new client’s office. Ruby did extremelywell on the ethics section of her real estate exam. PP 13-5

6. Adjective Base Used to Form Adverbs Add ly to an adjective root to form the majority of adverbs. AdjectiveAdverb cautious cautiously extreme extremely perfect perfectly skillful skillfully PP 13-6

7. Noun Base Used to Form Adjectives Ending in ly Use root words to identify words ending in ly as adjectives or adverbs. Noun Adjective brother brotherly neighbor neighborly earth earthly world worldly love lovely PP 13-7

8. Adverbs Formed From Adjectives Ending in y Change the y to i and add ly to an adjective ending in y to form an adverb. Adjective Adverb busy busily easy easily heavy heavily merry merrily PP 13-8

9. Adverbs Formed From Adjectives Ending in ible or able Drop the final e on adjectives that end in able or ible before adding the y to form the adverb. Adjective Adverb forcible forcibly terrible terribly possible possibly PP 13-9

10. Adverbs Formed From Adjectives Ending in ic Add ally to adjectives ending in ic to form the adverb. Adjective Adverb chronic chronically logic logically magic magically scenic scenically PP 13-10

11. Other Adverbs The following list includes some adverbs that do not end in ly. again more sometimes almost much soon always near then down now there far nowhere too fast often twice hard once up PP 13-11

12. Adverbs and Hyphenation • Do not hyphenate an expression made up of an adverb ending in ly and an adjective. Examples a carelessly written memo a richly deserved award an internationally recognized sign a highly successful business PP 13-12

13. Verbs—Action Versus Linking Use an adverb to modify action verbs. Tucker intentionally withheld confidential information. The employee thoughtlesslymade an inappropriate comment to Julie. Use an adjective, not an adverb, after a linking verb to describe the subject. The manager felt bad about the dependence on temporary workers. Karen seems distraught over the missing computer disk. PP 13-13

14. Verbs—Both Linking and Action Clarify the intent of the sentence before making a decision about such verbs as look,taste, or feel. Use adverbs when these words are action words. He hurriedly looked for the contract on his desk. Use adjectives when these words function as linking verbs. Things looked bad for Jerome after he lost his job. PP 13-14

15. Adjectives and Adverbs With the Same Form Some adverbs and adjectives that have the same form include fast, first, last, early, and right. Use an adjective to modify a noun or pronoun. Turn left at the first stop sign. Use an adverb to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Return Andrew’s phone call first. PP 13-15

16. Positive Comparative Superlative One-Syllable Adverbs Add er to the positive form for its comparative degree. Add est to the positive form for its superlative degree. fast faster fastest late later latest soon sooner soonest PP 13-16

17. Positive Comparative Superlative Two-Syllable Adverbs Add er or the word moreor the word less before the positive form for the comparative degree. Add est or the word mostor the word least for the superlative degree. quickly more quickly (quicker) most quickly (quickest) nearly more nearly most nearly PP 13-17

18. Positive Comparative Superlative Three-Syllable Adverbs Add the word more or the word less before the positive form to form its comparative degree. Add the word mostor the word least before the positive form to form its superlative degree. efficiently more efficiently most efficiently dangerously more dangerously most dangerously reliably more reliably most reliably PP 13-18

19. Positive Comparative Superlative Irregular Adverbs Use irregular comparisons for some adverbs. well better best badly worse worst PP 13-19

20. Absolute Adverbs Some adverbs do not allow for comparisons no now past basically there here partly sometimes too very annually We feel that we need more telephone lines now. Ethics concerns today are similar to those in the past. PP 13-20

21. Cautions for Using Not and Never Use not in a negative statement. Place not between the helping verb and the main verb in a sentence. Some employees do not treat all customers with respect. Use never as a stronger word than not to mean “at no time.” Being rude to a customer is never acceptable. Refrain from using never if not will suffice. PP 13-21

22. Cautions for Using Contractions • Use an apostrophe to take the place of the missing letter or letters in such words as aren’t doesn’t can’t isn’t wouldn’t hasn’t don’t He doesn’t anticipate rewriting the code of ethics for several years. She hasn’t missed a day of work this year. PP 13-22

23. Incorrect I have not seen no evidence of employee theft. Correct I haveseen no evidence of employee theft. I havenotseenany evidence of employee theft. Double Negatives Double negatives are two negative words used in a sentence. This combination gives the clause a positive meaning rather than the intended negative meaning. PP 13-23a

24. Incorrect Incorrect I couldn’thardly believe that the computer was missing. I can’t go nowhere until I help these customers. Correct Correct I couldhardly believe that the computer was missing. I couldnot believe that the computer was missing. I can go nowhere until I help these customers. I cannot go anywhere until I help these customers. Double Negatives continued PP 13-23b

25. Placement of Only Place the adverb only immediately before the word or group of words it modifies. Only long-time employees can take vacations during June. Long-time employees can take vacations only during June. Place the adverbs merely and nearly as close as possible to the words modified. We filled nearly all of the orders yesterday. PP 13-24

26. Adverb Clauses Use subordinating conjunctions such as after, although, before, because, if, unless, when, and while to introduce dependent adverb clauses. Place the adverb clause as closely as possible to the words modified. PP 13-25a

27. Adverb Clauses continued • Use commas after introductory adverb clauses that precede independent clauses. Although he broke no laws, his actions were still unethical. Do not use commas to set aside adverb clauses that follow independent clauses. Plan to arrive 10 minutes before the meeting begins. We will start the meeting after serving refreshments. PP 13-25b

28. Farther/Further (Adverbs) Use farther to refer to physical distance. We traveled farther from the airport than we anticipated to find our hotel. Use further to mean additional or additionally. He explained further the reasons for adjusting our work schedules. PP 13-26

29. Good/Well Use good as an adjective. Making ethical choices is often more important than being a good person. Use well as an adverb. The new code of ethics has worked very well during the past year. Use well as an adjective in reference to the state of someone’s health. Although Anna was not well, she stayed at work long enough to complete writing the payroll checks. PP 13-27

30. Most/Almost Use almost as an adverb to mean “nearly.” Use almost if the word nearly can be substituted satisfactorily. Almost all of us use our yearly vacation time. Use most as a limiting adjective to modify a noun. Most new supervisors have trouble with ethical situations. Use most as the superlative degree in a comparison. The speaker answered the question most effectively. PP 13-28

31. Real/Really Use real as a descriptive adjective to mean “genuine.” Do not use real to modify another adjective. We never knew the real reason for losing the Chinese contract. PP 13-29a

32. Real/Really continued Use really as an adverb to modify a verb or an adjective. Really used as an adverb to modify a verb means “genuinely” or “actually.” What did the CEO’s comments really mean? Substitute very for the word really to determine if really is the correct word when really is used as an adverb to modify an adjective. Cynthia is really supportive of our efforts to improve customer satisfaction. PP 13-29b

33. Sometime/Sometimes/Some Time Use sometime as an adverb to mean “at some unscheduled time” or “in the future.” Sometime next week we are meeting to revise our customer service policy. Use sometimes as an adverb to mean “on some occasions.” We sometimes waive late payment charges. PP 13-30a

34. Sometime/Sometimes/Some Time continued Use some time as a phrase in which the adjective some modifies the noun time. Some time designates an “amount of time.” The revision of the ethics policy will take sometime. PP 13-30b

35. Sure/Surely Use sure as an adjective. They thought that a lock on the supply cabinet was the sure solution for reducing theft. Use surely as an adverb to mean “without a doubt.” Ellen surely makes an excellent impression on customers. PP 13-31