Collins Cobuild English Grammar (126 page)

6.40
    Here is a list of adverbs that describe the feelings of the person who does something as well as the way in which it is done:

angrily

anxiously

bitterly

boldly

calmly

cheerfully

confidently

desperately

eagerly

excitedly

furiously

gladly

gloomily

gratefully

happily

helplessly

hopefully

hopelessly

impatiently

miserably

nervously

passionately

proudly

reluctantly

sadly

shyly

sincerely

uncomfortably

uneasily

unhappily

wearily

circumstances:
talk privately
,
work part-time

6.41
    Adverbs of manner can also indicate the circumstances in which something is done, rather than how it is done. For example, in the sentence
He spoke to me privately
,
privately
means
when no one else was present
rather than
in a private way
.

I need to speak to you
privately
.
He had
publicly
called for an investigation of the entire school system.
Britain and France
jointly
suggested a plan in 1954.
I have undertaken all the enquiries
personally
.

6.42
    Here is a list of adverbs that are used to show the circumstances in which an action takes place:

accidentally

alone

artificially

automatically

bodily

collectively

commercially

deliberately

directly

duly

first-class

full-time

illegally

independently

indirectly

individually

innocently

instinctively

involuntarily

jointly

legally

logically

mechanically

naturally

officially

openly

overtly

part-time

personally

politically

privately

publicly

regardless

retail

scientifically

secretly

solo

specially

symbolically

wholesale

forms

6.43
    Most adverbs of manner are formed from qualitative adjectives, for example
stupidly
from
stupid
, and
angrily
from
angry
. For more information about the forms of adverbs, see paragraph
6.17
.

USAGE NOTE

6.44
    Instead of using an adverb of manner, you can sometimes use prepositional phrases or noun phrases to give more information about the manner or circumstances of an action.

‘Come here’, he said
in a low voice
.
I know I have to do it
this way
.

In some cases you may have to do this, because there is no adverb. See paragraph
6.23
.

Adverbs of degree

6.45
    When you want to give more information about the extent of an action or the degree to which an action is performed, you often use an
adverb of degree
.

I enjoyed the course
immensely
.
I had
almost
forgotten about the trip.
A change of one word can
radically
alter the meaning of a statement.

6.46
    Here is a list of adverbs of degree:

absolutely

adequately

almost

altogether

amazingly

awfully

badly

completely

considerably

dearly

deeply

drastically

dreadfully

enormously

entirely

exceedingly

excessively

extensively

extraordinarily

extremely

fairly

fantastically

fully

greatly

half

hard

hugely

immensely

incredibly

intensely

just

largely

moderately

nearly

noticeably

outright

partly

perfectly

poorly

positively

powerfully

practically

pretty

profoundly

purely

quite

radically

rather

really

reasonably

remarkably

significantly

simply

slightly

somewhat

soundly

strongly

sufficiently

supremely

surprisingly

suspiciously

terribly

totally

tremendously

truly

unbelievably

utterly

very

virtually

well

wonderfully

from adjectives

6.47
    Adverbs of degree are often formed from adjectives by adding
-ly
. Some are formed from qualitative adjectives, for example
deeply
,
hugely
, and
strongly
, and some from classifying adjectives, for example
absolutely
,
perfectly
, and
utterly
.

A few adverbs of degree are formed from postdeterminers, such as
entirely
.

See
Chapter 2
for more information about types of adjectives.

position in clause

6.48
    You can use adverbs of degree in the usual positions for adverbials.

I admired him
greatly
.
I
greatly
enjoyed working with them.
Yoga can
greatly
diminish stress levels.

However, you rarely use an adverb of degree at the beginning of a clause. For example, you do not usually say
Greatly I admired him
. For more information about placing adverbs at the beginning of a clause, see paragraph
9.70
.

A few adverbs of degree are nearly always used in front of the main verb:

almost