An adverb can be a word or a phrase which is used to modify or to describe a verb, an adjective or other adverb. It gives more information about a verb, an adjective or other adverb.

Learn About an Adverb

Some common examples of Adverbs are listed below.

1. He slowly clapped.

2. Reha smiles beautifully.

3. It strangely stared at me.

In the above examples, ‘slowly’, ‘beautifully’, and ‘strangely’ are used as an adverb. As I said above that adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. In the above examples, all of the three adverbs are modifying the verbs ‘clapped’, ‘smiles’, and ‘stared’.

Note: Most of the adverbs (but not all) end in ‘-ly’. See some of the most common adverbs that are listed below and note that these adverbs end in –ly.

• Easily
• Rarely
• Slowly
• Carefully
• Really
• Clearly
• Wrongly
• Quietly
• Loudly
• Extremely
• Softly

Adverb in Example Sentences

Now, I will tell you how you can use adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. I will provide a few example sentences of adverbs modifying each part of speech (i.e. verb, adjective, and adverb).

1. My student reads loudly, which makes me confused sometimes.

> In the above example, the word ‘loudly’ is an adverb, which is used to modify the verb ‘reads’. This adverb ‘loudly’ is giving a clearer picture of the student who is reading.

2. The painting that I bought yesterday is extremely beautiful.

> In the above example, the word ‘extremely’ is used as an adverb, which is modifying the adjective ‘beautiful’. This adverb ‘extremely’ is providing a good description about the painting.

3. My sister plans amazingly fast.

> In the above example, the word ‘amazingly’ is an adverb, which is used to modify the other adverb, ‘fast’. The ‘amazingly’ describes how fast the sister plans.

Note: Keep in mind! If an adverb is modifying an adjective or another adverb within a sentence, it must be placed just before the word it modifies. See the above examples 2 and 3 (i.e. ‘…extremely beautiful.’ and ‘…amazingly fast.’)

More about Adverbs

Adverbs can tell you when, where, how, and to what extent an action or something occurred.

For example,

1. I will give you my notes today. (When)

2. Right here, I have put my notes. (Where)

3. She happily came to visit me. (How)

4. We almost lost you. (To what extent)

Some of the examples of adverbs that tell when, where, how, and to what extent something occurred are listed below.

When > today, tomorrow, yesterday, usually, monthly, always, now, often, never, etc.

Where > everywhere, somewhere, out, in, inside, there, up, down, etc.

How > happily, peacefully, calmly, angrily, cheerfully, wrongly, etc.

To What Extent > enough, almost, very, too, quite, often, etc.

Note: ‘How’ are the adverbs of manner; ‘Where’ are the adverbs of place; ‘When’ are the adverbs of time.

Phrasal Adverbs: Some of the phrasal adverbs are listed below.

• Early morning
• Under the sea
• Like a sad song
• In the world
• To give you happiness
• Any time
• Whenever I remember

Check Out: What Is An Allegory?

What Did You Learn?

Adverb can be a word or a phrase which is used to modify or to describe a verb, an adjective or others. Most of the adverbs end in ‘–ly’. Adverbs can tell you when, where, how, and to what extent something has been occurred.

Adjectives are those words that are used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns. An adjective can specify your writing by giving more information and more meaning to nouns or pronouns.

Learn about Adjectives

Some common examples of adjectives are listed below:

1. The red dress.

2. The beautiful dress.

3. The ugly dress.

4. The shiny dress.

5. The see-through dress.

6. The wet dress.

In the above examples, ‘red’, ‘beautiful’, ‘ugly’, ‘shiny’, ‘see-through’, and ‘wet’ are all adjectives because these words are modifying ‘the dress’ i.e. they are giving more information about ‘the dress’.

Furthermore, not all the adjectives come just before the nouns or pronouns.

For example,

1. That dress looks beautiful on you. 

2. The dress is ugly; please, don’t buy it.

In the above examples, you can see that the adjectives ‘beautiful’ and ‘ugly’ come after the link verbs i.e. ‘looks’ and ‘is’.

Types of Adjectives

Adjectives can be categorized into different types based on their function in a sentence:

• Descriptive Adjectives: These describe the qualities or characteristics of a noun. For example, beautiful in “a beautiful flower” or tall in “a tall building.”
• Quantitative Adjectives: These specify the quantity or amount of a noun, answering the question “how much” or “how many.” Examples include few, several, and many, as in “few students” or “many opportunities.”
• Demonstrative Adjectives: These point out specific nouns, showing which one(s) you’re referring to. Examples include this, that, these, and those. For example, “I like this car” or “Please bring those books.”
• Possessive Adjectives: These indicate ownership or possession. Common possessive adjectives include my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. Example: “That’s my laptop.”
• Interrogative Adjectives: Used in questions, these modify nouns to ask about them. Examples include which, what, and whose, as in “Whose car is this?” or “Which color do you prefer?”
• Comparative and Superlative Adjectives: These are used to compare nouns. The comparative form compares two things (e.g., bigger, more beautiful), while the superlative form compares three or more things (e.g., biggest, most beautiful). Example: “John is taller than Mike” (comparative) and “Anna is the tallest in the class” (superlative).

Adjective Clauses

An adjective clause, also known as a relative clause, is a group of words that functions like an adjective, giving more information about a noun. These clauses usually begin with relative pronouns like who, that, or which.

For example:

• The man who is wearing a blue shirt is my uncle.
  In this sentence, the adjective clause “who is wearing a blue shirt” gives additional information about the noun “man.” The clause modifies the noun by specifying which man is being referred to.

Some Other Important Points

 If you will find any difficulties in identifying, there is trick for you. Most of the adjectives can be identified by their suffixes. Take a look at a few suffixes below,

1. –ar > spectacular
2. –al > manual
3. –ous > hazardous, dangerous
4. –ful > painful, beautiful
5. –ile > juvenile
6. –en > spoken, broken
7. –able > comfortable, loveable
8. –ish > freakish
9. –ive > objective
10. –less > careless
11. –ic > energetic
12. –some > awesome

•  Sometimes, you can also find out some adjectives that come after the noun. For example, ‘he customized his profile public.’

In the above example, ‘public’ is used as an adjective, which is modifying a ‘profile’ (which is a noun).

• Words like someone, something, etc are indefinite pronouns. These indefinite pronouns can also be modified but you have to remember one thing. In such cases, the adjectives should come after these pronouns. For example, ‘one day, you will find someone good in your life.’

What Did You Learn?

Adjectives are essential tools in language, adding depth, clarity, and richness to our communication. By modifying nouns and pronouns, they allow us to describe, compare, and specify with precision.

Understanding the types and how they function, whether on their own or in the form of adjective clauses, empowers us to express ourselves more vividly and accurately.

Alliteration is a literary device in which there is a repetition of the same sounds that occur within a series or within a sentence. The same sounds should be the initial sounds occur close together in a sentence.

For example,

1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

2. Luke Luck likes lakes.

3. Bobby Bippy bought a bat.

In the above examples, the initial sound of the letter ‘p’ in the first example, the initial sound of the letter ‘l’ in the second example, and the initial sound of the letter ‘b’ in the third example are creating the alliteration effect.

The above example sentences can also be named as ‘tongue twisters’ because tongue twisters are those sentences that are difficult to pronounce correctly. They are difficult because of their alliterative nature.

Check Out: What Is Analogy?

Examples of Tongue Twisters or Alliteration

1. She sells seashells on the sea shore.

2. The shells she sells are seashells for sure.

3. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

4. Red lorry, yellow lorry.

5. The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.

In alliteration, it is not necessary to have the same initial letter. In fact, the initial sound should be the same. For example,

• The cat’s kite cut down.

In the above example, the initial sounds of ‘c’ and ‘k’ are same, that is why this particular series can be alliterative.

Alliteration = Same Initial Sounds

Why Writers Use Tongue Twisters?

The first and foremost importance of alliteration is that it can create a great mood and rhythm within a text. Readers usually got attentive when this kind of alliteration occurs within a particular text.

When a writer wants to emphasize on something or wants to give a special effect on something, he/she can cleverly use this literary device. You can find out the use of alliteration in various poems. For instance, if a writer wants to give an effect of calmness, he/she can use an ‘H’ sound which is similar to hush.
Not only in poems, but writers do use this literary device in prose as well. For example,

• “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”

The above example is taken from William Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’. You can see that the writer used alliteration with the initial sounds ‘f’ and ‘I’.

What Did You Learn?

It is concluded that alliteration is a literary device in which, mostly, there is a repetition of the same consonant sounds within a sentence. Writers use alliteration as a helpful tool to give emphasis or to give an effect on something. In poems, it is usually use for mood and rhythm.

In English grammar, an affix can be an additional word or an element that is attached to the beginning or to the end of a word. It is attached to the words in order to make a new word, or to modify the meaning of that word. There are two main types of affixes:

Let’s Learn All About An Affix

1. Prefixes
2. Suffixes

What is a Prefix?

A prefix is that kind of affix that is placed at the beginning of a word to change the meaning or to modify that word. Check out a few prefixes that are listed below;

• Non- (meaning ‘not’)
• Dis- (meaning ‘not’)
• Tri- (meaning ‘three’)
• Mis- (meaning ‘wrong’)
• Co- (meaning ‘with)
• Homo- (meaning ‘same’)
• Inter- (meaning ‘between’)
• Pre- (meaning ‘before’)
• Post- (meaning ‘after’)
• Super- (meaning ‘above’)
• Un- (meaning ‘not’)
• In- (meaning ‘into’)

What is a Suffix?

It is opposite of prefix. A suffix is that type of affix that is placed at the end of a word to change the meaning; to modify that word; or to make a new word. Check out a few suffixes that are listed below;

• -less (meaning ‘without’)
• -ful (meaning ‘full of’)
• -able (meaning ‘able to be’)
• -ation (meaning ‘process or action’)
• -ism (meaning ‘quality’)
• -ly (shows manner i.e. adverb ending)
• -ize (meaning ‘cause or become’)
• -er (meaning ‘a person who’)
• -ous (meaning ‘full of’)
• -ship (meaning ‘state of’)
• -ty (meaning ‘quality or state’)
• -wise (meaning ‘in what direction’)

Note: –ed, –ing, –ly, and –es are the four most common suffixes in English grammar.

Affixes in Example Sentences

1. She told me that she was used to be a misguided human being. (mis- is a prefix)

2. Please, don’t be so careless about your certificates. (-less is a suffix)

3. I am unable to reach there on time. (un- is a prefix)

4. She beautifully painted the whole scenery. (-ly is a suffix)

Affix in Famous Quotes

1. Professionalism is not sportsmanship. If you don’t succeed, you won’t be in your profession for long. In our society, it’s not about good or bad. It’s about who’s on top. (Chili Davis)

2. The port, the artist, the sleuth, whoever sharpens our perception tends to anti-social; rarely ‘well adjusted,’ he cannot go along with currents and trends. (Marshall McLuhan)

Note: Hyphenate those prefixes and suffixes when they do not give a proper meaning or when they do not make a proper word when attached to a particular word. For example, Neo-Stalinists, Afro-American, mayor-elect, etc.

Check Out: What Is An Allegory?

What Did You Learn?

An affix is used to refer such letters that are attached at the beginning or the end of a word in order to modify or to change the meaning of that word. Prefixes and suffixes are the two main types of an affix.