ADVERBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO MEANING.
282. Thus considered, there
are six classes:—
(1) Time; as now, to-day,
ever, lately, before, hitherto, etc.
(2) Place. These may be adverbs either of
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(a) PLACE WHERE; as
here,there,where,near,yonder, above,
etc.
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(b) PLACE TO WHICH; as
hither,thither,whither, whithersoever, etc.
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(c) PLACE FROM WHICH; as
hence,thence,whence, whencesoever, etc.
(3) Manner, telling how anything is done; as
well, slowly, better, bravely, beautifully.
Action is conceived or performed in so many ways, that these adverbs form a
very large class.
(4) Number, telling how many times:
once, twice, singly, two by two, etc.
(5) Degree, telling how much; as
little, slightly, too, partly, enough,
greatly, much, very, just, etc. (see also Sec.
283).
(6) Assertion, telling the speaker's belief or
disbelief in a statement, or how far he believes it to be true; as
perhaps, maybe, surely, possibly, probably,
not, etc.
Special remarks on adverbs of degree.
283. The is an
adverb of degree when it limits an adjective or an adverb, especially the
comparative of these words; thus,—
But not the less the blare of the tumultuous
organ wrought its own separate creations.—De
Quincey.
The more they multiply, the more friends
you will have; the more evidently they love liberty, the more
perfect will be their obedience.—Burke.
This and that are very common as adverbs in
spoken English, and not infrequently are found in literary English; for
example,—
The master...was for this once of her
opinion.—R. LOUIS STEVENSON.
Death! To die! I owe that much To what, at least,
I was.—Browning.
This long's the text.—Shakespeare.
[Sidenote The status of such.]
Such is frequently used as an equivalent of
so: such precedes an adjective with its noun, while so
precedes only the adjective usually.
Meekness,...which gained him such universal
popularity.—Irving.
Such a glittering appearance that no ordinary man
would have been able to close his eyes there.—Hawthorne.
An eye of such piercing brightness and
such commanding power that it gave an air of inspiration.—Lecky.
So also in Grote, Emerson, Thackeray, Motley, White, and
others.
Pretty.
Pretty has a wider adverbial use than it gets
credit for.
I believe our astonishment is pretty equal.—Fielding.
Hard blows and hard money, the feel of both of which you
know pretty well by now.—Kingsley.
The first of these generals is pretty generally
recognized as the greatest military genius that ever lived.—Bayne.
A pretty large experience.—Thackeray.
Pretty is also
used by Prescott, Franklin, De Quincey, Defoe, Dickens, Kingsley, Burke,
Emerson, Aldrich, Holmes, and other writers.
Mighty.
The adverb mighty is very common in colloquial English;
for example,—
"Mighty well, Deacon Gookin!" replied the solemn
tones of the minister.—Hawthorne.
"Maybe you're wanting to get over?—anybody sick?
Ye seem mighty anxious!"—H. B.
Stowe.
It is only occasionally used in literary English; for
example,—
You are mighty courteous.—Bulwer.
Beau Fielding, a mighty fine gentleman.—Thackeray.
"Peace, Neville," said the king, "thou think'st thyself
mighty wise, and art but a fool."—Scott.
I perceived his sisters mighty busy.—Goldsmith.
Notice meanings.
284. Again, the meaning of
words must be noticed rather than their form; for many words given above may be
moved from one class to another at will: as these examples,—"He walked
too far [place];" "That were far better [degree];" "He spoke
positively [manner];" "That is positively untrue [assertion];" "I
have seen you before [time];" "The house, and its lawn before
[place]." |
