Collins Cobuild English Grammar (127 page)

largely

nearly

really

virtually

For example, you usually say
He almost got there
, not
He got there almost
.

This type of institution has
largely
disappeared now.
He
really
enjoyed talking about flying.
The result
virtually
ensures Scotland’s place in the finals.

Some adverbs of degree are almost always used after the main verb:

altogether

enormously

hard

outright

somewhat

tremendously

well

This was a different level of communication
altogether
.
The proposal was rejected
outright
.
I enjoyed the book
enormously
.

emphasizing adverbs

6.49
    A group of adverbs of degree are called
emphasizing adverbs
. These are formed from emphasizing adjectives (see paragraph
2.36
).

absolutely

completely

entirely

just

outright

perfectly

positively

purely

quite

really

simply

totally

truly

utterly

Note that the emphasizing adverb
outright
has the same form as an adjective, an adverb of manner, and an adverb of degree.

6.50
    You use an emphasizing adverb such as
absolutely
,
just
,
quite
, or
simply
to add emphasis to the action described by a verb. Emphasizing adverbs usually come in front of verbs.

I
quite
agree.
I
absolutely
agree.
I
just
know I’m going to be late.
I
simply
adore this flat.

In a verb phrase, the emphasizing adverb comes after the auxiliary or modal and in front of the verb.

Someone had
simply
appeared.
I was
absolutely
amazed.

However,
absolutely
is occasionally used after verbs as well.

I
agree absolutely
with what Geoffrey has said.

For other uses of emphasizing adverbs, see paragraphs
9.62
to
9.63
.

adverbs of degree in front of other adverbs:
very carefully
,
fairly easily

6.51
    You can use some adverbs of degree such as
very
and
rather
in front of other adverbs. When adverbs of degree are used like this they are called
submodifying adverbs
.

They can also be used in front of adjectives; this use is explained in paragraphs
2.140
to
2.168
, where lists of submodifying adverbs and their meanings are also given.

He prepared his speech
very
carefully.
He was having to work
awfully
hard.
Things changed
really
dramatically.
We get on
extremely
well with our neighbours.
We were able to hear everything
pretty
clearly.
The paper disintegrated
fairly
easily.
He dressed
rather
formally.
Every child reacts
somewhat
differently.

Note that
moderately
and
reasonably
are mainly used in front of adverbs that do not end in
-ly
.

He works
reasonably
hard.

A few adverbs of degree can be used as in this way with comparatives: see the section beginning at paragraph
2.157
.

This could all be done
very much more quickly
.
I thanked him again,
even more profusely
than before.
I hope you can see
slightly more clearly
what is going on.

Note that
still
can also be placed after the comparative.

They’re doing better in some respects now. Of course they’ve got to do
better still
.

other adverbs of degree

6.52
    There are some special adverbs of degree. These include
much
, which is used as an adverb of degree in negative clauses, and in reported questions after
how
.

She was difficult as a child and hasn’t changed
much
.
These definitions do not help
much
.
Have you told him how
much
you love him?

Very much
is also used in a similar way.

She is charming. We like her
very much
.

The comparative adverbs
better
and
worse
and the superlative adverbs
best
and
worst
are also adverbs of degree.

You know him
better
than anyone else.
It is the land itself which suffers
worst
.

More
and
less
can be used as comparative adverbs of degree.

Her tears frightened him
more
than anything that had ever happened to him before.
The ground heats up
less
there.

Most
and
least
can be used as superlative adverbs of degree.

She gave me the opportunity to do what I wanted to do
most
.
They staged some of his
least
known operas.

Comparative adverbs and superlative adverbs are explained in the section beginning at paragraph
6.30
.

The noun phrases
a bit
,
a great deal
,
a little
, and
a lot
are also used as adverbs of degree.

I don’t like this
a bit
.
The situation’s changed
a great deal
since then.

Adverbs of place

6.53
    Adverbs are also used after verbs to give information about place.

No birds or animals came
near
.
Seagulls were circling
overhead
.

In many cases the same word can be used as a preposition and as an adverb.

The limb was severed
below the elbow
.
This information is summarized
below
.

adverbs showing position

6.54
    Here is a list of words that are used as adverbs to show position. Note that some adverbs consist of more than one word, for example,
out of doors
.

abroad

ahead

aloft

ashore

away

close to

downstairs

downstream

downtown

downwind

eastward

halfway

here

indoors

inland

midway

nearby

next door

northward

offshore

outdoors

out of doors

overhead

overseas

southward

there

underfoot

underground

underwater

upstairs

upstream

uptown

upwind

westward

yonder
(American)

The common adverbs of place that are used as adverbs and as prepositions are sometimes called
adverb particles
or
adverbial particles
. The following words are used as adverbs to show position, and can also be used as prepositions:

aboard

about

above

alongside

behind

below

beneath

beside

beyond

close by

down

in

in between

inside

near

off

opposite

outside

over

round

throughout

underneath

up

6.55
    An adverb can be used alone after a verb to show place or direction.

The young men hated working
underground
.
The engine droned on as we flew
northward
.

You can also use an adverb showing place or direction when it is clear from the context what place or direction you are referring to. For example, you may have mentioned the place earlier, or the adverb may refer to your own location, or to the location of the person or thing being talked about.