Adverbs

Just as adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. How slimy was that swamp? Extremely slimy. How did she run? She ran quickly. How quickly did she run? Very quickly.

Adverbs are used to answer how, when, and where an action took place. More specifically, consider: When did something happen? How often did it occur? How was the action performed? Where did it take place? Let's explore some examples:

• Describing when: The last time I went shopping was a while ago. 
• Describing how often: I visit my friends frequently. 
• Describing how: He ran quickly in the race. 
• Describing where: She sat down nearby.

Many adjectives can be made into adverbs simply by adding -ly to the end. However, there are other adverbs that do not end in -ly: very, quite, somewhat, most, least, and many others.

Prepositional Phrases as Adverbs

You can use prepositional phrases as adverbs if they modify a verb, adjective, or adverb. For example:

• Don't judge a book by its cover. [The phrase "by its cover" describes the verb "judge."]
• I am tired of this diet. ["Of this diet" describes the adjective "tired."]

The Hyphenated Adverb

Hyphens can be used to combine an adverb and adjective to describe a noun. In this situation, the adverb is describing the adjective, and the adjective is describing the noun. However, when the adverb ends with -ly, a hyphen should not be used. Let's review some examples.

• beautiful-looking flowers
• best-known author
• well-rounded student
• best-paid job

If the hyphen was removed from any of these examples the phrase would take on a different meaning. For example, "best-known author" describes the author who is known the best, whereas "best known author" would describe an author who is, separately, both best and known. The hyphen is what makes sure that "best" describes "known" rather than "author."