An adverb is a word or an expression that modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs are used to express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc.
Examples
She talks sweetly. Here, ‘talks’ is a verb and ‘sweetly’ is an adverb.
Ramagundam is a very hot place. Here, ‘very’ is an adverb and ‘hot’ is an adjective.
I worked quite hard yesterday. Here, both ‘quite’ and ‘hard’ are adverbs.
The eagle hovered exactly over my house. Here, ‘exactly’ is an adverb and ‘over’ is a preposition.
I like her simply because, she has a beautiful smile. Here, ‘simply’ is an adverb and ‘because’ is a conjunction.
Fortunately, no one was injured. Here, ‘fortunately’ is an adverb.
Model Questions
Directions (Qs. 1 - 25): The given sentence has been divided up into four different parts a, b, c and d. Select the portion of the sentence which contains an error (spelling, grammatical or contextual). If there is no error, choose option ‘e’ (No error) as your answer.
1. It was too cold for (a)/ go out last (b)/ night, so we all (c)/ stayed in the hotel (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Too’ is an adverb that means ‘more than necessary or desirable’. The words ‘too…to’ are used collectively to convey that something more than necessary has happened. So, ‘to’ should be used in place of ‘for’.
Ans: a
2. It rained (a)/ like cats and dogs (b)/ throughout (c)/ the night (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Cats and dogs’ came from the Greek expression ‘cata doxa’, which means “contrary to experience or belief.” The phrase ‘rained cats and dogs’ meant it has rained unusually or unbelievably hard. Remove ‘like’ from the sentence.
Ans: b
3. Carabao mangoes taste (a)/ sweetly than (b)/ any other fruit (c)/ of this world (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Taste’ is a verb of sensation that takes an adjective but not an adverb. Here, ‘sweet’ is the taste and its comparative degree is ‘sweeter’. ‘Sweeter’ should be used in place of ‘sweetly’.
Ans: b
4. The instructor (a)/ scolded her always (b)/ because she rarely reached (c)/ tuition on time (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: Adverbs like always, seldom, never etc. are used before the main verb. So, ‘always’ should be used before the main verb ‘scolded’. So, ‘always scolded her’ should be used in place of “scolded her always”.
Ans: b
5. I (a)/ see her often (b)/ at the (c)/ railway station (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Often’ should come before the main verb (here ‘see’). ‘Often see her’ should be used in place of ‘see her often’.
Ans: b
6. The latest study by CRUD (a)/ indicates a possibly short (b)/ of seven lakh qualified (c)/ engineers in the service industry (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: In the sentence, the after the determiner ‘a’ the next word will be adjective and a noun that follows it. ‘Possible’ should be used in place of ‘possibly’.
Ans: b
7. When I read his story, (a)/ I hardly found something (b)/ in his character that (c)/ could admire (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: After the adverb ‘Hardly’, ‘anything’ will come because, ‘hardly’ is used in a negative sense. So, ‘anything’ should be used in place of ‘something’.
Ans: b
8. It is a general (a)/ misconception that every (b)/ government servant badly behaves (c)/ with the people (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: The adverbs of manner (rudely, arrogantly etc.) are used after the main verb. So, ‘behaves badly’ should be used in place of ‘badly behaves’.
Ans: c
9. All the pupils (a)/ stood up respectively (b)/ as the teacher (c)/ entered the classroom (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Respectively’ means “separately or individually and in the order already mentioned”. ‘Respectfully’ means “with respect”. ‘Respectfully’ is the correct usage here. So, ‘respectfully’ should be used in place of ‘respectively’.
Ans: b
10. He admitted to (a)/ me that he had not (b)/ adequate prepared (c)/ for the examination (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Adequately’ is a relative adverb, used to show how the subject has prepared for doing something. ‘Adequate’ is an adjective. Here, ‘adequately’ should be used in place of ‘adequate’.
Ans: c
11. She is (a)/ either dumb (b)/ or deaf (c)/ if not both (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: The word ‘both’ never takes ‘not’ in case of choosing an alternate between two things. We use ‘neither’ for such cases. Here, ‘if neither’ should be used in place of ‘if not both’.
Ans: d
12. I yesterday came (a)/ to meet you (b)/ but you were (c)/ not present (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: The adverbs of time (yesterday, today etc.) are used in the end of any sentence. ‘Came yesterday’ should be used in place of ‘yesterday came’.
Ans: a
13. Ganesh could not (a)/ scarcely conceal his (b)/ happiness at (c)/ his friend’s resignation (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Scarcely’ itself is a negative word. Therefore, we cannot use ‘not’ before ‘scarcely’ to describe a negative thing. Remove ‘not’ from the sentence.
Ans: a
14. We seldom or ever (a)/ go out these days (b)/ because it is too (c)/ cold now-a-days (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: The adverb ‘seldom’ is followed either by ‘if ever’ or by ‘or never’. ‘Or never’ is the correct usage here. ‘Never’ should be used in place of ‘ever’.
Ans: a
15. I am full (a)/ of energy today (b)/ because I soundly slept (c)/ last night (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Soundly slept’ means ‘completely slept’, which is inappropriate to use. ‘Slept soundly’ means “slept without any disturbances”. ‘Slept soundly’ should be used in place of ‘soundly slept’.
Ans: c
16. Samantha danced (a)/ in the annual (b)/ school function (c)/ elegantly last night (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: If adverb of manner, adverb of place and adverb of time are given together in a sentence, then their order of occurrence should be (1) Adverb of manner, (2) adverb of place and (3) adverb of time. ‘Elegantly’ should be used after the main verb (danced). The correct sentence is “Samantha danced elegantly in the annual school function”.
Ans: d
17. His speech was (a)/ not clearly but (b)/ we understood (c)/ the underlying meaning (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: Here, ‘speech’ is a noun and it will be qualified by an adjective ‘clear’. ‘Clear’ should be used in place of ‘clearly’.
Ans: b
18. My brother (a)/ is very quicker (b)/ than my sister (c)/ at chess (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: We use ‘much quicker’ in the comparative degree of ‘quick’. ‘Much quicker’ should be used in place of ‘very quicker’.
Ans: b
19. He have (a)/ acted nobler (b)/ than (c)/ all of us (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: We need an adverb here. ‘Nobler’ is an adjective and ‘nobly’ is the required adverb. ‘Nobly’ should be used in place of ‘nobler’.
Ans: b
20. As I had been (a)/ very bad with accounts (b)/, my friend asked me to (c)/ carefully solve the questions (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: It is incorrect to use adverbs in between of participles. For example: ‘He insisted me to thoroughly read the article’ is incorrect sentence. The sentence should be written as “He insisted me to read the article thoroughly.” ‘Solve the questions carefully’ should be used in place of “carefully solve the questions”.
Ans: d
21. He is enough tall (a)/ to be selected (b)/ as Police Inspector (c)/ in Haryana Police (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: The adverb ‘enough’ comes after the adjective ‘tall’ to modify that adjective. ‘Tall enough’ should be used in place of ‘enough tall’.
Ans: a
22. Great leaders tried (a)/ to eradicate social (b)/ evil practices (c)/ with tooth and nail (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: The phrase ‘tooth and nail’ means “with every available means” to do something. So, the word ‘with’ is not necessary in the sentence. Remove ‘with’ from the sentence.
Ans: d
23. I refused to consider (a)/ her as an honest girl (b)/, as she had (c)/ cheated many people (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: The adverb ‘as’ does not follow with the words like consider, call, choose, think etc. Remove ‘as’ from the sentence.
Ans: b
24. "Please listen to the (a)/ announcement with carefully”, (b)/ said the station master (c)/ to the passengers (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: Prepositions are never used with adverbs. The use of the preposition "with" is incorrect with the adverb ‘careful’ here. Remove ‘with’ from the sentence.
Ans: b
25. She did not know hardly (a)/ anyone in the college (b)/ and so she felt lonely (c)/ all the time (d)/ No error (e)
Explanation: ‘Hardly’ itself is a negative word. Therefore, we cannot use ‘not’ before ‘hardly’ to describe a negative thing. ‘She hardly knew’ should be used in place of ‘she did not know hardly’.
Ans: a
