ABSTRACT
Looking for a really easy way sink into grammar quicksand? Adverbs can often be explained simply: adverbs are all words that end in -ly. In this sentence, the word deadly is an adjective telling what kind of poison. A part of speech is defined by what it does in a particular sentence. Furthermore, some frequently used adverbs of frequency—sometimes, always, and never—don’t end in -ly. Yet they’re still adverbs. Depending on the -ly rule might get you through an adverb quiz, but it is better for writers and readers to understand what an adverb actually does. To that point, adverbs add information to the verb. But beloved horror writer Stephen King warns, “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” In fact, people say all sorts of nasty things about adverbs.
