Count the adverbs in the following sentence: Therefore, we should wait outside awhile because the very lovely and kindly family will be there soon to tell us fast whether everyone is well. Would it ...

Years ago, I wrote a column about “whom” and the dangers of using it wrong. What happened next remains one of the weirdest moments in my writing career. A reader sent an email to scold me, but not for ...

RANT to disappearing adverbs. Have you noticed that it is becoming acceptable to use an adjective, rather than an adverb, even though an adverb is grammatically required? It’s happening everywhere — ...

I still remember the awful woman I met at a reception during an English Speaking Union meeting on George Street, Edinburgh, in 2008 (I I still remember the awful woman I met at a reception during an ...

Count the adverbs in the following sentence. Therefore, we should wait outside awhile because the very lovely and kindly family will be there soon to tell us fast whether everyone is well. Would it ...

Lately … I’ve begun rethinking my adverbial antipathy.For years, I’ve known without a doubt what to do if I found an adverb in my copy: exterminate the sucker ...

Adverbs are of different types. Among such are adverbs of manner (like smoothly, awkwardly and loudly) and those of time (today, yesterday and now). But there is a type not commonly taught: the one ...

Neighbors were chatting and socializing as they carried out some maintenance on the trees and bushes in a nearby strip of communally maintained woodland near my home. I heard an acquaintance from down ...

In literary lore, one of the best stories of all time is a mere six words. "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." It's the ultimate example of less is more, and you'll often find it attributed to Ernest ...

Our discussion of flat adverbs continues today as we, firstly, add more examples. I hope you remember what flat adverbs are: those that do not carry -ly. Rather, they have the same forms as adjectives ...