1.1 Can you recognise an adverb?
Some words (including ones ending in -ly) can be an adjective or an adverb. You can tell which it is by seeing whether it gives you information about a noun (what is it like?) or a verb (how/where/when does/did it happen?).
Activity 1 Adjectives or adverbs?
a.
Adjective
b.
Adverb
The correct answer is a.
a.
Adjective
b.
Adverb
The correct answer is b.
a.
Adverb
b.
Adjective
The correct answer is b.
a.
Adjective
b.
Adverb
The correct answer is a.
a.
Adjective
b.
Adverb
The correct answer is a.
a.
Adverb
b.
Adjective
The correct answer is a.
a.
Adjective
b.
Adverb
The correct answer is b.
a.
Adverb
b.
Adjective
The correct answer is a.
Discussion
Some words that end in -ly are not adverbs. Lively is an example here (some others include lovely and friendly) as it is telling us more about the noun (a dance) than the verb (is) and so it is an adjective, not an adverb. Some words, like only, can be both an adverb and an adjective depending on whether they tell us more about a verb or a noun. So it is important to carefully consider both the structure and the meaning of an example before assigning labels to each word.