Student Writing Handbook Fifth+Edition

Classification of Words / 409

To what extent?

The pilot fought really hard to control the landing.

(Really tells to what extent about the adverb hard; hard tells how about the verb

fought.)

Adverbs have two characteristic endings that help identify them:

• Adverbs, like adjectives, can be compared using the endings –er and –est or the
  words more and most.
  The athletes trained hard today, harder today than they did yesterday; but
  they trained the hardest on Saturday.
  (Use the comparative form harder to compare how they trained on two
  days; use the superlative form hardest to compare how they trained on
  three or more days.)


• Adverbs have a common ending, often –ly:
  He trained methodically.
  Not all words that end in –ly are adverbs; some are adjectives. Checking how
  the word functions determines whether it is an adverb or an adjective.
  The dog was friendly.
  (Friendly tells about the noun dog; thus it is an adjective, not an adverb.)

PREPoSITIoNS

A preposition shows the relationship of its object to another word in the sentence. To
find the object of the preposition, ask who? or what? after the preposition.

The children dashed through the house.

(Through shows the relationship between house and children; house answers

what? about through and is the object of the preposition.)

The preposition, with its object, functions as a single word.

• The preposition can function as an adjective.
  The cat with the bushy tail chases birds.
  (The prepositional phrase with the bushy tail tells which about the noun
  cat; thus, it functions as an adjective.)


• The preposition can function as an adverb.
  The child who fell into the pond needs dry clothes.
  (The prepositional phrase into the pond says where about the verb fell; thus
  it functions as an adverb.)