The Major Parts of Speech-ly quickly, frequently, awkwardly, cautiously (when {-ly} is
added to adjectives)
-wise lengthwise, otherwise
-ward homeward
table 8: adverbial derivational endings
Exercise
Use the derivational endings listed in Table 8 to show that the follow-
ing words may all be adverbs: fondly, gradually, northward, onward,
recently, colorwise, edgewise.
Because there are so few adverb-creating suffixes, it might seem difficult to
distinguish between adjectives and adverbs. In practice, however, it is usually
fairly simple to tell them apart because of their positions in sentences.
analytic test 13a. Adverbs do not occur in the positions typically occupied
by adjectives.
analytic test 13b. Adverbs tend to be relatively movable in a sentence.
Let us use the adjective frequent and its related adverb frequently as ex-
amples of these criteria. As we have seen, adjectives can occur between de-
terminers and nouns or after be-become-seem verbs, as in (12a) and (12b):
(12) a. Harriet was a frequent visitor.
b. Harriet’s visits were frequent.
Adverbs in these positions are ungrammatical:
(13) a. Harriet was a frequently visitor.
b. Harriet’s visits were frequently.
The sentences below show the results of applying Test 13b to the adjective
frequent and the adverb frequently:
(14) a. Harriet was a frequent visitor.