_Positive_ _Comparative_ _Superlative_.
soon sooner soonest.
often oftener oftenest.
much more most.
well better best.
far farther farthest.
wisely more wisely most wisely.
justly more justly most justly.
justly less justly least justly.
You will generally know an adverb at sight; but sometimes you will find
it more difficult to be distinguished, than any other part of speech in
the English language. I will, therefore, give you some _signs_ which
will assist you a little.
Most words ending in _ly_ are adverbs; such as, _politely, gracefully,
judiciously_. Any word or short phrase that will answer to any one of
the questions, _how? how much? when?_ or _where?_ is an adverb; as, The
river flows _rapidly_; He walks _very fast_; He has gone _far away;_ but
he will _soon_ return; She sings _sweetly_; They learn _none at all_.
How, or in what manner does the river flow? _Rapidly_. How does he walk?
_Very fast_. Where has he gone? _Far away_. When will he return? _Soon_.
How does she sing? _Sweetly_. How much do they learn? _None at all_.
From this illustration, you perceive, that, if you could not tell these
adverbs by the sense, you would know them by their answering to the
questions. However, your better way will be to distinguish adverbs by
considering the office they perform in the sentence; or by noticing
their grammatical relation, or their situation, with respect to other
words. To gain a thorough knowledge of their real character, is highly
important. _Rapidly, fast, far away, soon, sweetly_, &c. are known to be
adverbs by their qualifying the sense of verbs. "A _very_ good pen
writes _extremely well." Well_, in this sentence, is known to be an
adverb by its qualifying the sense of the verb _writes; extremely_, by
its ending in _ly_, or by its being joined to the adverb _well_ to
qualify it; and _very_ is known as an adverb by its joining the
adjective _good_.
Expressions like these, _none at all, a great deal, a few days ago, long
since, at length, in vain_, when they are used to denote the _manner_ or
_time_ of the action of verbs or participles, are generally termed
_adverbial phrases_.
Adverbs, though very numerous, may, for the sake of practical
convenience, be reduced to particular classes.