Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: What Is An Adverb?

by Brian P. Cleary

illustrated by Brian Gable

d Vince who get

To Elio, Gina, an along swimmingly —B.P.C. For Sari

— B.G.

rd Adverb: A wo s that describe , ere h w , w o h , n e wh nd a , n e t f o w o h how much.

by Brian P. Cleary

illustrated by Brian Gable

t C AROLRHODA B OO KS, I NC . / M INNEAPOLIS

s

u

l

l



e t

s b r e A dv h en and h ow ,

w

Like,

quickly

do your homework, now.

Th

s e

c d

r i p

b l

e e h t h e verb n e t f o s, ey

Like , pat ie nt ly p lant

peas a nd herbs.

l

i

l

f w

r e s q b

u r e e

n tly v d A end in “L-Y,”

viciously, ultra-suspiciously sly.

As in

A d v er b s add ch aracter,

si zz le, and fi zz

To your phrase or your

sentence, whatever it is!

a d d said to y

m ,

y l p r a h S

a r azor. m

i

h d n ha

Lightly, I asked him,

“Did you see that laser?”

Frankly, this hot dog just couldn't be better.

Sheepishly, Fred found he’d ruined his sweater.

If they tell us how,

they’re an

“adverb of manner,”

m m u e s

r , s i

h t y l w o l s , t o

t g a nner. r e

t Like s i s y m

k

a e

n

u s

p y

t l o t

e

i u q Or,

whe re s he is sunning

And give her a squirt from

the hose that is running.

er bs” “ Frequenc y a dv wil l te l l us how

Like, seldom have I seen a lovelier coffin.

often,

Always eat cookies, and never eat pine.

Sometimes I’m nervous,

but

usually fine.

help c an s b

r

e v d A

g

h

o n w i

n



i

a l

much p

x e n i ,

As in, this is extremely delightful to touch.

Or Johnny is somewhat

afraid of the spider,

a h

r

s d a

l y h y b e e k

e c i n M d n A touching his cider.

They give us a time, a place, and a number,

Like,

yes terda y , ov er th er e, I was in s lu

mber.

First, I was tired,

then, I was woozy,

Next, I began feeling sleepy and snoozy.

They modify like, she sang

adverbs,

quite nicely.

Or he speaks so swiftly but very precisely.

v

e r b y

s f



i d



o m

y e Th and adj e ct i v es, too,

Like, slowly he ate, and she’s really blue.

Presently, pleasantly, properly praise.

Speedily, sometimes

quite greedily, graze.

Curiously, furiously,

Strikingly strong,

Helplessly lost and hopelessly wrong.

y ou’ll find, , s b

r e v d A give th e a dj ectives zip!

As in

foolishly frisky

and

famously hip—

Bitterly angry, bitingly cold,

Brilliantly

burgundy,

shockingly

old.

g

o “

o d s

,

’ ” e

v i t c e j d The a the adve rb is “well.”

So now that you know that, you’re able to tell

That well’s how you felt,

and good was your day.

well is a very deep subject, Yes,

I’d say!

early, nearly, insincerely,

aily, weekly,

monthly, yearly,

Truly, deeply, sadly, badly—

I tell you these are

adverbs, gladly.

And so are sleekly and uniquely,

Bravely,

boldly,

coldly, meekly.

,

y

i l

m

t

h p g

olitely—

i l

s ,

y l

t h g i r B

You’d say that these

are adverbs, rightly.

So, what is an

adverb?

Do you know?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR BRIAN P. CLEARY is the author of several other picture books, including A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun?, To Root, to Toot, to Parachute: What Is a Verb?, Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective?, and Under, Over, By the Clover: What Is a Preposition? BRIAN GABLE is the illustrator of Under, Over, By the Clover: What Is a Preposition? He lives in Toronto, Ontario, where he works as a political cartoonist.

Text copyright © 2003 by Brian P. Cleary Illustrations copyright © 2003 by Brian Gable All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of Carolrhoda Books, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Carolrhoda Books, Inc., a division of Lerner Publishing Group 241 First Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A. Website address: www.lernerbooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cleary, Brian P., 1959– Dearly, nearly, insincerely : what is an adverb? / by Brian P. Cleary; illustrated by Brian Gable. p. cm. — (Words are categorical) Summary: Rhyming text and illustrations present numerous examples of adverbs and their functions. eISBN: 1–57505–721–2 1. English language—Adverb—Juvenile literature. [1. English language— Adverb.] I. Gable, Brian, 1949– II. Title. PE1325 .C57 2003 428.2—dc21 2002003012 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 – JR – 08 07 06 05 04 03