Das Wörtchen the kennen wir natürlich als Artikel im Englischen, der für der/die/das steht.

Doch es gibt ein the das kein Artikel ist.

Und zwar kommt es in Redewendungen vor, wie zum Beispiel The more, the merrier oder in Sätzen wie The more I look at this, the stranger it seems.

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Adverbs of time answer the questions when? how long? and how often? Adverbs of time describe when an action takes place. These can be specific times or general periods of time.

When using adverbs, writers should be mindful of the following:

When to use an adverb?

Adverbs are often used to describe how something is done. They can also be used to describe where something is done. Adverbs of time and place are often used in dialogue, as well as in descriptions.

Where should you use an adverb?

Adverbs that describe a verb or adjective should go before the word they modify. For example: „I was running quickly.“ Adverbs that describe a noun should go after the word they modify. For example: „The sound of my footsteps were muffled by the carpet.”

Examples of Adverbs of Time

Examples of adverbs of time are: now, then, then again, nowadays

Adverbs of Time Used in Sentences

• Lunch will be ready soon.
• Jenny visited us twice last year but we haven’t seen her since.
• Harold rarely visits his grandparents
• Please deliver our newspapers now.

Used in Creative Writing

Adverbs of time are often used in creative writing to provide a sense of immediacy and urgency.

Examples:

• „As soon as I saw the police car, I knew I was in trouble.“
• „I need to get this done before the weekend is over.“

Grammar Rules

Adverbs of manner tell you the way an action is performed.

They answer the question how?

Usually, the adverb follows the verb.

Example

• The students cheered enthusiastically when they were told that they were getting a holiday.

Sometimes, the adverb is placed before the verb to emphasise the manner of the action.

Example

• He deliberately tripped the rude boy.

• She suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Although many adverbs of manner end in -ly, not all do.

Example

• She’s trying hard to impress the judges.

Grammar Rules

Adverbs of degree answer the question how much? or to what extent? They increase or reduce the force of the word they describe.

They are usually used with adjectives and are placed before the adjective that they describe.

Example

• The students put up a totally entertaining performance.

They are used with other adverbs and are placed before the adverb they describe.

Example

• The young man walked incredibly slowly.

When used with verbs, they come before the verb.

Example

• The audience absolutely hated the show

Adverbs are used to indicate comparison in the same way as adjectives.

They generally form the comparative or superlative by adding more and most to the positive adverb.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
early	earlier	earliest
long	longer	longest
bravely	more bravely	most bravely
carefully	more carefully	most carefully
greedily	more greedily	most greedily

Exceptions

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
badly	worse	worst
well	better	best

on/to the other side of (a line): across and over

Across and over can both be used to mean ‚on or to the other side of a line, river, road, bridge, etc’.

Examples

• His village is just across/over the border.

• See if you can jump across/over the stream.

high things: over preferred

We prefer over to say „on/to the other side of something high“.

Example

• Why are you climbing over the wall? (not  across the wall?)

 

flat areas: across preferred

We usually prefer across to say ‚on/to the other side of a flat area or surface’.

Examples

• He walked right across the desert.

• It took them six hours to row across the lake.

the adverb over (to)

Note that the adverb over has a wider meaning than the preposition over.

We often use over (to) for short journeys.

Example

I’m going over to Jack’s. Shall we drive over and see your mother?

across and through

The difference between across and through is like the difference between on and in. Through, unlike across, is used for a movement in a three-dimensional space, with things on all sides.

Compare

• We walked across the ice. (We were on the ice.)

• I walked through the wood. (I was in the wood.)

• We drove across the desert.

• We drove through several towns.