UNIT 2.3
COMMENT ADVERBS
Comment and viewpoint adverbs add information about the speaker's opinion of events. They do not usually give information about how something happened. Comment & viewpoint adverbs often modify the complete sentence, not just the verb.
Compare these sentences:
1. She started singing happily. (adverb of manner)
2. Happily, she started singing. (comment adverb)
In sentence 1, the adverb - happily - gives more information about how she was singing. In sentence 2, the adverb - happily - gives the speaker's comment/opinion of the event. In this case, the speaker thinks that her starting to sing was a happy event.
Comment adverbs usually go at the beginning of a sentence or clause. They can also be placed after the subject, or at the end of the sentence/clause.
Clearly, Paul had no idea what he was doing.
Paul had no idea what he was doing, clearly.
Paul clearly had no idea what he was doing.
When the comment adverb is placed after the subject, commas are often used around the adverb:
Paul, clearly, had no idea what he was doing.
Compare these sentences:
1. She started singing happily. (adverb of manner)
2. Happily, she started singing. (comment adverb)
In sentence 1, the adverb - happily - gives more information about how she was singing. In sentence 2, the adverb - happily - gives the speaker's comment/opinion of the event. In this case, the speaker thinks that her starting to sing was a happy event.
Comment adverbs usually go at the beginning of a sentence or clause. They can also be placed after the subject, or at the end of the sentence/clause.
Clearly, Paul had no idea what he was doing.
Paul had no idea what he was doing, clearly.
Paul clearly had no idea what he was doing.
When the comment adverb is placed after the subject, commas are often used around the adverb:
Paul, clearly, had no idea what he was doing.
Now, it's your turn, go to p.21 in your book, spin the wheel and tell a story using comment adverbs.