Sentence Adverb vs Adverb
You’ve probably never heard of sentence adverbs before, but I’m sure that you’ve encountered them.
You might already know what adverbs are.
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
They answer the adverb questions.
How? When? Where? Why? To what extent?
Sentence adverbs are a little bit different.
Let’s look at the definition, and then we’ll look at some examples.
sen·tence ad·verb
nounGRAMMAR
noun: sentence adverb; plural noun: sentence adverbs
an adverb or adverbial phrase that expresses a writer’s or speaker’s attitude to the content of the sentence in which it occurs (such as frankly, obviously ), or places the sentence in a particular context (such as technically, politically ).
Wow! That sounds confusing to me. However, if we break it down into understandable explanations we can master this gobbledegook.
Regular adverbs tell us about words within the sentence. Sentence adverbs tell us more about the speaker’s or writer’s opinion of the sentence. Whoa! (Some people call this kind of thing metadiscourse.)
Let’s look at a few examples of words acting as regular adverbs and sentence adverbs.
Frankly
My dictionary gives two definitions for the word frankly, and both of them are going to help us understand sentence adverbs.
The first definition shows the meaning of the word as a regular adverb.
Definition #1 (Adverb)
Frankly (adverb) meaning: in an open, honest, and direct manner
She talks frankly about herself.
In this example sentence, frankly tells us more about the verb talks.
How does she talk? She talks frankly.
Definition #2 (Sentence Adverb)
Frankly (sentence adverb) meaning: used to emphasise the truth of a statement, however unpalatable or shocking this may be
Frankly, I was pleased to leave.
In this example sentence, frankly tells us about the writer’s attitude. It’s as though it is modifying the sentence as a whole rather than a single word within the sentence.
Honestly
We’ll look at one example of the word as an adverb and one as a sentence adverb.
Example #1 (Adverb)
Honestly (adverb) meaning: in a truthful, fair, or honourable way
He earned the money honestly.
This adverb tells us about the verb. It tells us how he earned the money.
Example #2 (Sentence Adverb)
Honestly (sentence adverb) meaning: used to emphasise the sincerity or truth of a statement
Honestly, I am not upset.
Honestly tells us about the writer’s attitude.
Clearly
Let’s look at clearly as an adverb and as a sentence adverb.
Example #1 (Adverb)
Clearly (adverb) meaning: in such a way as to allow easy and accurate perception or interpretation
He writes clearly.
This adverb tells us about the verb writes. It tells us how he writes.
Example #2 (Sentence Adverb)
Clearly (sentence adverb) meaning: without a doubt; obviously
Clearly, this medicine isn’t working.
In this sentence, clearly tells us how the writer feels about the situation.
Word of Warning (Hopefully)
Some people consider certain sentence adverbs to be incorrect. This is especially true with the word hopefully.
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AGH / Jan 2020