Relative or Conjunctive Adverbs

The Interrogative adverbs, when they are not used for asking a question, but relate to some antecedent, are called Relative adverbs. They are also called Conjunctive because they join sentences:

This is the place where (=in which) we dwell. Sometimes the Antecedent is not expressed: This is where we dwell. This is the place that we dwell in.

Here the adverb where does two things – (1) it modifies the verb of its own sentence “we dwell”, as if it were a Simple adverb; (2) it joins its own sentence to the previous sentence “this is”, as if it were a conjunction.

COMPARISONS OF ADVERBS

Adverbs, like adjectives, take no change of form, except when they are used in different degrees of Comparison.

(a) If the adverb is of one syllable, we add -erand -est to the Positive:

Fast – faster – fastest Long – longer – longest

Hard – harder – hardest Loud – louder – loudest

Near – nearer – nearest Late – later – latest or last

Note. – The adjective “near” has two adverbial forms, “near” and “nearly”, but their meanings are not the same: “He stood near (=a short distance off): he nearly (=almost) fell.”

The adjective “late” has two adverbial forms, “late'” and “lately”, in the Positive degree, and two, “last” and “lastly”, in the Superlative, but their meanings are not the same.

(b) In some adverbs the Comparative forms are irregular:

Well – better – best Much – more – most

Badly – worse – worst Little – less – least

Wisely– morewisely– mostwisely

Beautifully– morebeautifully– mostbeautifully

The adjective “early” has the same form, for its adverb; and the same forms, “earlier” and “earliest”, for the Comparative and Superlative degrees.

The only adverbs that freely admit of degrees of Comparison are Simple adverbs of Quality. These might be called Descriptiveadverbs.

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III. Relative or Conjunctive.	\|	THE FORMS OF ADVERBS

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