cipate the nature both of adverbs and conjunctions; of
adverbs, as they denote the attributes either of _time_ or _place_; of
conjunctions, as they _conjoin sentences_.
There are many words that are sometimes used as adjectives, and,
sometimes as adverbs; as, "_More_ men than women were there; I am _more_
diligent than he." In the former sentence _more_ is evidently an
adjective, for it is joined to a noun to qualify it; in the latter it is
an adverb, because it qualifies an adjective. There are others that are
sometimes used as nouns, and sometimes as adverbs; as, "_to-day's_
lesson is longer than _yesterday's_." In this example, _to-day_ and
_yesterday_ are nouns in the possessive case; but in phrases like the
following, they are generally considered adverbs of time; "He came [_to
his] home yesterday_, and will set out again _to-day_." Here they are
nouns, if we supply _on_ before them.
"Where _much [wealth, talent_, or something else] is given, _much
[increase, improvement_] will be required; _Much_ money has been
expended; It is _much_ better to write than starve." In the first two of
these examples, _much_ is an adjective, because it qualifies a noun; in
the last, an adverb, because it qualifies the adjective _better_. In
short, you must determine to what part of speech a word belongs, by its
_sense_, or by considering the _manner_ in which it is associated with
other words.
An adjective may, in general, be distinguished from an _adverb_ by this
rule: when a word qualifies a _noun_ or _pronoun_, it is an adjective,
but when it qualifies a _verb, participle, adjective_, or _adverb_, it
is an adverb.
Prepositions are sometimes erroneously called adverbs, when their nouns
are understood. "He rides _about_;" that is, about the _town, country_,
or some-_thing_ else. "She was _near_ [the _act_ or _misfortune of_]
falling;" "But do not _after_ [that _time_ or _event_] lay the blame on
me." "He came _down_ [the _ascent_] from the hill;" "They lifted him
_up_ [the _ascent_] out of the pit." "The angels _above_;"--above
_us_--"Above these lower _heavens_, to us invisible, or dimly seen."
Before you proceed to correct the following exercises in false Syntax,
you may answer these
QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED IN PARSING.
Does an adverb ever qualify a noun?--What parts of speech does it
qualify?--When an adverb qualifies a verb or participle, what does it
express?--When an adverb qualifies an adjective or adverb, what d
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