{"id":11644,"date":"2025-10-14T07:10:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T11:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=11644"},"modified":"2025-10-13T20:23:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T00:23:21","slug":"every-words-a-choice-part-8-adverbs-do-you-need-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=11644","title":{"rendered":"Every Word\u2019s a Choice \u2013 Part 8: Adverbs \u2013 Do you Need Them?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAdverbs are the tool of the lazy writer.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mark Twain<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe road to hell is paved with adverbs.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>
Stephen King\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The liberal use of adverbs, the telltale \u201c-ly\u201d words, especially has drifted out of fashion, in favor of more direct prose. It\u2019s obvious what King and Twain thought of them. The death knell may have come some decades ago with the Tom Swifty. You may remember these awful puns: \u201cI\u2019ll have a martini,\u201d Tom said drily. Or \u201cI know who turned off the lights,\u201d Tom said darkly. Or \u201cI always eat at McDonald\u2019s,\u201d Tom said archly. At the height of their popularity, it was hard to hear an -ly adverb without thinking of the line that could introduce it, she wrote promptly. An occasional adverb, like an occasional pun is fine, it\u2019s overuse that you want to avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many times, you can avoid the adverb problem by selecting a more robust verb, as in these pairs of examples. The first uses an adverb, the second a more colorful verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet off your duff and bring me that report,\u201d the captain said angrily.
\u201cGet off your duff and bring me that report,\u201d the captain growled.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome over here and sit by me,\u201d she said flirtatiously.
\u201cCome over here and sit by me,\u201d she flirted.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which approach you use depends on your writing style and voice, but if you find yourself falling back on them to make your meaning clear, give your verbs a hard look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Order, Please!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The previous post in this series talked about the little known yet widely followed English-language rule about the order in which adjectives are presented. Where to put adverbs in a sentence is a little trickier. Their position is less fixed. Adverbs are usually but not always put near the verb (or before the adjective) they modify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in these sentences, the adverbs barely, terribly, and wildly modify\u2014that is, they change and in this case make more precise or intensify\u2014the adjectives \u201cplausible, hot, and inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barely plausible alibi
Terribly hot day
Wildly inappropriate behavior<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Careful placement of adverbs avoids vagueness in your writing. Some modifiers\u2014\u201conly\u201d and \u201cjust\u201d are prime examples\u2014can function as either adverbs or adjectives and, as adverbs, they are often rather haphazardly placed. Keep in mind that they are modifiers<\/strong>, and need to be near<\/strong> whatever they are modifying. When you change their position, the literal meaning of your sentences actually slightly shifts. To avoid ambiguity, these words must be in the position that most accurately conveys your intention. You know what you mean, so you have to be extra-conscious of what you\u2019re actually saying. It\u2019s a habit worth developing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A careful writer pays attention to these tiny differences in meaning. Here\u2019s another example where moving the adverb affects the meaning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeck, I don\u2019t even know the backstory.\u201d (It\u2019s a mystery to me<\/em>)
\u201cHeck, even I don\u2019t know the backstory.\u201d (And I\u2019m usually in-the-know<\/em>)
\u201cHeck, I don\u2019t know even the backstory.\u201d (And there\u2019s so much more to it<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The emphasis in the first version is on know. <\/em>In the second example, the emphasis is on I<\/em>, and in the third example, it\u2019s on backstory<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust\u201d And \u201cOnly\u201d Trip Everyone Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes placement is critical. Here\u2019s an example from a literary magazine request for submissions (and tut-tut to them):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are only open in March for underrepresented voices; the window for general submissions (from all writers) is closed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the editors probably mean<\/em> is that they want submissions from authors who are members of underrepresented groups and no one else<\/em> in March, but what they are saying<\/em> is that those groups are welcome to submit in March and not at other times<\/em>. The sentence probably should have read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are open in March only for underrepresented voices; the window for general submissions (from all writers) is closed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More examples. Note the differences. What the sentence is implying is in italics<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She watched to make sure he only delivered the salad (and didn\u2019t spill it in the customer\u2019s lap or make disparaging comments about it. He only delivered <\/strong>it.<\/em>).
He just wanted her to pay the check (not lecture him about his love life<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conversation, this last kind of construction is used when the speaker is sort of apologetic about the ask. Kind of a \u201cGee I didn\u2019t think this would be such a big deal. All I wanted was for her to pick up the check.\u201d But it is ambiguous when we are reading and not hearing the speaker\u2019s tone of voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the proper place for \u201conly\u201d  in this sentence? \u201cI believed he was innocent of the burglary.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahhh. Trick question. You cannot answer it unless you know what the sentence is intended to mean. Think about the differences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only I believed Jake was innocent of the burglary (everyone else believed he was guilty<\/em>)
I only believed Jake was innocent of the burglary (I couldn\u2019t prove it<\/em>)
I believed only Jake was innocent of the burglary (and the rest were guilty<\/em>)
I believed Jake was only innocent of the burglary (but not the b&e<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a few of the differences in meaning might appear a bit subtle, and while you may think they don\u2019t much matter, rest assured, they matter a great deal to Jake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part 9: Have some style!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For previous posts in this series, check the \u201cWriters\u2019 First Draft\u201d tab on my website home page: www.vweisfeld.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAdverbs are the tool of the lazy writer.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mark Twain \u201cThe road to hell is paved with adverbs.\u201d\u00a0Stephen King\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The liberal use of adverbs, the telltale \u201c-ly\u201d words, especially has drifted out of fashion, in favor of more direct prose. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[174,51,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-first-draft-blog","category-words","category-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2NkiT-31O","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11646,"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11644\/revisions\/11646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}