Adverbials Part 1: the basics

Main ideas and concepts

• Adverbials are not a separate part of speech; they are units (usually phrases) that behave like adverbs.
• Purpose: Adverbials modify (add information about) a verb (and can also modify an adverb).

Adverbs vs. adverbials

• Adverbs
  • Can be one word
  • Often answer questions like when/where/how/to what degree
• Adverbials
  • Can be one word or two+ words
  • In this video, the focus is on adverbial phrases (not adverbial clauses)

Key rule given:

• All adverbs are adverbials
• Not all adverbials are adverbs

Questions adverbials answer

• When something happens
• Where
• How
• To what degree / to what extent (including how often or how much)

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Types covered in the video

• The video states it will cover:
  1. Modifier adverbial phrases
  2. Degree adverbial phrases
• In the provided subtitles, most examples are treated as modifier adverbial phrases (phrases that modify the verb by answering when/where/how/to what extent).

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Method / approach shown (instructional logic)

1. Identify the verb in the sentence (the action).
2. Ask the adverbial question: When? Where? How? To what degree (extent/how often/how much)?
3. Find the word/phrase that answers that question, even if:
   • it is not a single word, and/or
   • it does not end in “-ly”, and/or
   • it is not an adverb word by form.
4. Decide it is an adverbial phrase if it still answers the “when/where/how/degree” question and modifies the verb.

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Examples and what they illustrate

A) Single-word adverb adverbials (typically modify verbs)

• later: “I’ll call Stephanie later.”
• shortly: “I think I’ll go to the gym shortly.”
• outside: “Janie wants to go outside.”
• quickly: “I quickly buttered the toast.”
• too: “The kids eat too many lollies.”
• carefully: “Susan listens carefully.”

B) Multi-word adverbial phrases (often not a single “-ly” adverb)

Even if the phrase contains no obvious adverb, it can still be an adverbial phrase because it answers the relevant question:

• “in one hour” → answers when
  • “I’ll call Stephanie in one hour.”
• “during the day” → answers when
  • “I’ll go to the gym during the day.”
• “near the shed” → answers where
  • “Jamie plays near the shed.”
• “with a knife” (noted as a prepositional phrase) → answers how
  • “I buttered the toast with a knife.”
• “in a hurry” → answers to what extent / how long/intensely (degree) (framed as extent)
  • “The kids won’t give up their lollies in a hurry.”
• “with great enthusiasm” (again noted as containing no adverb) → answers how
  • “Susan listens with great enthusiasm.”

C) Classification given for these examples

• All these are described as modifier adverbial phrases because they modify the verb by providing extra information.

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Overall lesson / takeaway

• Adverbials = units (often phrases) that function like adverbs.
• To find them, ask when/where/how/to what degree.
• A phrase can be an adverbial even if it contains no “-ly” adverb (e.g., prepositional phrases like with a knife, during the day, near the shed).

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Speakers / sources featured

• Larissa (host of the channel; “English resource lab keeping it simple” / Orcas)
• Marissa (appears as the outro speaker: “I’m Marissa bye for now”)
• Music (background music; no specific artist named)