Adverbs in english language common errors in using adverbs, some suggested solutions

Hanoi pedagogical university n0 Foreign languages faculty Nguyen Xuan Hieu Adverbs IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE - Common errors In using ADVERBS, SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements of the degree Of Bachelor of Arts in English Hanoi, May 2010 Chapter ONE INTRODUCTION Rationale The adverb in English is a key linguistic element Almost all sentences contain adverbs Normally, each sentence contains at least one adverb, which adds information about place, time, manner, cause or degree to a verb, an adjective, a phrase or another adverb The adverb is divided into many kinds (adverbs of manner, adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of frequency, etc.) Moreover, each kind has complicated uses So, it causes many difficulties to students of English In fact, many grammarians have done research on adverbs Most English grammar books tell about the adverb, but it is sometimes not very easy to understand and not all of the books give all the possible uses of the adverb For this reason, students of English usually make mistakes in using adverbs With the aim of helping learners of English to overcome these difficulties, this thesis focuses on finding all kinds of adverbs and all possible uses of the adverb in general as well as in particular This research will help students have a scientific, complete and correct view of the adverb to minimize serious mistakes in using adverbs objectives of the Research The study is aimed at achieving the following two goals:  To show the kinds and the uses of the adverb in the sentence  To find common errors which students usually make in using adverbs and then give suggested solutions to these problems Scope of the Research The main object of the research is the adverb Factually, the research focuses on the kinds and the uses of the adverbs in the sentence The population involved in the study is 50 high school students in Vinh Phuc Province They are the students of the eleventh form in Xuanhoa High School Their level of English is quite various because English is not their major subject Nevertheless, the expected level among the students in this grade is intermediate The research intended to serve the teaching practices and learning practices at high school Tasks of the Research The research work involves fulfilling a number of tasks:  To study the kinds, functions, positions of the adverb in contexts to see that how it operates in English  To find all kinds and possible uses of the adverb in terms of grammar and pragmatics  To find common errors that students usually make in using adverbs The causes for the errors will also be paid attention to, and then some suggested solutions to minimize errors will be given method of the Research The aim is to find all possible uses of the adverb and common errors of students in using adverbs; therefore, the main research method is survey questionnaire All local as well as foreign relevant documents are critically reviewed and referred to The results are commented on and carefully classified The errors are analyzed with the assistance of examination, description and interpretation Significance of the research The research studies the uses of the kinds of adverbs in terms of grammar, meaning and pragmatics It also shows common errors the students always make as well as the reasons for these mistakes Based on the causes discovered, solutions to minimize the number of errors are given as well as suggestions to help students use adverbs correctly and effectively are also made Therefore, naturally the research has some significance to students, teachers as well as anyone interested On the part of students, they can refer to the study in order to improve and enrich their knowledge of the adverb such as the kinds, functions, positions of the adverbs and so on Moreover, they can themselves avoid some errors by applying some suggestions mentioned in the thesis As a result, the adverb may be used correctly and effectively On the part of teachers, with the help of the research, by considering the common errors and causes, they can have own ways to help students to avoid making mistakes in using adverbs For these reasons above, this research is useful for everyone who is interested in the adverb overview of the research The thesis consists of four main chapters: Chapter one, Introduction, introduces reasons for choosing the topic, objectives, scope, tasks and significance of the study, the research method as well as an overview of the thesis Chapter two, Theoretical Background, has a background in theory on the adverb and the previous studies in this field Chapter three, Methodology and Result, presents the research method and the result of the survey questionnaire Chapter four, Findings, gives common errors, causes and suggested solutions Besides, there is the last part Conclusion to summarize the key points of the research CHAPTER two Theoretical background Literature review in brief In English language, adverb is considered equally as other elements, such as verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc Therefore, adverb has never been ignored by course books or syllabus writers or teachers Actually, English adverb has been paid much attention and described by such a lot of grammarians like Walker & Elsworth (1988), Alexander, L (1988), Laurie Rozakis (2003), Haln & Hensley (2000), and so on Generally, English adverb is studied concerning to three perspectives: theoretical, practical, and functional, and the most detailed pictures of English adverb are offered by Alexander, L (1988), Eastwood, J (1992), Quirk (1973) & Greenbaum (1985) Alexander, L (1988) presents the detailed picture of English adverb theoretically while the practical school is presented by Eastwood, J (1992), and the last school, the functional grammar of English adverb is offered by Quirk (1973) & Greenbaum (1985) Furthermore, regarding to adverb in English, many other grammarians also have given their own opinions about the grammatical features, functions and so on Their contributions make the picture of English adverb more comprehensively 1.1 What is an adverb? There are many definitions of an adverb which are listed as follows: According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), an adverb is a word that adds to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a whole sentence In Grammar Practice for Intermediate Students, Walker & Elsworth (1988, p 105) define that “An adverb describes how, where or when an action is done.” Meanwhile, in Longman English Grammar, Alexander, L (1988, p 122) gives a special definition of adverbs He defines that “The word adverb (ad-verb) suggests the idea of adding to the meaning of a verb This is what many adverbs They can tell us something about the action in a sentence by modifying a verb, i.e by telling us how, when, where, etc something happens or is done.” Adverbs, as stated by Laurie Rozakis (2003, p 27) in English Grammar for the Utterly Confused, are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs Adverbs answer the questions: when? where? how? or to what extent? In the book Teach Yourself Grammar and Style, Haln & Hensley (2000, p 123) define that “An adverb is a word or a group of words that modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or an entire clause or sentence.” On the whole, from their point of view, it can be seen that adverbs are a part of speech that modifies verbs, adjectives, clauses, sentences or other adverbs Adverbs typically answer questions such as how? when?, where?, and to what extent?, for example: How? They are going very slowly When? We met her last night Where? I saw them at the end of the street Adverbs can be single words (e.g slowly) or phrases (e.g at the end of the street) and the term adverbial is often used to describe both types For instances: Can you speak slowly? Her house is at the end of the street Adverbs are not always essential to the structure of a sentence, but they often affect the meaning of the sentence Compare the following examples: Doris has left Doris has just left I have finished work I have nearly finished work Sometimes adverbs are necessary to complete a sentence: After some intransitive verbs such as lie, live, sit, etc For examples: She was sleeping peacefully Ben laughed loudly After some transitive verbs (e.g lay, destroy, sing) followed by an object, for instance: The fire destroyed the school completely He was singing to himself quietly Adverbs have many kinds such as: adverbs of manner, adverbs of time, adverbs of place, adverbs of frequency, sentence adverbs, etc Each kind has different uses from others 1.2 Formation of adverbs In Longman Dictionary of Grammar and Usage, Aik & Hui (1992) gave the detailed picture of adverb forms: Most adverbs are formed from adjectives by the addition of - ly Adjectives Adverbs bad badly interesting interestingly quick quickly slow slowly happy happily true truly There are some rules for forming -ly adverbs from adjectives: - Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to adjectives: e.g mad /madly, sudden/ suddenly This applies to adjectives ending in -l so that the -l is doubled: beautiful/ beautifully, musical/ musically But not: full /fully - -y after a consonant becomes -ily: e.g busy/ busily, funny / funnily In some other cases, -y is kept in the adverb, e.g spry/ spryly, wry/ wryly Sometimes two formations are possible: e.g dry / drily/ dryly, sly/ slily/ slyly But in sly/ slyly, -yly is the acceptable form For examples: Rachel is busy studying for her exam Students were busily writing notes (1) The weather was hot and dry “I hear you are a hero,” Phillip said dryly / drily (2) He leaned forward with a sly smile He glanced at her slyly / slily - (3) Delete -e and add -(l)y if an adjective end in -le: e.g able/ ably, possible/ possibly, whole/ wholly Others adjectives ending in -e retain the -e when adding -ly: extreme/ extremely, tame/ tamely Exceptions: due/ duly, true/ truly For instances: She was ably assisted by her team of researcher Earthquakes are extremely difficult to predict His work is truly original - Adjectives ending in -ic take -ally: e.g systematic/ systematically, basic/ basically Common exception: public/ publicly However, there are some exceptions: Some adverbs are unrelated to other words, for example: always, already, soon, very, perhaps, etc Some adverbs have exactly the same form as their corresponding adjectives, such as: fast/ fast, late/ late, low/ low, hard/ hard, near/ near, etc For examples: Adjectives Adverbs Nam is a fast runner in our class Slow down - You are driving too fast Sorry I‟m late - I over slept Ellen has to work late tonight There are a few words ending in - ly which are adjectives and not adverbs, for examples: brotherly, deadly, friendly, heavenly, lovely, lively, etc The adverb of good is well, for instance: Adjective Adverbs The train service is not good Did you sleep well? She is a very good player All the team played very well today Some adverbs have two forms and normally the two forms have different meanings, for examples: hard & hardly: We‟ve all worked hard (diligently) I‟ve got hardly any money (almost no) late & lately: I often stay up late (opposite of early) I‟ve been unwell lately (recently) A few adverbs have the prefix a-: Go ahead / away / along 10 CHAPTER four Findings Common errors made by THE eleventh grade students at xuanhoa high school and causes 1.1 Misusing the form of adverbs Most learners of English for a long time overgeneralized that adverbs usually end in ly But there are some words ending in - ly which are adjectives and not adverbs, such as: brotherly, deadly, friendly, heavenly, lovely, lively, etc It leaded to some wrong answers in adverbs form, for examples: She danced lively (Wrong) She danced in a lively way (Right) They behave friendly (Wrong) They behave in a friendly way (Right) Besides, there are some rules for forming adverbs and exceptions that lead students to make mistakes: Question 7: She speaks English very good (Wrong) She speaks English well (Right) Question 2: She truely believed he was innocent (Wrong) She truly believed he was innocent (Right) (delete -e and add -ly) 46 Moreover, some adverbs have two forms and normally the two forms have different meanings (e.g hard / hardly, late / lately, etc.) So students can express meanings in error For instances: Question 9: hard & hardly We have all worked hardly (Wrong) (hardly = almost no) We have all worked hard (Right) (hard = diligently) Question 10: late & lately Ellen has to work lately tonight (Wrong) Ellen has to work late tonight (Right) 1.2 Misusing positions of adverbs Positions of adverbs are very complicated Adverbs can stay anywhere in a sentence (in front position, mid position or end position) So it is very difficult for students to put adverbs in the correct position in a sentence For this reason, students usually make mistakes in using adverbs If there is a direct object, an adverb of manner is normally placed after the direct object If there is no object, the adverb normally follows the verb For example: Question 18: He quietly tried to leave (Wrong) He tried to leave quietly (Right) Adverbs of time such as all time, since last year, for a while, etc are usually placed at the end of the sentence: 47 Question 19: All time, he sings in the bathroom (Wrong) He all time sings in the bathroom (Wrong) He sings in the bathroom all time (Right) If the sentence has a verb be (e.g is, am, are, were, will be) followed by an adjective, the adverb of frequency is normally placed between the verb be and the adjective Question 17: I always am late (Wrong) I am always late (Right) If there is an auxiliary verb, an adverb of frequency is normally placed between the auxiliary verb and the main verb For instance: Question 15: You never should take unnecessary risks (Wrong) You should never take unnecessary risks (Right) (after an auxiliary verb) Some adverbs are used only in end position: Question 20: I‟m anymore a member of the club (Wrong) I‟m not a member anymore of the club (Wrong) I‟m not a member of the club anymore (Right) 48 1.3 Misusing adverbs after linking verbs Many students of English are influenced by the false idea about adverbs that they probably learnt at school, namely that “verbs are always followed by adverbs” However, other verbs named „linking verbs‟ are usually followed by adjectives - Use an adjective after linking verbs such as taste, appear, feel, seem, look, smell, become, etc if you are describing the subject of a sentence (e.g the fruit in the set of examples below) For example: Question 21: The math problem looks easily (Wrong) The math problem looks easy (Right) Question 25: The fruit tastes sweetly (Wrong) The fruit tastes sweet (Right) - Use an adverb if you are describing the verb (e.g taste in the examples below) At the cooking competition, the judge tasted the dishes careful before giving her comments (Wrong) At the cooking competition, the judge tasted the dishes carefully before giving her comments (Right) 1.4 Misusing adverbs as conjunctions Some adverbs such as: however, therefore, moreover, etc can be used to link a sentence with a preceding one However, they can not be used as conjunctions to combine two sentences or clauses in the following way: 49 Question 30: However he is very rich, he doesn‟t waste his money (Wrong) He is very rich however he doesn‟t waste his money (Wrong) According to the result of the survey, 58% of 50 students made this mistake Note how the following correct sentences are punctuated: He is very rich However, he does not waste his money (Right) He is very rich; however, he does not waste his money (Right) 1.5 Misusing adjectives for adverbs An adjective is used to give information about a noun or a pronoun To give more information about a verb, an adjective (e.g fast in question 28 below) or another adverb (e.g well in question 27), an adverb must be used: Question 27: You‟re doing real well (Wrong) You‟re doing really well (Right) Question 28: Jack drove his car exceeding fast (Wrong) Jack drove his car exceedingly fast (Right - here, an adverb is needed because the word that is modified is an adjective - fast) 50 suggested solutions to the problems As can be seen from the previous parts of the thesis, the students‟ errors are due to their understanding of adverb uses, its complexity as well as the negative effects of the mother tongue Based on the causes found, some suggestions are made to minimize students‟ errors in using adverbs For the teacher: In the first place, it is important for the teacher to focus on introducing the main kinds of adverbs The uses of the adverbs must be taught systematically such as forms, syntactic functions and positions in the sentence and so on All areas related must be included in the lesson It is advisable for the teacher to help students to understand and use the adverbs accurately and effectively To achieve the goals, the teacher should the following things:  Adopting teaching materials to the students‟ levels of proficiency  Planning lessons logically and suitably for students according to the levels of difficulty and complexity  Providing students with variety use of the adverb in text Besides, the best way to help the students to remember and master the uses of the adverbs is doing exercises related to the adverbs The below could be three effective types of exercise for students to do: Choose the best answer Putting the adverbs in the correct places to make sentences Writing sentences using the adverb In addition, the influences of the mother tongue should be minimized By comparing the expressions of the two languages in the same sentence, the teacher may help the student avoid the wrong application of the Vietnamese rules to English It is also necessary to analyze the difference in meaning and structure between Vietnamese and English 51 For the student: - To remember the form, the functions and especially the uses of adverbs, it is good for students to learn by heart, then give examples for each type, to learn that adverb in the context and try to use and repeat it as many times as possible - Grasping the use of the adverb should be done gradually and systematically - Comparing and contrasting to minimize the negative influence of mother tongue - Focusing on special forms, special positions of the exceptional cases It is advised that the more we practice, the better we are Learning adverbs is not an exception The students are advised to practice as much as possible As can be seen in the suggested solutions for teachers above, these are three effective types of exercise for students to do: Putting the adverbs in the correct places to make sentences Choose the best answer Writing sentences using the adverb It means that students had better to practice these types of exercises again and again, as much as possible Suggested exercises and suggested sources for adverb learning Practice exercises on using the adverb are usually not much in textbooks For this reason the teacher should provide students more exercises The teacher could design particular exercises types to minimize these errors Three types of exercise mentioned above can be used: Choose the best answer Putting the adverbs in the correct places to make sentences Writing sentences using the adverb 52 For examples: Choose the best answer This math problem looks (easy, easily) She looked at me (nervous, nervously) You are doing (real/ really) well She (truly/ truely) believed he was innocent They inspected the car in an (officious/ officiously) manner We asked permission (politely/ polite) All the team played very (well / good) today They are (extreme/ extremely) happy I don‟t like alcohol, (especially/ especial) beer 10 She is studying (hard/ hardly) to pass the exam Putting the adverbs in the correct places to make sentences They are at home ( probably ) ……………………………………………………………… You should take unnecessary risks ( never ) … They have paid the bill ( already ) …… … He tried to leave ( quietly ) …………………………………………………………… The children are at the cinema (still) …………………………………………………………… I haven‟t met your brother (yet) …………………………………………………………… We see them in the evening (seldom) …………………………………………………………… Do you watch this program? (often) 53 …………………………………………………………… Have you seen my pen? (anywhere) ……………………………………………………………… 10 He drives the car (carefully) …………………………………………………………… Writing sentences using the adverb easily/ Jonathan/ passed/ the test ……………………………………… He/ sings/ in the bathroom/ always ……………………………………… is / rather/ silly/ game ……………………………………… I / love/ really/ these trousers ……………………………………… They/ enough/ didn‟t/ sell/ tickets ………………………………………… Anna/ late/ arrives/ for work ………………………………………… usually/ go to/ we/ school/ by bus ………………………………………… I/ just/ have/ my homework/ finished ………………………………………… the children/ sleeping/ are/ peacefully ………………………………………… 10 last night/ we/ met/ her ………………………………………… Some suggested sources can be used to teach the adverb: - Textbook for grade 11 (Ministry of Education and Training) 54 - Grammar Practice for Intermediate Students (Longman) - Oxford Practice Grammar (Oxford University Press) - http://grammarbook.com - http://englishtips.org - http://learningenglish.de To sum up, by applying the suggested solutions to the problems in this paper, it is hoped that the teacher will get more success in teaching the adverb in order to minimize students‟ errors in using adverbs 55 Conclusion It is said that the adverb plays an important role in English However, it seems that the kinds of adverbs and their uses have not been paid much attention to In fact, not all the grammar books dealing with the adverb are fully understandable As a result, it may cause many difficulties to learners of English in using adverbs in sentences Therefore, this research gives an understandable and complete picture of the adverb Besides, it finds out common errors and gives some suggestions to minimize errors For these reasons, the thesis focuses on finding all the kinds of adverbs and their uses in the sentence A survey was carried out to find common errors, and the errors were analyzed so as to find causes Some suggestions have been made to help students avoid these mistakes The survey also shows that the causes of the errors are the students‟ limited understanding of the adverb, its complexity as well as the negative influences of the mother tongue Based on the findings in the previous parts some suggestions have been made to help the student minimize the errors when using the adverbs The teacher is advised to provide and clarify adverbs, minimize the negative of the mother tongue, vary exercises on the adverb and raise the students‟ awareness of the adverbs 56 REFERENCES Aik, K C & Hui, K K (1999) Longman Dictionary of Grammar and Usage Singapore: Pearson Education Asia Alexander, L.G (1990) Longman English Grammar Practice for Intermediate Students England: Longman Alexander, L.G (1992) Longman English Grammar England: Longman „A note on the reorganization of district administration‟ (2009) Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Azar, B S (2000) Understanding and Using English Grammar New York: Longman Ân, Nguyễn Văn (2003) Ngữ pháp tiếng Anh đại NXB ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH Blundell, J et al (1982) Function in English Oxford: Oxford University Press Close, R A (1979) A Reference Grammar for Students of English England: Longman Dykes, B (2007) Grammar for Everyone Australia: ACER Press Eastwood, J (1987) A Basic English Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Eastwood, J (1994) Oxford Guide to English Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Eastwood, J (1999) Oxford Practice Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Hewings, M (2005) Advanced Grammar in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Khuê, Nguyễn (1999) Ngữ pháp tiếng Anh Hà Nội: NXB HÀ NỘI Murphy, R (2000) English Grammar in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Murphy, R et al ( 1996 ) Essential Grammar in Use Supplementary Exercises Cambridge: Cambridge University Press O‟connell, S (1992) Focus on Advanced English C.A.E Edinburgh: Longman Peters, P (2004) The Cambridge Guide to English Usage Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Quirk, R et al (1973) A University Grammar of English England: Longman 57 Quirk, R et al (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the Enghlish Language London: Longman Rozakis, Ph D (2003) English Grammar for the Utterly Confused America: McGraw-Hill Sinclair, J et al (1990) Collins Cobuild English Grammar Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers Swan, M (1995) Basic English Usage Oxford: Oxford University Press Swan, M (2005) Practical English Usage Oxford: Oxford University Press Thomson, A J & Martinet, A V (1998) A Practice English Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Walker, E & Elsworth, S (2000) Grammar Practice for Intermediate Students England: Longman Walker, E & Elsworth, S (2000) Grammar Practice for Upper Intermediate students England: Longman Wehmeier, S et al (2005) Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary Oxford: Oxford University Press Xuân Bá (2002) Ngữ pháp tiếng Anh Hà Nội: NXB HÀ NỘI 58 appendix QUESTIONNAIRE Questionnaire for intermediate students (the students of eleventh form at xuan hoa high school) To check their comprehension of the adverb (Your answer to the questions in the questionnaire will give useful information to my thesis and your contribution is of great significance to the completion of my research Please answer the question below as honestly as possible) I Give the correct form of the words in brackets I ……… realized what had happened (sudden) She ……… believed he was innocent (true) Students were ……… writing notes (busy) They were ……… assisted by their team of researcher (able) Earthquakes are …………… difficult to predict (extreme) I felt ………… sick at the thought (physical) My microcomputer always works …………… (beautiful) She speaks English very ………… (good) We have all worked ………… (hard) 10 Ellen has to work ………… tonight (late) II Rewrite the following sentences by putting the adverbs given in brackets in the correct place Use punctuation where necessary 11 I am tired ( frankly ) 12 No one complained ( fortunately) … … 13 You are right (maybe) 59 … …… 14 They are at home ( probably ) ……………………………………………………………………… 15 You should take unnecessary risks ( never ) … 16 They have paid the bill ( already ) …… … 17 I am late (always ) …… 18 He tried to leave ( quietly ) … ……… 19 He sings in the bathroom.( all time ) ………… …………………… 20 I‟m not a member of the club ( anymore ) ………… ……………… III Choose the best answer 21 This math problem looks (easy, easily) 22 She looked at me (nervous, nervously) 23 I felt (sad, sadly) when I heard the news 24 Susan smiled cheerfully She seemed (cheerful, cheerfully) 25 The fruit tastes (sweet, sweetly) 26 The weather became (warm, warmly) 27 You are doing (real/ really) well 28 Jack drove his car (exceeding/ exceedingly) fast 29 We have (near / nearly) finished the research 30 A However he is very rich, he doesn‟t waste his money B He is very rich However, he doesn‟t waste his money C He is very rich however he doesn‟t waste his money 60 [...]... are afraid of judging their teachers and making their names known 1.2 Procedures In the process of finding common errors in using adverbs in English, there was a question raised: “how well students understand and use adverbs In order to answer this question, a grammatical judgment questionnaire on the uses of the adverbs was designed In an attempt to find out common errors in using adverbs, there may... forgotten the meeting He definitely left the house this morning You have definitely been working too hard 28 Sometimes adverbs of certainty can be placed at the beginning of the sentence: Undoubtedly, public interest in folk music has declined Maybe you are right Perhaps her train was late Be careful with surely When it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, it means the speaker thinks something is true,... killed.) She is certainly the best person for the job You obviously enjoyed your meal Some common adverbs of comment are: definitely, certainly, obviously, simply Commenting adverbs are very similar to viewpoint adverbs, and often the same words, but they go in a different position - after the verb to be and before the main verb For instances: Obviously, this is going to take some time (Viewpoint adverb) Cost... three options These questions would focus on using adverbs after liking verbs, the first six questions, distinguishing adjectives and adverbs in parentheses in question 27, 28, 29 and using adverbs as conjunctions in the last question The questionnaire was designed for eleventh grade students at Xuanhoa High School in Vinh Phuc Province They have learned English as a compulsory subject at high school... probably thinks you don‟t like him It will certainly rain this evening I definitely feel better today There is clearly something wrong The train has obviously been delayed Adverbs of certainty usually go in mid position They are placed after the auxiliary verb and before the main verb When there are two auxiliaries, the adverb of certainty goes after the first He is probably in the park He has certainly... me.) Focusing adverbs are not normally used at the beginning of a sentence It is best to place them in front of and next to the word or words modified by them Too and as well are exceptions to this rule They normally go in end position, for examples: She not only speaks English; she speaks French as well He not only sings; he plays the piano too Some focusing adverbs can be used at the beginning of... students‟ using adverbs in sentences There were 30 questions in the questionnaire and divided into 3 sub-question parts; each sub-questionnaire consists of 10 questions focusing on different areas 34 To investigate students‟ understanding of the form of the adverb, there were 10 questions to test students for forming adverbs The students would have to give the correct form of the words in brackets to form adverbs. .. obviously important (Commenting adverb) We‟re obviously going to need more help (Commenting adverb) Your research has obviously been very thorough (Commenting adverb) In comparison with adverbs of manner: 30 I stupidly left the car unlocked (= It was stupid of me.) The man stared stupidly at the screen (= in a stupid manner.) 2.7.4 Adverbs of focusing Adverbs of focusing are used to indicate the most important... from the survey questionnaire (completed by 50 students) showed that the common errors which students made in using adverbs were related to the form of adverbs, the positions of adverbs and the uses of adverbs in sentences After the data collected was calculated, the table of errors in questions from 1 to 10 was made with the following result: 36 ... instances: Some of the laws were contradictory Accordingly, measurements were taken to clarify them 27 The source of the information is irrelevant Moreover, the information need not be confidential The normal position of most adverbs of sentence is in front position They are placed at the beginning of a sentence or a clause They can sometimes go in mid position for emphasis or in end position For instance: ... achieving the following two goals:  To show the kinds and the uses of the adverb in the sentence  To find common errors which students usually make in using adverbs and then give suggested solutions. .. Vietnamese students are afraid of judging their teachers and making their names known 1.2 Procedures In the process of finding common errors in using adverbs in English, there was a question raised:... would focus on using adverbs after liking verbs, the first six questions, distinguishing adjectives and adverbs in parentheses in question 27, 28, 29 and using adverbs as conjunctions in the last