Adverb Headache

Question

When is it appropriate to use them? I'm not referring so much to speech as writing. I'm almost paranoid to put an adverb into a written piece because I know that, as sure as the sun's going to rise in the east, some superior type will say "It's dead weight. It's not needed." Is there a trick to adverbializing that will keep such criticism off your back?
W : )

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]When is it appropriate to use them? I'm not referring so much to speech as writing. I'm almost paranoid to ... "It's dead weight. It's not needed." Is there a trick to adverbializing that will keep such criticism off your back?[/nq]
Could you give some examples of adverb uses you think might be considered dead weight? I use adverbs all the time, and so far the superior types have left me alone.

Mike Nitabach

Usenet · Answer

*I* don't deem them so. It's "editorial" types who do. It's a subjective call, I suppose. I try to be as concise as I can, but some say I write too short. Well, when I add more terms, be they of the adverbial variety or any other,
I'm told to cut them, so I revert to brutal concision. How can one be completely sure one's using them appropriateLY? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)
W : )

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]*I* don't deem them so. It's "editorial" types who do.[/nq]
I understand that. That's why I asked you to provide "some examples of adverb uses you think might be considered dead weight".
[nq:1]It's a subjective call, I suppose. I try to be as concise as I can, but some say I write ... them, so I revert to brutal concision. How can one be completely sure one's using them appropriateLY? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)[/nq]
Please give some examples. Then we can talk about it.

Mike Nitabach

Usenet · Answer

I can't think of any now. I'll have to dig into the pit of my rejection box to get good ones. It's not a real big deal.
W : )

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I can't think of any now. I'll have to dig into the pit of my rejection box to get good ones. It's not a real big deal.[/nq]
This page discusses adverbs in general. Maybe something will resemble your question.
http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adverbs.htm
The only caution I see is this linked text:
Intensifiers that Don't Intensify
Avoid using words such as really, very, quite,
extremely, severely when they are not necessary. It is probably enough to say that the salary increase is inadequate. Does saying that it is severely
inadequate introduce anything more than a tone of
hysteria? These words shouldn't be banished from
your vocabulary, but they will be used to best
effect when used sparingly.
Do you think that's it?

Best wishes Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

typed thusly:
[nq:1]When is it appropriate to use them? I'm not referring so much to speech as writing. I'm almost paranoid to ... "It's dead weight. It's not needed." Is there a trick to adverbializing that will keep such criticism off your back?[/nq]
While you are looking for examples, can I ask you to repeat your topic or question in the body of a new post - many Usenet users do not routinely read the subject line and might be irritated by having to backtrack to see what you were actually asking about.

Thanks,

David
==
replace usenet with the

Usenet · Answer

In our last episode,
(Email Removed), the lovely and talented (Email Removed) broadcast on alt.usage.english:
[nq:1]*I* don't deem them so. It's "editorial" types who do. It's a subjective call, I suppose. I try to be ... them, so I revert to brutal concision. How can one be completely sure one's using them appropriateLY? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)[/nq]
I believe I can suggest a few of the objections to adverbs. The point is not to eliminate all of them, but to ensure that those remaining bear their own weight. Even strong writers commit weak adverbs, but they do so less often, and more often they have good reason when they deploy an adverb. In many cases striking through the adverb will not suffice, but another weakness, which seemed to call for the adverb, should be repaired.
In attributing speeches the danger is of committing a Tom Swifty or of being too little, too late. '"I am so very sure," Tom said sarcasticly.' If it is not evident that Tom's speech is sarcastic, it is too late when the place for the adverb comes along. If the adverb seems indispensible, repair the speech. (There are other good reasons to avoid trying to color attributions.)
Adverbs of two groups deserve special attention: intensifiers and weasel words. Intensifies include "so," "very," "too," "just" (when it does not mean fair), "extremely," and so forth. In many cases intensifiers add nothing and become devalued from overuse. Weasel words include "apparently," "seemingly," "virtually," "practically," and so forth. The effect, and in commerce the intention, is to deprive the statement of meaning. Both kinds of adverbs are useful sometimes. "Too late" is different from "late" in a way that "very late" is not. When you mean to suggest a difference between appearance and reality, "seemingly" and its kin have their place, but simple observations need not raise metaphysical questions.

When adverbs modify verbs, they may indicate the wrong verb has been chosen. "Moved quickly," for example, might better be "ran," and "ran quickly," might better be "sprinted." "Held tightly" could be "gripped," "clasped," "clutched," and so forth. "Smiled broadly" might be "grinned." In some cases the verb may be correct, but the adverb may have little to add. "Grinned broadly" raises the question of what a narrow grin might look like, and "racing swiftly," one supposes, is opposed to "racing slowly." Dispose of the adverb if you can, and if you cannot, have a hard look at the verb.

Lars Eighner (Email Removed) http://www.io.com/~eighner/ Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. Oscar Wilde

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I can't think of any now. I'll have to dig ... to get good ones. It's not a real big deal.[/nq]
[nq:1]This page discusses adverbs in general. Maybe something willresemble your question. http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adverbs.htm The only caution I see is this linked ... banished from your vocabulary, but they will be used to best effect when used sparingly. Do you think that's it?[/nq]
There's more to it than non-intensifying intensifiers. In ordinary speech we say things like "ran quickly", which look silly on the page; and it often saves space and has more force to say something like "he snapped" instead of something like "he said irritably". There is, of course, no hard and fast rule, but adverbs are a good place to start if you want to sharpen a piece up. If we are to witch-hunt parts of speech, the next suspects are adjectives. Build a sentence with specific nouns and specific verbs, and add qualifiers and modifiers only if there's no good alternative.

Mike.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]*I* don't deem them so. It's "editorial" types who do. ... be completely sure one's using them appropriateLY? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)[/nq]
Sorry to post here, but OP's post isn't on my server, thus I'm linking here.
I made a short search at yahoo and I found this interesting resource:

Garbl's Fat-Free Writing Links
http://garbl.home.comcast.net/writing/concise.htm
He/she might want to give it a look.
Cheers.
Marius Hancu

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I believe I can suggest a few of the objections to adverbs. The point is not to eliminate all of ... "racing slowly." Dispose of the adverb if you can, and if you cannot, have a hard look at the verb.[/nq]
This post by Lars, and Mike Lyle's response to the question, quoted below, are examples of what I might wish AUE would concentrate on. Yes, I know it is not a writing group per se, but discussing these sorts of things would be far more helpful to most of us, I'd think, than dwelling on pronunciations, spellings, and grammar rules that anyone can look up.
Mike's post:
There's more to it than non-intensifying intensifiers. In ordinary speech we say things like "ran quickly", which look silly on the page; and it often saves space and has more force to say something like "he snapped" instead of something like "he said irritably". There is, of course, no hard and fast rule, but adverbs are a good place to start if you want to sharpen a piece up. If we are to witch-hunt parts of speech, the next suspects are adjectives. Build a sentence with specific nouns and specific verbs, and add qualifiers and modifiers only if there's no good alternative.

Charles Riggs
There are no accented letters in my email address

Adverb Headache

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