An adverb is the part of speech (or word class) that is primarily used to modify a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Adverbs can also modify prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses, and complete sentences. In other words, adverbs tell us in what way someone does something. Adverbs can modify verbs (here: drive), adjectives or other adverbs.

POSITIONS OF ADVERB

An adverb that modifies an adjective (“quite sad”) or another adverb (“very carelessly”) appears immediately in front of the word it modifies. An adverb that modifies a verb is generally more flexible: it may appear before or after the verb it modifies (“softly sang” or “sang softly“), or it may appear at the beginning of the sentence (“Softly she sang to the baby”). The position of the adverb may have an effect on the meaning of the sentence.

FUNCTIONS OF ADVERB

Temporal Adverb – An adverb (such as soon or tomorrow) that describes when the action of a verb is carried out. It is also called a time adverb. An adverb phrase that answers the question “when?” is called a temporal adverb. e.g I always thought that the river was deep, but now I see that deep down it’s shallow.

Manner Adverb – An adverb (such as quickly or slowly) that describes or shows the way an action is carried out. In most cases, the comparative and superlative of manner adverbs are formed with more(or less) and most (or least) respectively. A manner adverb most often appears after a verb or at the end of a verb e.g Ade spoke sharply, and brought his head around towards me. Plantings that had beencarefully arranged to frame natural or architectural features were carelessly cleared away.

Place Adverb – An adverb (such as here or inside) that describes where the action of a verb is carried out. Also called an adverb of place or a spatial adverb. e.g Television programmes produced in New York and Hollywood are seen worldwide.

Many adverbs–especially adverbs of manner–are formed from adjectives by the addition of the ending -ly (easily, dependably). But many common adverbs (just, still, almost, not) do not end in -ly, and not all words that end in -ly (friendly, neighborly) are adverbs.

TYPES OF ADVERB

Adverb of Emphasis – A traditional term for an intensifier (such as certainly, obviously, undoubtedly) used to give added force or a greater degree of certainty to another word in a sentence or to the sentence as a whole. e.g Deterrence, obviously, is one of the aims of punishment, but it is surely not the only one.

Conjunctive Verb – An adverb that indicates the relationship in meaning between two independent clauses. Unlike a conventional adverb, which usually affects the meaning of only a single word or phrase, the meaning of a conjunctive adverb (or conjunct) affects the entire clause of which it is a part. e.g They were not sleeping on board the brig. On the contrary, they were talking, singing, laughing.

Relative Adverb – An adverb (where, when, or why) that introduces a relative clause, which is sometimes called a relative adverb clause. e.g The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.

Speech-act Adverb – An adverb (such as frankly, briefly, or seriously) that identifies how a speaker intends to speak (or perform the speech act). e.g I prepared a rough draft several months ago, but,frankly, she hasn’t been inclined to sign it.

Flat Adverb – A traditional term for an adverb–such as high, fast, and hard–that has the same form as its corresponding adjective. Unlike most adverbs in English, flat adverbs (also known as plain adverbs) do not end in -ly.

A few adverbs have both a plain form and an -ly form: slow and slowly; loud and loudly;fair and fairly. The plain form is most commonly used in informal speech and in short sentences, especially short imperative sentences: “Go slow“; “Play fair. e.g Drive slow and enjoy the scenery. Drive fast and join the scenery.

Prepositional Adverb – An adverb that can also function as a preposition. Unlike an ordinary preposition, a prepositional adverb is not followed by an object. Prepositional adverbs (also called adverbial particles) are used to form phrasal verbs. e.g We’re all tumbled down. He ran up a bill.

Verbs

A verb is a word or more than one word that is used to express an action or a state of being. A verb is an action or a doing word. Every sentence must have a verb. This makes the verb the most important word as far as the construction of a sentence is concerned. In a sentence, a verb connects the subject to the object. There are two different objects: direct object and indirect object.

A verb can be just a word.

• She bought a cake.
• They ate some food.

A verb can be more than one word.

• He is running a race.
• You have broken my glass.

A verb connects the subject to the object.

• Lola rides a bicycle. (Subject: Lola / Object: bicycle)
• Someone has eaten my chicken. (Subject: someone / Object: chicken)

A verb may not have an object.

• The sun shines.
• It is raining.

Types of Verbs

• Transitive and Intransitive
• Linking Verbs
• Regular and Irregular verbs

A verb that has a direct object to complete the sentence is a transitive verb. A verb that does not need an object to make its meaning clear is an intransitive verb.

The transitive verb

A transitive verb must have an object. Without an object, it does not convey a clear meaning.

• Example: He drove.

The question inevitably arises: What did he drive? No one in the world knows the answer to this question as there is no direct object to tell us what he drove. The meaning becomes clear when an object is added: He drove a car. Now everyone of us knows what he drove.

• The subject (he) performs the action: drove. The object of the action verb drove is car.

A transitive verb may take an indirect object. An indirect object is something or someone to whom or for whom the action is carried out.

• He bought her a cake. = He bought a cake for her.
• She is reading grandpa the newspaper. = She is reading the news to grandpa.

In the first sentence, the indirect object is her as it is for her that the cake was bought. In the second sentence, the indirect object is grandpa as it is to him that the news was read. The indirect object usually comes before the direct object as shown in above two sentences.

The intransitive verb

An intransitive verb does not have an object. Without an object, the meaning is not affected.

• Example: Babies cry. / The dog is barking. / Tolani is coming

All the verbs (cry, is barking, is coming) are intransitive as they do not need an object to make the meaning clear.

• Example: The villagers caught a bat yesterday, but it escaped this morning.

The verb caught is transitive as it has the direct object bat. The other verb escaped is intransitive since it is not followed by an object.

1. Argumentative Essay

A) Introduction to the Meaning of Argumentative Essay:

Argumentative essay writing requires a writer to establish a position on a given  topic, using evidence to persuade the reader to see things from the point of view [perspective] of the writer. In order to write a good argumentative essay, it is important for the writer to first of all investigate the several aspects to any given topic. Doing this allows sides the writer to have a broader perspective of the topic and as such, arrive at an educated stance. Please note that investigating the topic is a process that involves collecting evidence, facts, statistics and expert opinions on the topic which will enable you write a great piece.

The General Approach to Writing Argumentative Essays

Two things need to be planned out:

1. The arguments- for and against. We call these the pros and the cons
2. The relevant facts

The skill comes in developing your arguments, and in supporting them in a logical way by the facts.

The  Method

1. Make sure that you have read and understood the question. In particular, check whether you are required to develop only one side of the case, or whether you are required to consider both the pros and the cons. Usually, you will be asked to argue for or against a point of view.
2. Jot down in note form all the relevant arguments you can think of.
3. Decide which arguments seem stronger, and try to form your own opinion
4. Plan you essay. Rearrange the arguments under the headings For and Against (or Pro and Con), and jot down next to each one any relevant facts that you can think of. In your plan consider, and then demolish the arguments you disagree with first. Here is an example;
5. a) Introduction
6. b) Pros (arguments for X)
7. c) Cons (arguments against X; it may be that you are mentioning them in order to attack them!)
8. d) Conclusion

How to Write an Argumentative Essay

1. To write an argumentative essay, the writer should first of all choose a topic that gives them a platform to argue.
2. The writer then gathers information about the topic.
3. In writing, the writer provides a clear thesis statement in the first paragraph.
4. The writer then writes the essay using logical and clear transitions between the paragraphs.
5. Diphthongs

Speech Work: Diphthong Contrasting / əʊ/ and /ʊə/

/ əʊ/ sound

This is another diphthong. A long sound made up of two shorter ones. The sound begins with /ə/ in the middle of the mouth, and then moves to /ʊ/. The lip becomes very slightly rounded. The sound is spelt in different ways.

• So
• Go
• Tone
• Phone
• Moan
• Goat
• Toe
• Hoe
• Know
• Grow

/ʊə/ sound

This diphthong is the last diphthong in English. To say /ʊə/ you have to first say /ʊ/ then change it to /ə/. Say the following words.

• Poor
• Pure
• Tour
• Fury
• Endure
• Europe
• Fuel

Contrasting / əʊ/ and /ʊə/

• So           sore
• To           tour
• Foe         fury
• Row        roar

1. Figures of Speech

A figure of speech or figurative language is a literary device used to gain a particular effect. It is the use of a word or an expression beyond its ordinary or literal meaning.

There are over two hundred kind of figure of speech but the one mostly used will be discuss. They are simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, paradox,irony.

A figure of speech is used in prose and drama. Whenever an expression or word used to give a special effect and it is known as poetic devices in poetry. Collectively, most of the figures of speech are categorized into six groups

Category of figure of speech

• Comparison or association
• Contrast
• Exaggeration
• Under statement
• Word manipulation
• Sounds

Figures of comparison or association

Under this category, the following are simile, metaphor,personification, allusion, allegory

• Simile: This is a short comparison that directly or explicitly compares one thing and another by using the  word “as” or “like” Simile involves figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more.

Examples: He is as short as a dwarf

Curses are like chicken

• Metaphor: A metaphor is a compressed comparison actually substituting one thing for another. It lets the reader makes the necessary translation from the figurative to the literal. Where a simile draws a comparison between two ideas , a metaphor goes a step further and substitutes then second idea for the first, that is why it is called compressed. Example: He is a lion on the field, she is a sheep
• Personification: Personification can be defined as the transfer of human traits to animate object. Personification  is a figure of speech where human qualities are given to animals, objects or ideas. In the arts, personification means representing a non-human thing as if it were human.

Examples: Let the floor claps their hand,

Confusion heard his voice

• Allegory:This is a narrative which has a secondary and deeper meaning which may be religious,political or normal. It is used to draw a parallel between one story that is told on the surface and the deeper meaning intended.Allegory is generally designed to teach some abstract truth.

Examples: John Bunyan’s pilgrim progress is a religious allegory.

• Synecdoche: a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, It is the use of a part to represent   a whole or a whole can be used to represent a part

Example: I want all heads on dock

She controls all the heads in the village

Thousands of eyes gaze on on him at the occasion