CHAPTER XIV. ADVERBS. 310. ADVERBS are mostly either abbreviations of words (or phrases, as likewise = in like wise) belonging to other parts of speech, or particular cases of nouns and pronouns. They modify the meaning of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, and may be classified according to their meaning into adverbs of (1) PLACE, answering to the question (a) WHERE? (6) WHITHER? (c) WHENCE? as (a) here, there, anywhere, elsewhere, somewhere, nowhere, yonder, below, before, behind, within, without; (b) hither, thither, hitherwards, backwards, from below, from above; (c) hence, thence (2) TIME, answering to the question WHEN? (a) PRESENT, as now, to-day, at present, forthwith, &c.; (b) PAST, as yesterday, lately, forwards, of yore; (c) FUTURE, as to-morrow, soon, by and by; (d) DURATION OF TIME (how long), as long time, still, ever, &c.; (e) REPETITION (how often), as again, once, seldom, oft, daily; (f) RELATIVE TO SOME OTHER TIME (how soon), as, then, after, forthwith, first,last. (3) MANNER or QUALITY, as (a) well, wisely, slowly, quicklysome of these are interrogative, demonstrative, or indefinite, as how, so, thus, nohow, &c. ; (b) affirmation, as yes, yea, truly, indeed, &c.; (c) negation, as not, nay; (d) doubt, uncertainty, as likely, perhaps. (4) MEASURE, QUANTITY, DEGREE, as much, little, enough, half, much, scarce, far, very, exceedingly. (5) CAUSE, INSTRUMENTALITY, as why, wherefore, whence. 311. According to their origin, or form, adverbs are divided into the following classes : I. Substantive Adverbs. I. With case-endings: (1) GENITIVE SINGULAR, need-s, O.E. needes, "he must needs (of necessity) die." In O.E. we find the genitive used adverbially, as 66 'Fure, the never ne atheostrede, winteres ne sumeres."-La3. 2861. Heo wolden feden thone king, dæies and nihtes.”—Ib. 3255. "Ich not to hwan thu bredst thi brod Lives ne deathes ne deth hit god."-Owl & Nightingale, 1. 1634. Cp. O.E. willes, willingly; sothes, of a truth; his thonkes of his own accord, &c. The termination has disappeared in many of the older words, as day and night, summer and winter. Cp. "We shul be redy to stonde with you, lyfe and dethe."-Gest. Rom. p. 37. The preposition of has taken the place of the genitive suffix, as of necessity, of course, of force, of purpose, of right, of a truth, of a day. We actually find in the sixteenth century "of a late dayes," as well as of late days." Sometimes we have of (or in, at, a, on) with the old genitive, as anights, of mornings, a mornings, on Sundays, now-a-days = O.E. now-on-dayes, in-a-doors, &c. There were some adverbs in O.E., originally dative feminine singular, ending in -inga, -unga, -linga, -lunga. A few of these, without the dative suffix, exist under the form -ling or -long, as head-long (O.E. heedlinge), sideling, sidelong, dark-ling (darklong), flatling and flatlong In the fourteenth century we find these with the genitive form, as allynges (wholly), heedlynges, flatlynges, noselynges. The Scotch dialect has preserved the old suffix -linges under the form lins, as darklins (in the dark). The word grovelling was originally an adverb; cp. Scotch groflins, O.E. gruflynges, groflinges. We find -gates-ways in O.E., as thus-gate = thus-wise, allegates = always (2) Dative and INSTRUMENTAL, ever (O.E. æfre), never (O.E. næfre), whilom (O.E. hwil-um), limb-meal (O.E. lim-mæl-um), piece meal. (3) ACCUSATIVE, ay (O.E. &, Goth. aiw), the while (O.E. thâ hwile), somewhile (sumehwile), some deal (sumne dæl), alway (O.E. ealne weg), otherwise (óthre wisen), O.E. the morn1 = to-morn; cp. nowise, noway, sometime. In such phrases as 'He went home," "They wandered north and south," "I saw him yesterday," "They cry day and night unto him," "Can ye aught tell?" the words home, north, south, yesterday, &c. are adverbial accusatives. = (a) Many of the old accusatives now have a genitive form, as otherway-s, always, longways, straightways, anothergates (cp. O.E. algates always, thusgates, &c.), sideways, sometimes, otherwhiles, somewhiles, the whilst. In the Ayenbite and in Piers Plowman we find therhuile, therhuyl, therhuyls. (6) In most English Grammars that I have seen a in a-year, a-day = yearly, daily, is treated as the indefinite article used distributively. 1 The was originally instrumental = O.E. thŷ. A reference to older writers at once shows that this treatment is wholly incorrect. "Thrywa on geare" thrice a year.-Exod. xxiii. 17. "An halpenny on day" = a halfpenny a day.-Boke of Curtasve, 1. 616. In some few words of French origin we have substituted a or on for Fr. en or a, especially in older writers; around, O.E. on rounde, O.F. en rond. Cp. a fine and in fine, a stray, on stray, &c. In O.E. we find in for a before words of French origin, as"Thet corn a gerse, the vines in flouring" the corn in grass, the vine in flowering.-Ayenbite, p. 36.1 In a-feared, a-feard, an hungered, an hungry, O.E. a fingered, a dread, the prefix a is a corruption of the O.E. of, an intensitive prefix, sometimes equivalent to for in forswear. In O.E. we find a thirst, on thirst, and of thirst. 66 "A dozen A is also a weakened form of the preposition of or o. a beer" (S. ROWLAND'S Diogenes), "God a mercy, 99 66 man-a-war."2 Cp. 'Body o me,' ," "two a clock," and "two o clock." In the compound Jack-an-apes, the a or o becomes an before a vowel, just as we find in O. E. an before vowels and the letter h, and a before consonants, as an erthe in earth, an hand in hand, &c. = II. PREPOSITIONAL: a-way1 (O.E. on-wæg), a-back (O.E. on-bæc), a-gain (O.E. on-geân), a-day (on-dage), to-day (O.E. tô-dæge), to-night (O.E. tô-nihte), a niht (on niht), to-morn, to-morrow (O.E. tô-mergen), O.E. to-yere (this year), to-eve (yesterday evening), to-whiles: = meanwhile, adown (O.E. â-dune). Cp. abed, afoot, asleep (on sleep), alive (on life), ahead, on head, on-brood, a-broach, ashore, arow, aloft, apart, among, across, aside, a height, an end, a-front, a-door, besides (O.E. besides, besiden), of kin (akin), of kind (naturally), of purpose, because, by chance, perhaps, perchance, perforce. In O.E. we find asidis, on sidis hand = aside, apart; by northe, by southe, by pecemeale, by cas (by chance). Other but more recent adverbial forms of this nature are-by no means, by any means, beforehand, at hand, in front, at night, at times, at length, at-gaze (agaze), by degrees, up-stairs, indoors, in fact, in deed. The preposition is sometimes omitted, as "they went back" (= aback), "this stick was broke cross" (= across). ICp. "Innes a Court men" (Earle's Cosmog. ed. Arber, p. 41). 2 The aan has the same meaning as on: but an was used before consonants, a before vowels. Cp. anon, anende. It occurs as an independent word, as "Thin holy blod thet thou ssedest ane the rod."-Ayenbite, p. 1. 3 In Earle's Cosmog. (ed. Arber) we find at the length, at bedsides (p. 24), in summe (p. 33). II. Adjectival Adverbs. (1) In O.E. many adverbs are formed from adjectives by means of the suffix -e. Thus an adjective in-lic = like was converted into an adverb by this means, as biterlic (adjective), biterlice (adverb), bitterly. The loss of the adverbial e reduced the adverb to the same form as the adjective: hence O. E. fæste, faste, became fast; faire, fair, &c.; he smot him hardë = he smote him hard. Cp. to work hard, to sleep sound, to speak fair. In Elizabethan writers we find the adverbial -ly often omitted, as 'grievous sick, ""miserable poor.' (2) Many adjective forms, especially those of irregular comparison, as well, much, little, &c., are used as adverbs. (3) GENITIVE FORMS, as else (O.E. elles), backwards, forwards, upwards, eftsoons, uneathes, unawares. (4) ACCUSATIVE, ere (O.E. ær), enough (O.E. genôh), backward, homeward. (5) DATIVE, seldom: cp. O.E. on-ferrum greatly; litlum and lytlum = paulatim.2 = afar; O.E. miclum, !* "Lere hem litlum and lytlum.”-Piers Plowman, B. p. 286. In later times the inflexion dropped, and we often find the prepositional construction instead, as by little and little. Cp. "So did the waxen image (lo) by smale and smale decrease." DRANT'S Horace, Sat. ii. 2. "They love the mullet greate, And yet do mynce her smale and smale."-Ib. "My rentes come to me thicke and thicke."-Ib. ii. 3. (6) INSTRUMENTAL, yore (O.E. geâra), yet (O.E. geta), soon (O.E. sona). (7) PREPOSITIONAL FORMS, amidst (O.E. on-middum, amidde, a-middes), towards (O.E. to-weardes), together (O.E. tô-gæder), afar, anew, alate, aright, abroad, afar, aloud, along, agood, a-cold, alart, anon, at large, a-high, on high, in vain (O.E. on îdel), in general, in short, at the full, to right, on a sudden, at unawares (at unaware occurs in DRANT'S Horace), at all (O.E. alles), withal, of yore, of new, of late, of right [O.E. of fresh, of neere, in open (= openly), in playne (= plainly)]. Prepositions sometimes accompany the comparative and superlative, as for the worse, &c.; at last, O.E. atte laste = at the last; atte wyrst, at the worst, &c.: cp. O.E. atte beste, at the best ; at least, &c. I Probably the old dative ending. 2 Sometimes in O.E. we find -en for -um, as whilen, selden. 3 The genitive form is sometimes met with, "by littles and littles." 4 The t in such words as amidst, amongst, is merely euphonic; cp. O.E alongst (= along), onest (= once). 5 In few also occurs in Elizabethan literature; cp. in brief, &c. III. Numeral Adverbs. Once, O.E. ane, ene, anes, enes, ans; Twice, O.E. tw-wa,1 twiwe, twien, twie, twies, twis; Thrice, O.E. thri-wa, thriwe, thrie, thries, thrys. The -ce = -s=-es. In betwixt (=O.E. betweoks) the last letter is not radical: cp. amidst. An on (= in one instant), at one, at once, atwain, atwo, in twain, O.E. a twinne, a thre, &c. for the nonce.2 312. IV. Adverbs formed from Particles. A. PREPOSITIONAL ADVERBS. (1) Aft (O.E. aft, eft), after (O.E. æft-er), afterwards, &c.; abaft = a + be + aft (Ö.E. be-æftan). (2) By (O.E. bî, big), for-by, by and by. (3) For, as in be-fore (O.E. beforan), for-th, forthwith, afore, afore hand, beforehand. (4) Hind, as in behind (O.E. behindan), behindhand; O.E. hindan, hindweard. (5) In, as in within [O. E. innan, binnan (= be-innan), withinnan, withinnen], O.E. inwith. (6) Neath, as in be-neath, underneath (O.E. neothan, be-nythan, underneothan, nithor, nither, down). (7) On, onward. (8) Of (O.E. of = from, off), off. (9) To, too. (10) Through (O.E. thurh; later forms, thurf, thurch, thuruh, thorgh), thorough, throughly, thoroughly. (11) Under, underfoot, underhand. (12) Up, upper, uppermost, upward. (13) From the old form ufan (ufon) we get above (= O.E. a-bufan, abuven), over (= O.E. ofer); cp. O.E. be-ufan, bufan, withufan, onufan above; ufanweard, upwards; ufanan, from above.3 = The -wa in twi-wa, &c. = war (O.N. -var, Sansk. vara), originally signified time: we have cognate suffix in Septem-ber, &c. 2 Cp. O.E. for then anes or for than anes, where the n originally belonged to the demonstrative; cp. the oldest English for tham anum. 3 Later forms are buven, ouenan, bibufen. |