adverbia

Adverbia is the plural form of adverbium in Latin and is encountered in some grammars to refer to adverbs as a class of words. In modern linguistics, the term adverb is more common in English, but adverbia appears in historical or Latin-based terminology and in discussions of comparative grammar.

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or whole clauses. They convey information about manner, time, place, degree, frequency, or the speaker’s attitude. Examples in English include quickly (manner), yesterday (time), there (place), very (degree), and frankly (sentence-level stance). Adverbs can also modify adjectives and other adverbs, as in extremely tall or almost evenly matched, where the adverb modifies another modifier or the intensity of an adjective or adverb.

Morphology and syntax vary by language. Many languages treat adverbs as invariable, not showing agreement or tense. Some languages create comparative or superlative forms for adverbs through periphrasis or affixes. In English, the common productive suffix -ly yields many adverbs from adjectives (quick → quickly, gentle → gently), though many adverbs are base forms that do not take this suffix (well, fast). Adverbial meaning can also be expressed by phrases (prepositional or noun phrases) and by adverbial clauses.

Classification commonly divides adverbs into functions such as manner, time, place, degree, frequency, and sentiment or stance (sentence adverbs). Adverbia also covers adverbial phrases and clauses that serve to modify actions or entire propositions rather than a single word. Etymology traces adverbium to Latin ad- “toward” and verbum “word,” reflecting an old view of modifiers touching the verb. See also adverb, adjective, and adverbial phrase.