Bad Adverbs: How to Recognize and Avoid Bad Adverbs?

To Recall... Adverbs are devices that add color and refine the meaning of verbs, adjectives, and even sentences. They can modify words and change their meaning.

If you don’t know what adverbs are, please visit my earlier article here.


What are bad adverbs?

A bad adverb shows or modifies a weak verb or adjective in your writing, which you could replace with a stronger one.

Example:

Weak adverb: Anna ran quickly to the library.
Strong adverb: Anna rushed to the library.


Overusing adverbs can degrade your writing quality and show laziness.

Not all adverbs end in "ly." Some examples are: afterward, already, almost, back, better, best, even, far, fast, hard, here, how, late, long, low, more, near, never, next, now, often, quick, rather, slow, so, soon, still, then, today, tomorrow, too, very, well, where, yesterday.


There are three categories of bad adverbs:

A. Redundant adverb with the verb it alters.

Example: Anna whispered quietly to her boyfriend.
Correct: Anna whispered to her boyfriend.


B. Adverbs that alter a weak verb or adjective.

Example: Anna talked quietly to her boyfriend.
Strong verb: Anna whispered to her boyfriend.


C. Adverb that doesn't provide solid information.

Examples: extremely, definitely, truly, very, and really.


What are good adverbs?

Good adverbs provide clarity and add meaning to your text.

Examples:

Adverbs that give new information about the time.
Example: Anna came early to the beach to avoid the crowd.

Adverbs that replace clunky words.
Example: Anna held her mother's hand gently.


Done! Keep it up, dear readers. May you become great writers.

"ProWritingAid just highlights the bad adverbs in your writing so you can replace them as necessary." 

-Use ProWritingAid to proofread and edit your writing-


Regards,
Santosa Laksana.