Adverbs

Adverbs are words added to verbs, adjectives or other adverbs, expressing some modification of the meaning or accompanying circumstance.

1. Generally adverbs take the same form as the verb root or adjective, especially when they are placed after verbs.

   It's real guid ale. It's really good ale.	A'm awfu fauchelt. I'm terribly tired.
   Mynd an caw cannie. Remember to proceed carefully.

2. Adverbs are mostly formed by suffixing ly or lies. Some adverbs are formed by suffixing s, lins, gate(s) and wey(s). Where the adjective ends in ie the adverb may be formed by changing ie to i and adding ly.
   The internal inconsistency caused by unpredictably using <lie> or<ly> will be found on this site. Some writers simply use one or the other.

   aiblins	perhaps	ilkagate	everyway
   airselins	backwards	ilkawey	everyway
   awgates	everywhere	maistlins	almost
   brawly	splendidly	mebbes	maybe
   brawlies	splendidly	onygate	anyway
   cannily	cautiously	onyweys	anywhere
   endweys	straight on	sidelins	sideways
   geylies	rather much	whit wey	how? why?
   hauflins	half, partialy	whiles	sometimes
   hidlins	secretly

   Ye aiblins micht come ower. Perhaps you might come over.

   Thon baurley-bree gangs doun brawlies. That whisky goes down splendidly.

3. Some adverbs are formed using the prefix be.

   The shielin's bewast the brig ower the burn. The shepherd's hut is to the west of the bridge across the stream.

   Betimes ye hear a gowk in the shaw. Sometimes you hear a cuckoo in the copse.

4. The suffix le implies direction towards, lin(s) implies direction from.

   He gaed twa mile eastle. He went two miles eastwards.

   The caller nor'lin wind blew athoot lissins. The fresh north wind blew without respite.

5. Adjectives used as adverbs.

   Adjectives usually remain unchanged when being used as adverbs.

   A'm awfu thrang. I'm very busy.	A'm tairible obleeged tae ye. I'm terribly obliged to you.
   Caw cannie. Take it easy / be careful.	He's clean daft. He's quite mad.
   The dug wis naurhaund wuid. The dog was nearly mad.	A'm real weel the day. I'm very well today.
   He's richt fou the nicht. He's very drunk tonight.	She wis greetin sair. She was crying bitterly.
   He's no sair pleased. He's not greatly pleased.	Her tongue gangs constant. Her tongue is constantly wagging.
   A haed clean forgotten. I had quite forgot.	Nae ither body. No body else.
   Ony ither thing. Anything else.	A wis fair dumfoondert. I was struck quite dumb.

   Among the few exceptions are:

   *fully	fully	geyly	a good deal
   alanerly	entirely	haurdly	hardly, barely
   brawly	splendidly, thoroughly	likely	probably
   feckly	mostly	shuirly	surely
   freely	completely	uncoly	very much

   *Fully expresses the sense of 'quite', 'rather more than', 'a good deal' and 'on the whole'.

   A kent him brawly. I knew him very well.	Coorser fully nor the floor. A good deal courser than flour.
   Fully that. Quite that.	A s' likely be thare. I shall probably be there.
   A coud haurdly thole the dule. I could barely endure the suffering.
   He wad shuirly gie't whase aucht. He would surely give it to whom it belongs.

   The words fair and clean also express the sense of 'quite'.

   He's clean daft. He's quite mad.	A'm clean duin. I'm quite exhausted.
   A wis fair dumfoondert. I was struck quite dumb.	He's fair clean fou the nicht. He's quite drunk to night.

   Scots has a number of words that express the concept of 'very'.

   He wis taen awa awfu suddent. He was taken away very suddenly.
   Thae's tairible fine nowt. Those are exceedingly fine cattle.
   No michty muckle. Not very much.	Thae's real fine neeps. Those are very fine turnips.
   That's a richt auld ane. That's a very old one.	He's no sair pleased wi it. He's not greatly pleased about it.

6. Adverbs may also be formed from many adjectives when the preceded by the preposition 'for'.

   Ay that's the fare for ordinar. Yes that's the ordinary fare.	Jeanie's a guid bairn for uisual. Jeanie's usually a good child.
   The politeecian gied a better speech nor for ordinar. The politician gave a better speech than as usual.
   A telt ye that disna come on for common. I told you that doesn't normally happen.

7. Interrogative and relative adverbs.

   Interrogatives ask questions and relatives refer to the preceding part of the sentence. Demonstratives point out. Some of the commonest adverbs are related to the pronouns in form and meaning.

   here	here	whaur	where
   hou	how	whilk*	which
   nou	now	whit	what
   sae	so	whit for	why
   than	then	whiten**	what kind of
   thare	there	whit wey	why
   that	that	why	why
   this	this	yon (thon)	that over there
   this wey	this way	yonder (thonder)	over there
   wha	who
   whan	when	yon (thon) wey	that way

   *Whilk is now obsolete but may occur in literature. Whilk may be replaced by whit.
   **With the indefinite article added whiten becomes whitna 'what kind of a'.

   	Pronouns	Adverbs
   		Place	Time	Manner or Case
   Interrogative:	wha? why? whit(en)?	whaur?	whan?	hou? why? whit wey? whit for?
   Relative:	why whit	whaur	whan	hou , why, whit wey, whit for
   Demonstrative:	this, that, yon, thon	here, thare, yonder, thonder	nou, than, yon time	this wey, sae, that, yon wey

   Yon (thon) and yonder (thonder) refer to things at a distance.

   Hou? is often used to ask for a reason, as is why?

   Hou did ye no speir at him? Why didn't you ask him?	Hou no? Why not?
   Hou come ye teuk the job? Why did you take the job?	Bide thare. Stay there.
   He wis weel whan A seen him. He was well when I saw him.	It's no that ill. It's not so bad.
   Why wis ye no comin? Why weren't you coming?	Whaur ye gaun? Where are you going?
   Whan did he come? When did he come?	A dinna think it. I don't think so.
   Hou's aw wi ye? How do you do?	She wis that prood. She was so proud.
   Gang ower yonder. Go over there.	Whit for? For what reason?
   Whit wey no? Why not?	A will that. I'll do so.
   Whit for no? Why not?	A telt ye that. I told yo so.

8. Many prepositions of place and time are used adverbially.

   ablo	below	ahint	behind
   aboot	about	doun	down
   abuin	above	oot	out
   afore	before	up	up

   Adverbs of place.

   aback	behind	here awa	hereabouts
   abeich	aloof	hyne awa	far off
   abreed	abroad	inby	inside
   aff	off	in ower	inside
   agley	off the straight	naur(haund)	near, nearly
   ajee	awry	naurby	near, nearly
   asteer	astir	onygate	anyway
   aside	beside	ootby	outside
   awa	away, along	oot ower	across
   awa aff	leaving	ower	farther off
   awa by	at home, off home	owerby	over the way
   awgates	everywhere	somegate	somewhere
   ayont	beyond.	somewey	somewhere
   back	back	thare awa	thereabouts
   backarts	backwards	thare oot	outside
   by	past	thegither	together
   ewest	near, close by	whaur	where
   faur	far	whaur awa	whereabouts
   forrit	forwards	whaur e'er	where ever
   hame	home	yont	along, through
   haufgate(s)	half-way

   Och! Whaur awa gat ye that auld creukit penny? Oh! Whereabouts did you get that crooked old penny?
   She fuish in ower the bottle an pat doun the kebbock. She brought over the bottle and put the cheese down.
   He wrocht ootby. He worked out of doors.		Oot ower her bed. Out of her bed.
   Come awa ben an gang but. Come on into the inner room and go into the outer room.
   The cooncil's schames gangs aft agley. The council's plans often go wrong.
   Sit yont a bittock. Sit a bit farther along.		Shut tae the door. Close the door.
   A bide but an ben wi him. He and I live together in the same house.
   Here awa, thare awa, haud awa hame. Hither, tither, make for home.
   The'r no sic a thing here awa. There's no such thing hereabouts.		Come inby. Come indoors.
   She's aboot again efter a spell o the haingles. She's on the move again after having influenza.
   A hae leukit awgates for't. I've looked everywhere for it.		A'll awa by. I'm going home.
   Coud ye lay that by for me? Is it possible to reserve that for me?
   It'a a difficult horse tae keep in aboot. it's a difficult horse to control.
   He's awa aff. He's leaving.		Haud oot ower. Keep away.
   He wis naurhaund deid. He was nearly dead.		The'r naebody in. There's no one in.
   Lay in tae yer darg. Commence your work.		Come in ower. Come nearer.
   Are ye comin yont the clachan? Are you coming through the village?
   A'm no throu yit. I haven't finished yet.		She wis telt richt oot. She was told outright.
   He's no tae lippen til. He's not to be trusted.		He stays naurhaund. He lives nearby.
   The'r nae dout aboot that. There's no expecting that.		Back an forrit. Backwards and forwards.
   A'm awa for tae howk tatties. I'm off in order to dig for potatoes.		Gang awa hame. Go along home.
   Dae ye ken gin the schuil's in? Do you know if school's assembled?
   Gang an cleek up wi thae childer. Go and become friendly with those children.
   She coud sair lay aff aboot horse. She could sorely talk about horses.
   Dinna ettle for tae slip awa. Don't try to leave quietly.	she wis awa wi't. She was off with it.
   He's up aboot Buchan somewey. He's somewhere in Buchan.
   Can ye no haud yer bairn in aboot. Can't you keep your child under control.
   He wis awa frae the tattie howkin. He was unable to dig for potatoes.
   Ye war sair fair wabbit that ye sleepit in. You were so tired that you overslept.
   Dinna mak on ye can write. Don't pretend you can write.
   Hirsle yont. Shuffle along to the other end.
   He cam oot wi a frichtfu skelloch. He uttered a frightful scream.
   Dinna cast oot wi yer wee brither. Don't quarrel with your little brother.
   At lenth the bairn's won ower. At last the baby has fallen asleep.
   Dinna fash yersel it'll suin cast up. Don't trouble yourself it will soon turn up.
   The hail hoose wis throu ither. The whole house was disorderly.
   Is the kirk throu? Is the church (service) finished?

9. Adverbs of time and number.

   a wee	a little while	mony's the time	often
   a while sin	some time ago	ne'er	never
   ae day	one day	neist	next
   aft(en)	often	niver	never
   again	again	no aft	seldom
   ance	once	nou	now
   awa	ago	nous an thans	now and then
   aye	always / still	sin	since
   belyve	soon	suin	soon
   efter	after	syne	then / ago
   e'er	ever	till	until
   faur back	long ago	than	then
   fernyear	last year	the nicht	tonight
   in a wee	shortly, soon	the nou	at present
   iver	ever	whan	when
   lang	for long	whiles	sometimes
   mony time	many a time	yit	yet
   		yestreen	yesterday

   Auld lang syne. Long, long ago.	No the nou. Not just now.
   Syne A gaed hame. Then I went home.	Syne he cam ben. Then he came in.
   It's a lang while sin syne. It's a long time since then.	He's aye til the fore. He's still alive.
   Whiles ay an whiles na. Sometimes yes and sometimes no.
   Aye wice ahint the haund. Always wise after the event.	It's thritty year awa. It's thirty years ago.
   Ae day suin we'll gang oot thegither. One day soon we'll go out together.
   A hae seen that mony the time. I've seen that often.	It's a gey lang while sin than. It's a very long time since then.
   He comes here whiles. He comes here sometimes.	No as iver A haurd onywey. Not that I ever heard at any rate.
   A hiv etten that mony time. I've eaten that often.	A'm aye warstlin on. I'm still struggling on.
   Ae time faur back A kent him. At one time long ago I knew him.	Bide a wee. Stay a little.
   Auld lang syne we wis pals. Long, long ago we were friends.
   This mony a day he haes been late for his darg. For many a day now, he has got to work late.
   Ance on a day, a while sin, thare leeved three wee swine. Once upon a time, some time ago, there lived three little pigs.

10. Adverbs of quantity, manner and degree.

    a heap	a gread deal, very much	like	like, as it were, probably
    a thocht	the least bit	like eneuch	likely, possibly, enough
    fine	very well, very much	liken	associate with
    juist	really, simply, truly, just	maist	almost
    alike	similar / same	mebbe	perhaps
    ava	at all	muckle	much
    awthegither	similarly	ney an	almost
    belike	probably, perhaps	naur(haund)	nearly, almost
    brawly	finely, elegantly, very well	onywey	at least, at any rate, anyhow
    clean	absolutely, completely	ower	excessively, too
    e'en	even	richt	right
    eneuch	enough	somegate	somehow, someway
    even	even	that	so, that
    even on	even, straight, correct	throu	done, finished
    kin o	somewhat, rather thoroughly, easily	weel	well

    Scots has a number of adverbs and expressions for the concept of 'very', 'remarkably', 'thoroughly' etc.

    Verra, real, fell, unco, gey (an) and fou.

    It's wirth twa poond onywey. It's worth two pounds at any rate.
    Ye hae pitten in ower muckle saut. You have put in too much salt.
    She's a wee thing daft. She's a little mad.	That's a thocht ower lang. That's the least bit too long.
    A wis kin o (weys) feart like. I was somewhat afraid.	A'm gey (an) thrang the nou. I'm very busy just now.
    Juist that. Just so.	A ken him fine. I know him well.
    She wis muckle thocht o. She was very well thought of.	Ye hae comed ower suin . You've come too early.
    That's guid eneuch. That's good enough.	She's unco queer. She's very eccentric.
    That's nae guid ava (at aw). That's no good at all.	Are ye no throu yet. Haven't you finished yet.
    He can dae't fine. He can do it easily.	A naurhaund cowpit. I nearly overturned.
    He's a fell guid meenister. He's a remarkably good clergyman.
    She's a hantle sicht better. She's much better.	A wis hindert a wee thing. I was a little delayed.
    A'm no verra weel like, the day. I'm not very well, as it were, today.
    He cam a heap aboot Enster. He often came to Anstruther.	A wis that feart. I was so scared.
    A kent him brawly. I knew him very well.	She juist gabbert even on. She simply jabbered incessantly.
    It gangs even throu. It goes straight through.	Like eneuch A'll be thare. I shall very likely be there.
    Ma horse is fell weel comed in nou. My horse is thoroughly well trained now.

11. Other adverbs and adverbial expressions are.

    a maiter o	as much as	lat be	leave alone
    abee	as it is alone	lief(er)	rather
    aff-luif	off-hand	lood oot	aloud
    ance eerant	specially for that alone	mair by taiken	more over
    alowe	alight, on fire	mebbe	may be, perhaps
    an aw that	and all that sort of thing	nae dout	no doubt, doubtless
    an that	and so on, etcetera	naither	however
    an aw	also, as well, too	ower	over
    at ane mair	at the last push	by wi't	past with it, as good as dead
    atweel	in any case	still an on	nevertheless
    aw weys	in every way	suiner	sooner, rather
    but	only	somewey	somehow or other
    by wi't	done for, as good as dead	that wey	in that way, like that
    byordinar	extraordinarily	the conter	on the contrary
    deed	indeed, to be sure	the lenth o	as far as
    eent	indeed	the wey o't	how it goes
    ense	else	tho	though, indeed
    for aw that	notwithstanding, all the same	throu	over, completed
    forby	besides	throu ither	anyhow, in confusion
    furrin	abroad (foreign)	weel-a-whit	certainly
    hail on	steadily, right along	housomeiver	however

    Note the use of sae and as.

    The fish wis sae lang as ma airm. The fish was as long as my arm.
    Thae pease is byordinar fine. Those peas are extraordinarily fine.
    We gaed hame sae as tae ceuk the denner. We went home in order to cook dinner.
    milkin kye an aw that. Milking cows and all that sort of thing.
    Is he gaun furrin? He is eent. Is he going abroad? He is indeed.
    The rin awa bairns gat the lenth o the burn. The runaway children got as far as the stream.
    He gaed awa a maiter o twinty poond in ma det. He left with as much as twenty pounds in my debt.
    She's his auntie somewey. She's his aunt somehow or other.
    Dinna gang ance eerant. Don't go for that alone.		Wis it tho? Was it indeed?
    It's no milk naither. It's not milk however.		The lum's alowe. The chimney is on fire.
    A'd as lief bide at hame. I'd rather stay at home.		He brocht his sin an aw. He brought his son too.
    Mebbe ay, Mebbe na. Perhaps yes, perhaps no.		He's by wi't. He's past recovery.
    Deed ay! It wisna that wey ava. Yes indeed ! It wasn't like that at all.
    A wad suiner gang hame. I would rather go home.	Read it lood oot. Read it aloud.
    An mony mair forby. And many more besides.
    His time wis throu. His time was over.	Lat's abee. Leave me (us) alone.

    In Scots the word anely has an affirmative sense.

    It's anely five mile tae Glesgae - Ay but it's up the brae. It's only five miles to Glasgow - No but it's uphill.

    In English 'only' has a negative sense thus the answer : 'No (of course) but it's uphill'.

12. Negative adverbs.

    Negative adverbs are:

    no	not	ne'er	never
    no at aw	not at all	niver	never
    no ava	not at all	nae gate	nowhere
    nane	none	no aft	rarely, seldom
    naetheless	nevertheless

    No often combines with the comparatives sae (so) and that (so).

    She's no sae gyte as ye think. She is not as mad as you think.	He's no that ill. He is not so ill.
    It's no aft sae wairm. It is rarely so warm.	I canna find him nae gate. I can't find him anywhere.
    Thare is something no that cannie aboot thon horse. There is something not so safe about that horse.

    Single syllable verbs and adverbs used to be negated by affixing na or nae.

    A carena a tait. I don't care a bit.	He kensna whaur she is. He doesn't know where she is.
    A amna duin yet. I'm not finished yet.	He'll carena a tait. He won't care a bit.

    These are now usually replaced with modal verb forms or no.

    A dinna care a tait. I don't care a bit.	He disna ken whaur she is. He doesn't know where she is.
    A'm no duin yet. I'm not finished yet.	He'll no care a tait. He won't care a bit.

    Double negatives are very common.

    No nae ither thing. Nothing else.	She haedna nane naither. Besides she hadn't any.
    A niver eats nae beef. I never eat any beef.	A haena seen her nae gate. I haven't seen her anywhere.
    A dinna care aboot nane o't. I don't care for any of it.
    A dinna tak nae mair nor a gless. I don't take more than a glass.
    She haedna nane naither. She hadn't any either.	He's no nae waur. He's no worse.
    The'r no nae time at nicht. There's no time at night.	The horns niver gits nae size. The horns never get to any size.

    A'm no gaun tae gie ye naething. I'm not going to give you anything.
    The'r nae sic a thing nae place nou. There's no such thing anywhere now.
    Thare niver wis naething like it. There never was anything like it.
    Ye canna lippen on him wi naething. You can't trust him about anything.
    A niver haurd it get naething else. I never heard it called anything else.

13. Comparison of adverbs.

    Adverbs form their comparative and superlative in the same way as adjectives. See under adjective comparisons.

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