Adverbial Meaning
/ædˈvɝbi.əl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf or relating to an adverb.
nounAn adverbial word or phrase.
Sentence Examples
Adverbial time clauses (here 'when') write about the future in the present tense.
Who can work out the adverbial form of that verb?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The phrase "before dawn" serves an ____ function because it tells when the event occurs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
An ____ phrase can provide more information about when an action happened.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin adverbiālis. By surface analysis, adverb + -ial.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As we can have the adjectival forms bright, brighter, brightest, so we can have the adverbial forms brightly, brightlier, brightliest, but degree is alike inconceivable in the adjective ‘round,’ and the A. ‘here.’"
— 1876, “Ad′verb”, in John M[erry] Ross, editor, The Globe Enyclopædia of Universal Information, volume I, Boston, Mass.: Estes & Lauriat, […], page 25, column 1:
"And in (123) below, a (bracketed) Adverbial Phrase has undergone WH MOVEMENT:
(123) (a) [How quickly] will he drink the beer —?
(123) (b) [How carefully] did he plan his campaign —?
(123) (c) [How well] did he treat her —?"
— 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 9, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 495:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The phrase "before dawn" serves an ____ function because it tells when the event occurs.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
An ____ phrase can provide more information about when an action happened.