Fundamentals of Communication Skills Unit 4

Unit 4 Reading Skills

Structure
4.1 Introduction
Objectives
4.2 Definition and Meaning of Reading
4.3 Purpose of Reading
4.4 Types of Reading
Skimming
Scanning
Extensive Reading
Intensive Reading
Loud and Silent Reading
4.5 SQ3R Technique of Reading
4.6 Summary
4.7 Terminal Questions
4.8 Answers

4.1 Introduction
Several skills are required for effective communication. We have already
dealt with the oral and listening skills. To gain and master these skills, you
need to acquire knowledge and wisdom, which depends on your extensive
reading habits. The more you read, the more words will you learn, which will
be helpful in making sentence variations and good oration. It will also widen
your thinking horizon, helps you analyze situations and give you insight into
varied experiences. Therefore, it is the primary skill that helps us acquire
knowledge about everything in this world. Those who cannot read or write
are prone to exploitation and suffering. Hence, it is important for all human
beings to read and learn. In this unit, we will learn about the various aspects
of reading, as a skill.

Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
 define and explain the meaning of reading
 list the purposes of reading
 select and use different types of reading for different purposes.
 describe and use SQ3R technique of reading

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4.2 Definition and Meaning of Reading

The following are a few definitions regarding the process of reading.
 Reading is thinking under the stimulus of the printed page (Webster,
1982:30)
 Reading is a Psycho-linguistic guessing game (Webster, 1982:19)
 Reading Comprehension means understanding a written text.
Understanding a written text is extracting the required information from it
as efficiently as possible. (Francoise Grellet 1991:3)
The above definitions suggest that when you read any piece of text, you
understand the given text at three levels: -
i) Pure, literal response to the familiar words on the page – there is no in-
depth understanding.
ii) Recognition of the writer’s meaning. In other words, you read and
recognise the intention of the author in writing the given text.
iii) Personal experience, which aids you to understand the given matter.
All these three levels could be described thus: When you read, you read the
lines, read between the lines and also read beyond the lines. So, reading is
nothing but a decoding process.
Reading, for most of us, is a ‘passive process’, where we sit down, relax and
run our eyes through the words on the page. This is the method we
incorporate to understand the information that is given in the book. But
today, reading is considered an active process. A reader can understand a
text only when s/he actively uses her/his mental faculties. Hence, to read
efficiently one has to have:
 the knowledge of the writing system of the language
 the knowledge of the language (grammar, vocabulary)
 the ability to interpret
 a reason for reading and the appropriate method of reading
 the knowledge of the world (experience/background knowledge)
When all these requirements are used efficiently while reading,
understanding would be effective and meaningful. Thus, reading is a skill,
which has to be acquired by constant experimentation and struggle.

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Self Assessment Questions

1. How does Webster define the term, reading?
2. What is the first level of understanding while reading?
3. To read efficiently, one need not have the knowledge of the grammar.
(True/False)

4.3 Purposes of Reading

We read many things in our day-to-day lives. Let us name a few of them:
 Newspapers and magazines
 Advertisements, leaflets, pamphlets
 Textbooks, novels, short-stories
 Letters, telegrams
 Recipes, puzzles, menus
 Articles, reports, legal documents
 Dictionaries, telephone directories
 Cartoons, comic strips
 Time-tables, maps, statistical graphs and diagrams
We have just listed the different texts that we normally read with certain
definite purpose in mind. They are read either for personal interest, for
pleasure, to acquire information or to participate in society. For you, as
students, the purpose of reading is emphasised on either for interest or for
pleasure and reading to acquire information and knowledge. Reading for
interest or pleasure is usually fulfilled through reading fiction, while reading
to learn is associated with informative articles. Reading for information may
be both internal and external. When you read for necessary background
information about what is going on within the institution where you work, or
within your group, it is called reading for internal information, example
annual report of your institution, previous meeting reports, etc. Reading for
the information of what is going on in your field, but outside your own work
place is called External Information. You may need to do something
concrete in the not too distant future after you have read whatever it is you
are reading- this is Action Reading. Professional reading is done when you
need to continue learning and studying so that you develop your own
thinking and skills. But you should bear in mind that the text itself is not
written strictly for any one purpose. For instance, any biography or
autobiography will be read as personal interest to understand the life
story
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of an individual. The same maybe read by a research scholar for his

research purpose. People’s interest in reading is so varied, that any text
could meet any purpose.

4.4 Types of Reading

As we have already said, we read in different ways depending on the
purpose for which we are reading a text. Let us look at a few types of
reading.
4.4.1 Skimming
Let’s say that you need to buy a reference book for English grammar as
suggested by your professor. You go to a book store and see a rack full of
books, with the same title, but different authors. You don’t have time to read
the pages before deciding on buying the book. Hence, you quickly go
through the contents, title page and the blurb (It is a slang meaning, a short
piece of writing that praises and promotes something, especially a
paragraph on the cover of a book). By now, you have decided to buy one
book. The type of reading that you did in the bookstall is ‘skimming.’ Thus,
skimming means, “looking quickly over a text/book to get a general
superficial idea of the content.”
Activity 1:
Match these publications to the extracts below:
1. A clinical publication
2. Book Summary
3. News Report – Nick Thorpe, BBC
4. An extract from P G WoodHouse’s novel
5. A company’s annual report
6. “My Struggle for Education” Booker T Washington’s autobiography
a) Covey says that world has changed dramatically since he wrote The
Seven Habits in 1989. The challenges and complexities for magnitude
and dimension and calls for a paradigm shift in our us – both at personal
and professional front – are of a different thinking. The book addresses
to the 8th habit as potential energy that is a timeless part of human
beings and has often gone unnoticed and unrealized. It is the voice of
human spirit and hope that is embodied in people like Muhammad
Yunus who had a vision of poverty free world. Finding the inner voice

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enables the individuals and the organisations not to do things right but to
do right things.
b) As they went on describing the school, it seemed to me that it must be
the greatest place on earth. Not even heaven presented more
attractions for me at that time than did the Hampton Normal and
Agricultural Institute on Virginia. I wanted to go to that school, although I
had no idea where it was, or how many miles away, or how I was going
to reach it. I was on fire constantly with one ambition, and that was to go
to Hampton. This thought was with me day and night.
c) Asthma, a condition that affects the lungs, is a disease that many
people, the majority of whom are children, have. Asthma is most
commonly thought to be hereditary. One known cause for an attack is an
allergic reaction, but stress and vigorous activity are thought to be
causes as well. This disease can be fatal if it is not taken care of
immediately, but with the medical technology of today, mild asthma is
more of a nuisance than a life threatening disease. Although not proven,
asthma is thought to be hereditary. The majority of asthmatics tend to
have asthmatics in the family. In most cases, asthma usually is present
at birth, although some cases have developed after age forty.
d) ‘Without presumption, sir. I feel that if you were to give me another
chance I should work to your satisfaction. I should endeavour-‘
Mr. Ferguson stared at him in dumb horror. He had a momentary vision
of a sleepless night spent in listening to a nicely-polished speech for the
defence. He was seized with a mad desire for flight. He could not leave
the building, but he must get away somewhere and think.
He dashed from the room and raced up the dark stairs. And as he
arrived at the next floor his eye was caught by a thin pencil of light which
proceeded form a door on the left.
e) Red Dawn: It sounds like a paperback thriller from the Cold War. In fact
it is the air raid siren in Sderot and the Israeli towns and villages like it
around the Gaza Strip. It is supposed to warn the local people of a
Qassam rocket attack by Palestinian militants. If the system works, they
have nine seconds to run for cover. But sometimes there is nowhere to
run.
In a kindergarten in the middle of Sderot, the mere mention of Red
Dawn makes one little girl burst into tears. This kindergarten has lost two

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children – on their way here in the morning – to rocket attacks in the

past few years. Unlike some kindergartens in the town, this one at least
has a reinforced concrete roof and blast-proof windows. If the children
are outside and the siren goes, everyone sprints for the door. The
children reach it first.
f) Towards the end of the year we saw a slight improvement in our market
share in the United States. A more optimistic economic situation there
helped our sales to grow by just under 15% in the second half of the
year. This was partly due to some very strong competition from other
firms.
4.4.2 Scanning
As you read a text, editorial or an article, you suddenly come across a word
that is not familiar to you. Naturally, you would like to know the meaning of
the word, for your own benefit. So you get the dictionary and carefully find
the word. You see the spelling, pronunciation, meaning and also the various
uses of the same word (if any). This type of careful reading, to find out the
specific, clear details, is known as Scanning. Here, you don’t just run your
eyes across the page, but look into the information for specific details. Let
us go through the following exercise to be familiar with what scanning is all
about.
Activity 2:
Jesse Owens was a great short-distance runner and an Olympic Champion.
This passage is one of his personal experiences at the 1936 Olympic
Games held in Berlin. About that time, Hitler was preaching to the Germans
his theory of ‘a master race’ Did all Germans believe in this theory?
It was the summer of 1936. The Olympic Games were being held in Berlin.
Because Adolf Hitler childishly insisted that his performers were members of
a ‘master race’, nationalistic feelings were running high. I wasn’t too worried
about all these. I’d trained, sweated and disciplined myself for six years,
with the Games in mind. While I was going over on the board, all I could
think about was taking home one or two of those gold medals. I had my
eyes especially on the long jump. A year before I’d set the world record of
26 feet 8.5 inches. Everyone expected me to win that Olympic event hands
down. I was in for a surprise. When the time came for the long-jump trials,
I was startled to see a tall boy hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice

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leaps. He turned out to be a German named Luz Long. I was told that
Hitler had kept him hidden away, evidently hoping he would win the jump. I
supposed that if Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis’
Aryan-superiority theory. After all, I am a Negro. A little hot under the collar
about Hitler’s ways, I was determined to go out there and really show Der
Fuhrer and his master race who was superior and who wasn’t.
An angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes, as any coach will tell
you. I was no exception. On the first of my three qualifying jumps, I leaped
from several inches beyond the take-off board for a no-jump. On the
second jump, I was even worse. “Did I come 3,000 miles for this?” I thought
bitterly. “To fall in the trials and make a fool of myself?” Then Luz Long
approached me and encouraged me to do my best with a calm mind. I
obeyed him and got qualified for the finals. The next day in the finals I won
the Olympic Gold Medal defeating my nearest rival Luz Long. Long was the
first one who came to congratulate me just in front of Hitler. You could melt
down all the gold medals and cups I have, and they wouldn’t be a plating on
the 24 carat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment.
Read the article and answer the questions that follow:
1. What preparations did Jesse Owens do for the Olympic games?
2. Why was everyone sure that Jesse Owens would get the gold medal in
the long jump event?
3. What did Jesse Owens expect to get from the 1936 Olympic Games?
4. What mistake did Jesse Owens make?
5. Why did he make that mistake?
6. Give the words from the passage that means the same as-
i) to turn from something solid to liquid
ii) to do something unexpected which surprises someone.
4.4.3 Extensive Reading
Does reading give us pleasure? As we have already mentioned our way of
reading is influenced by the purpose of our reading. Most of us have the
habit of reading especially when we are free or have a lot of leisure time.
We might get hold of a novel, a comic strip, a magazine etc. When we read
for the pure pleasure of reading we call it extensive reading. But, we should
not give it a lesser priority because it is extensive reading. It is enjoyable as

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well as informative. Here, we practise rapid reading to get the global/overall

understanding of the matter.
Activity - 3:
Read the passage given below and try to insert words in the blanks.
The words that you choose should be contextual based.
I was born into middle – class Tamil family in the island town of
Rameshwaram in the erstwhile Madras State. My father, Jainulabdeen, had
neither much 1 (formal /informal) education nor much wealth; despite these
disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of
spirit. He had a 2 (idol / ideal) helpmate in my mother, Ashiamma. I do not
recall the exact number of people she fed everyday, but I am quite certain
that far more 3 (insiders /outsiders) were with us than all the members of our
own family put together.
I was one of their many children – a short boy with rather undistinguished
looks, born to tall and handsome parents. We lived in our ancestral house,
which was built in the middle of the 19th century. I would say mine was a
very secure childhood, both materially and 4 (emotionally/superficially).
I got 5 (rejections/admissions) at Schwartz High School at
Ramanathapuram. I knew my father had invested great hopes in my 6
(success/failures). He wanted me to become Collector so I thought it’s my
duty to realize his dream.
My teacher, Iyadurai Solomon, used to say that a good student could learn
more from a bad teacher than a poor student from even a skilled teacher.
He used to say, “to succeed in life and achieve results, you must understand
and master three mighty forces – desire, belief, and expectation.” By the
time I completed my education at Schwartz, I was a self-confident boy
determined to succeed. Fur further 7 (recreation /education) I joined St.
Joseph’s College, Trichi. For my engineering, I managed to be on the list of
selected candidates, but admission to this prestigious institution was an
expensive effort. At that time my sister, Zohra stood behind me, 8
(mortgaging/buying) her gold bangles and chain. What fascinates most at
MIT was the sight of two decommissioned aircrafts displayed there for the
demonstration of the various subsystems of flying machines.

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In the 9 (coarse/course) of my education at MIT, three teachers shaped my

thinking. Their combined contributions formed the 10 (foundation/ façade)
on which I later built my professional career. They shared a common
impulse – the capacity to feed their student’s intellectual hunger by sheer
brilliance and untiring zeal.
(Excerpts: Wings of Fire – An Autobiography by A P J Abdul Kalam with
Arun Tiwari)
Note: Now see the possible answers and try to check whether you have
selected the appropriate words. This exercise proves that you can
understand the overall meaning of the passage even if some words are
missing.
4.4.4 Intensive Reading
When we read shorter texts like a research paper, for getting specific details/
information we read slowly with a lot of concentration. This is intensive
reading. When you read a book as a resource material for research you
read it intensively because the overall understanding is not the
objective/purpose of your reading. When you read an article in order to write
a review on it, you read it intensively. We use all the skills of reading when
we do intensive reading.
Activity 4: Read the following paragraph. At the end of each sentence
you will find the letters M (main idea) and S (supporting detail).
Identify in each case, whether it is M or S and tick the correct letter.
At a time when orphanages and old age homes have become the icons of
civilization, grandparents seldom exert any influence on grandchildren.
(M/S) After the end of the Second World War, the concept of nuclear family
became quite widespread and acceptable. (M/S) The moulding of the
behavioural patters of future citizens became by and large the responsibility
of the parents. (M/S)Psychologists are of the opinion that 50% of an
individual’s traits are genetic in nature and that the other 50% are influenced
by the environment. (M/S) Here also, the parents, especially the mother, has
an important role to play. (M/S)
4.4.5 Loud and Silent Reading
Most of our day-to-day reading is done silently. When we read an article or
an advertisement, we are engaged in the process of deriving meaning from
the passage. Actually when we read aloud our concentration is divided

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between reading and speaking. This makes reading difficult and may cause
problems in understanding the matter. But there are situations when we
have to read things aloud, like the notices and circulars, when others don’t
have access to it. You need to read the instructions aloud to students or
employees so that there is no confusion later. Besides these extra-ordinary
situations, most of the time the natural way of reading is silent reading which
is ideal and helps comprehension.

4.5 SQ3R Technique of Reading

This technique of reading is evolved by Robinson in his book "Effective
Study" (1970). SQ3R stands for the initial letters of the five steps in studying
a text.
Survey S
Question Q
Read R
Recall R
Review R
Let us briefly go through these steps in the given order:
1. Survey: Survey refers to a quick glance through the title page, preface,
chapter headings of a text. By surveying, you will be able to gauge the
main ideas of the text. Besides, the author's name, date and place of
publication and title page can give you an idea of the general subject
area. The table of contents, preface or foreword in a book would give
you an idea of the themes and how they are organised. A survey of the
index or bibliography tells you immediately whether the book contains
what you need.
Let's take an example. Choose the appropriate reference by a quick survey:
Here is a Bibliography (List of Books) on POLIMERIZATION.
Bibliography
(a) Billmeyer, F.W. 1962. A Text Book of Polymer Science
New York: John Wiley and sons
(b) A condensed Chemical Dictionary
(c) International Encyclopedia of Sciences
(d) Encyclopedia Britannica
(e) Stille, J. K. 1962. Introduction to Polymer Chemistry: New York: John
Wiley and sons. Wassermann, Leonard G 1974.
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(f) Chemistry: Basic Concepts and Contemporary Applications California:

Wadsworth Publ CO Inc.
(Adapted from ELT Documents, 1980)
(Decide which of the publications in the list are likely to give you: (encircle
the appropriate letter)
A brief Introduction to the subject: a b c d e f
Current development in the field a b c d e f
Historical study of the subject a b c d e f
Various opinions by experts on the subject a b c d e f
2. Question: The second step in SQ3R technique of Reading is ‘question.’
A Survey of the text will surely raise a few questions in your mind,
regarding the text. Some of the questions could be:
 Is the book useful or relevant to my study?
 Does it provide some guidelines/information on the subject at hand?
But, as you go through the individual chapters, you might get specific
questions regarding the topic. This will surely lead to gaining some
insights into the text, topic and the author's comments. We will be
surprised to see how our questions are answered in the process of
reading and understanding the text. Hence don't take reading as an
automatic process. It has to be conscious, deliberate, and purposeful
with a definite purpose where you interact with the topic and the author.
3. Reading: After surveying and questioning, you begin the actual reading.
You need to develop a critical approach in reading anything for that
matter. Read the text over and over again and each time with a different
question in mind and a different purpose in mind. "I read it once and
understand everything" kind of attitude is nothing but a myth. Hence,
while reading for the first time, you just focus on the main points/ideas
and supporting details only.
4. Recall: The fourth stage in Reading Comprehension is recalling.
Reading is not an isolated activity. Every reading exercise increases
your background knowledge. You should be able to connect the
information gained to the already existing background knowledge.
Recalling whatever you have read would enable you to connect, relate
the content to the previous and future learning of the subject. This leads
us to the next stage in reading i.e., Review.
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5. Review: Reviewing is nothing but checking whether we have followed

the earlier stages promptly and efficiently; whether we have surveyed
the book, article, and magazine properly. Have we asked the appropriate
questions relating to the content, have we read critically and have we
recalled the most significant details/information required for our study?
These are questions that we would like you to ask in the final stage of
reading. Review will sharpen your critical faculty and you would be able
to form your own opinions on the topic and express them to others.
Isn't this process a rewarding experience? Try to practice these stages
consciously in your reading and research and know for yourself what a
revelation this could be to you.
Self Assessment Questions
4. The technique of reading evolved by Robinson is commonly called as
_______.
5. By surveying one will be able to gauge the _____ of the text.
6. Which is the fourth stage of reading technique evolved by Robinson?
7. What do you mean by reviewing?

4.6 Summary
In this unit, we have discussed what reading is, and the various purposes of
reading. You have learnt the different types of reading like, Scanning,
Skimming, Intensive, Extensive and SQ3R method of reading. You have to
interact with the given piece of writing/information and derive meaning out of
it. For this, a basic knowledge of the language system, vocabulary, grammar
and some background knowledge of the topic is required. You should also
vary your speed of reading according to your purpose of reading. We have
given you examples of how you can practise the different skills of reading in
your day-to-day life. It is up to you to exercise your knowledge on reading
skills and systematically put the same to practice.

4.7 Terminal Questions

1. What do you mean by ‘S’ in the SQ3R method of reading?
2. Differentiate between internal information and external information.
3. What do you mean by reviewing?

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4.8 Answers
Self Assessment Questions
1. According to Webster, Reading is a Psycho-linguistic guessing game.
2. The first level is the literal response to the matter that is read.
3. False
4. SQ3R
5. main ideas
6. recalling
7. Reviewing means checking whether the earlier stages of reading were
followed promptly and efficiently.
Activity – 1
1-c, 2-a, 3-e, 4-d, 5-f, 6-b
Activity – 2
1. Jesse Owens trained, sweated and disciplined for six years inorder to
compete in the Olympics
2. In the previous year, he had set the world record of 26 feet 8.5inches.
Hence people expected him to win the long jump event.
3. He expected to get one or two gold medals, especially in the long jump
event.
4. He leaped from several inches beyond the take-off board for a no-jump.
5. He was angry and could not concentrate. So he made the mistake.
6. i) melt ii) startled
Activity – 3
i) Formal vi) Success
ii) Ideal vii) Education
iii) Outsiders viii) Mortgaging
iv) Emotionally ix) Course
v) Admission x) Foundation
Activity – 4
At a time when orphanages and old age homes have become the icons of
civilization, grandparents seldom exert any influence on grandchildren. (M)
After the end of the Second World War, the concept of nuclear family
became quite widespread and acceptable. (M) The moulding of the
behavioural patters of future citizens became by and large the responsibility
of the parents. (S)Psychologists are of the opinion that 50% of an
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individual’s traits are genetic in nature and that the other 50% are influenced
by the environment. (S) Here also, the parents, especially the mother, has
an important role to play. (M)

Terminal Questions
1. ‘S’ refers to Survey which means to quickly glance through the title page,
preface, chapter headings of a text.
2. When one reads for the necessary background information about one’s
institution where he is working, it is called internal information.
Reading for the information of what is going on in your field, but outside
your own work place is called External Information.
3. Reviewing is checking whether the earlier stages of reading, i.e.survey,
questioning, reading and recalling have been followed promptly and
efficiently.

Remedial English
Adjectives
Any word that adds more meaning to the Noun is called an Adjective. It
qualifies a noun.
Eg.: Ankur is a good player.
Kinds of Adjectives:
1. Adjectives of quality (They answer the question – What kind?)
Pankaj is a fantastic player.
2. Adjectives of quantity (They answer the question – How much?)
She drank a little water.
3. Adjectives of number (They answer the question – How many?)
The teacher met fifty students.
4. Adjectives of demonstration (They answer the question Which?)
This story is very interesting.
Give the papers to those girls.
5. Possessive Adjectives (They answer the question Whose?)
My son is in school.
It is their car.
6. Interrogative Adjectives
Which fool did this?
What kind of sweet should I order?
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7. Adjective of Distribution
Each person has to sign on every paper.
Neither Srinivas nor Mohan went to the cinema.
8. Proper Adjectives
Malaya rubber is noted for its quality
(Rubber produced in Malaya (describes rubber)
Japanese style of flower arrangement is called Ikhbana.
(the style used by Japanese).
9. Participial Adjectives : This can be either present participle or part
participle. Present. Present participle refers to Verb+ing – Write+ing =
Writing, Sing+ing = Singing
Past participle refers to verb form liked, written, walked, sung etc.
The smiling child is happy. Smiling describes child. (The child who is
smiling) – Participal
Don’t buy stolen goods. Stolen describes goods which means goods
which are stolen.
Correct Use of some adjectives:
a) Little (practically no chance) Deepak has little chance of being
elected.
A little (some chance) There is a little hope of his
success.
The little (whatever available) I shall give him the little money I
have.
b) Few (practically none) Few people are good.
A few (a small number) I have a few friends in my office.
The few (whatever available) I will pack the few things I have.
c) First (first in order) Yuri Gagarin was the first man to
go into space.
Foremost (leading, eminent) Einstein was the foremost scientist
of his day.
d) Elder - eldest (of the same family) She is my eldest sister.
Older - oldest (of age) He is the oldest man in the village.
e) Nearest (in space) The nearest bus stop is two
kilometers away.
Next (in position) She sits next to her friend.

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f) Later (in time) This is the later edition of the book.

Latter (in order) Of the two boys, Raj and Ram, the
latter is clever.
Latest (in time) This is the latest print.
Last (in order) This is the last bottle.
g) Less (smaller) I have less money than needed.
Lesser (not as bad as the other) This is the lesser of the two devils.
h) Farther (distance) Let us walk a little farther.
Further (additional, beyond He may be given further
punishment what exists now)

Exercise 1: Pick out all adjectives

1. Planning requires careful thought.
2. You cannot learn swimming in a shallow river.
3. Tagore had a long white beard and broad forehead.
4. This interesting story is being filmed at the Gemini studio.
5. Throw away that broken glass.

Adverbs
Adverbs add more meaning to the verb, adjective, or another adverb in a
sentence. It ‘modifies’ that word. E.g.: Radha sings melodiously.
Formation of adverbs:
1. By adding –ly, to an adjective: beautifully, strongly.
2. By adding -wise, -ways, -wards: otherwise, sideways, upwards.
3. By combining a prefix and a noun: asleep, ahead, away, besides.
4. By combining a prefix and an adjective: alone, around, below.
5. Two adverbs joined by conjunction: by and by, over and above, now
and then.
Types of adverbs: Adverbs tell us about the time, place, manner, quantity,
reason, and frequency of an action. They are recognized by asking certain
questions to the verb. We can use a few questions to find them.
1. Adverb of time: It answers the question ‘when’.
He left immediately. ( When did he leave? – immediately.)
2. Adverb of place: It answers the question ‘where’.
She lives here. (Where does she leave? -here)

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3. Adverb of manner: It answers the question ‘how’.

They lived happily. (How did they live? – happily.)
4. Adverb of reason: It answers the question ‘why’.
All these happened because of you. (Why did all these happen -because
of)
5. Adverb of frequency: It answers the question ‘how often’.
He rarely spoke. (How often did he speak? - rarely)
6. Adverbs of degree/quantity: It answers the questions ‘how much’, ‘in
what degree’.
There is enough sugar.(How much sugar is there? - enough)
7. Relative adverb: E.g.: Show me the place where you were born.

Useage of adverbs:
 An adverb is often placed as near as possible to the word it modifies
(verb).
He writes carefully.
 If the verb is in the simple tense form, the adverb is usually placed
between the subject and the verb it modifies.
He often visits his home town.
(Sub.) (Adv.) (V)
 If the verb is in the form of ‘to be’ (is, am, was, are, were) the adverb
comes after the verb.
She is a very sober girl.
 If the verb is compound, the adverb comes after the auxiliary.
He will always return home in time.
 If the sentence is negative, the adverb of frequency follows ‘not’.
They are not generally selfish.
 If the sentence is interrogative the adverb takes position immediately
after the subject.
Has he ever spoken to you?
 In case of infinitives (to + simple form of verb + do), adverb should not be
placed in between ‘to’ and ‘do’.
He refused to do the task quickly.
(Inf.) (Adv.)
 Use of ‘hard’, ‘hardly’ - ‘Hard’ as an adverb usually follows the verb.
He works hard to make both ends meet.

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‘Hardly’ as an adverb conveys a negative meaning of scarcely or barely.

Hardly had he spoken when the bell rang.
 Use of ‘scarce’, ‘scarcely’ - ‘Scarce’ as an adverb means hard to find.
Coal has become scarce in England.
‘Scarcely’ as an adverb is almost synonymous with ‘hardly’.
I can scarcely hear you.
Note: ‘hardly’ and ‘scarcely’ are followed by ‘when’. ‘No sooner’ is followed
by’ than’.
Exercise 2: Identify the adverbs in the sentences given below
1. This picture is precisely what I am looking for.
2. Unfortunately, the sky quickly grew dark.
3. Have you traveled recently?
4. The Adverb is one of the most important parts of speech in English
Grammar.
5. I work more on the product development side.

Answers
Exercise 1:
1. careful 2. Shallow 3. Long, white, broad
4. Interesting, Gemini 5. broken
Exercise 2:
1. precisely 2. Quickly 3. Recently
4. most 5. more

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