Wir Ain Leed - Adverbs

Adverbs

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

Many 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.

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 naur 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.

Adverbs are mostly formed by suffixing ly or lies. 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.

alanerly entirely geyly a good deal

brawly splendidly geylies rather much

brawlies splendidly haurdly hardly

cannily cautiously likely likely

feckly mostly shuirly surely

freely completely uncoly very much

fully* fully

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

Coorser fully nor the floor.
A good deal coarser than flour .

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

A kent him brawly.
I knew him very well.

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.

Some adverbs are formed by suffixing s, for example, mebbes 'maybe, perhaps' and whiles 'sometimes'.

The suffix in, plural ins, may be added to some adverbs.

She didna like the new dress aitherin
She didn't like the new dress either.

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

That dug will seendlins e'er be feart fae onybody.
That dog will seldom be scared of anyone.

Some adverbs are formed by suffixing lins to nouns indicating in the direction of and to adjectives to indicate direction, manner, condition or degree.

He fell airselins an speldert hisself on the fluir.
He fell backwards and spread himself across the floor.

The shearer's darg wis maistlins duin.
The reapers work was well nigh finished.

He gien the bonnie lass a sidelins glence.
He gave the pretty girl an oblique glance.

Some adverbs are formed by suffixing gate(s) and wey(s).

awgate(s) everywhere ony gate(s) anywhere, anyhow,
anyway

aw wey(s) everywhere ony wey(s) anyway, anywhere

endweys straight on some gate(s) somewhere, some
place(s), somehow,
in some manner

naewey(s) nowhere some wey(s) somewhere, somehow,
in some manner

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.

The frequentive suffix le also implies direction towards.

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

The muinlicht gart the ripples glentle.
The moonlight caused the ripples to sparkle.

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 daesna come on for common.
I told you that doesn't normally happen.

Relative, Interrogative and Demonstrative adverbs.

Relative adverbs refer to the preceding part of the sentence with respect to place, time, manner or case.

hou how this wey in this way

whaur where why why

whan when whit wey in what way

Hou may also be used for the sense of 'the reason for'.

A want tae ken hou ye selt the kye for sae little.
I want to know why you sold the cows for so little.

He wis weel whan A seen him.
He was well when I saw him.

Demonstrative adverbs point out with respect to place, time, manner or case.

here here thare there

hou now this this

sae so that that

than then yon, yonder

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

In colloquial speech an unstressed or contracted pronunciation of thare is [ðe, ðə] often confused with the [ðə] or an unstressed thay [ðə] and written as such. Hence forms such as:

The're meaning 'there is' or 'there are'.
The' wis meaning 'there was'.
The' war meaning 'there were' or 'there was'.
Also the negative forms:
Are the'? meaning 'are there?'
War the'? meaning 'were there?' or 'was there?

Ance the' war a man.
Once there was a man. Are the' mony mair o yer kin?
Are there many more of your sort?

Are the' onybody in?
Is there anyone in? The're no nae time at nicht.
There's no time at night.

The're a man doun thare.
There's a man down there.

The' warna hauf sae muckle dichtin duin than.
There wasn't half as much cleaning done then.

A will that.
I'll do so. Bide thare.
Stay there.

A telt ye that.
I told yo so. It's no that ill.
It's not so bad.

She wis that prood.
She was so proud. Gang ower yonder.
Go over there.

Interrogative adverbs ask questions with respect to place, time, manner or case.

whaur where whit for for what reason

whan when whit wey why, how

why, hou why, how

Hou is often used to ask for a reason, as is why and whit for. Whit wey is often used to ask 'for what reason' or 'in what manner'. Are may be contracted after whaur, especially before ye or you.

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? Hou's aw wi ye?
How do you do?

Why wis ye no comin?
Why weren't you coming? Whit wey no?
Why not?

Whit for no?
Why not? Whit for?
For what reason?

Whan did he come?
When did he come? Whaur ye gaun?
Where are you going?

Adverbs of place.
Many prepositions are used adverbially.

aback behind hame home

abeich aloof here awa thereabouts

ablo below hyne at a distance

aboot about in in

abreed abroad inby inside

abuin above in ower inside

aff off oot out

afore before ootby outside

ahint behind oot ower at a distance

aside beside ower over, further off

ayont beyond owerby over there

ben inside thegither together

but outside up up

by by, near yont along, through

Mynd the cuddie an haud aback.
Be careful of the donkey and keep back.

The faither casts his heid abeich an leuks a kennin soor.
The father casts his head aloof an leuks slightly sour.

It's slaistery and sliddery doun ablo amang the glaur.
It's wet, dirty and slippery down below in the mud.

He's up aboot Buchan some wey.
He's somewhere in Buchan.

She's aboot again efter a spell o the haingles.
She's on the move again after having influenza.

It's a sair horse tae keep in aboot.
It's a difficult horse to control.

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.

Far hyne oot ower the lea.
Far off beyond the pasture.

Come in ower.
Come nearer. Haud oot ower.
Keep away.

Are ye comin yont the clachan?
Are you coming through the village?

Adverbs of time and number.
Many prepositions are used adverbially.

aback since, ago niver never

aboot about neist next

aft(en) often nou now

again again sin since

ahint behind suin soon

awee a little syne then, ago

aye always, still till until

belyve quickly, soon whiles sometimes

iver, e'er ever yet yet

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. A'm aye warstlin on.
I'm still struggling on.

Ae day suin we'll gang oot thegither.
One day soon we'll go out together.

He comes here whiles.
He comes here sometimes. It's a gey lang while sin than.
It's a very long time since then.

When A wis weary A wad rest awee.
When I was weary I would rest a little while.

Auld lang syne we wis pals.
Long, long ago we were friends.

Ance on a day, a while sin, thare leeved three wee swine.
Once upon a time, some time ago, there lived three little pigs.

Adverbs of quantity, manner and degree.

aboot about forrit forward

agley awry furrin foreign, abroad

ajee awry in in

alowe alight, on fire juist just, quite, no less than

alike alike like like, as it where, probably

anely only mebbe maybe, pehaps

asteer astir muckle much

awmaist almost naither neither, however

awthegither altogether near/naur nearly, almost

back back ney nigh, near, almost

backwart(s) backwards on on

belike probably, likely oot out

but but, merely ower over, too, excessively

by past, finished sae so

byordinar extraordinarily tae to

clean absolutely, completely til to

deed indeed, to be sure that so, to such a degree

eneuch enough tho though, anyhow, to that extent

fair fair throu through, finished

fine fine, very well up up

forby besides, in addition to weel well, very, quite, much

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

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

It's wirth aboot twa poond.
It's worth two pounds at any rate.

The cooncil's schames gangs aft agley.
The council's plans often go wrong.

Thair theology, A'm telt, is aw ajee.
Their theology, I'm told, is quite deranged.

The lum's alowe.
The chimney is on fire.

He lowpit back an forrit.
He jumped backwards and forwards.

The quean wis but aichteen year auld.
The girl was merely eighteen years old.

She gaed by 'ithoot speakin.
She went past without speaking. He's by wi't.
He's past recovery.

Thae pease is byordinar fine.
Those peas are extraordinarily fine.

Det an drink haes druive him clean wuid.
Debt and dring have driven him absolutely mad.

He's clean daft.
He's quite mad. A'm clean duin.
I'm quite exhausted.

That's guid eneuch.
That's good enough. Like eneuch A'll be thare.
I shall very likely be there.

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

A ken him fine.
I know him well. He can dae't fine.
He can do it easily.

Ay, an forby, it was real threidbare aneath the table.
Yes, and besides, it was really threadbare under the table.

An mony mair forby.
And many more besides. Deed ay! It wisna that wey ava.
Yes indeed ! It wasn't like that at all.

Lay in tae yer darg.
Commence your work. Juist that.
Just so.

She juist gabbert even on.
She simply jabbered incessantly.

A'm no verra weel like, the day.
I'm not very well, as it were, today.

Mebbe ay, Mebbe na.
Perhaps yes, perhaps no.

She wis muckle thocht o.
She was very well thought of.

A wis kin o (weys) feart like.
I was somewhat afraid. A'm gey (an) thrang the nou.
I'm very busy just now.

Ye hae pitten in ower muckle saut.
You have put in too much salt.

No michty muckle.
Not very much. It's no milk naither.
It's not milk however.

A naur cowpit.
I nearly overturned.

Read it lood oot.
Read it aloud. Ye hae comed ower suin.
You've come too early.

We gaed hame sae as tae ceuk the denner.
We went home in order to cook dinner.

The fish wis sae lang as ma airm.
The fish was as long as my arm.

A wis that feart.
I was so scared. Wis it tho?
Was it indeed?

Are ye no throu yet.
Haven't you finished yet. His time wis throu.
His time was over.

Ma horse is fell weel comed in nou.
My horse is thoroughly well trained now.

The concept of 'very', 'remarkably', 'thoroughly' can be expressed using a number of adverbs: awfu, fell, fou, gey, real, sair, richt, tairible, unco and verra.

He wis taen awa awfu suddent.
He was taken away very suddenly.

He's a fell guid meenister.
He's a remarkably good clergyman.

The bairn sat thare fou snug an said naething.
The child sat there very snugly and said nothing.

A'm gey (an) thrang the nou.
I'm very busy just now.

Thae's real fine neeps.
Those are very fine turnips.

He's no sair pleased wi it.
He's not greatly pleased about it.

That's a richt auld ane.
That's a very old one. She's unco queer.
She's very eccentric.

Thae's tairible fine nowt.
Those are exceedingly fine cattle.

Some adverbial expressions are:

a maiter o as much as lat be leave alone

abee as it is, leave alone lief(er) rather

aff-luif off-hand mair by taiken more over

ance eerant specially for that alone nae dout no doubt, doubtless

an aw that and all that sort of thing still an on nevertheless

an that and so on, etcetera suiner sooner, rather

an aw also, as well, too some wey somehow or other

at ane mair at the last push that wey in that way, like that

atweel in any case the conter on the contrary

aw weys in every way the lenth o as far as

by wi't done with it, as good as dead the wey o't how it goes

e'en't indeed throu ither anyhow, in confusion

for aw that notwithstanding, all the same weel-a-whit certainly

hail on steadily, right along housomeiver however

That's nae guid ava (at aw).
That's no good at all.

He cam a heap aboot Enster.
He often came to Anstruther.

She's a wee thing daft.
She's a little mad. That's a thocht ower lang.
That's the least bit too long.

milkin kye an aw that.
Milking cows and all that sort of thing.

Is he gaun furrin? He is e'en't.
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 some wey.
She's his aunt somehow or other.

Daena gang ance eerant.
Don't go for that alone.

She's a hantle sicht better.
She's much better. A wis hindert a wee thing.
I was a little delayed.

A'd as lief bide at hame.
I'd rather stay at home. He brocht his sin an aw.
He brought his son too.

A wad suiner gang hame.
I would rather go home. Lat's abee.
Leave me (us) alone.

Negative adverbs.

Adjectives, verbs and adverb are negated by no or nae in Northern Scots. No or nae often combines with the comparatives sae and that.

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. Weemin are no sae blate nou.
Women aren’t so shy now.

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.

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

A daena care a tait.
I don't care a bit. He daesna ken whaur she is.
He doesn't know where she is.

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 daena care aboot nane o't.
I don't care for any of it.

A daena 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 gets 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. Lippen On Angus

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.

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

[ Start | Previous | Next ]