Author Topic: Adverbs in succession  (Read 3797 times)

Miss Mae

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Adverbs in succession
« on: July 05, 2015, 03:36:50 PM »
Sir, is it not all right to use two adverbs in succession? I'm trying to write a poem and here are the first three lines -

A friend is who you are to a friend
Our grade school teacher told us
That should be just really how a friend should be


Joe Carillo

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Re: Adverbs in succession
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2015, 07:12:25 AM »
Your use of "just really" in this line of your poem, "That should be just really how a friend should be," is perfectly all right. As many adverbs as needed can be used in quick succession by a writer to express what's in her or his mind, as in "I love you deeply, maddeningly, consumingly, desperately, distractingly +...ad infinitum." There are no hard-and-fast rules on the number of adverbs that can be deployed for self-expression. The only limiting factors are risk of wordiness and the need for prudence and self-control. Indeed, a sixth sense is a must--it could take some time to acquire and develop though--for how much adverbial modification the listener or reader can take in a given situation.

Miss Mae

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Re: Adverbs in succession
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2015, 10:52:13 PM »
Thank you!