Jose Carillo's English Forum
English Grammar and Usage Problems => Use and Misuse => Topic started by: Miss Mae on July 05, 2015, 03:36:50 PM
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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
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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.
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Thank you!