positive-degree adverb
- noun
- /ˈpɒzɪtɪv dɪˈɡɪr ædˈvɜrb/
- Specialized
:
adverbio de grado positivo
- In the phrase 'She sings beautifully', 'beautifully' is a positive-degree adverb expressing the quality of how she sings.
Examples
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In the sentence 'He ran fast', 'fast' functions as a positive-degree adverb.
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The word 'quickly' is often used as a positive-degree adverb in simple descriptions.
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When no comparison is made, an adverb remains in the positive-degree adverb form.
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The word 'quickly' is a positive-degree adverb.
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Can you give me an example of a positive-degree adverb?
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The sentence 'He completed the task efficiently' uses 'efficiently' as a positive-degree adverb indicating the quality of his completion.
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In grammar class, we learned that 'softly' is a positive-degree adverb because it describes how she speaks without making any comparison.
Synonyms
3
6.0
The basic form of an adjective without comparison
An adverb that shows a simple way something happens, not a comparison
The base form of an adjective or adverb that shows a quality without comparison
Surface Forms
Morphology
positive-degree + adverb
The term is compositionally built from 'positive' (simple/not comparative) + 'degree' (level) + 'adverb' (word that modifies actions), so the basic meaning — an adverb expressing a simple, non-comparative quality — can be inferred from the parts. However, it is a piece of grammatical jargon and requires awareness of comparative/superlative contrasts to be fully understood; this makes it partly predictable but somewhat specialized for a B1 learner.
Etymology
The term positive-degree adverb names the plain form of an adverb: positive means not higher in degree, and the adverb simply shows a quality without comparing. So it is the adverb you use when you do not say 'more' or 'most'.