BY MARIA FLEMING

ILLUSTRATED BY DOUG JONES

Tillie’s TubaTillie’s Tuba

AdverbsTM

Tillie has a tuba.

She plays her tuba proudly.

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This book has alot of adverbs init. Do you knowwhat an adverb is?

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She plays enthusiastically.

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She plays her tuba LOUDLY.

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An adverb is a part of speechthat modifies (tells you moreabout) a verb, adjective, oranother adverb. Some adverbstell you how something is done.

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Tillie loves her tuba.

She plays it day and night.

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Some adverbs tellyou when somethingis done.

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She plays early. She plays late.

It fills her with delight.

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She plays anywhere and everywhere —

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at home, at school, in town.

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Some adverbs tellyou where something is done.

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She plays inside. She plays outside,

marching up and down.

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Tillie thinks her tuba sounds

totally stupendous.

But her family and friends agree,

the noise is quite horrendous. 9

Adverbs can alsoanswer the question“to what extent?”

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When people see her coming,

they quickly run away.

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It’s really much too painful

to listen to her play.

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What parts of speechdo the adverbs onthese pages modify?Which adverbs answerthe questions how,when, where, and towhat extent?

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Finally, Tillie’s family said,

“Kindly take a break.

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Our heads all hurt tremendously.

Our ears completely ache.”

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Tearfully, poor Tillie

put away her tuba then

vowed to absolutely, positively

never play again.14

This sentence isbursting withadverbs! Can youwrite a sentencethat has as many(or more!)adverbs in it?

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Tillie kept her promise,

but her family just can’t win.

Today she sold her tuba.

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Now she plays the violin!

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Adverbs

An adverb is a word that modifies—or tells you more about—a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

When an adverb modifies a verb, it can tell you how something is done(She plays loudly), when something is done (She plays early), or wheresomething is done (She plays outside). An adverb can also answer thequestion “To what extent?” (Her head hurt tremendously.)

When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it often tellsyou how or how much (The noise was quite horrendous. She plays very loudly).

Although many adverbs end in -ly (proudly, enthusiastically, totally ), it’simportant to remember that many do not. Words like today, inside, andnever are all adverbs, too.

The best way to tell if a word is an adverb is to figure out which word itmodifies in a sentence. Ask yourself: Does this word tell me more abouta verb, an adjective, or another adverb? If the answer is yes, it’s anadverb!

Let’s Review

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No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,

or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.For information regarding permission, write to

Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Written by Maria FlemingIllustrated by Doug Jones

Designed by Jason Robinson

ISBN: 0-439-45819-6

Copyright © 2004 by Scholastic Inc.

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. Printed in the U.S.A.

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