OBS. 7.—­The proper classification, or subdivision, of adverbs, though it does not appear to have been discovered by any of our earlier grammarians, is certainly very clearly indicated by the meaning and nature of the words themselves.  The four important circumstances of any event or assertion, are the when, the where, the how-much, and the how; or the time, the place, the degree, and the manner.  These four are the things which we usually express by adverbs.  And seldom, if ever, do we find any adverb the notion of which does not correspond to that of sometime, somewhere, somewhat, or somehow.  Hence, the general classes of this sort of words ought to be formed under these four heads.  The classification heretofore most commonly adopted in English grammar, has every fault which the spirit of awkwardness could possibly give it.  The head of it is this:  “Adverbs, though very numerous, may be reduced to certain classes, the chief of which are those of Number, Order, Place, Time, Quantity, Manner or Quality, Doubt, Affirmation, Negation, Interrogation, and Comparison.”—­Murray’s Gram., p. 115; Comly’s, 66; Kirkham’s, 86; R.  C. Smith’s, 34; Hall’s, 26; and others.

CLASSES.

Adverbs may be reduced to four general classes; namely, adverbs of time, of place, of degree, and of manner.  Besides these, it is proper to distinguish the particular class of conjunctive adverbs.

I. Adverbs of time are those which answer to the question, When?  How long?  How soon? or, How often? including these which ask.

OBS.—­Adverbs of time may be subdivided as follows:—­

1.  Of time present; as, Now, yet, to-day, nowadays, presently, instantly, immediately, straightway, directly, forthwith.

2.  Of time past; as, Already, just now, lately, recently, yesterday, formerly, anciently, once, heretofore, hitherto, since, till now, long ago, erewhile, erst.

3.  Of time to come; as, To-morrow, hereafter, henceforth, henceforward, by-and-by, soon, erelong, shortly.

4.  Of time relative; as, When, then, first, just, before, after, while, whilst, meanwhile, as, till, until, seasonably, betimes, early, late, whenever, afterward, afterwards, otherwhile, otherwhiles.

5.  Of time absolute; as, Always, ever, never, aye, eternally, forever, perpetually, continually, incessantly, endlessly, evermore, everlastingly.

6.  Of time repeated; as, Often, oft, again, occasionally, frequently, sometimes, seldom, rarely, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, annually, once, twice, thrice, or three times.  Above this, we use only the phrases four times, five times, six times, &c.  Whether these ought to be reckoned adverbs, or not, is questionable:  times, for repetitions, or instances, may be supposed a noun; but such phrases often appear to be used adverbially.