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Adverbial Phrases ARE Adverbs Too

March 8, 2025 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

By Kathy Steinemann, author of The Writers Lexicon series

Adverbs Are Disparaged by Many Editors and Writing Pundits

In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King says:

“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day… fifty the day after that… and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions.”

To muddy the waters, the much-maligned adverb doesn’t always end in ly. Many prepositional phrases — and words such as very, too, also, just, etc. — perform the same function and can pervade narrative with unnecessary words.

Caution: Removing every adverb or adverbial phrase leads to awkward writing. Channel your writer’s voice to produce clear yet memorable narrative.

Before We Start

Remember that adverbs are words or groups of words that modify adjectives, verbs, other adverbs, or clauses.

We’ll examine a few instances of unnecessary adverbial phrases in the next section. They represent just a few of the phrases that deserve scrutiny while we write.

Each of the pairs below begins with a sentence containing a prepositional adverb phrase, and follows up with a second sentence containing a suggested replacement. Note the concise imagery and the resulting decrease in words.

Dialogue is always an exception to “writing rules.” Your characters must seem natural. Teenagers shouldn’t sound like college professors, and scientists shouldn’t sound like street thugs. Aliens? That opens a world of linguistic challenge and fun.

As Phrases

as luck would have it (fortunately)

Two of the car’s tires were flat, but as luck would have it, there was enough time to catch the bus.
Two of the car’s tires were flat, but there was enough time to catch the bus.

The phrase as luck would have it can usually be omitted without changing a sentence’s meaning.

as sad as I am to tell you this (sadly)

“As sad as I am to tell you this,” she said, “you’re fired.”
She frowned. “You’re fired.”

This is a situation where terse dialogue often works best.

At Phrases

at the top of one’s voice; at full volume (extremely loudly)

She expressed her disagreement at the top of her voice.
She yelled her disagreement.

Alternate approach: She [bellowed, hollered, screamed, screeched, shrieked] her disagreement. (Some of the suggested words might be considered chauvinist when referring to a woman.)

at no time (never)

At no time would he ever consider the possibility of an overseas flight.
He rejected the possibility of an overseas flight.

In Phrases

in a monotonous tone (monotonously)

She spoke in a monotonous tone.
She droned.

in a soft, low voice (softly and quietly)

The vocalist sang in a soft, low voice.
The vocalist crooned.

in a snit (angrily)

In a snit, she walked out of the room and slammed the door.
She stormed from the room and slammed the door.

in a hurry (hurriedly)

She ate her lunch in a hurry and went back to her desk.
She devoured her lunch and hurried back to her desk.

in its entirety (entirely)

The interpreter translated the conversation in its entirety.
The interpreter translated the entire conversation.

For a While

for a while (temporarily)

The taxes will be raised for a while.
The tax increase is temporary.

Note the format of for a while.

Awhile means for a while. So for awhile (without a space between a and while) is literally translated as “for for a while.”

With Phrases

with practiced efficiency (efficiently)

With practiced efficiency, the sous chef masterminded her kitchen.
The sous chef masterminded her kitchen.

Consider the definition of mastermind: to plan and direct an ingenious and complex scheme or enterprise. Doesn’t that encompass the concept of practiced efficiency?

with a shrug of one’s shoulders (indifferently)

When her supervisor threatened her, she responded with a shrug of her shoulders.
When her supervisor threatened her, she shrugged.

Note the definition of shrug: to raise one’s shoulders slightly and briefly to show doubt or indifference

with pleasure (happily)

He responded with pleasure as she stroked his hand.
He smiled as she stroked his hand.

Without Phrases

without (a) doubt (undoubtedly)

Without a doubt, she is the best writer in the world.
She is the best writer in the world.

Since best, in this context, is someone’s opinion and likely an embellishment of the facts, without a doubt doesn’t add anything to the sentence.

it goes without saying (obviously)

It goes without saying that he should pay for the drinks.
He should pay for the drinks.

If this is dialogue, it could be changed to something like: She scowled. “He should pay for the drinks.” Can you feel the animosity?

without reservation (unreservedly)

Without reservation, I wholeheartedly recommend her for the job.
I believe in her. Hire her.

without a sound (soundlessly)

Without a sound, he walked into the room.
He tiptoed into the room.

without forethought (foolishly)

Without forethought, the upcoming negotiations will be difficult.
Preparation is crucial for the upcoming negotiations.

Strong Verbs

Did you notice the inclusion of several strong verbs? The mental images materialize faster and clearer, with fewer words.

Adverbs aren’t evil, but they can be overused.

Homework: What Can You Accomplish with These Phrases?

by mistake (mistakenly)

in a little while (soon)

in a quandary (unsure)

in all probability (probably)

in conclusion (finally)

in the approved manner (correctly)

on the odd occasion (rarely)

on the other hand (however)

on the way to (toward)

until now (previously)

with attention to detail: scrupulously

with grace (gracefully)

with great gusto: (heartily)

Biography

Kathy Steinemann, author of The Writers Lexicon series, and Grandma Birdie to her grandkids, lives near the Rocky Mountains in the land of Atwood and Shatner and Bieber. A writer and retired editor, she loves words, especially when those words are frightening or futuristic or funny.

Join her at KathySteinemann.com for word lists, how-tos, and sometimes irreverent reviews of writing rules.

The Writer’s Lexicon: Descriptions, Overused Words, and Taboos

You’re a writer. You just read your manuscript and discovered your characters nodding like marionettes in every chapter. When they’re not nodding, they’re rolling their eyes.

Oops.

Time to slash the Pinocchio strings and turn them into real live people. Award-winning author Kathy Steinemann will provide the tools. She cuts through the so-called rules and offers simple solutions.

Too many repetitions of “little”? There’s a cure for that. Do you rely on “very” too often? There’s a cure for that too. You’ll find the remedies in this book’s dispensary.

Should you ever use anything other than “said” to attribute dialogue? Are exclamation points taboo? The answers might surprise you.

Learn how to harness body language, cut hackneyed adjectives, and draw on the environment for ambience. No more wooden characters. You’ll transform them into believable personalities your readers will learn to love. Or hate.

Get in the driver’s seat, relax, and enjoy your journey — with Kathy Steinemann’s book as your GPS.

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