TSA CBT Practice Test

What role does an adverb play in a sentence?

1. It modifies a noun

2. It modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb

3. It indicates tense

4. It connects clauses

The correct answer is: It modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb

The choice stating that an adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb is correct because adverbs are specifically designed to provide more information about how, when, where, or to what extent an action is performed or a quality is described. For instance, in the sentence "She runs quickly," the adverb "quickly" modifies the verb "runs," giving insight into the manner of the action. Similarly, when modifying an adjective, you might say "He is very tall," where "very" gives a degree to the adjective "tall." Additionally, adverbs can modify other adverbs, as in "She runs incredibly quickly," where "incredibly" modifies the adverb "quickly." Other roles mentioned in the alternatives do not accurately describe the function of adverbs. Adverbs do not modify nouns, indicate tense, or connect clauses; these functions are fulfilled by different parts of speech, such as adjectives for nouns, verb tenses for indicating time, and conjunctions for connecting clauses.