Lexington, KY - I'm not sure what Stephen Foster was thinking when he wrote our state song, "My Old Kentucky Home." Right there in the first line, he obliterates an adverb. The sun should not, as Foster writes, shine bright on that old Kentucky home; rather, it should shine brightly.
Foster knows better. Later in the first verse, he writes of the young folks rolling on the cabin floor, "all merry, all happy and bright." Here, he uses bright correctly. Bright is an adjective, a word that describes a noun. The young folks (nouns) are merry, happy and bright (adjectives).
Like adjectives, adverbs exist to describe another word. Unlike adjectives, adverbs generally describe verbs, not nouns. You can usually tell an adverb by its -ly ending: merrily, happily, brightly. And they usually answer the question: How? How does the sun shine? The sun shines brightly. How do Kentuckians feel about Stephen Foster? They feel brotherly.
Occasionally, adverbs also answer the question: When? When, in Foster's song, do "hard times come a-knocking at the door"? The answer is an adverb: By 'n' by.
You'll have a chance to set Stephen Foster right if you attend a UK football or basketball game this fall. After each game, the fans, coaches and players sing the state song. Feel free to edit while you sing. Then, weep no more.
Neil Chethik, aka the Grammar Gourmet, is writer-in-residence at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning (www.carnegieliteracy.org) and author of FatherLoss and VoiceMale. The Carnegie Center offers writing classes and seminars for businesses and individuals. Contact Neil at nchet@aol.com or 859-254-4175.