Modifiers
Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs — and in diagrams they always hang on a slanted line below the element they modify. When an adverb modifies another adverb or an adjective, its slanted line is drawn parallel and hooked to the top of the modified slant.
Adverbs Modifying Verbs
“The neighbor talks incessantly.”
“Chris awoke very early.”
Adverbs Modifying Adjectives or Other Adverbs
When an adverb modifies an attributive adjective (or another adverb), its slanted line is placed parallel to and below the slanted line of the adjective (or adverb) it modifies — and hooked at the top to that line.
“The thoroughly bored students were fidgeting.”
Multiple Adverbs on the Same Verb
“Mary walked swiftly and silently.”
Independent Adverbs
Some adverbs (e.g., not surprisingly, quickly used as sentence modifiers) are independent words modifying nothing at all. They are placed on a separate horizontal line above the main diagram, like vocatives.
“Not surprisingly, the fatuous man loves a diffident woman.”
Interrogative Adverbs
Interrogative adverbs (when, where, why, how) modify verbs and are diagrammed below the verb on a slanted line, just like any other adverb modifying a verb.
“How do you know that?”