[Grammar] Please help with adverb around

[sharon32238]

My second grader was marked wrong on the following question:

Write how, when, or where to explain what each adverb tells:

I run around.

He answered: how

The teacher says: where

I can see how her point; however, I can also see, in this phrase, that it can also be 'how'. In addition, the examples given to the students include: Kay spins around. To me, this does not describe where, but, how.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[birdeen's call]

Would you say that the following dialogue is possible?

"How do you run?"
"I run around."

I'm not sure myself (I thought I was...), but I think this is the question we should ask ourselves.

 

[sharon32238]

Thanks for responding. I try to review errors on my son's work with him so he can learn from his mistakes; but, I'm at a loss on this one.

 

[Khosro]

My second grader was marked wrong on the following question:

Write how, when, or where to explain what each adverb tells:

I run around.

He answered: how

The teacher says: where

I can see how her point; however, I can also see, in this phrase, that it can also be 'how'. In addition, the examples given to the students include: Kay spins around. To me, this does not describe where, but, how.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

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I learn English and I teach English at the same time.
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1- Moving in a circular way: "The wind makes the windmill's sails spin around".

2- Moving to many different parts or areas: "We drove around looking for a hotel".

the above definitions and examples are taken from Macmillan dictionary for advanced learners. If I had to chose between "how" and "where" I would chose "how", unless "many different parets" is interpreted as "where".

 

[birdeen's call]

Thanks for responding. I try to review errors on my son's work with him so he can learn from his mistakes; but, I'm at a loss on this one.

I don't know if that's of any help, but I think both interpretations are good now.

 

[5jj]

I think 'how' can be just about understandable for asking about a child's running, though I don't think most native speakers would find this exchange natural:

A. How is he running?
B. (He is running) around.

We would expect something along these lines:

Where is he running? in the garden/round the garden/oh, just around.
How is he running? - very fast/awkwardly/as if someone's after him with a knife.

For Kate spins round, neither question-word is appropriate.

Where? - in the middle of the floor.
How? - by holding her arms out balancing on one foot and pushing with the other.

I understand what the teacher is trying to do, but s/he has cnosen an unnatural way to do it.

 

[lauralie2]

My second grader was marked wrong on the following question:

Write how, when, or where to explain what each adverb tells:

I run around.

He answered: how

The teacher says: where

I can see how her point; however, I can also see, in this phrase, that it can also be 'how'. In addition, the examples given to the students include: Kay spins around. To me, this does not describe where, but, how.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Sharon,

Our speaker intuition (your second grader's, yours, mine and the posters') tells us that the adverb 'around' of 'spin around' and 'run around' does not refer to a location and for that reason cannot be a where-adverb (where something is performed) and so, by process of elimination, must be a how-adverb (how something is performed), but where doesn't just mean location; it can also mean direction.

The adverb 'around' doesn't refer to a manner or a location but rather to a direction, specifically, the direction in which the person or object performing the action moves (e.g., left, right, up, down), and the very reason it is where-adverb:

• I run around quickly.
  • How? In what manner?
    • Quickly.
  • Where? In which direction?
    • Around, here and there.

• She spins around quickly.
  • How? In what manner?
    • Quickly.
  • Where? In which direction?
    • Around, in a circular direction.

Teaching a second grader the difference between a how-adverb and a where-adverb is as simple as the "Cat Test": where-adverbs are anything that a cat can do: a cat can go in, out, up, down, and a cat can go around.



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• The windmill's sails spin around quickly.
  • How? In what manner? Quickly.
  • Where? In which direction? The sails move in a circular direction, around.

 

[5jj]

[...]

• She spins around quickly.
  • How? In what manner?
    • Quickly.
  • Where? In which direction?

[...]

• The windmill's sails spin around quickly.
  • How? In what manner? Quickly.
  • Where? In which direction? The sails move in a circular direction, around.

I have no problems with 'In which direction?', but I think that 'where?' is an unnatural question to elicit 'around'.

For me, the natural answer to 'Where does she spin?' would be 'In the garden' (or some other suitable location). Another response might be, 'Nowhere. She just spins on the spot'.

The response to 'Where do the windmill's sails spin?' might be, 'What do you mean? - On the windmill, of course'.