Transcript[]
Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim & epic Moby.
Tim is shown sitting at a table in a dark kitchen. He has his feet on the table and is holding a sheet of paper over his face. There is a glass of milk on the table in front of him.
TIM: We were three days into a brutal heat wave with no end in sight. The air felt stickier than a melted gummy worm. It was killing time in my office, waiting for a job. It was one way to keep out of the sun. Then, like an answer to my prayers, in walks this crazy orange tin man.
Tim moves the paper away from his face and the view changes to show Moby.
TIM: He beeps at me.
Two lights on Moby's chest twinkle. The third light is missing.
TIM: For some reason, I understand his goofy robot lingo.
There are two wires hanging out of a hole in Moby's chest where his third light should be.
TIM: Says he's missing one of his chest lights.
Moby looks down to where the missing light is.
TIM: I tell him I'll help him look, but we need to answer some fan mail while we're at it. Goes a little like this: Dear Tim and Moby, Can you help me with adverbs? Thanks, Chico.
MOBY: Beep!
TIM: Well, you're half right. Adverbs usually describe or modify adjectives and verbs, but they can also modify clauses and other adverbs.
Text reads: Adverbs, adjectives, verbs, clauses, other adverbs
TIM: I talk a good game, but I'm just stalling for time. These grammar questions are always tough. Then it hits me: A better way to define adverbs is by what they do in a sentence. Adverbs answer questions like "How?", "When?", "Where?", and "To what degree?".
Four images appear on the screen as Tim is speaking. When Tim says "How?", a diagram from assembly instructions is shown. When Tim says "When?", a clock is shown. When Tim says "Where?", a portion of a map is shown. When he says "To what degree?", a portion of a bar graph is shown.
MOBY: Beep!
His two chest lights blink on and off.
TIM: Oh, your chest light. Well, let's put it this way: To what degree is this light of yours important?
Text reads: TO WHAT DEGREE.
A side view of a light is shown.
MOBY: Beep!
TIM: Really important, huh?
Text reads: It's really important.
The word "really" is green and the word "important" is yellow. An arrow connects "really" to "important".
TIM: Would you say the light is very important? Incredibly important?
When Tim says "very", the word "really" is replaced with "very" in the sentence on the screen. When Tim says "incredibly", the word "very" is replaced with "incredibly".
MOBY: Beep!
TIM: I tell him that those are all adverbs modifying the adjective "important". The robot says "Great," but I'm pretty sure he’s being sarcastic.
Moby rolls his eyes, and the lights on his chest blink.
TIM: So I ask him when he last saw this light of his. He says, "I saw it before breakfast."
Text reads: WHEN
MOBY: Beep!
Text reads: I saw it before breakfast.
The word "saw" is yellow, and the words "before breakfast" are green.
Moby is shown at the kitchen table earlier that day. He has three lights on his chest. There is a bowl of cereal and a mug of hot coffee in front of him.
TIM: "Are you sure it wasn't after breakfast?" I ask.
Text reads: I saw it after breakfast.
The word "before" is replaced with "after". The word "saw" is yellow, and the words "after breakfast" are green.
Moby is shown at the kitchen table earlier that day. The bowl and mug are empty, and he has his hand across his stomach. Moby has three lights on his chest.
TIM: What about during breakfast?
Text reads: I saw it during breakfast.
The word "after" is replaced with "during". The word "saw" is yellow, and the words "during breakfast" are green.
Moby is shown at the kitchen table earlier that day. The bowl is full, and he is drinking from the coffee mug. Moby's arm is covering his third light.
TIM: The robot tells me he's sure it was before.
Text reads: I saw it before breakfast.
The word "during" is replaced with the word "before". The word "saw" is yellow, and the words "before breakfast" are green.
TIM: I explain that "before breakfast", "after breakfast" and "during breakfast" are all adverbial phrases modifying the verb "saw".
As Tim says "after", the word "before" is replaced with "after" in the sentence on the screen. When he says "during", the word "after" is replaced with "during". When Tim says "modifying", an arrow connects the words "during" and "saw".
TIM: He says he doesn't care, and he’s getting a little tired of me. I tell him we can't rush. We have to investigate carefully.
Text reads: HOW.
Text reads: We have to investigate carefully.
The word "investigate" is yellow, and the word "carefully" is green. An arrow connects the words "carefully" and "investigate".
TIM: I add that we should also work patiently and slowly.
When Tim says "patiently", the word "carefully" is replaced with "patiently" in the sentence on the screen. When he says "slowly", the word "patiently" is replaced with "slowly".
TIM: The robot gets distracted. He asks if any word ending in "l-y" is an adverb, so I give him this: "No, but lots of adverbs do end that way." In many cases, all you have to do is add an "l-y" to an adjective to turn it into an adverb.
Text reads: careful.
Text reads: patient.
Text reads: slow.
As Tim is speaking, in the sentence on the screen, "careful" becomes "carefully" and turns green; "patient" becomes "patiently" and turns green; and "slow" becomes "slowly" and turns green.
TIM: But don't make the costly mistake of assuming every "l-y" word is an adverb.
Text reads: costly.
The word "costly" is displayed in white. When Tim says "mistake", a buzzer sounds and a red line is drawn through the word "costly".
TIM: To figure out if a word is an adverb, you have to look at what it’s doing in the sentence. I can see I'm losing the big galoot, so I steer the conversation back to the case. "Where were you when you last had the light?" I ask. "I was here in the kitchen." he says.
Text reads: WHERE.
Text reads: I was here in the kitchen.
The word "was" is yellow and the word "here" is green. An arrow connects the words "here" and "was".
TIM: He doesn't realize that I've tricked him into using a location adverb. Just to rub it in, I say, "We have to look around very closely."
Text reads: We have to look around very closely.
The word "look" is yellow and the phrase "around very closely" is green. TIM: "How cool is that?," I think. The adverbs "around" and "closely" show where and how we have to look.
In the sentence on the screen, a vertical line comes down from the bottom of the word "around" and another vertical line comes down from the word "closely". These lines are connected by a horizontal line. An arrow connects the middle of the horizontal line to the word "look".
TIM: And the third adverb, "very" modifies "closely".
In the sentence on the screen, an arrow connects the word "very" to the word "closely".
TIM: And to top it all off, that dopey robot didn't even notice! Anyway, we search the kitchen for a good half hour. No dice.
The screen goes blank.
TIM: I hate to break it to the big lummox, but what are you gonna do? Unfortunately, it seems that your chest light is lost.
Text reads: INDEPENDENT CLAUSE.
Text reads: Unfortunately, it seems that your chest light is lost.
The word "unfortunately" is green.
Moby frowns.
TIM: Look on the bright side: At least you got to see how adverbs work! That's when the robot snaps. He approaches me menacingly.
Text reads: He approaches me menacingly.
The word "approaches" is yellow, and the word "menacingly" is green. An arrow connects the words "menacingly" and "approaches".
Moby is frowning and moving toward Tim.
TIM: I try to explain that adverbs make writing more interesting and precise, but it's no good. The murderous tin contraption has flipped a circuit.
Moby moves closer to Tim, and then Tim backs away. The scene changes to show just Tim's face. He closes his eyes, and the screen fades to black.
MOBY: Beep! Beep!
A pair of sneakers is shown hanging over a power line in the street outside Tim's house.
TIM: The robot was right. My sneakers were awfully high.
Text reads: My sneakers were awfully high.
The word "were" is yellow, and the phrase "awfully high" is green. An arrow connects the words "high" and "were". An arrow connects the words "awfully" and "high". I I DONT DONT CARE CARE