Editing Japanese grammar (section)

===Adverbs===
Adverbs in Japanese are not as tightly integrated into the morphology as in many other languages; adverbs are not an independent class of words, but the role of an adverb is played by other words. For example, every adjective in the continuative form can be used as an adverb; thus, {{nihongo3|'weak' [adj]|弱い|yowai}} → {{nihongo3|'weakly' [adv]|弱く|yowaku}}. The primary distinguishing characteristic of adverbs is that they cannot occur in a predicate position, just as it is in English. The following classification of adverbs is not intended to be authoritative or exhaustive.
{{Anchor|Verbal adverbs}}
; Verbal adverbs: verbs in the continuative form with the particle {{transliteration|ja|ni}}. E.g. {{nihongo3|'to see'|見る|miru}} → {{nihongo3|'for the purpose of seeing'|見に|mi ni}}, used for instance as: {{nihongo3|'go to see (something)'|見に行く|mi ni iku}}.
; Adjectival adverbs: adjectives in the continuative form, as mentioned above. Example: {{nihongo3|'weak' [adj]|弱い|yowai}} → {{nihongo3|'weakly' [adv]|弱く|yowaku}}
; Nominal adverbs: grammatical nouns that function as adverbs. Example: {{nihongo3|'most highly'|一番|ichiban}}.
; Sound symbolism: words that mimic sounds or concepts. Examples: {{nihongo3|'sparklingly'|きらきら|kirakira}}, {{nihongo3|'suddenly'|ぽっくり|pokkuri}}, {{nihongo3|'smoothly' (sliding)|するする|surusuru}}, etc.

Often, especially for sound symbolism, the particle {{nihongo3|'as if'|と|to}} is used. See the article on [[Japanese sound symbolism]].