English question HELP PLEASE!!!!!

Question

are they going away? What does the adverb away modify? A adverb verb or adjective?

Answer 1

The adverb away modifies the verb go. More correctly, away modifies the present progressive verb phrase are going.

 

Why?

 

Adverbs answer the questions:

1. How? (How did they go?)
2. Where? (Where did they go?)
3. When? (When did they go?)
4. To what extent? (To what extent did they go?)
5. Why? (Why did they go?)

 

In this question, away answers where they are going. Similar sentences would be "Are they going far away?" or "Are they going home?"

Answer 2

In the sentence Are they going away? the adverb away modifies the verb go which, because the sentence is in the (third personal plural) present progressive tense/aspect (i.e., are . . . going), is in the present participle form going, so structurally away is said to "modify" going. (And note that there are no adjectives nor other adverbs in the sentence that away could modify.)