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The party that started hip hop: comment adverbs like apparently, supposedly and undoubtedly

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches comment adverbs such as apparently and undoubtedly through the history of hip hop and the 1973 Bronx party often called its birthday.

Grammar
Comment adverbs at the start with a comma or before the main verb: apparently, supposedly and reportedly for claims, undoubtedly and clearly for certainty, plus famously, surprisingly, unfortunately and admittedly.
Topic
DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell's back-to-school party in a Bronx rec room, and which parts are documented or legend, with words such as turntable, emcee, admission and eyewitness.
Activities
An explainer to read, an office argument and a reader's voice memo to hear, self-checking drills, a fact-check chat and debate boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: drop the needle

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: on the dance floorVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: legend or documented?

    • Look at the picture: a Bronx high-risePictureUnlock
    • Read Isaiah's explainer on The Why DeskArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Sort the sentences into the correct columns: documented or debated?Sort into columnsUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: Harper vs. the spreadsheet

    • Listen to Isaiah and HarperListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Kent from the BronxListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Supposedly, it started here

    • Study the scheme: apparently, supposedly, undoubtedlyGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct option: form and meaningChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: make adverbs from the words in bracketsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Sort the sentences into the correct columns: what does the writer mean?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: what does the writer mean?QuizUnlock
    • Fill in the table: say it with one adverbFill in the tableUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: check the source

    • Choose the right replies: check the source with GretaChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: debate timeOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: new sentences with adverbsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence makes sense?QuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Del's music blogChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Isaiah answers KentDrag and dropUnlock

33 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Music vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • turntable
  • mixer
  • speaker
  • vinyl record
  • emcee
  • admission
  • index card
  • legend
  • eyewitness

Grammar: comment adverbs: apparently, supposedly, undoubtedly

A comment adverb tells the reader what the writer thinks of a fact: Supposedly, the party was on August 11, 1973. A party whose date, crowd and invitation are all uncertain gives learners a reason to weigh every claim. They pick the adverb that matches how sure they are, put it at the start or before the main verb and spell the -ly form.

Supposedly, it started here

Comment adverbs show what the writer thinks of a fact: sure or not sure, surprised, glad or sorry. Put them at the start (with a comma) or before the main verb.

Five kinds of comment

Apparently, supposedly and reportedly pass on what you heard or read. Undoubtedly, clearly and obviously say you're sure. Famously marks a well-known story, and surprisingly or unfortunately gives your reaction. Admittedly accepts a point against your own argument, often with but.

AdverbThe writer means…Example
apparently, supposedlyI heard or read it, but it may not be true (supposedly sounds more doubtful)Apparently, no invitation from that night survives.
reportedlyreports or interviews say it; I didn't check it myselfReportedly, the party made between $300 and $500.
undoubtedly, clearly, obviouslyI'm sure: there's no doubt, and everyone can see itHerc undoubtedly influenced later DJs.
famouslyit's a well-known storyFamously, Herc called it the merry-go-round.
surprisingly, interestinglyI didn't expect it / it's worth noticingSurprisingly, Herc never made hip-hop records.
fortunately, unfortunatelyit's good news / bad newsUnfortunately, the exact date is unknown.
admittedlyI accept a point against my own argument (often + but)Admittedly, the date isn't certain, but the party happened.

Sure or not sure?

After apparently or supposedly, you can add “but I'm not sure”; supposedly sounds more doubtful. A doubt clashes with undoubtedly: Undoubtedly, it was on August 11, but nobody is sure doesn't work. And fortunately is for good news only.

Sure or not sure?

With apparently, supposedly and reportedly, you pass on what you heard, so you can add “but I'm not sure.” With undoubtedly, clearly and obviously, you are sure, so “but nobody knows” doesn't fit. And fortunately is for good news only: Unfortunately, the card is lost (not: Fortunately, the card is lost, sadly).

At the start or before the main verb

At the start, a comma follows: Supposedly, the party was on August 11. Otherwise, it goes before the main verb (Herc apparently began with dancehall tunes), but after be and after the first helping verb: The card is apparently a copy. Hip hop has undoubtedly come a long way.

Where they go

PositionExample
at the start, + a commaSupposedly, the party was on August 11, 1973.
before the main verbHerc apparently began with dancehall tunes.
after am / is / are / was / wereThe famous card is apparently a copy.
after the first helping verb (has, have, will, can…)Hip hop has undoubtedly come a long way.

From the rec room

  • Famously, it was a back-to-school party.
  • Supposedly, the party took place on August 11, 1973.
  • Herc apparently began the night with dancehall tunes.
  • Undoubtedly, Herc's way of playing breaks influenced later DJs.
  • Surprisingly, the light show was a friend at the light switch.
  • Admittedly, the date isn't certain, but the party really happened.

The -ly adverb, not the adjective

A comment on the whole sentence needs the adverb: Surprisingly, the crowd wanted funk, not Surprising, …, and Apparently, he began…, not Apparent, … Mind the spelling: unfortunately keeps the e, while admitted, supposed and undoubted simply add -ly.

The adverb, not the adjective

Use the -ly adverb: Surprisingly, the crowd wanted funk (not: Surprising, the crowd…). Apparently, he began with dancehall (not: Apparent, he…). Spelling: obvious → obviously, unfortunate → unfortunately (keep the e), admitted → admittedly, supposed → supposedly, undoubted → undoubtedly.

Common mistakes

  • Surprising, the crowd wanted funk.

    Surprisingly, the crowd wanted funk.

    an adverb, not an adjective

  • Apparent, he began with dancehall tunes.

    Apparently, he began with dancehall tunes.

    -ly at the start

  • Unfortunatly, no card survives.

    Unfortunately, no card survives.

    keep the e: unfortunate + ly

  • Undoubtedly, it was on August 11, but nobody is sure.

    Supposedly, it was on August 11, but nobody is sure.

    not sure → apparently or supposedly

More lessons on this grammar: Adjectives and adverbs lessons and exercises

Try the comment adverbs exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 19 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • pass on a claim you can't confirm with apparently, supposedly or reportedly: Apparently, no invitation from that night survives.
  • show that you're sure with undoubtedly, clearly or obviously: Undoubtedly, Herc influenced later DJs.
  • react to a fact with surprisingly, interestingly or unfortunately, and accept a point against you: Admittedly, the date isn't certain, but the party happened.
  • put the adverb first with a comma or before the main verb: Herc apparently began the night with dancehall tunes.
  • check a post a friend shared and say how sure you are: Reportedly, the card in all the documentaries is a later copy.

Lesson 17 opens Pop culture goes global, unit 5 of English B2.1 · How the World Works. It grows out of A2.2 lesson 12, where luckily and unfortunately opened sentences in a story, and out of the reporting verbs of lessons 13 to 15, since reportedly also says where a claim came from. Lesson 18 turns to wish and if only. A famous party with a debated date and a lost invitation makes students weigh each fact.

Students spin a wheel of questions about music, parties and stories they never checked, then learn twelve words, from promote and dispute to turntable and index card, with pictures and audio. They read Isaiah's explainer and sort its claims into documented and debated, then hear Harper and Isaiah argue whether one party can start a genre and Kent, a reader from the Bronx, give the credit to his neighborhood; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking exercises, among them a table that turns a long clause into one adverb. In the speaking chapter, students check a friend's post in a chat with Greta, then open boxes for a debate.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the lesson's words and a memory game, then adverbs to choose and to form in new sentences, word order, a quiz on which sentence makes sense, Del's music blog with options and Isaiah's reply to Kent with words to drag in.

Grammar:
comment adverbs · viewpoint adverbs · sentence adverbs · apparently vs undoubtedly
Topic:
hip hop · DJ Kool Herc · Cindy Campbell · the Bronx · 1520 Sedgwick Avenue · music history · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Draw two columns on the board, “documented” and “legend,” before the reading. Students guess where the date, the crowd size and the invitation belong, then check their guesses against Isaiah's explainer.
  • Ask how sure each speaker is during the dialogue: students raise one hand when they hear undoubtedly or clearly and two for apparently or supposedly.
  • Turn rumors into careful sentences: each student writes one claim about a singer or a band, and a partner rewrites it with Apparently, Reportedly or Undoubtedly, depending on the source.
  • Dictate five comment adverbs, including unfortunately and admittedly, and let students check one another's spelling against the scheme before the drills.

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The whole course: English B2.1 · How the World Works

32 lessons for adults at B2 in American English, each answering one question about how the world works. The team of The Why Desk, a small online magazine in Pittsburgh, takes on one question a week, from the day a computer beat the world chess champion to eight people sealed inside Biosphere 2. Learners tell stories with narrative tenses, speculate about the past and the future, and report what experts claim. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 AI and the future of work

    narrative tenses, by and until, be bound to and be likely to, the future perfect

    1. Lesson 1Checkmate: the day a computer beat the championNarrative tenses: past simple, past continuous and past perfect
    2. Lesson 2The robot car that crossed the desertTime prepositions: by, until, within, throughout, in time and on time
    3. Lesson 3Can a chatbot fool you?Probability about the future: be bound to, be likely to, the chances are
    4. Lesson 4By 2035, what will AI have designed?The future perfect simple: will have + past participle

  2. Unit 2 Health breakthroughs

    the third conditional, the past perfect and past continuous passive, have something done, the passive with two objects

    1. Lesson 5The moldy melon that changed medicineThe third conditional: if + had done, would have done
    2. Lesson 61.8 million Polio PioneersThe past perfect passive and the past continuous passive
    3. Lesson 7One clinic, many doctorsHave / get something done
    4. Lesson 8A kidney from a twinThe passive with two objects

  3. Unit 3 Moving people

    the past perfect continuous, the passive infinitive and -ing form, it's worth and there's no point, the future in the past

    1. Lesson 9Six years to the golden spikeThe past perfect continuous vs the past perfect simple
    2. Lesson 10Riding a pod with no driverThe passive infinitive and the passive -ing form
    3. Lesson 11The town that painted bike lanes firstIt's worth, there's no point and it's no use + -ing
    4. Lesson 12The highways that were supposed to take 13 yearsThe future in the past

  4. Unit 4 Wildlife comebacks

    reporting verbs with a that clause, with an object and infinitive and with -ing, verbs of perception

    1. Lesson 13Did wolves really change Yellowstone's rivers?Reporting verbs + that clause
    2. Lesson 14Bringing a parrot back from the edgeReporting verbs + object + (not) to + base form
    3. Lesson 15The beavers that came by parachuteReporting verbs + -ing and verb + preposition + -ing
    4. Lesson 16Fifteen bison take the trainVerbs of perception + object + base form or -ing

  5. Unit 5 Pop culture goes global

    comment adverbs, wish and if only for the present and the past, have someone do and get someone to do

    1. Lesson 17 · you're hereThe party that started hip hopComment adverbs: apparently, supposedly, undoubtedly
    2. Lesson 18Slide to the left!Wish and if only for wishes about now
    3. Lesson 19If only they'd kept SupermanWish and if only + past perfect for regrets
    4. Lesson 20The hit factory on West Grand BoulevardCausative have and get: have someone do, get someone to do

  6. Unit 6 Money and smart choices

    -ever words and no matter, should have and could have, prepositions for numbers and change, it's time and would rather

    1. Lesson 21The bank that never closed-ever words and no matter
    2. Lesson 22One marshmallow now or two later?Should have, shouldn't have and could have
    3. Lesson 23Benjamin Franklin's 200-year giftPrepositions for numbers and change
    4. Lesson 24Why buy a drill you'll use once?It's (high) time and would rather + past simple

  7. Unit 7 Language and communication

    must have, might have and can't have, verb prefixes and suffixes, past modals in continuous and passive forms, agreement with quantities

    1. Lesson 25How did one man write down a language?Past modals of deduction: must have, might have, can't have
    2. Lesson 26Why do Americans write “color”?Verb prefixes and suffixes: misspell, rewrite, simplify, shorten
    3. Lesson 27The joke that needed a smileyPast modals in continuous and passive forms
    4. Lesson 28Can preschoolers save a language?Subject-verb agreement with quantities and collective nouns

  8. Unit 8 Exploring the extremes

    dimension nouns, the future continuous and future perfect continuous, compound adjectives, only, even and just

    1. Lesson 29A walk on the ocean floorDimension nouns and phrases: depth, width, height
    2. Lesson 30Six months of night at the South PoleThe future continuous and the future perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 31Flying on pedal powerCompound adjectives with numbers and participles
    4. Lesson 32Two years under glassFocus adverbs: only, even, just and at all

Questions about this lesson

What are comment adverbs?
Comment adverbs show what the speaker thinks of a fact: that it's certain, only reported, well known, surprising, good news or bad news. They're also called sentence adverbs or viewpoint adverbs, because they comment on the whole sentence: Apparently, no invitation from that night survives. Compare Clearly, he explained it (I'm sure he did) with He explained it clearly (the way he did it). The B2 lesson The party that started hip hop on edio.ai teaches them.
Where do comment adverbs go in a sentence?
Most often at the start, followed by a comma: Supposedly, the party was on August 11, 1973. Inside the sentence, they go before the main verb (Herc apparently began with dancehall tunes), after am, is, are, was or were (The card is apparently a copy) and after the first helping verb (Hip hop has undoubtedly come a long way). The scheme in The party that started hip hop on edio.ai shows all four places.
What are some examples of comment adverbs?
Five from The party that started hip hop on edio.ai, each with what it adds: Famously, it was a back-to-school party (a well-known story). Reportedly, a few hundred people came (people say so). Undoubtedly, Herc influenced later DJs (no doubt). Surprisingly, the light show was a friend at the light switch (unexpected). Admittedly, the date isn't certain, but the party happened (a point accepted). The adverb changes how the fact sounds, not the fact itself.
What's the difference between apparently and supposedly?
Both pass on something you heard or read without promising it's true, but supposedly sounds more doubtful. Apparently, no invitation from that night survives simply reports what sources say. Supposedly, hip hop started on one night in one room hints that you don't quite believe it. Either one can take “but I'm not sure”; undoubtedly can't. The party that started hip hop on edio.ai puts both on the “not sure” side, against undoubtedly.
Is it “surprising” or “surprisingly” at the start of a sentence?
It's surprisingly: an adjective can't comment on a whole sentence. Say Surprisingly, the crowd wanted funk, not Surprising, the crowd wanted funk, and Apparently, he began with dancehall tunes, not Apparent, he began… Spelling slips are common too: unfortunately keeps the e of unfortunate. Several wrong replies in the chat of The party that started hip hop on edio.ai use the adjective.
Who is DJ Kool Herc?
DJ Kool Herc is Clive Campbell, the DJ at a famous 1973 party in the Bronx. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he moved to the Bronx with his family in 1967. At 18, he played his sister Cindy's back-to-school party, switching between two copies of one record to repeat the drum break: his “merry-go-round.” His way of playing breaks influenced Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa. The party that started hip hop on edio.ai tells the story.
What happened at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue?
In August 1973, Cindy Campbell, 16, held a back-to-school party in the rec room of her family's building at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the West Bronx, to raise money for new school clothes. The party is usually dated August 11. The building is often called the birthplace of hip hop, though historians say the music grew in many places. Isaiah's explainer in The party that started hip hop on edio.ai weighs both views.
How do I teach comment adverbs to B2 students?
Start with claims of different strength: something everyone knows, something you only heard and something that surprised you. Then show which adverb fits each one and where it goes. The party that started hip hop on edio.ai gives students a story full of debated details, so the choice matters: an explainer that sorts documented facts from legend, a dialogue where Isaiah doubts and Harper is sure, then the scheme and five drills.
What's a good game for practicing comment adverbs?
Try “Fact or rumor?”: each student writes one sentence about a singer, a band or a trend, and the class decides how sure anyone can be. The writer then reads it again with the right adverb: Reportedly, she wrote it in one night. Undoubtedly, it's their biggest hit. For speaking, the debate boxes in The party that started hip hop on edio.ai ask students to tell a story they never checked, with apparently, supposedly or reportedly.
What's good homework for comment adverbs?
Good homework tests meaning as well as form: sentences where only one adverb makes sense (Supposedly, the singer is from Texas, but I've never checked), words in brackets to turn into adverbs and a short text with options. All ten homework tasks in The party that started hip hop on edio.ai check themselves, and the last two are texts: Del's music blog and Isaiah's newsletter reply to Kent.
How do you practice comment adverbs one-to-one?
Fact-check a real music story together: the student finds one online, and the teacher asks How sure are you? after each claim. The student answers with apparently, reportedly or clearly and says why. The chat in The party that started hip hop on edio.ai works without a partner: Greta shares a post about “the original invitation,” and the student explains that no invitation from that night survives.
Are there interactive exercises for comment adverbs?
Yes. Without an account, this page plays three parts of The party that started hip hop, a B2 lesson on edio.ai: Harper's argument with Isaiah about one party, a gap-fill that turns words in brackets into adverbs and Greta's chat about checking a source. Everything else needs an account.
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