What is an Adverb?
and phrases by providing information about the
An adverb is a word that is used to change or qualify
the meaning of an adjective, a verb, a clause,
another adverb, or any other type of word or phrase
with the exception of determiners and adjectives that
directly modify nouns.
Traditionally considered to be a single part of speech,
adverbs perform a wide variety of functions, which
makes it difficult to treat them as a single, unified
category. Adverbs normally carry out these functions
by answering questions such as:
When? She always arrives early.
How? He drives carefully.
Where? They go everywhere together.
In what way? She eats slowly.
To what extent? It is terribly hot.
This is called adverbial function and may be
accomplished by adverbial clauses and adverbial
phrases as well as by adverbs that stand alone.
There are many rules for using adverbs, and these
rules often depend upon which type of adverb you are
using. Remember these basics, and using adverbs to
make sentences more meaningful will be easier for
you.
Adverbs can always be used to modify
verbs. Notice that the second of these two
sentences is much more interesting simply
because it contains an adverb:
o The dog ran. (You can picture a
dog running, but you dont really
know much more about the scene.)
o The dog ran excitedly. (You can
picture a dog running, wagging its
tail, panting happily, and looking
glad to see its owner. You can paint
a much more interesting picture in
your head when you know how or
why the dog is running.)
Adverbs are often formed by adding the
letters -ly to adjectives. This makes is very
easy to identify adverbs in sentences. There
are many exceptions to this rule;
everywhere, nowhere, and upstairs are a few
examples.
An adverb can be used to modify an
adjective and intensify the meaning it
conveys. For example:
o He plays tennis well. (He knows
how to play tennis and sometimes
he wins.)
o He plays tennis extremely well. (He
knows how to play tennis so well
that he wins often.)
As you read the following adverb examples, youll
notice how these useful words modify other words
place, time, manner, certainty, frequency, or other
circumstances of activity denoted by the verbs or
verb phrases in the sentences.
Examples of Adverbs
As you read each of the following adverb examples,
note that the adverbs have been italicized for easy
identification. Consider how replacing the existing
adverbs with different ones would change the
meaning of each sentence.
1. She was walking rapidly.
2. The kids love playing together in the
sandbox.
3. Please come inside now.
4. His jokes are always very funny.
5. You dont really care, do you?
1. Types of Adverbs
2. Comparison of Adverbs
There are different kinds of adverbs expressing
different meaning. The following are some of the
common ones.
Adverb of time
An adverb of time tells us when something is done or
happens. We use it at the beginning or at the end of a
sentence. We use it as a form of emphasis when we
place it at the beginning. Adverbs of time include
afterwards, already, always, immediately, last
month, now, soon, then, and yesterday.
He collapsed and died yesterday.
His factory was burned down a few months
ago.
Last week, we were stuck in the lift for an
hour.
Adverb of place
An adverb of place tells us where something is done
or happens. We use it after the verb, object or at the
end of a sentence. Adverbs of place include words
such as above, below, here, outside, over there,
there, under, upstairs.
We can stop here for lunch.
The schoolboy was knocked over by a
school bus.
They rushed for their lives when fire broke
out in the floor below.
Adverb of manner
An adverb of manner tells us how something is done
or happens. Most adverbs of manner end in ly such
as badly, happily, sadly, slowly, quickly, and others
that include well, hard, fast, etc.
The brothers were badly injured in the fight.
They had to act fast to save the others
floating in the water.
 At the advanced age of 88, she still sang
very well.
Adverb of degree
An adverb of degree tells us the level or extent that
something is done or happens. Words of adverb of
degree are almost, much, nearly, quite, really, so,
too, very, etc.
It was too dark for us to find our way out of
the cave. (Before adjective)
The referee had to stop the match when it
began to rain very heavily. (Before adverb)
Her daughter is quite fat for her age.
The accident victim nearly died from his
injuries.
After all these years, she is still feeling very
sad about her fathers death.
Adverb of frequency
An adverb of frequency tells us how often something
is done or happens. Words used as adverbs of
frequency include again, almost, always, ever,
frequently, generally, hardly ever, nearly, nearly
always, never, occasionally, often, rarely, seldom,
sometimes, twice, usually, and weekly.
They were almost fifty when they got
married.
He hardly ever say something nice to his
wife.
While overseas, he frequently phoned
home.
She is not nearly always right although she
thinks she is always right.
He complained that she never smiled back.
We only write to each other very
occasionally.
Peter seldom reads the Bible.
Sometimes he stays late in the office to
complete his work.
Our cat was bitten twice by the same dog.
The man usually proposes marriage.
Kinds of Adverbs
Here you can see the basic kinds of adverbs.
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of Manner tell us the manner or way in
which something happens. They answer the question
"how?". Adverbs of Manner mainly modify verbs.
He speaks slowly. (How does he speak?)
They helped us cheerfully. (How did they
help us?)
James Bond drives his cars fast. (How does
James Bond drive his cars?)
We normally use Adverbs of Manner with dynamic
(action) verbs, not with stative or state verbs.
He ran fast. She came quickly. They worked
happily.
She looked beautifully. It seems strangely.
They are happily.
Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of Place tell us the place where something
happens. They answer the question "where?".
Adverbs of Place mainly modify verbs.
Please sit here. (Where should I sit?)
They looked everywhere. (Where did they
look?)
Two cars were parked outside. (Where were
two cars parked?)
Adverbs of Time
Adverbs of Time tell us something about the time
that something happens. Adverbs of Time mainly
modify verbs.
They can answer the question "when?":
He came yesterday. (When did he come?)
I want it now. (When do I want it?)
Or they can answer the question "how often?"
(frequency):
They deliver the newspaper daily. (How
often do they deliver the newspaper?)
We sometimes watch a movie. (How often
do we watch a movie?)
Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of Degree tell us the degree or extent to
which something happens. They answer the question
"how much?" or "to what degree?". Adverbs of
Degree can modify verbs, adjectives and other
adverbs.
She entirely agrees with him. (How much
does she agree with him?)
Mary is very beautiful. (To what degree is
Mary beautiful? How beautiful is Mary?)
He drove quite dangerously. (To what
degree did he drive dangerously? How
dangerously did he drive?)