What are Adverbs?

Modifying words.

They describe
verbs, adjectives. or
..............
other adverbs
.

...............
.

s
e
l
p

m
a
I was patiently waiting for the bus.
Ex

They are extremely happy.

The rain was pouring rather
heavily.

What do Adverbs do?

Adverbs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .modify
.
...............
.
.

verbs

Example

He greeted us warmly.
Drive carefully.

What do Adverbs do?

Adverbs
. . . . . . . . . . .intensify
....
.

...............
or moderate
.
adjectives

Example

An extremely entertaining movie.

His reaction is fairly natural.

What do Adverbs do?

Adverbs
. . . . . . . . . . . intensify
....
.

...............
or moderate
.
other adverbs

Example

You did extremely well.

I went to bed fairly early.

What do Adverbs do?

Adverbs
. . . . . . . . . . . intensify
....
.

...............
or moderate
.
adverbial phrases

Example

My sleeping schedule is going rather

out of control.

Forms of Adverbs
1

Single word ending in -ly

Single word ending without

-ly

Adverbial phrase

Adverbial clause

Single Word Adverbs

Ending in -ly
Ex

s
e
pl
am

patiently

shyly

truly

totally

gently

fully

basically

comfortabl
y
comically

primarily

Single Word Adverbs

Without -ly
Ex

s
e
pl
am

well

high

hard

just

late

near

close

far

fine

direct

Adverbial Phrases
[Any phrase that has an adverbial function in a sentence.]

Ex

es
l
p
am

Adverb of Place or Time emphasized

or modified by another adverb
Adverb modified by an intensifier,
moderator, emphasizer, or other
adverb
Noun Phrases
(The next day, every time, etc.)
Prepositional Phrases
(In the kitchen, on the table, etc.)

Ex

s
e
pl
am

Adverbial Clause

Of time
(eg: As soon as the bell
rang, )

Of result
(eg: that she fell off her
chair)

Of place
(eg: everywhere we
travelled)

Of concession
(eg: Although I agree with
you, ....)
Comparative clauses
Of manner
(eg: than we had
(eg: like you havent slept all
expected)
night)
Double comparative clauses
Of reason
(eg: The more we eat, the
(eg: because I was hungry)
.)
Of purpose
(eg: So that we dont lose our
way, )

Conditional clauses
(eg: If I had studied,
)

Formation of Adverbs
Most adverbs of manner and degree
are formed by

adding -ly. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .
to adjectives.

...............
.

Ex

s
e
pl
am

Adjective: The journey was very quick.

Adverb: The ambulance arrived very
quickly.
Adjective: Your handwriting is very
neat.
Adverb: You write very neatly.

Extra Notes
people usually avoid adding ly to
adjectives that already end in ly.

So instead they use adverbial

phrases
like
in
such-and-such
...............
...............
manner or way
.
.
p
m
a
Ex

s
e
l

Ron was behaving in a silly way.

Hagrid smiled in a friendly manner.

Be Cautious!
Watch out for
. . . . . . . . . . . . .-ly
. . endings
...............
.

Ex

pl
am

Not all of them are

adverbs!
Hedgehogs are prickly.

The word prickly

isnt an adverb. Its
an adjective
describing

Be Cautious!
Its easy to confuse an adverb with a
different kind of word ending in -ly, but if
you cant work out which it is, try changing
the verb to see if it still makes sense.

Ex

e
l
p
am

Hedgehogs walk prickly.

This doesnt make sense, so prickly isnt an

adverb.

Be Cautious!

Ex

pl
am

Therefore, do not generalize that all

words ending in ly are adverbs and
that all adverbs end in -ly. Some
adverbs do not end in ly and have
the same form as the adjective form.
es

He did not do well for the test.

Work hard, play hard.

Types of Adverbs
1

Manner

Time

Frequency

Place

Certainty

Degree

Interrogative

Relative

Adverbs of Manner
They tell you
. . . . . . . . . . . .the
...
.

...............
way an action
.
is performed

s
e
l
p

They may answer the question

how?

m
a
I woke up suddenly and raised my
Ex

head very cautiously. Something or

someone was moving about
stealthily.
*Adverbs of manner often come in the
end position.

Extra Notes
In story-telling,
adverbs of manner
. . . . . . . . . . . . sometimes
...
.

...............
come
.
in initial position

Ex

p
am

s
e
l

Lightheartedly I lowered the torch

and settled down in bed again.

Adverbs of Place
They tell you
. . . . . . . . . . . . .the
..
.

...............
place
.
of action

They may answer the question

where?
m
a
Ex

s
e
l
p

My cousins live in Australia.

The encyclopedia is on the top
shelf.
I must have dropped my keys
somewhere.

Adverbs of Direction
They tell you
. . . . . . . . . . . . the
...
.

...............
direction
.
of movement

They may answer the question

in what direction?
m
a
Ex

s
e
l
p

A stranger walked into the room.

(Direction towards)
A strange smell was coming from the
kitchen. (Direction from)
They are spending a year travelling
around the world. (other directions)

Adverbs of Distance
They tell you
. . . . . . . . . . . . .the
..
.

...............
distance
.
between things /
the distance travelled

am
x
E

s
e
l
p

They may answer the question

how far?

My house is two kilometres away.

We cycled a long way today.
I swam as far as I could.

Extra Notes
All and right
are sometimes used
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . to
.
.

...............
emphasize
.
adverbials of place or
directions

Ex

p
am

s
e
l

The main office is right across the

hall.
The pins were scattered all over
the floor.

Extra Notes
A typical adverbial of place / direction can
be:
1

A single-word adverb

Do come in.
2

A prepositional phrase (a phrase beginning with a

preposition)

Come into the classroom.

3

An adverb + prepositional phrase

Come down from the roof.

Adverbs of Time
They tell you
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .the
.
.

...............
time
.
of the action

They may answer the question

when?

es
l
p
m
a
x
Were packing up today and
E

moving out tomorrow.

*Adverbs of time often come in the end

position.

Extra Notes
Adverbs of time
can come in
. . . . . . . . . . . . .initial
..
.

...............
position
.
when the time isnt the
most important part of
s
your statement
e
l
p

m
a
Ex
Last night I made some foolish

promises; Ive changed my mind

this morning.
Then the door rang.

Extra Notes
Some adverbs of time
(eg: already, eventually, finally, last,
yet)
often .in
. . . . . . . . . . . . mid
. are
..
..............
position
.

Ex

p
am

s
e
l

She then explained the plan.

He eventually confessed to the
crime.

Extra Notes
The time adverbs
. . . . . . . . . . . . still
...
.

...............
and just
.
are always in mid
position

Ex

p
am

s
e
l

Youve just stepped on my foot.

Im still trying to find motivation to
study.

Extra Notes
Soon, when it means
. . . . . . . . . . . . .quickly
..
...............
.
.

it comes in mid position;

when it means
. . . . . . . . . . . . .shortly
..
...............
.
.

s
e
l

it usually comes in end

position

p
m
a
Ex He soon realized what time it was.

Theyre arriving soon.

Extra Notes
British English
often uses
. . . . . . . . . . . .present
...
.

Ex

s
e
pl
am

...............
perfect
.
with already, just, and
yet while American
uses
...............
. . . . . . . . . . . .English
...
simple
past
.

British English

American English

Ive already done

I already did that.
that.
Did you check out
Have you checked out yet?
yet?
They just left.

Extra Notes
Use ago for
counting back
...............
.

from the
present

...............
.

Use before for

counting back
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .from
.
.
s

...............
the past
.

e
l
p
m
a
Ex I started this job three years ago.

I had started that job three years

before.

Adverbs of Frequency
They tell you
. . . . . . . . . . . . .the
..
.

...............
rate
.
at which a happening
recurs

Ex

They may answer the question how

often?
s
e
l
p
am

I go get a haircut every month.

She usually wakes up at 12pm.

Adverbs of Frequency
Two types of frequency
adverbs
1

Adverbs of definite frequency

eg: hourly, weekly, yearly, every two

months.
2

Adverbs of indefinite frequency

eg: always, often, never, sometimes,

occasionally.

Extra Notes
Regularly, when it is a synonym
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . often
. for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.

it comes in mid position;

when it means
. . . . . . . . . . . at
. . . . set
.

Ex

s
e
pl
am

...............
intervals
.
it usually comes in end
position

They regularly wake up to the

sound of their neighbours singing.
We change the sheets regularly.

Adverbs of Degree
You use

adverbs of degree
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to increase / . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
.
the force
of adjectives,
reduce
adverbs, and some verbs

Intensifying Adverbs
That was an extremely
silly play.
Break the eggs very
carefully into the bowl.
I strongly recommend
that Korean restaurant.

Moderating Adverbs
There was quite a large
audience.
Malfoy disappeared
rather hurriedly.
I slightly disagree with
your conclusions.

Adverbs of Certainty
You use

adverbs of certainty
. . . . . . . . . . . .to
. . . add force
...............
.

Ex

es
l
p
am

to adjectives

They may answer the question how

certain is the speaker/writer
about an action or event?
I certainly agree with you.
Thats definitely a bad idea.

Interrogative Adverbs
You use
how, why, where and when
...............
.

Ex

es
l
p
m
a

to ask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
regarding
questionsa

place/direction, time,
reason or ways/methods.
Where are you going?

When will you be back?

Why are you going out?
How can I reach you?

How are Interrogative Adverbs

used?
You use where
...............
.

to ask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
regarding
questionsa

place/direction.
Ex

es
l
p
m
a

Where is the National Library?

Where do you like to hang out?
Where have they run off to?

How are Interrogative Adverbs

used?
You use when

to ask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
regarding
time.
questions

...............
.

Ex

es
l
p
m
a

When was this building built?

When does your semester end?
When can we collect our tickets?

How are Interrogative Adverbs

used?
You use why

...........
to ask for

............

a reason.

Ex

es
l
p
m
a

Why are you making such a fuss?

Why did the chicken cross the road?
Why cant she tell me the truth?

How are Interrogative Adverbs

used?
You use how

to ask . . . . . . . . . . .
ways/methods.
about

............

Ex

es
l
p
m
a

How are you?

How do you win this game?
How can you be so calm about it?

Extra Notes
How
is often combined with
adjectives, adverbs or
...............
...............
quantifiers
.
.
to ask questions about
size, measurements,
quality or quantity.
es

pl
m
a
Ex

How old are you?

How far did you jog?

How many students are sleeping?

Extra Notes
You can use the construction
how +
adjectives + indefinite
article + countable noun
in questions about
quality, size and so on.

s
e
pl
m
a
Ex
How successful a salesman was

he?
How practical a solution is this?
How long a walk are you

Relative Adverbs
You use
why, where and when
.............

Ex

es
l
p
m
a

to give extra
regarding a
information

..............

place/direction, time, or
reasons.
This is the small town where I lived as
a child.
We will all feel nervous until next
Tuesday, when results of the auditions
will be posted.
I dont understand why shes so upset.

Positions of Adverbs
Beginning of a sentence
Soon we were on our
way to Bangkok.
Finally we landed.

Middle of a sentence

I only wanted to help.

She was never badtempered.
You can often find
crumbs on their sofa.

End of a sentence
He moved aside
politely.
Im leaving on

Adjectives VS Adverbs
They may answer the questions
of

What
Who
Which

How
Where
When
Why

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Functio
....................
.......................

Describe nouns
or pronouns

ns

Describe verbs
Modifies
adjectives or
other adverbs