An adverb is one of the eight parts of speech in English. Adverbs in English modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or whole sentences. Examples of adverbs include quickly, slowly, nicely, etc.
Table of Contents
What are adverbs in English Grammar?
Adverbs are words that modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or even a whole sentence.
Here are some examples (the adverb is in bold and what it modifies is underlined):
- Adverb modifying a verb:
- She sings beautifully. (The adverb beautifully modifies the verb “sings“)
- Adverb modifying an adjective:
- The car is extremely fast. (The adverb extremely modifies the adjective “fast“)
- Adverb modifying another adverb:
- He speaks very quickly. (The adverb very modifies the adverb quickly)
- Adverb modifying a whole sentence:
- Honestly, I don’t know what to do. (The adverb honestly modifies “I don’t know what to do”)
Types Of Adverbs In English
There are several types of adverbs in English, including:
- Adverbs Of Manner:
- These adverbs describe how something is done. Examples include quickly, slowly, happily, angrily, and carefully.
- Examples:
- She sings beautifully.
- The baby slept peacefully.
- The dog barked loudly.
- Adverbs Of Place:
- These adverbs describe where something is done or located. Examples include here, there, nearby, outside, and inside.
- Examples:
- The police came and went upstairs.
- The witness went there yesterday.
- The criminal lives nearby.
- Adverbs Of Time:
- These adverbs describe when something happens. Examples include yesterday, today, tomorrow, early, and late.
- Examples:
- John arrived yesterday.
- Bill will leave soon.
- They are going to release the new product today.
- Adverbs Of Frequency:
- These adverbs describe how often something happens. Examples include always, never, often, rarely, and sometimes.
- Examples:
- Jane always eats breakfast with her father.
- She rarely goes to the gym.
- She usually sleeps late.
- Adverbs Of Degree:
- These adverbs describe the extent or intensity of something. Examples include very, extremely, quite, almost, and too.
- Examples:
- Jane’s husband is very tall.
- He sings quite well.
- They are extremely romantic.
- Adverbs Of Affirmation And Negation:
- These adverbs indicate whether something is true or not. Examples include certainly, surely, definitely, absolutely, exactly, clearly, rarely, scarcely, and hardly.
- Examples:
- I hardly know her.
- She certainly didn’t look depressed at her wedding.
- I definitely think she needs to see a psychiatrist.
- Interrogative Adverbs:
- These adverbs are used to ask questions. They usually come at the beginning of a sentence. Examples include when, where, and how.
- Examples:
- When did you arrive?
- Where do you live?
- How often do you exercise?
How To Form Adverbs In English?
Here are the rules for forming adverbs in English:
1. Adjective + ly
Many adverbs are formed by adding “-ly” to an adjective.
| Adjective + ly |
|---|
For example:
| Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| quick | quickly |
| slow | slowly |
| beautiful | beautifully |
| nice | nicely |
| careful | carefully |
| violent | violently |
Sometimes, you have to pay attention to the spelling:
| Ending of Adjective | Ending after Adding “-ly” | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -y | -ily | happy > happily |
| -ic | -ically | dramatic > dramatically |
| -le | -ly | gentle > gently |
| -ll | -lly | full > fully |
| -ic (with a consonant before the ending) | -ically | fantastic > fantastically |
| -ll | lly | full > fully |
Here are the major spelling rules for -ly added to the adjective:
- happy = happily ( y becomes i and ly is added.)
- fanatic = fanatically (after adjectives ending in -ic add -ally – there is an exception: public-publicly)
- possible = possibly (the silent e is dropped and ly is added)
- full = fully (after ll, add y)
- fantastic = fantastically (-ic with a consonant before the ending becomes –ically)
While many words that end in “-ly” are adverbs, there are some exceptions. For instance, the words “friendly”, “lovely”, “lonely”, and “neighborly” all end in “-ly” but are actually adjectives, not adverbs.
2. Exceptions to the rules
Adding -ly to the adjective is not the only way to form an adverb. Many adverbs in English do not end in -ly.
This is a list of adjectives and adverbs that have similar spelling
| Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| fast | fast |
| hard | hard |
| late | late |
| early | early |
| daily | daily |
Some adjectives change their form when they become adverbs:
| Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| good | well |
Certain adverbs don’t follow a consistent form. Consider these examples:
- “well”, “fast”, “very”, “never”, “always”, “often”, and “still”.
Adverb position
Adverbs in English can be placed in front, mid, or end positions depending on their type.
Here are the main rules:
1. Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner come usually at the end of the sentence.
- He wrote quickly
Sometimes, adverbs of manner, come in mid position if the adverb is not the most important part of the clause or if the object is very long.
- He quickly wrote down all the information and left.
2. Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place usually are used in the end position.
- We went to Paris. We met Tim there
Adverbs of place are sometimes used in the front position, especially in writing.
- There, we met Tim
- Outside, it was raining heavily.
3. Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time usually come in the end position.
- My friend and I are traveling to Marrakech tomorrow.
Sometimes adverbs of time are used in the front position, especially if we want to emphasize the adverb.
- Today, we are going to meet to agree on the trip.
4. Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of frequency usually come in mid position.
- John and Sarah often invite friends home.
Adverbs of frequency may also come in the front position.
- Sometimes, they prepare delicious dishes and invite friends.
It is also possible to put adverbs of frequency in the end position.
- We don’t go to the cinema very often.
Note that always, ever, and never do not usually come in the front position. Never I went to visit her.
5. Adverbs of degree
Adverbs of degree like really, very, and quite are usually used in mid position.
- She really likes him.
A lot and a bit are usually used in the end position.
- John and Sarah go to Morocco a lot.
Adverbs vs. adjectives
The difference between an adverb and an adjective is the following:
- An adjective modifies a noun.
- Example:
- “John is tall.” (The adjective tall modifies the noun, John)
- The sweet girl is crying.
- Example:
- An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or even a sentence.
- Examples:
- “That idea is simply ridiculous.” (The adverb simply modifies the adjective ridiculous)
- “She sings nicely.” (The adverb nicely modifies the verb sings)
- “She did it really well.” (The adverb really modifies the adverb well)
- “Frankly, I am fed up with his behavior.” (The adverb frankly modifies the whole sentence I am fed up with his behavior.)
- Examples:
Comparative and superlative forms of adverbs
Like adjectives, adverbs in English have comparative and superlative forms. The formation of these forms depends on the type of adverb:
- Adverbs ending in -ly:
- Use “more” for the comparative form and “most” for the superlative form.
- Example: slowly → more slowly → most slowly
- Use “more” for the comparative form and “most” for the superlative form.
- Short Irregular Adverbs:
- Add “-er” for the comparative form and “-est” for the superlative form.
- Examples:
- fast → faster → fastest
- hard → harder → hardest
- Examples:
- Add “-er” for the comparative form and “-est” for the superlative form.
- Other Adverbs:
- Some adverbs may have irregular comparative and superlative forms that don’t follow a consistent pattern.
- Examples:
- well → better → best
- badly → worse → worst
- Examples:
- Some adverbs may have irregular comparative and superlative forms that don’t follow a consistent pattern.
| Adverb | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| quickly | more quickly | most quickly |
| slowly | more slowly | most slowly |
| happily | more happily | most happily |
| angrily | more angrily | most angrily |
| peacefully | more peacefully | most peacefully |
| entirely | more entirely | most entirely |
| commonly | more commonly | most commonly |
| simply | more simply | most simply |
| Short Adverbs | ||
| fast | faster | fastest |
| late (as he always arrives late) | later | latest |
| Irregular Adverbs | ||
| well | better | best |
| badly | worse | worst |
| much | more | most |
| little | less | least |
| far | farther/further | farthest/furthest |
Importance of adverbs in communication
Adverbs have an important role in clearly communicating your ideas.
1. First, adverbs can provide important information about time.
- For example, the adverb “yesterday” in the sentence “I went to the store yesterday” indicates that the action took place in the past.
Other time-related adverbs include “now,” “soon,” and “later.”
2. Second, adverbs can also indicate the frequency of an action.
Example:
- The adverb “always” in the sentence “She always arrives on time” tells us that the action (arriving) happens every time.
Other frequency adverbs include “never,” “often,” and “rarely.”
3. Third, adverbs can modify adjectives, other adverbs, and even entire sentences.
They add extra useful information to what they modify to communicate your idea in much more interesting ways.
Examples:
- The adverb “very” in the sentence “He is very happy” modifies the adjective “happy,” showing a high degree of happiness.
- The adverb “really” in the sentence “She really ran quickly” modifies the adverb “quickly,” indicating a high degree of speed.
- The adverb “however” at the beginning of a sentence can modify the entire sentence, indicating a contrast or contradiction with the previous sentence.
4. Finally, adverbs also communicate emotions and add more clarity and emphasis to the discourse.
Examples:
- The adverb “eagerly” in the sentence “She eagerly awaited his arrival” conveys a sense of excitement, while the adverb “sadly” in the sentence “Sadly, he had to report the incident” conveys a sense of disappointment.
- The adverb “clearly” in the sentence “He spoke clearly” emphasizes that the clarity of the speaker”s voice was important.
- The adverb “fortunately” in the sentence “Fortunately, he arrived on time” indicates that the speaker is relieved about the outcome.
Things to remember:
Many words are not adverbs although they end in -ly. Here are examples of adjectives that end in -ly.
Examples:
- a kindly teacher
- a lonely girl
- an elderly person
- a friendly policeman
To decide whether a word is an adverb ask questions about how, where, and when.
- How does James speak Spanish? He speaks Spanish fluently.
- Where do the kids play soccer? They play soccer here.
- When did she write the email to her husband? She wrote the email immediately.
Conclusion
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or sentences. They provide more information about how, when, where, or to what extent an action is performed. There are many types of adverbs and spelling rules to consider when using them, a good understanding of their function and usage can help writers and speakers communicate more effectively and precisely.
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