Adverb: What Is An Adverb?
Adverb: What Is An Adverb?
Adverb: What Is An Adverb?
What is an Adverb?
An adverb is a word that is used to change, modify or qualify several types of words
including 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. A
good way to understand adverbs is to think about them as the words that provide context.
Specifically, adverbs provide a description of how, where, when, in what manner and to
what extent something is done or happens. Normally, we can spot an adverb by the fact
that it often ends in –ly, but there are lots of adverbs that don’t end in this way. Moreover,
adverbs can be used in many combinations with each other.
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:
The dog ran. (You can picture a dog running, but you don’t really know much more about
the scene.)
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 it 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:
He plays tennis well. (He knows how to play tennis and sometimes he wins.)
He plays tennis extremely well. (He knows how to play tennis so well that he wins often.)
As you read the following adverb examples, you’ll notice how these useful words modify
other words and phrases by providing information about the place, time, manner,
certainty, frequency, or other circumstances of activity denoted by the verbs or verb
phrases in the sentences.
Types of Adverbs
Adverbs of Manner
An adverb of manner will explain how an action is carried out. Very often adverbs of
manner are adjectives with -ly added to the end, but this is certainly not always the case.
In fact, some adverbs of manner will have the same spelling as the adjective form.
Some examples of adverbs of manner include:
1. Slowly
2. Rapidly
3. Clumsily
4. Badly
5. Diligently
6. Sweetly
7. Warmly
8. Sadly
Adverb of manner examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
As mentioned, some adverbs of manner take the same spelling as the adjective and
never add an -ly to the end:
An adverb of place, sometimes called spatial adverbs, will help explain where an action
happens. Adverbs of place will be associated with the action of the verb in a sentence,
providing context for direction, distance and position: southeast, everywhere, up, left,
close by, back, inside, around. These terms don’t usually end in -ly.
Adverbs of place examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
Directions
New York is located north of Philadelphia -> New York is on the map.
They travelled down river -> They travelled in the first compartment.
That puppy was walking around by itself-> We put a collar around its neck.
Distance
Adverbs of frequency are used to express time or how often something occurs.
Adverbs of frequency can be split two main groups. The first, adverbs of indefinite
frequency, are terms that have an unclear meaning as to how long are how
often something occurs: usually, always, normally. These adverbs will usually be placed
after the main verb or between the auxiliary verb and infinitive.
Adverbs of frequency examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
Adverbs of time examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
Adverbs of purpose examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
The positions of adverbs are not a fixed or set thing. As you have seen, adverbs can
appear in different position in a sentence. However, there are some rules that help us
decide where an adverb should be positioned. The rules will be different depending on
whether the adverb is acting to modify an adjective or another adverb, a verb or what
type of adverb it is.
Positional adverb examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
These adverbs will usually be placed before the adjective or adverb being modified:
We gave them a really tough match. The adverb really modifies the adjective tough.
It was quite windy that night. The adverb quite modifies the adjective windy.
We don’t go to the movies terribly often. The adverb terribly modifies the adverb often.
Adverb position with verbs
This can be a bit trickier because, it will depend on the type of adverb – place, position,
time etc. – and there are many exceptions to the rules. However, a basic set of
guidelines is shown below:
Adverbs of manner or place are usually positioned at the end of the sentence:
I did it yesterday.
We can discuss it tomorrow.
Let’s go to Paris next week.
However, if it is an indefinite period of time, it will go between the subject and main verb.
Adverb order is so important it has clear rules. It’s already mentioned that some adverbs
will act to modify another, but how do you decide the structure of a sentence with several
adverbs? Thankfully, there is a simple set of rules to follow, called the order of adverbs.
Handily, the order of adverbs, sometimes also called the royal order of adverbs, can help
us determine sentence structure too. In short, the adverbs get preference (are placed
first) in the following order:
1. Adverbs of manner.
2. Adverbs of place.
3. Adverbs of frequency.
4. Adverbs of time.
5. Adverbs of purpose.
Consider this sentence:
I run (verb) quickly (manner) down the road (place) every morning (frequency) before
school (time) because (purpose) I might miss the bus.
While it is good to remember the order of adverbs, there is always flexibility with
language, and we have already mentioned that adverbs of time and frequency can be
placed at the start of a sentence to change the emphasis. So, bottom line: think of the
order of adverbs as more of a guideline than a rule that can’t be broken.
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
5. You don’t really care, do you?
Adverbs Exercises
The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how adverbs
work. Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.
2. During autumn, colorful leaves can be seen falling ______________ from trees.
A. Everywhere
B. Very
C. Gently
D. Loudly
Answer: C. During autumn, colorful leaves can be seen falling gently from trees.
Adverbs List
There are many different words that function as adverbs. The following list is broken
down into segments which list adverbs by function. After reading, you will be able to think
of additional adverbs to add to your own list – after all, there are thousands.
Many adverbs end in “-ly”. This makes it very easy to spot the adverbs in most
sentences.
Abruptly
Boldly
Carefully
Deliberately
Excitedly
Financially
Horribly
Mildly
Naughtily
Openly
Poorly
Quickly
Sadly
Terribly
Willingly
Yearly
Some adverbs tell us where the action happened. These are known as adverbs of
place.
Everywhere
Here
Inside
There
Underground
Upstairs
Certain adverbs let us know when or how often the action happened. These are
known as adverbs of time and adverbs of frequency.
After
Always
Before
Later
Now
Today
Yesterday
Almost
Enough
So
Too
Quite
Rather
Very
Absolutely
Certain
Completely
Heartily
Really
Certain adverbs called adverbs of manner tell us about the way in which
something was done.
Briskly
Cheerfully
Expectantly
Randomly
Willingly
Some groups of words serve the same functions as adverbs. These are known as adverb
clauses. Be sure to read the adverb clausesection to learn new ways to make your
sentences even more interesting.