An adverb is a word that usually modifies or adds more information about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
But sometimes, it can also give details about any part of speech, phrase, or even an entire sentence. Adverbs describe aspects like when, where, why, how, and how much.
Read the following sentences:
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- The sun sets slowly.
- He is incredibly talented.
- They walked quite quickly.
In sentence 1, slowly modifies the Verb sets. In sentence 2, incredibly modifies the Adjective talented. In sentence 3, quite modifies the Adverb quickly.
In each example, the words slowly, incredibly, and quite act as adverbs by providing additional information about the verb, adjective, or adverb in the respective sentences.
Instances where an adverb can modify
1. Adverbs Modifying Nouns: a. Only Jake truly understood the formula. b. Even Sofia can manage it.
2. Adverbs Modifying Pronouns: a. Only I tasted the exotic dish. b. Only she appreciated the artwork
3. Adverbs Modifying Verbs: a. She spoke softly to avoid waking up the baby. b. The athlete ran quickly to catch up with the leading competitors.
4. Adverbs Modifying Adjectives: a. The painting was remarkably beautiful. b. His performance in the play was surprisingly impressive.
5. Adverbs Modifying Other Adverbs: a. She solved the puzzle very quickly. b. He speaks English fluently and communicates ideas quite effectively.
6. Adverbs Modifying Prepositions: a. The cat leaped gracefully over the fence. b. We walked slowly through the enchanted forest.
7. Adverbs modifying conjunction: I will join you only if you promise to be on time.
8. Adverbs modifying a determiner: She has almost every book written by that author.
9. Adverbs modifying a phrase: They completed the project quite ahead of schedule.
10. Adverbs modifying a clause: She smiled at him just as he finished his presentation.
11. Adverbs modifying a sentence: Unfortunately, he failed to catch the train.
Types of Adverbs
An adverb can indicate various aspects such as time, place, number, manner, degree, reason, purpose, condition, and contrast.
| Adverbs of Time | Indefinite: after, ago, soon, early Definite: now, today, tomorrow | Yesterday: She completed the assignment yesterday. Soon: He will arrive soon. Later: Let’s discuss this matter later. |
| Adverbs of Place | here, there, far, near | Here: Please sit here. Far: The park is not too far from here. Everywhere: She searched for her keys everywhere. |
| Adverbs of Number | once, twice, thrice, again, seldom, never, always, often | Never: She never forgets her keys. Always: He always arrives on time. Often: They often go hiking on weekends. |
| Adverbs of Manner | slowly, surely, certainly, badly, well, thus, probably, possibly | Carefully: She opened the fragile package carefully. Swiftly: The bird flew swiftly across the sky. Loudly: The music played loudly at the concert. |
| Adverbs of Degree | very, much, partly, wholly, quite, almost, enough | Extremely: The movie was extremely thrilling. Partly: The project is partly complete. Almost: We are almost done with the task. |
| Adverbs of Reason | as, so, because | So: She worked hard, so she could achieve her goals. Because: He stayed indoors because it was raining. Since: Since it was a holiday, they decided to go on a trip. |
| Adverbs of Purpose | that, so that | So that: She studied hard so that she could pass the exam. To: He went to the store to buy some groceries. In order to: They worked in order to earn a living. |
| Adverbs of Condition | if, unless | If: I will go to the party if I finish my work on time. Unless: I won’t go unless you invite me. Supposing: Supposing he doesn’t show up, what should we do? |
| Adverbs of Contrast | though, although | Still: He failed the exam, but still, he remains optimistic. Yet: The weather was gloomy, yet they decided to go for a picnic. Although: Although it was cold outside, they went for a swim. |
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Types of Adverbs: Interested in a Detailed Exploration? Read here
Same Word Used as an Adjective and Adverb
The same word may sometimes function as an adjective or an adverb depending on its usage.
- Hard:
- Adjective: “The rock is hard.”
- Adverb: “She works hard.”
- Fast:
- Adjective: “He is a fast runner.”
- Adverb: “She drives fast.”
- Late:
- Adjective: “They were late for the meeting.”
- Adverb: “He arrived late.”
- Early:
- Adjective: “It’s still early in the morning.”
- Adverb: “She woke up early.”
- High:
- Adjective: “The mountain has a high peak.”
- Adverb: “The plane flew high.”
- Slow:
- Adjective: “The turtle is slow.”
- Adverb: “He walked slowly.”
- Close:
- Adjective: “The store is close to my house.”
- Adverb: “She stood closely to the edge.”
- Quick:
- Adjective: “He gave a quick answer.”
- Adverb: “She completed the task quickly.”
- Deep:
- Adjective: “The ocean is deep.”
- Adverb: “He dived deep into the pool.”
- Soon:
- Adjective: “We’ll see you soon.”
- Adverb: “She’ll finish the work soon.”
Adverbs With Two Forms
The meanings of certain adverbs can vary when used with the “-ly” suffix and without “-ly”.
- Hard / Hardly:
- Hard work is important. (difficult or intense)
- I hardly saw him yesterday. (barely or scarcely)
- Late / Lately:
- She is always late to the meetings. (delayed)
- I haven’t seen her lately. (recently)
- Quick / Quickly:
- He is a quick learner. (fast)
- Please finish your work quickly. (speedily)
- Close / Closely:
- The store is close to my house. (near)
- I am closely monitoring the situation. (carefully or attentively)
- Complete / Completely:
- The project is almost complete. (finished)
- She disagreed with him completely. (entirely)
Position of Adverbs
FRONT POSITION
| Position | Examples |
|---|---|
| At the beginning | Surprisingly, the experiment succeeded. |
| Before the subject | Gently, the wind rustled the leaves. |
| Asking wh-questions | Where did he suddenly disappear? |
| For emphasis | Indeed, it was a remarkable achievement. |
MID-POSITION
| **Position | Examples** |
|---|---|
| Before the main verb | I frequently visit the museum. He rarely watches television. She always finishes her work on time. He never misses his morning jog. |
| After ‘be’ main verb | He is usually early for meetings. She is often praised for her achievements. They are always eager to learn. She is never afraid of challenges. He is regularly involved in community service. |
| Before ‘have’ main verb | We generally have dinner around 7 p.m. |
| After the auxiliary verb | He will definitely complete the project. I shall certainly attend the event. The results have unexpectedly improved. |
| Before the transitive verb | She enthusiastically explained the concept. He consistently delivers high-quality work. |
| Some adverbs of time before the verbs they modify | [never] His wife never complains about his cooking. [ever] Have you ever been to Paris? [quite] I quite enjoyed the movie. [seldom] She seldom visits crowded places. [often] I have often thought about that moment. |
| Before an adjective or another adverb. | The dress is extremely beautiful. The car is remarkably fast. Do not speak too loudly. |
| Only, merely, not, never before the word they modify | I have only met her once. He merely glanced at the document. I never doubted your abilities. |
| ‘Enough’ after the word it modifies. | The music is loud enough to wake the neighbors. They are experienced enough to handle complex projects. |
END POSITION
| Position | Examples |
|---|---|
| [1] after the intransitive verb | They played joyfully. He danced away elegantly. The birds sang harmoniously. |
| [2] after the object of the verb | We love our country deeply. He painted it creatively. I feel it intensely and wholeheartedly. |
| [3] adverbs of manner means and instruments | They go to the office by bicycle / by train. He examined it thoroughly. |
Order of Adverbs
The normal order for arranging multiple adverbs is Time (T), Place (P), and Manner (M).
| Order | Examples |
|---|---|
| [1] Manner and Time | He danced gracefully (M) last Saturday (T). |
| [2] Place and Time | We went there (M) early (T). |
| [3] Manner, Place, and Time | He sang beautifully (M) at the wedding (P) last night (T). |
Comparison of Adverbs
Degree of Adverbs
Positive Degree:
- She sings beautifully.
- They spoke loudly.
- Paint the wall evenly.
Comparative Degree:
- She sings more beautifully.
- They spoke more loudly.
- Paint the wall more evenly.
Superlative Degree:
- She sings most beautifully.
- They spoke most loudly.
- Paint the wall most evenly.
Rules for the Degrees of Adverbs
Rule 1: Certain adverbs form their comparative degree by adding “-er” and their superlative degree by adding “-est.”
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| fast | faster | fastest |
| slow | slower | slowest |
| quick | quicker | quickest |
| loud | louder | loudest |
| soft | softer | softest |
| bright | brighter | brightest |
| high | higher | highest |
| low | lower | lowest |
| far | farther | farthest |
| near | nearer | nearest |
Rule 2: Certain adverbs have irregular forms when expressing the comparative degree.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| Well/good | better | best |
| badly/bad | worse | worst |
| far | farther / further | farthest / furthest |
| much | more | most |
| little | less | least |
RULE 3: In the Comparative and Superlative degrees, adverbs ending in -ly should be preceded by more and most, respectively.
| **Positive | Comparative | Superlative** |
|---|---|---|
| quickly | more quickly | most quickly |
| easily | more easily | most easily |
| happily | more happily | most happily |
| slowly | more slowly | most slowly |
| gracefully | more gracefully | most gracefully |
| carefully | more carefully | most carefully |
| cheerfully | more cheerfully | most cheerfully |
| loudly | more loudly | most loudly |
| quietly | more quietly | most quietly |
| efficiently | more efficiently | most efficiently |
Formation Of Adverbs
RULE 1: Adverbs are commonly created by appending -ly to adjectives. [Adjectives + ly = Adverbs]
| Adjective | Adverb |
|---|---|
| quick | quickly |
| happy | happily |
| slow | slowly |
| graceful | gracefully |
| careful | carefully |
| cheerful | cheerfully |
| loud | loudly |
| quiet | quietly |
| efficient | efficiently |
| smooth | smoothly |
| fierce | fiercely |
| gentle | gently |
| tough | toughly |
| eager | eagerly |
| brave | bravely |
| fearless | fearlessly |
| strong | strongly |
| weak | weakly |
| patient | patiently |
| impatient | impatiently |
RULE 2: When dealing with adjectives ending in “le,” drop the “e” and add “y.”
| **Adjective | Adverb** |
|---|---|
| gentle | gently |
| simple | simply |
| humble | humbly |
| subtle | subtly |
| able | ably |
| noble | nobly |
| whole | wholly |
| single | singly |
| idle | idly |
| ample | amply |
RULE 3: For certain adjectives ending in “e,” remove the “e” and add “-ly.”
| Adjectives | Adverbs |
|---|---|
| due | duly |
| true | truly |
| undue | unduly |
| whole | wholly |
RULE 4: For adjectives ending in “ll,” simply add “y” without any other changes.
| Adjectives | Adverbs |
|---|---|
| full | fully |
| dull | dully |
RULE 5: When dealing with adjectives ending in “y,” replace the “y” with “i” and add “-ly.”
| **Adjectives | Adverbs** |
|---|---|
| happy | happily |
| angry | angrily |
| lucky | luckily |
| easy | easily |
| merry | merrily |
| noisy | noisily |
| speedy | speedily |
| shiny | shinily |
RULE 6: When dealing with adjectives ending in ‘ic’: -ally is added.
| **Adjectives | Adverbs** |
|---|---|
| automatic | automatically |
| dynamic | dynamically |
| fantastic | fantastically |
| classic | classically |
| romantic | romantically |
| systemic | systemically |
| athletic | athletically |
| strategic | strategically |
| economical | economically |
| organic | organically |
RULE 7: Some adjectives undergo a transformation to form new words as Adverbs.
| Adjectives | Adverbs |
|---|---|
| bad | badly – worse – worst |
| good | well – better – best |
Adverb Exercise
- Identify the adverb in the following sentence: She quickly completed her homework before dinner.
- Choose the correct adverb to fill in the blank: The cat moved ________ across the room. a) quick b) quickly c) quicklier
- Which of the following sentences contains an adverbial phrase? a) The dog barked loudly. b) The sun sets in the west. c) After the rain, we went for a walk.
- In the sentence, “He speaks English fluently,” what does the adverb “fluently” describe? a) He b) Speaks c) English
- Identify the adverb and the word it modifies in the sentence: She sang beautifully in the talent show.
- Choose the adverb that best completes the sentence: She danced ________ at the party. a) gracefully b) grace c) graceless
- In the sentence, “The car moved too fast for my liking,” what does the adverb “too” modify? a) Car b) Moved c) Fast
- Which of the following is an example of a sentence with a comparative adverb? a) She runs fast. b) She runs faster. c) She runs every day.
- Identify the adverbial clause in the sentence: Although it was raining, they decided to go for a picnic.
- Choose the correct adverb form: She plays the piano __________. a) beautiful b) beautifully c) beautifuller
ANSWERS:
- Identify the adverb in the following sentence: Answer: quickly
- Choose the correct adverb to fill in the blank: Answer: b) quickly
- Which of the following sentences contains an adverbial phrase? Answer: c) After the rain, we went for a walk.
- In the sentence, “He speaks English fluently,” what does the adverb “fluently” describe? Answer: c) English
- Identify the adverb and the word it modifies in the sentence: Answer: Adverb – beautifully; Modifies – sang
- Choose the adverb that best completes the sentence: Answer: a) gracefully
- In the sentence, “The car moved too fast for my liking,” what does the adverb “too” modify? Answer: c) Fast
- Which of the following is an example of a sentence with a comparative adverb? Answer: b) She runs faster.
- Identify the adverbial clause in the sentence: Answer: Although it was raining, they decided to go for a picnic.
- Choose the correct adverb form: Answer: b) beautifully
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Also, Read
Homophones in English
Homonyms in English
Figures of Speech
Illative Conjunctions
Auxiliary Words
