Adverbs | Types, Position, Order, Degree, Examples, Exercise

An Adverb is a word that usually modifies a Verb, an Adjective, or another Adverb.

However, in some cases, it can modify any part of speech or phrase or a whole sentence. It describes when where, why, how how much, etc.

Read the following sentences :

[1] The train arrived late.
[2] She has a very beautiful face.
[3] She sings extremely well.

In sentence 1, late modifies the Verb arrived.
In sentence 2, very modifies the Adjective beautiful.
In sentence 3, extremely modifies the Adverb well.

These words late, very, and extremely are Adverbs.

CASES WHERE AN ADVERB CAN MODIFY

Adverb Modifies	Examples
[1] a noun	: Even a child can do this.
[2] a pronoun	: Only he was absent.
[3] an adjective	: The girl is very beautiful.
[4] a verb	: The old man walks slowly.
[5] an adverb	: Don’t do this too quickly.
[6] a preposition	: He came here long before the time.
[7] a conjunction	: I like her just for her simplicity.
[8] a determiner	: He has hardly any friends.
[9] a phrase	: This dress is totally out of fashion.
[10] a clause	: He nodded to her just when she came.
[11] a sentence	: Unfortunately, he failed to catch the train.

TYPES OF ADVERBS

1) Simple Adverbs

[1] Adverbs of Time
[2] Adverbs of Place
[3] Adverbs of Manner
[4] Adverbs of Quantity
[5] Adverbs of Cause-Effect
[6] Adverbs of Purpose
[7] Adverbs of Order
[8] Adverbs of Affirmation
[9] Adverbs of Negation
[10] Adverbs of Degree: Intensifier/Downtoner

2) Relative Adverbs / Conjunctive Adverbs: Relative adverbs denote their relation with the antecedent whereas, Conjunctive Adverbs join two clauses without the antecedent.

3) Interrogative Adverbs: To start a wh-question to gain information.

SIMPLE ADVERBS

ADVERBS OF TIME

When or for how long the action is done.

Time	Examples
[1] WHEN?	He started early. The police arrived late.
[2] HOW LONG?/ HOW OFTEN?	Do it now. He is always busy. She seldom makes mistakes. He comes here frequently.

ADVERBS OF TIME: now, then, ago, again, already, always, before, after, since, seldom, often, soon, late, afterwards, today, tomorrow, yesterday, sometimes, ever, never, early, formerly, presently, recently, immediately, instantly, once, twice, thrice, etc.

ADVERBS OF PLACE

Where the action is done

Place	Examples
[1] WHERE?	Come here. / Go there. Go away. / Go anywhere. Wait here for the stranger.
[2] WHERE FROM?	This was collected locally. This question is out of the syllabus. The stranger came from outside the country.

ADVERBS OF PLACE: here, there, near, far, away, abroad, above, below, down, out, up, anywhere, everywhere, in, on, inside, outside, within, without, etc.

ADVERBS OF MANNER

How the action is done

Manner	Examples
[1] HOW?	The fat man walks slowly. Do your homework quickly. He can speak English fluently.
[2] IN WHAT MANNER?	The boy was treated badly. You have done well. Read the passage aloud.

ADVERBS OF MANNER: ill, well, thus, and adjective + ly.
The largest class of Adverbs of Manner comes from Adjectives ending in -ly, such as: clearly, closely, correctly, bravely, badly, sadly, slowly, quickly, luckily, etc.

ADVERBS OF DEGREE

How much or to what extent the action is done

Degree	Examples
[1] HOW MUCH?	I am quite happy. She is fully prepared. He is greatly admired.
[2] TO WHAT EXTENT?	You are partly right. The fruit is almost ripe. She is far better today.

ADVERBS OF DEGREE: almost, a little, quite, enough, very, much, too, so, somewhat, rather, partly, fully, wholly, completely, totally, entirely, poorly, deeply, greatly, etc.

ADVERBS OF CAUSE-EFFECT

Why the action is done

Cause-Effect	Examples
[1] CAUSE	He is hence absent.
[2] EFFECT	He, therefore, left the school. Accordingly, I had to attend the meeting. Consequently, he won the prize. Incidentally, he got the ticket.

ADVERBS OF CAUSE-EFFECT: hence, therefore, so, accordingly, consequently, etc.

ADVERBS OF PURPOSE

For which the action is done

Purpose	Examples
FOR WHICH	We eat in order that we may live. We read that (in order that) we learn. He works hard so that he can succeed.

ADVERBS OF PURPOSE: that, so that, in order that.

ADVERBS OF ORDER

In which order the action is done

Order	Examples
IN WHICH ORDER	He came here first. She was second in rank. Firstly, take a mango. Then wash it properly. Lastly, he was convinced.

ADVERBS OF ORDER: first, second, third, fourth, firstly, secondly, thirdly, fourthly, last, lastly.

ADVERBS OF AFFIRMATION

To express affirmation

Affirmation	Examples
SUPPORTING	Yes, I know it. Yes, you are right.

ADVERBS OF AFFIRMATION: yes, at all, perhaps, possibly, probably.

ADVERBS OF NEGATION

To express negation

Negation	Examples
DENYING	I do not know him. He did not come here. He never failed the exam.

ADVERBS OF NEGATION: not, never, not at all

ADVERBS OF DEGREE: INTENSIFIER

To intensify an action

Intensifier	Examples
INTENSIFYING	Surely, you are mistaken. He would certainly go there. I really don’t know.

INTENSIFIER: actually, certainly, surely, definitely, really, absolutely, thoroughly, utterly, very much, indeed.

ADVERBS OF DEGREE: DOWNTONER

To downtone an action

Downtoner	Examples
DOWNTONER	I can hardly / scarcely see it. This soup is rather hot. This is somewhat wrong. He can barely make both ends meet. It was nearly a month ago.

DOWNTONER: hardly, scarcely, barely, nearly, rather, somewhat.

RELATIVE ADVERBS

To denote their relation with the antecedent

Relative Adverbs	Examples
RELATING WITH THE ANTECEDENT	This is the place where he lives. [Rel. Clause] No one knows the time when he will come. [Rel. Clause] I know the reason why he did it. [Rel. Clause] I don’t know the process how he did it. [Rel. Clause]

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

To join two Clauses without the Antecedent

Conjunctive Adverbs	Examples
JOINING WITHOUT THE ANTECEDENT	This is where he lives. [Adv. Clause] You may go where you like. [Adv. Clause] You shall go when he comes. [Adv. Clause] I know why he did it. [Noun Clause] I don’t know how he did it. [Noun Clause] He came here while I was eating.[Adv. Clause]

INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS

To start a wh-question to gain information

INT. Adverb	Examples
(1) INT. ADV. OF PLACE [2] INT. ADV. OF TIME (3) INT. ADV. OF REASON [4) INT. ADV. OF MANNER [5] INT. ADV. OF NUMBER [6] INT. ADV. OF QUANTITY [7] INT. ADV. OF DEGREE [8] INT. ADV. OF FREQUENCY	Where is the book? When will you go? Why are you late? How did you do this? How many boys are there? How much salt is there? How far was the report true? How often do you visit the temple?

INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS: where, when, why, how, how much, how many, how far, how long

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN: who, whose, whom, what

SAME WORD USED AS AN ADJECTIVE AND ADVERB

The same word may sometimes be an Adjective or an Adverb according to use

Adjectives	Words	Adverbs
He is an early riser.	early	He rises early.
He is a fast runner.	fast	He runs fast.
It is hard work.	hard	He works hard.
This is a long story.	long	He waited long.
He speaks in a loud voice.	loud	Don’t talk so loud.
He is the best boy in the class.	best	Try your best.
He is my only son.	only	He did it once only.
I have enough food.	enough	She sings well enough.

ADVERBS WITH TWO FORMS

Some Adverbs have different meanings used with (ly) and without (-ly).

hard	He hit the ball hard.
hardly	He hardly can do this.
high	The bird flew high./ The prices are running high.
highly	He was highly placed.
late	You have come late.
lately	Lately, he has given up smoking.

POSITION OF ADVERBS

FRONT POSITION
[1] at the beginning
[2] before the subject
(3) asking wh-questions
[4] for emphasis

MID POSITION
[1] before the main verb
[2] after ‘be’ main verb
[3] before ‘have’ main verb
[4] after the auxiliaries
[5] between two auxiliaries
[6] some special uses

END POSITION
[1] after the intransitive verb
[2] after any object
[3] adverbs of manner, means and instruments

FRONT POSITION

Position	Examples
[1] at the beginning	Down went the Titanic.
[2] before the subject	Happily, he came in time.
[3] asking wh-questions	Where have you been?
[4] for emphasis	Again and again, I have warned you.

MID-POSITION

Position	Examples
[1] before the main verb	I often go there. He hardly comes here. She never went abroad. He always speaks the truth.
[2] after ‘be’ main verb	He is rarely late in school. She is often late for school. They are always present at the meeting. She is never negligent in her duties. He is usually busy.
[3] before ‘have’ main verb	We usually have breakfast at 8 a.m.
[4] after the auxiliary verb	He will surely win the prize. I shall never go there. The wind has suddenly dropped.
[5] between two auxiliaries	He has totally been ruined.
[6] before the transitive verb	She frequently told me this. He always supported me.
[7] some adverbs of time before the verbs they modify [ever, never, quite, seldom, often, sometimes, always]	His wife never cooks. Have you ever tried it? I quite agree with you. She seldom comes here. I have often told him to read clearly.
[8] before an adjective or another adverb.	The book is very interesting. The dog is quite dead. Do not walk so fast.
[9] only, merely, not, never-before the word they modify	I have slept only one hour. He merely asked my name. I never said it.
[10] ‘enough’ after the word it modifies.	He spoke loud enough to be heard. They were rough enough to deal with.

END POSITION

Position	Examples
[1] after the intransitive verb	They played well. He went away silently. The girl sang sweetly.
[2] after the object of the verb	We love our country dearly. He did it nicely / quickly. I feel it keenly I heartily.
[3] adverbs of manner means and The villagers lived peacefully. instruments	They go to the office by bus / by train. He examined it microscopically.

ORDER OF ADVERBS

The normal order of placing Adverbs in case of two or more adverbs is Manner(M), Place(P) and Time(T)

Order	Examples
[1] Manner and Time	He worked hard (M) last night (T).
[2] Place and Time	She went there (M) early (T).
[3] Manner, Place and Time	She gang sweetly (M) at the party (P) last evening (T).

COMPARISON OF ADVERBS

DEGREE OF ADVERBS

POSITIVE DEGREE
[1] He runs fast.
[2] He did well.
[3] Do it carefully

COMPARATIVE DEGREE
[1] He runs faster.
[2] He did better.
[3] Do it more carefully.

SUPERLATIVE DEGREE
[1] He runs fastest.
[2] He did best.
[3] Do it most carefully.

RULES OF DEGREE OF ADVERBS

RULE 1: Some Adverbs take -er in Comparative and -est in Superlative Degrees.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
fast	faster	fastest
long	longer	longest
near	nearer	nearest
short	shorter	shortest
late	later	latest/last
quick	quicker	quickest

RULE 2: Some Adverbs take irregular forms in a 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: Adverbs ending in -ly place more and most before the adverb in Comparative and Superlative degrees.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
clearly	more clearly	most clearly
carefully	more carefully	most carefully
beautifully	more beautifully	most beautifully
easily	more easily	most easily
quickly	more quickly	most quickly
rapidly	more rapidly	most rapidly

FORMATION OF ADVERBS

RULE 1: Most of the Adverbs are formed by adding -ly to adjectives. [Adjectives + ly = Adverbs]

Adjectives	Adverbs
bad	badly
sad	sadly
brave	bravely
hard	hardly
honest	honestly
kind	kindly
cruel	cruelly
clever	cleverly
certain	certainly
clear	clearly
correct	correctly
deep	deeply

RULE 3: For Adjectives ending in le: e is dropped and y is added.

Adjectives	Adverbs
single	singly
double	doubly
horrible	horribly
possible	possibly
probable	probably
suitable	suitably
terrible	terribly
whole	wholly

RULE 3: A few Adjectives ending in e: e is dropped and -ly is added.

Adjectives	Adverbs
due	duly
true	truly
undue	unduly
whole	wholly

RULE 4: A few Adjectives ending in ll : only y is added.

Adjectives	Adverbs
full	fully
dull	dully

RULE 5: For Adjectives ending in y: y changes into i and -ly is added.

Adjectives	Adverbs
easy	easily
lazy	lazily
heavy	heavily
happy	happily
noisy	noisily
lucky	luckily
ready	readily

RULE 6: For Adjectives ending in ic : -ally is added.

Adjectives	Adverbs
automatic	automatically
economic	economically
tragic	tragically
basic	basically

RULE 7: few Adjectives are changed to form new words as Adverbs.

Adjectives	Adverbs (New Words)
bad	badly – worse – worst
good	well – better – best

ADVERB EXERCISE

Pick out the Adverbs from the following sentences :

The girl sings well.
I certainly know this.
Probably he is mistaken.
Tell me the story quickly.
Each of the boys broke the stick easily.
The boys did not quarrel again.
Are you quite sure?
Do not walk so fast.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
The scientist knows it better.
We could see the sight clearly.
We got up from bed very early.
She was rather disappointed.
Little Rabi seldom saw his father.
Sir Asutosh was always the first boy.

Insert the given Adverbs in the right positions and rewrite the sentences:

The boy arrived in the class. (late)
I know the answer. (already)
I have told him to come here. (often)
He comes in time. (never)
He is better now. (far)
Will he be there? (still
You can guess the situation. (only)
I could work out two sums. (only)
You are mistaken. (surely)
These mangoes are ripe. (almost)
They could recognize me. (hardly)
They are busy. (rather)
He is fifty years old. (nearly)
She was disappointed. (a little)
The customer is happy. (not at all)

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