What is an Adverb

An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb, adjective, other adverb, clause, or sentence. They are used mainly to modify verbs, that's why they are called adverbs. They inform us about what's going on and answer questions about how, where, when and what happens in a sentence.

What is an Adverb - Examples:

I work quickly. (How do I work?)
The man went upstairs. (Where did he go?)
My mother arrived last night. (When did she arrive?)

Examples of Adverbs - Types

1) Manner: angrily, anxiously, awkwardly, badly, beautifully, blindly, boldly, bravely...
2) Place: about, above, abroad, across, ahead, anywhere, away, back...
3) Time: after, already, annually, before, daily, during, early, earlier, eventually...
4) Frequency: always, almost always, almost never, constantly, frequently, generally...
5) Purpose: accidentally, because, carefully, in order to, intentionally...

How to use Adverbs

Adverbs of Manner

He opened the door easily. (easily - adverb of manner)
The woman shouted angrily. (angrily - adverb of manner)

Adverbs of Place

I find work anywhere. (anywhere - adverb of place)
She goes ahead. (ahead - adverb of place)

Adverbs of Time

Do the job now. (now - adverb of time)
The man annually paid his bill. (annually - adverb of time)
He will buy the newspaper daily. (daily - adverb of time)

Adverbs of Frequency

Peter often goes to the club.
My mom always shouts.
The dog sometimes barks at me.
Joe never works.

Adverbs of Purpose

The man works carefully.
My sister intentionally said nothing.

Adverbs ending in ly

Many adverbs, but not all, can be created from adjectives. Just add ly. See below

angry - angrily
bad - badly
brave - bravely
busy - busily
cold - coldly
dry - dryly
easy - easily
extreme - extremely
free - freely
gentle - gently
happy - happily
kind - kindly
noble - nobly
possible - possibly
rapid - rapidly
safe - safely
simple - simply
slow - slowly

Adverbs are usually just one word, but they can be made up of more than one word. In this case they are called adverbial phrases and clauses.

Adverb Placement

Adverbs can be placed at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a sentence.

Adverbs can modify Adjectives and other Adverbs

Example:
The doctor was extremely cautious. (The adverb extremely modifies the adjective "cautious".)
This was a well done job. (The adverb well modifies the adjective "done".)
The woman sold the easily created website. (The adverb easiliy modifies the adjective "created".)

Find the most important adverbs in the List of Adverbs

It helps if you do some Adverb Exercises

Recognize the difference between Adverb and Adjective

Go from - What is an Adverb to - Home