Adverbs

… MODIFY VERBS, AN ADJECTIVE OR ANOTHER ADVERB.

The word adverb essentially means “to add to a verb”, and this is what adverbs mostly do. They provide information about how, when, where or how often something is happening, and to what degree.

Yesterday we went out. We left very quietly, but unfortunately and extremely large dog saw us. We’ll run more quickly next time.

When and how often?

Adverbs of time indicate when something is happening, while adverbs of frequency indicate how often it is happening. These adverbs modify verbs, and can occupy different positions in a sentence – usually at the beginning or end of a clause.

Adverbs of time

• yesterday, today, then, soon, now, later

Adverbs of frequency

• always, usually, sometimes, rarely, again, never

Where?

Adverbs of place work in the same way as adverbs of time and frequency. They modify verbs and tell the reader more about where something is happening.

• away, nowhere, there, everywhere, abroad, upstairs, here, out

How?

Adverbs that describe how actions are performed are known as adverbs of manner. They are formed from adjectives and modify verbs. These adverbs can be placed before of after the verb, or at the beginning or end of a clause. Like adjectives, most adverbs of manner and frequency can be graded by adverbs of degree, such as very, quiet or almost. These are always placed directly before the adjective or adverb they describe.

We left very quietly

Here, the adverb of degree “very” is modifying the adverb of manner “quietly” – it indicates how quietly they left.

an extremely large dog

This adverb of degree is modifying the adjective “large” – it is explaining how large the dog was.

Sentence adverbs

Sentence adverbs are unusual because they do not just modify a verb – they modify the whole sentence or clause containing that verb. They usually express the likelihood or desirability of something happening, and include words like unfortunately, probably and certainly. They can also be used to influence the reader.

unfortunately an extremely large dog saw us

The adverb “unfortunately” is modifying a whole clause, meaning “it is unfortunate that an extremely large dog saw us”.

Forming common adverbs

Comparing adverbs

Adverbial phrase

The three most common adverbs in English are not, very and too.