Adverbs
Adverbs are words that can modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. So if you are not familiar with the concept of adverbs yet, read this.
What Are Adverbs?
Types of Adverbs
Here are the main types of adverbs in the English language:
- Adverbs of place
- Adverbs of time
- Adverbs of manner
- Adverbs of frequency
- Adverbs of degree
- Adverbs of probability
- Adverbs of movement and direction
- Demonstrative adverbs
- Relative adverbs
- Interrogative adverbs
- Conjunctive adverbs
- Viewpoint and commenting adverbs
- Intensifiers and mitigators
- Adverbial nouns
Functions of Adverbs
Adverbs Modifying Verbs
The main function of adverbs is to modify verbs or verb phrases. In this way, they give us more information about the manner, place, time, frequency, certainty, etc.
Take a look at some examples:
She danced
Here, 'beautifully' modifies the verb 'danced,' indicating the manner of dancing.
I left my wallet
'In the park' modifies the verb phrase 'left my wallet,' indicating place.
My uncle is going to London
Here, 'tomorrow' modifies the verb phrase 'is going to,' indicating time.
She
'Often' modifies the verb 'works,' indicating frequency.
She has
'Undoubtedly' modifies the verb phrase 'has gone,' indicating probability.
Adverbs Modifying Adjectives and Adverbs
We can also use adverbs to modify adjectives, and other adverbs, often to indicate degree. for examples:
The turtle moves
The adverb 'very' modifies another adverb 'slowly.'
This cake is
The adverb 'absolutely' modifies the adjective 'delicious.'
Adverbs Modifying Determiners and Prepositional Phrases
Adverbs can also be used to modify determiners and prepositional phrases. Take a look at the following examples:
I've watched
'Practically' modifies the determiner 'all' in the noun phrase, 'all of his movies'.
He's
'Almost' modifies the prepositional phrase 'as old as.'
Adverbs Modifying Sentences
We can also use adverbs to modify whole clauses or sentences. For example:
'Undoubtedly' modifies the sentence as a whole.
'Unfortunately' modifies the sentence as a whole.
Adverbs as Subject Complements
Adverbs can sometimes be used as predicative subject complements. Mostly the adverbs of place can be used in this way. For example:
Our seat is
In this sentence, 'where the trouble starts' is the subject and 'here' is the predicate. The sentence has a subject-verb inversion.
Structures of Adverbs
In English (as in many other languages), there are different ways of creating an adverb. For example, we can create adverbs of manner by adding the suffix -ly to the adjectives.
quick → quick
slow → slow
Some words can be used as both adjectives and adverbs. These words are called flat adverbs (also called bare adverbs or simple adverbs). For example:
- fast
- hard
- straight
using an adverb of manner in a sentence
Positions of Adverbs
Adverbs of manner are generally placed after the verb and its objects. However, other positions are possible too.
He drove
He
Many adverbs of frequency, degree, certainty, etc. tend to be placed before the verb, although if there is an auxiliary, then the normal position for such adverbs is after that.
I
I can
Adverbs that show a connection with the previous sentences, and those that provide the context for a sentence, are normally placed at the beginning of the sentence.
If the verb has an object, the adverb comes after the object.
I read the book
Order of Adverbs
If you want to use more than one 'adverb' in a sentence, it is important to know how to place them in a specific order. There is a simple set of rules to follow, called the order of adverbs. The adverbs are placed first in the following order:
- Adverbs of manner
- Adverbs of place
- Adverbs of frequency
- Adverbs of time
I run
I study
Comparative and Superlative Adverbs
'Adverbs,' like adjectives, can show degrees of comparison. But it’s less common to use them in comparison.
- To make the comparative form of a two or more-syllable adverb you add 'more' before the adverb.
- To make the superlative form of a two or more syllable adverb you add 'most' before the adverb.
She walked
She walked the
With adverbs that look exactly the same as their adjective counterparts, the comparative and superlative forms look the same as the adjective comparative and superlative forms.
She speaks
Here in this example, fast is an adverb which is the same as the adjective 'fast'.
Maria works
Tip!
They are some linking verbs that are mostly followed by adjectives not adverbs. Such as smell, feel, appear, etc.
The food smells
Adverbial Phrases
'Adverbial phrases' are groups of words that act as adverbs. An adverb phrase may have an adverb as its head, and with any modifiers and complements. For example:
- very carefully
- all too well
- sadly enough
Another very common type of adverb phrase is the prepositional phrase, which consists of a preposition and its object.
I will talk to my father
His car is parked
Adverbial Clauses
Clauses contain one subject and one verb. Without having a subject and verb we cannot make clauses. 'Adverbial clauses,' as a result, have subject and verb. They are made up of a set of words and play the role of an adverb. Look at the examples.
The bosses signed the contracts
He left
Review
Adverbs are used to modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs. There are different types of adverbs in English. Check out the list.
- adverbs of manner
- adverbs of place
- adverbs of time
- adverbs of frequency
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