Adverb — Definition and Examples
What is an adverb?
An adverb is a part of speech that modifies (describes) a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs indicate how, when, where, why, under what circumstances, or to what degree the verb performs the action.
What do adverbs modify?
Verb: Adverbs most commonly modify verbs or verb phrases by describing the way an action is taking place.
John loudly sang his solo.
Adjective: When used with an adjective, an adverb describes the degree or intensity of the adjective.
The first movie was more interesting than the sequel.
Adverb: Adverbs can be used to describe one or more adverbs in the same sentence.
The choir sang much too loudly and out of key.
How to find adverbs in a sentence
While many adverbs end in -ly, some do not. Therefore, the best way to identify them is to establish their purpose in a sentence.
Descriptive: An adverb is typically one of the more descriptive words found in a sentence.
Placement: There are three positions where adverbs are placed within a sentence.
Initial: Conjunctive adverbs (words that connect two independent clauses) and time adverbs typically appear at the beginning of a sentence. Initial adverbs that modify the whole sentence are called sentence adverbs.
Middle: Adverbs that focus on action tend to appear in the middle of a sentence.
End: Many adverbs follow the words they modify; therefore, they are located at the end of a sentence.
Adverb examples
Common adverbs that end in -ly:
| beautifully | happily | suddenly |
| bravely | honestly | thankfully |
| carefully | politely | unexpectedly |
| easily | quickly | unfortunately |
| exactly | slowly | usefully |
Examples of adverbs that do not end in -ly:
| already | long | rather |
| almost | more | slow |
| better | near | still |
| fast | never | very |
| hard | often | well |
Adverb example sentences
The following sentences include the use of one or more adverbs:
The car stopped abruptly to avoid the deer.
It was painfully obvious that the boss was not very pleased with his progress.
He wanted to finish his homework quickly before swim practice.
Even though she dances oddly, she always has a smile on her face.
The children enjoy playing outside in the snow.
Unfortunately, they arrived late for the meeting.
They planned on going to the movies tomorrow.
She was quite pleased to see her students' writing improve.
Adverbs vs. adjectives
Adverbs and adjectives are both used for descriptive purposes. An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun, while an adverb helps describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Adverb: The deer quickly jumped over the fence.
Adjective: The quick deer jumped over the fence.
Adjectives that do not change form to become an adverb (by adding -ly) are called flat adverbs. Common flat adverbs are early, fast, hard, high, and late.
To decide whether an adjective or adverb should be used, determine the use of the word in the sentence. If a noun or pronoun is being modified, use an adjective; if a verb, adjective, or other adverb is being modified, use an adverb.
Types of adverbs
There are five main types of adverbs:
Adverbs of manner: How something happened
Adverbs of time: When something happened
Adverbs of place: Where something happened
Adverbs of degree: How much something happens
Adverbs of frequency: How often something happens
In the English language, sometimes a group of words can also act as an adverb. These are called adverbial phrases or adverbial clauses. For example: He arrived two hours late.
Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner indicate how something happened. They are mostly found right before the word they modify or at the end of a clause. These adverbs mostly end in -ly.
He carefully climbed down the tree.
They tried to discuss the issue calmly.
The children happily ran to the playground.
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time identify when the verb took place. They usually occur either near the beginning or end of a sentence.
They expected the delivery would be late, but it arrived earlier than expected.
He recently found the book he thought he lost.
She hopes she will be able to visit her friends tomorrow.
Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place describe where the verb took place. Because many of these double as prepositions, it is important to know the difference between the two. While prepositions are followed by the object of a sentence, adverbs of place are not; instead, they modify the verb.
There is more wrapping paper over there.
Since it's time for lunch, we should go inside.
The hikers decided to turn back before nightfall.
Adverbs of degree
Adverbs of degree highlight the intensity of the verb. They describe how much or to what degree something happened.
Everyone in the class was so excited about the upcoming field trip.
They almost lost the game at the last minute.
The new painting is simply stunning.
Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of frequency identify how often something occurs. They typically appear right before the main verb in a sentence, but they can also be at the end of a clause.
She always packed an extra snack for work.
He usually does his grocery shopping on the weekends.
They wanted to visit Ireland again.