ADVERBS

FUNCTION
Adverbs modify, or tell us more about other words, usually verbs:
Examples
O The bus moved slowly.
O The bears ate greedily.
Sometimes they tell us more about adjectives:
Examples
O You look ,-solutely Iabulous!
They can also modify other adverbs:
Examples
O She played the violin extremely well.
O You're speaking too quietly.
ow adverbs are formed
Rules
1. In most cases, an adverb is Iormed by adding '-ly' to an adjective:
Adjective Adverb
cheap
quick
slow
cheaply
quickly
slowly
Examples:
O Time goes quickly.
O He walked slowly to the door.
O She cert,inly had an interesting liIe.
O He c,refully picked up the sleeping child.


Rules
II the adjective ends in '-y', replace the 'y' with 'i' and add '-ly':
Adjective Adverb
easy
angry
happy
lucky
easily
angrily
happily
luckily
II the adjective ends in -',-le', '-i-le', or '-le', replace the '-e' with '-y':
Adjective Adverb
probable
terrible
gentle
probably
terribly
gently
II the adjective ends in '-ic', add '-,lly':
Adjective Adverb
basic
economic
tragic
basically
economically
tragically
Note: Exception: pu-lic - pu-licly
2. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective:
Adjective and Adverb
early
Iast
hard
high
late
near
straight
wrong
Compare:
O It is a f,st car.
O He drives very f,st.
O This is a h,rd exercise.
O He works h,rd.
O We saw many high buildings.
O The bird Ilew high in the sky.
3. 'Well' and 'good'
'Well' is the adverb that corresponds to the adjective 'good'.
Examples:
O He is a good student.
O He studies well.
O She is a good pianist.
O She plays the piano well.
O They are good swimmers.
O They swim well.
Comparative & Superlative
Rule
In general, comparative and superlative Iorms oI adverbs are the same as Ior adjectives:
O add -er or -est to short adverbs:
Adverb Comparative Superlative
hard
late
Iast
harder
later
Iaster
the hardest
the latest
the Iastest
Example:
O Jim works h,rder than his brother.
O Everyone in the race ran f,st, but John ran the f,stest oI all.
Rule
With adverbs ending in -ly, use more Ior the comparative and most Ior the superlative:
Adverb Comparative Superlative
quietly
slowly
seriously
more quietly
more slowly
more seriously
most quietly
most slowly
most seriously
Example:
O The teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.
O Could you sing more quietly please?
Rule
Some adverbs have irregular comparative Iorms:
Adverb Comparative Superlative
badly
Iar
little
well
worse
f,rther/further
less
-etter
worst
f,rthest/furthest
le,st
-est
Example:
O The little boy ran further than his Iriends.
O You're driving worse today than yesterday !
BE CAREFUL! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':
O We were most grateIul Ior your help
O I am most impressed by this application.
INDS OF ADVERBS
ADVERBS UF MANNER
Rule
Adverbs oI manner tell us how something happens. They are usually placed after the
main verb or after the object.
Examples:
O Pe swlms we//%fer e mfln verb)
O Pe rfnropid/y s/ow/y quick/y
O e spokesoft/y /oud/y oqqressive/y
O fmes couged /oud/y o frfc er fenlon
O Pe plfs e lue eoutifu//y %fer e ob[ec)
O Pe fe e cocolfe cfke qreedi/y

BE CAREFUL!
The adverb should not be put between the verb and the object:
Examples
O Pe fe qteeJlly e cocolfe cfke |ncorrect
O Pe fe e cocolfe cfke qteeJlly correct
Rule
II there is a preposition beIore the object, e.g. ,t, tow,rds, we can place the adverb either
beIore the preposition or aIter the object.
Examples
O @e clld rfn flly towords ls moer
O @e clld rfn towords ls moer flly
Rule
Sometimes an adverb oI manner is placed beIore a verb object to add emphasis:
Examples
O Pe qent/y woke e sleeplng womfn
Some writers put an adverb oI manner at the beginning oI the sentence to catch our
attention and make us curious:
Examples
O /ow/yse plcked up e knle
Rule
(We want to know wh,t happened slowly, who did it slowly, why 90y did i9 slowly)
However, adverbs should always come AFTER intransitive verbs (verbs which have no
object).
Examples
O @e own grew quick/y
O Pe wfled potient/y
Also, these common adverbs are almost always placed AFTER the verb:
O we//
O od/y
O ord
O fost
Rule
The position oI the adverb is important when there is more than one verb in a sentence. II
the adverb is placed aIter a cl,use, then it modiIies the whole action described by the
clause.
Notice the diIIerence in meaning between the Iollowing pairs oI sentences:
O e quick/y fgreed o repe e leer % er fgreemen wfs qulck)
O e fgreed o repe e leer quick/y % e replng wfs qulck)
O Pe quiet/y fsked me o lefve e ouse % ls reques wfs qule)
O Pe fsked me o lefve e ouse quiet/y % e lefvlng wfs qule)
ADVERBS OF PLACE
Rule
Adverbs oI place tell us where something happens.
They are usually placed aIter the main verb or aIter the object:
Examples:
after the main verb:
O I looked everywhere
O John looked ,w,y, up, down, ,round...
O I'm going home, out, -,ck
O Come in
after the object:
O They built a house ne,r-y
O She took the child outside
Common Adverbs of Place
'Here' and 'there'
With verbs oI movement, here means towards or with the speaker:
O Come here ( towards me)
O It's in here ( come with me to see it)
1here means away Irom, or not with the speaker:
O !ut it there ( away Irom me)
O It's in there ( go by yourselI to see it)
Here and there are combined with prepositions to make many common adverbial phrases:
down 070, down 9070
ov07 070, ov07 9070
und07 070, und07 9070
up 070, up 9070
Here and there are placed at the beginning oI the sentence in exclamations or when
emphasis is needed.
They are Iollowed by the verb iI the subject is a noun:
O Here comes the bus. (Iollowed by the verb)
Or by a pronoun iI this is the subject (it, she, he etc.):
O Here it is! (Iollowed by the pronoun)
O 1here she goes! (Iollowed by the pronoun)
NOTE: most common adverbs oI place also Iunction as prepositions.
Examples:
,-out, ,cross, ,long, ,round, -ehind, -y, down, in, off, on, over, round, through, under,
up.
Go to Prepositions or Phrasal Verbs
Other adverbs oI place: ending in '-w,rds', expressing movement in a particular direction:
backwards
Iorwards
downwards
upwards
inwards
outwards
northwards
southwards
eastwards
westwards
homewards
onwards
Examples:
O Cats don't usually walk -,ckw,rds.
O The ship sailed westw,rds.
BE CAREFUL! 'Towards' is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always Iollowed by a
noun or a p7onoun:
O He walked tow,rds the c,r.
O She ran tow,rds me.
expressing both movement and location:
,he,d, ,-ro,d, overse,s, uphill, downhill, sidew,ys, indoors, outdoors
Examples:
O The child went indoors.
O He lived and worked ,-ro,d.
ADVERBS UF DECREE
Usage
Adverbs oI degree tell us about the intensity or degree oI an action, an adjective or another
adverb.
Common adverbs oI degree:
Almost, ne,rly, quite, just, too, enough, h,rdly, sc,rcely, completely, very, extremely.
Adverbs of degree are usually placed:
8eore e fd[eclve or fdverb e fre modllng
eg @e wfer wfs extreme/y co/d
2 8eore e mfln verb
eg Pe wfs ust lefvlng e fs o/most lnlsed
Examples
O e doesn quiteknow wf sell do fer unlversl
O @e fre comp/ete/yexfused rom e rlp
O fm toolred o go ou onlg
O Pe ord/y nolced wf se wfs sflng
Enough, very, too
Enough as an adverb meaning 'to the necessary degree' goes ,1907 adjectives and adverbs.
Examples
O s our coee ot enouq" %fd[eclve)
O Pe dldn work ord enouq %fdverb)
It also goes beIore nouns, and means 'as much as is necessary'. In this case it is not an
adverb, but a 'determiner'.
Examples
O Je fve enouqreod
O @e don fve enouq food
Too as an adverb meaning 'more than is necessary or useIul' goes -01o70 adjectives and
adverbs, e.g.
O @ls coee ls too o %fd[eclve)
O Pe works too frd %fdverb)
Enough and too with adjectives can be Iollowed by '1o7 som0on0som09ing.
Examples
O @e dress wfs blg enouq or me
O es no experlenced enouq or ls [ob
O @e coee wfs too o or me
O @e dress wfs too smfll or er
We can also use 9o in1ini9iv0 aIter enough and too with adjectives/adverb.
Examples
O @e coee wfs too o o drlnk
O Pe dldn work frd enouq o pfss e exfm
O es no old enouq o ge mfrrled
O oure too oung o fve grfndclldren!
Very goes beIore an adverb or adjective to make it stronger.
Examples
O @e glrl wfsvery befulul %fd[eclve)
O Pe worked very qulckl %fdverb)
II we want to make a negative Iorm oI an adjective or adverb, we can use a word oI
opposite meaning, or not very.
Examples
O @e glrl wfs ugl @e glrl wfs not very befulul
O Pe worked slowl Pe dldnt work very qulckl
BE CAREFUL! There is a big diIIerence between too and very.
O Iery expresses f fact
Pe spefks very qulckl
O @oo suggess ere ls f prob|em
Pe spefks too qulckl %teJetsfJ)
Other adverbs like very
These common adverbs are used like very and not very, and are listed in order oI strength,
Irom positive to negative:
extremely, especi,lly, p,rticul,rly, pretty, r,ther, quite, f,irly, r,ther, not especi,lly, not
p,rticul,rly.
Note: r,ther can be positive or negative, depending on the adjective or adverb that Iollows:
Positive: The teacher was r,ther nice.
Negative: The Iilm was r,ther disappointing.
Note on inversion with negative adverbs
Normally the subject goes beIore the verb:
D@ I
I
She
leIt
goes
Powever some negflve fdverbs cfn cfuse fn |nvers|on e order ls reversed fnd e verb goes
beore e sub[ec
Examples
O fve never seen suc courfge Never fve seen suc courfge
O e rore/y le e ouse kore/y dld se lefve e ouse
Negative inversion is used in writing, not in speaking.
Other adverbs and adverbial expressions that can be used like this:
seldom, sc,rcely, h,rdly, not only .....
-ut ,lso, no sooner .....
th,n, not until, under no circumst,nces.
ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY
Adverbs of certainty express how certain or sure we Ieel about an action or event.
Usage
Common adverbs of certainty:
cert,inly, definitely, pro-,-ly, undou-tedly, surely

1. Adverbs oI certainty go beIore the main verb but aIter the verb 'to be':
O He definitely leIt the house this morning.
O He is pro-,-ly in the park.
2. With other auxiliary verb, these adverbs go between the auxiliary and the main verb:
O He has cert,inly Iorgotten the meeting.
O He will pro-,-ly remember tomorrow.
3. Sometimes these adverbs can be placed at the beginning oI the sentence:
O Undou-tedly, Winston Churchill was a great politician.
BE CAREFUL! with surely. When it is placed at the beginning oI the sentence, it means
the speaker thinks something is true, but is looking Ior conIirmation:
O Surely you've got a bicycle?
VIEWPUINT AND CUMMENTINC ADVERBS
There are some adverbs and adverbial expressions which tell us about the speaker's
viewpoint or opinion about an action, or make some comment on the action.
Viewpoint
Fr,nkly, I think he is a liar. ( this is my Irank, honest opinion)
1heoretic,lly, you should pay a Iine. ( Irom a theoretical point oI view but there may be
another way oI looking at the situation)
These adverbs are placed at the beginning oI the sentence and are separated Irom the rest
oI the sentence by a comma.
Some common Viewpoint adverbs:
honestly, seriously, confidenti,lly, person,lly, surprisingly, ide,lly, economic,lly,
offici,lly, o-viously, cle,rly, surely, undou-tedly.
Examples
O 9ersono//y d rfer go b rfln
O urprisinq/y ls cfr ls cefper fn e smfller model
O eoqropico//y 8rlfln ls rfer cu o rom e res o Lurope
Commenting
These are very similar to viewpoint adverbs, and oIten the same words, but they go in a
diIIerent position - aIter the verb 9o -0 and before the main verb.
Examples
O e ls certoin/yeesetste
O ou ovious/y en[oed our mefl
Some common Commenting adverbs:
definitely, cert,inly, o-viously, simply.
INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS
These are:
why, where, how, when
They are usually placed at the -eginning of , question.
Examples
O Why are you so late?
O Where is my passport?
O How are you?
O How much is that coat?
O When does the train arrive?
Notice that how can be used in Iour diIIerent ways:
1. meaning 'in wh,t w,y?':
O How did you make this sauce?
O How do you start the car?
2. with ,djectives:
O How tall are you?
O How old is your house?
3. with much and m,ny:
O How much are these tomatoes?
O How many people are coming to the party?
4. with other ,dver-s:
O How quickly can you read this?
O How oIten do you go to London?
RELATIVE ADVERBS
Rule
The Iollowing adverbs can be used to join sentences or clauses. They replace the more
Iormal structure oI p70posi9ion wic in a relative clause:
where, when, why
Examples:
O That's the restaurant where we met Ior the Iirst time.
(w070 ,9in wic)
O I remember the day when we Iirst met.
(w0n on wic)
O There was a very hot summer the year when he was born.
(w0n in wic)
O Tell me (the reason) why you were late home.
(wy 1o7 wic, but could replace the whole phrase 90 70,son 1o7 wic)
ADVERBS OF TIME
Adverbs of Time
Adverbs oI time tell us when an action happened, but also for how long, and how often.
Examples
O hen: 9od,y, y0s907d,y, l,907, now, l,s9 y0,7
O For how long: ,ll d,y, no9 long, 1o7 , wil0, sinc0 l,s9 y0,7
O ow often: som09im0s, 1706u0n9ly, n0v07, o190n, y0,7ly
hen adverbs are usually placed at the end oI the sentence:
Examples
O Goldilocks went to the Bears' house yesterd,y.
O I'm going to tidy my room tomorrow.
This is a "neutral" position, but some "when" adverbs can be put in other positions to give
a diIIerent emphasis
Compare:
O L,ter Goldilocks ate some porridge. (the time is more important)
O Goldilocks l,ter ate some porridge. (this is more Iormal, like a policeman's report)
O Goldilocks ate some porridge l,ter. (this is neutral, no particular emphasis)
For how long adverbs are usually placed at the end oI the sentence:
Examples
O She stayed in the Bears' house ,ll d,y.
O y mother lived in France for , ye,r.
Notice: 'for' is always Iollowed by an expression oI dur,tion:
Examples
O for three d,ys,
O for , week,
O for sever,l ye,rs,
O for two centuries.
'since' is always Iollowed by an expression oI , point in time:
Examples
O since Mond,y,
O since 1997,
O since the l,st w,r.
ow often adverbs expressing the frequency oI an action are usually placed beIore the
main verb but aIter auxiliary verbs (such as -0, ,v0, m,y, mus9:
Examples
O I often eat vegetarian Iood. (beIore the main verb)
O He never drinks milk. (beIore the main verb)
O You must ,lw,ys Iasten your seat belt. (aIter the auxiliary mus9)
O She is never sea-sick.(aIter the auxiliary is)
O I have never Iorgotten my Iirst kiss. (aIter the auxiliary ,v0 and beIore the main
verb 1o7go990n)
Some other "how often" adverbs express the ex,ct num-er of times an action happens and
are usually placed at the end oI the sentence:
Examples
O This magazine is published monthly.
O He visits his mother once , week.
When a frequency adverb is placed at the end oI a sentence it is much stronger.
Compare:
O She regul,rly visits France.
O She visits France regul,rly.
Adverbs that can be used in these two positions:
O frequently,
O gener,lly,
O norm,lly,
O occ,sion,lly,
O often,
O regul,rly,
O sometimes,
O usu,lly
'Yet' and 'still'
Yet is used in questions and in negative sentences, and is placed at the end of the sentence
or after not.
Examples
O Have you Iinished your work yet? ( a simple request Ior inIormation) No, not yet.
( simple negative answer)
O They haven't met him yet. ( simple negative statement)
O Haven't you Iinished yet? ( expressing slight surprise)
Still expresses continuity; it is used in positive sentences and questions, and is placed
before the main verb and after auxiliary verbs (such as -0, ,v0, mig9, will
Examples
O I am still hungry.
O She is still waiting Ior you
O Are you still here?
O o you still work Ior the BBC?
ORDER OF ADVERBS OF TIME
II you need to use more than one adverb oI time at the end oI a sentence, use them in this
order:
1: 'how long'
2: 'how often'
3: 'when' (think oI 'low')
Example:
O 1 2 : I work (1) for five hours (2) every d,y
O 2 3 : The magazine was published (2) weekly (3) l,st ye,r.
O 1 3 : I was abroad (1) for two months (3) l,st ye,r.
O 1 2 3 : She worked in a hospital (1) for two d,ys (2) every week (3) l,st ye,r.