📚 What is an Adverb?
An adverb is a word that describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Many adverbs end in -ly.
She runs quickly. (describes the verb "runs")
The movie was very exciting. (describes the adjective "exciting")
He speaks extremely loudly. (describes the adverb "loudly")
🎯 Types of Adverbs
Adverbs of Manner (How?)
Tell us how something happens
quickly, slowly, carefully, happily, badly, well, fast, hard
She sang beautifully.
The baby sleeps peacefully.
He answered the question correctly.
Adverbs of Time (When?)
Tell us when something happens
now, then, today, yesterday, tomorrow, soon, later, always, never, often, sometimes
We will go to the park tomorrow.
She always arrives on time.
I finished my homework yesterday.
Adverbs of Place (Where?)
Tell us where something happens
here, there, everywhere, nowhere, inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs, nearby
The cat is sleeping upstairs.
Come here right now!
They searched everywhere for the keys.
Adverbs of Frequency (How often?)
Tell us how often something happens
always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, never, frequently, occasionally
I usually eat breakfast at 7 AM.
She rarely watches TV.
They always do their homework.
Adverbs of Degree (How much?)
Tell us the intensity or degree of something
very, quite, too, almost, extremely, completely, totally, nearly, hardly, barely
The test was extremely difficult.
I'm very happy today.
She's almost finished with her project.
📝 Forming Adverbs
Add -ly to Adjectives
Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective
quick → quickly
careful → carefully
happy → happily (change y to i)
terrible → terribly (drop e, add y)
Irregular Adverbs
Some adverbs don't follow the -ly pattern
good → well (not "goodly")
fast → fast (same as adjective)
hard → hard (same as adjective)
Note: "hardly" means "barely," not "in a hard way"
📊 Degrees of Comparison
Positive
She runs fast.
He works carefully.
Comparative
She runs faster than me.
He works more carefully than before.
Superlative
She runs the fastest of all.
He works the most carefully in the class.
✏️ Practice Exercise
Identify the adverbs and what they modify. Click to reveal!
1. The children played happily in the park.
happily - adverb of manner (modifies "played")
2. She always arrives early for class.
always - adverb of frequency (modifies "arrives")
early - adverb of time (modifies "arrives")
3. The movie was extremely interesting.
extremely - adverb of degree (modifies "interesting")
4. They will go there tomorrow.
there - adverb of place (modifies "will go")
tomorrow - adverb of time (modifies "will go")
5. He speaks very softly.
very - adverb of degree (modifies "softly")
softly - adverb of manner (modifies "speaks")
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ Good vs. Well
She did good on the test.
✓ She did well on the test.
"Good" is an adjective; "well" is an adverb
❌ Real vs. Really
That was a real good movie.
✓ That was a really good movie.
"Real" is an adjective; "really" is an adverb
🎯 Key Takeaways
- Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs
- Most adverbs end in -ly
- Adverbs answer: How? When? Where? How often? How much?
- Form most adverbs by adding -ly to adjectives
- Some common adverbs are irregular (good → well, fast → fast)