Everything about adverbs! Meaning, types, and examples

Hello English learners!

How are you doing today?

Hope you’re doing well because today, we will learn English together again!

Today, we will explain all about adverbs!

Without further ado, let’s start!

What is an adverb?

An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or even a whole sentence! Take a look at the following examples:

Diana dances beautifully (this modifies a verb).
Franklin is very tall (this modifies an adjective).
The queue moved too slowly (this modifies another adverb)
Fortunately, I had a spare tire (this modifies the whole sentence)

Now, let’s dive deeper, shall we?

Adverbs of manner

Adverbs of manners describe the way something is done. They usually come after the verb they describe.

How to form

Most adverbs of manners are formed by adding “-ly” to the adjective. If the adjective ends in “-y,” the “-y” is left out and “-ily” is added to make the adverb.

Bad → badly
Neat → neatly
Easy → easily

More examples:

John drives carefully.
Claire sings beautifully.
Ronald speaks loudly.

Irregular adverbs of manner

Some adverbs aren’t formed by adding “-ly” to the adjective. Look at the following examples:

Good → well

The adverb is totally different from the adjective.

Fast → fast

The adverb and the adjective are the same.

Early → early

Adjectives ending in “-ly” don’t change to become adverbs.

Comparative and superlative adverbs

Adverbs have comparative forms to compare or show differences. They also have superlative forms to talk about extremes.

Regular comparative and superlative adverbs

Example of regular comparative dan superlative adverbs

Irregular comparative and superlative adverbs

Well and badly have the same comparative and superlative forms as their corresponding adjectives, good and bad. They are both irregular.

Adjective	Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
Good	Well	Better	Best
Bad	Badly	Worse	Worst

Comparative and superlative adverbs

Adverbs that have the same form as an adjective can only become comparative and superlative adverbs by adding “-er” and “-est.”

Comparative	Superlative
She always arrives earlier than me.	My mom always wakes up the earliest.

Adverbs of degree

Adverbs of degree can be placed in front of adjectives and verbs to strengthen or weaken their original meaning. Some adverbs can only be paired with certain adjectives.

Grading adverbs

Adverbs that can be used with gradable adjectives are called grading adverbs. They can be used to make an adjective’s meaning stronger or weaker.

Non grading adverbs

Some adverbs can be used to qualify non-gradable adjectives. These are called “non-grading adverbs,” and often mean “entirely” or “almost entirely.” They cannot usually be used with gradable adjectives.

Examples:

His presentation was absolutely awful!
Russel has a totally unique presentation style.
She had a completely academic audience.

Common mistakes

Only grading adverbs can be used with gradable adjectives, and only non-grading adverbs can be used with non-gradable adjectives.

Grading adverbs	Non-grading adverbs
This movie is very good – correct	The plot is very great – incorrect
This movie is absolutely good – incorrect	The plot is absolutely great – correct

Using adverbs of degree to describe verbs

Quite, really, and absolutely can be used to modify verbs. These modifying words must go before the verb. Look at the following examples:

Daniel quite enjoys cycling.
Katherine really enjoys baking.
I absolutely hate waking up early.

Adverbs of time

Adverbs of time are used to give more precise information about exactly when something happens. They can also refer to a continuing event or action.

Just

Just means something that happened very recently.

I just called a taxi. It should be here soon.

About to

About to means that something is going to happen very soon.

The movie is about to start.

Already

Already is used when something has happened, usually sooner than expected.

The man has already left.

Yet

Yet means “until now.” It shows that something hasn’t happened, but it will happen in the future.

I haven’t made a reservation yet.

Still

Still means an action or situation is ongoing.

I’m still at work. I won’t finish until 7 tonight.

Adverb of frequency

Adverbs of frequency show how often something is done, from something done very frequently (always) to something not done at all (never).

How to form

Adverbs of frequency usually go between the subject and the main verb. The time phrase usually goes at the end of the sentence.

So, it can either be subject + adverb of frequency + activity + time phrase

For example: I always take a shower in the morning.

OR, it can also be subject + to be + adverb of frequency + time phrase

For example: She is rarely late to work.

So and such

Unlike most adverbs, such can be used before a noun to add emphasis. It can also be used before an adjective and noun combination.

So can be used before an adjective or an adverb to add emphasis.

So and such with that

That can be used with so and such to introduce a particular result caused by the fact being emphasised. Examples:

Her symptoms are so bizarre that she is ordered to go through countless tests.
Natalie is such a gifted artist that she has her own exhibition at a mere 20 years old.
The city is so much more crowded now that going to the supermarket takes nearly half an hour due to traffic.

Enough and too

Enough is used when there is the correct degree or amount of something. Too is used when something is more than necessary or wanted.

Noun + enough

Enough and not enough can be used to talk about quantities of countable and uncountable nouns. Enough comes before the noun. Look at the following examples:

“Do we have enough money?” (Money is an uncountable noun).
“Yes, we have $50 left” (Dollar is a countable noun).

Too

Too can be used before an adjective or adverb to show that it’s more than enough.

Congratulations on getting it this far!

Now, you’ve mastered adverbs!

Not as hard as you thought it would be, right?

Don’t worry if you can’t memorize all of these at once, it’s a lot to take in!

You can always go back to this article to review adverbs and of course, don’t forget to check our blogs periodically, we will upload more helpful grammar articles!

As always, thank you for reading our article, we hope you find this article helpful!

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