Adverbs: Definition, Types and Examples

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence. It usually answers how, when, where, how often or how much: she spoke quietly, we left yesterday, it is very cold. Many adverbs end in -ly, but not all, and some -ly words are adjectives. Below are the types, position rules, the adverb and adjective difference, common traps and a quiz.

The short answer

An adverb is a word that tells you more about an action, a quality or a whole statement. It answers questions such as how?, when?, where?, how often? and to what degree?

• She spoke quietly. (how)
• We arrived yesterday. (when)
• The children are playing outside. (where)
• He always checks his email first. (how often)
• The soup is extremely hot. (to what degree)

An adverb can modify:

Adverbs do not change form for number or gender. Some can be compared (fast, faster, fastest).

The main types of adverbs

The first five are the ones most school grammar courses test. Remember: the only reliable test is what the word does in the sentence. Fast is an adjective in a fast car and an adverb in He drives fast.

Adverbs of manner

They say how an action is done and usually follow the verb or its object: She answered politely. He wrapped the parcel carefully. Most are formed from adjectives with -ly. Key spelling changes:

• Adjective ending in -y: change y to i, add -ly (happy, happily; easy, easily).
• Adjective ending in -le: drop the e, add -y (gentle, gently; simple, simply).
• Adjective ending in -ic: add -ally (basic, basically), with the exception publicly.
• Adjective ending in -ll: add only -y (full, fully; dull, dully).
• Keep the e in most other cases (extreme, extremely), but note true, truly, whole, wholly and due, duly.

Adverbs of time

They say when something happens, for how long, or in what order: now, then, today, tomorrow, soon, recently, already, yet, still, finally, eventually. They typically go at the end of the clause or at the start for emphasis: We will announce the winner tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will announce the winner.

Watch the pairs already / yet / still:

• I have already submitted the form. (done earlier than expected)
• I haven't submitted it yet. (not done, but expected)
• She is still waiting. (continuing)

Adverbs of frequency

They say how often and fall on a scale from 100 percent to zero in everyday meaning:

Definite frequency expressions such as daily, weekly, monthly, twice a week, every morning normally go at the end of the sentence: The newsletter goes out weekly.

Adverbs of degree

They say how much or to what extent, and usually come before the adjective or adverb they modify: very tired, quite quickly, almost ready, too expensive. The adverb enough is the exception: it comes after the word it modifies (tall enough, quickly enough). Be careful with too and very:

• very makes something stronger: The coffee is very hot.
• too means "more than is acceptable": The coffee is too hot to drink.

Where to put an adverb: position rules

Position depends on the type of adverb and on what you want to emphasise. The table shows the usual patterns.

Specific points

1. Never put an adverb between a verb and its direct object. Wrong: She speaks fluently English. Right: She speaks English fluently.
2. **Mid position with be.** The adverb follows be as a main verb: She is never late. With auxiliaries it follows the first one: She has never been late.
3. **Place only carefully.** It should sit next to the word it limits. Compare: She only eats fish on Fridays (she does nothing else with fish on Fridays) and She eats fish only on Fridays (on no other day). In careful writing, put only directly before the word or phrase it modifies.
4. Order of several adverbs at the end. The usual order is manner, then place, then time: She sang beautifully at the festival last night.
5. Split infinitives. To boldly go is a split infinitive. Many modern style guides accept it when avoiding it sounds awkward, but some teachers and editors still mark it. Follow the guide your reader uses.

Adverb or adjective?

The two classes are often confused because many words can be both, and because some adverbs look like adjectives.

After linking verbs, use an adjective

Verbs such as be, seem, become, look, feel, sound, taste, smell describe the subject, so they take adjectives:

• The soup tastes good. (not well)
• She looks happy.
• I feel terrible about the delay.

But when the verb describes an action, use an adverb:

• She looked carefully at the map. (the action of looking)
• He tasted the soup cautiously.

A test: if you can replace the verb with is or are and the sentence still makes sense, use an adjective. The soup is good works; so tastes good is correct.

Good and well

Good is an adjective, well is usually an adverb: She is a good singer. She sings well. Well is also an adjective meaning "healthy": I'm not feeling well today.

The -ly traps

The -ly ending is the most widely taught clue, and it causes the most errors. Learn these exceptions.

Adjectives that end in -ly

These words end in -ly but are adjectives, not adverbs:

friendly, lovely, lonely, lively, elderly, costly, likely, deadly, ugly, silly, cowardly, early (also adverb), daily (also adverb), weekly, monthly, yearly.

You cannot add -ly again to form an adverb (friendlily is almost never used). Use a phrase instead:

• She greeted us in a friendly way. (not friendlily)
• He smiled in a lovely manner, or simply He smiled warmly.

Some of these adjectives double as adverbs with the same form: early, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly (The magazine appears monthly.).

Flat adverbs: the same form as the adjective

Some adverbs have no -ly and look exactly like the adjective: fast, hard, late, early, high, low, deep, straight, long, far, near, right, wrong, daily, well.

• a fast train / The train goes fast. (not fastly)
• a hard exam / She works hard.

Words with two adverb forms and two meanings

For several words, the form without -ly and the form with -ly mean different things. These are favourites in exams.

Common mistakes with adverbs

1. Using an adjective instead of an adverb after an action verb. Wrong: He drives careful. Right: He drives carefully.
2. Using an adverb after a linking verb. Wrong: The idea sounds wonderfully. Right: The idea sounds wonderful.
3. Adding -ly to adverbs that do not take it. Wrong: She runs fastly. Right: She runs fast.
4. Confusing hard and hardly. I hardly studied means you studied almost nothing.
5. Double negatives. Wrong: I don't never go. Right: I never go or I don't ever go. Words such as hardly, scarcely and barely are negative too, so avoid I can't hardly hear you.
6. **Misplaced only, almost and just.** Keep them next to the word they modify.
7. Putting the adverb between the verb and its object. Wrong: I like very much pizza. Right: I like pizza very much.
8. **Mixing up too and very.** It is too cold implies a problem; it is very cold only describes.

Before and after: stronger writing with adverbs

Before: "The manager spoke very loudly and told the team to work really hard. They completed the project very quickly. It was a very good result."

After: "The manager spoke firmly and asked the team to finish the report by Friday. They completed the project ahead of schedule, and the result exceeded expectations."

The revision removes empty degree adverbs, replaces work really hard with a concrete instruction and states the actual outcome. A good rule: use an adverb when it adds information, and choose a stronger verb when it only adds volume. Walked slowly can often be strolled; said quietly can be whispered.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct option.

1. She plays the piano ______. (a) beautiful (b) beautifully (c) beautifuly
2. The new manager seems very ______. (a) friendly (b) friendlily (c) friendlyly
3. He ______ studied for the exam, so it was no surprise that he failed. (a) hard (b) hardly (c) hardy
4. The meeting finished ______ than expected. (a) more early (b) earlier (c) more earlier
5. She ______ eats breakfast at home. (a) rarely (b) rare (c) rareful
6. The soup tastes ______. (a) well (b) good (c) goodly
7. Which sentence is correct? (a) She speaks fluently French. (b) She speaks French fluently. (c) She fluently speaks French loudly.
8. I haven't seen her ______. (a) late (b) lately (c) latest
9. Which word is an adjective? (a) quickly (b) lovely (c) soon
10. The exam was ______ difficult. (a) extreme (b) extremely (c) extremly

Answers

1. (b) beautifully modifies the verb plays.
2. (a) Friendly is an adjective, and seems is a linking verb.
3. (b) Hardly means "almost not".
4. (b) Early is a flat adverb; its comparative is earlier.
5. (a) Rarely is a frequency adverb, in mid position.
6. (b) Tastes is a linking verb here, so use the adjective good.
7. (b) Do not place an adverb between the verb and its object.
8. (b) Lately means "recently".
9. (b) Lovely is an adjective, even though it ends in -ly.
10. (b) Extremely is an adverb of degree modifying the adjective difficult.

Using AdeptWrite tools

The Grammar Checker can flag common adverb errors such as drives careful or fastly, and it shows each change highlighted so you can accept or reject it. Treat suggestions as prompts to review, not final rulings, because context decides whether a word is an adjective or an adverb. The Spell Checker checks your spelling against the American, British, Australian or Canadian English word list you choose, which catches slips such as extremly or truely. For sentences cluttered with very and really, the Sentence Rewriter can suggest alternative wording; keep only the version that says what you mean. Each run handles up to 6,000 characters.

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