Common Core Skills Practice:

Grammar Lesson #5
Adapted from resources available on
Lettieres English on the Web: dukeofdefinition.com
DEFINITION:
An adverb is a word that modifies (changes)
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
It answers the following questions about the
verb, adjective, or adverb:
! Where?
! When?
! How?
! How Much?
Etymology: ad (toward) + verb
1. An adverb is a modifier.
Only modifiers can take the
word very in front of them.
For example:
! very carefully
! very slowly
! very seriously
2. Many adverbs end with the
suffix ly.
For example:
! quickly
! beautifully
! lovingly
3. If you have a word and you want to
test to see if it is an adverb, ask the
question: ______ what?
For example:
! He chases storms to catch them vividly and
dramatically on camera.
" Vividly what? The answer is catch. Catch is a verb.
Words that modify verbs are adverbs. Vividly is an
adverb.
! The friendly girl invited the new girl to lunch.
" Friendly what? The answer is friendly girl. Girl is a
noun; adverbs do not modify nouns, so friendly is
not an adverb.
3. Adverbs can often change
location in the sentence.

For example:
! There are people who are drawn
irresistibly to storms.
! We can rewrite this sentence as follows:
There are people who are irresistibly
drawn to storms.
! Now, we see the answer is irresistibly
drawn. Drawn is a verb, so irresistibly is an
adverb.
Practicing identification
! We shall leave soon.
! He worked rapidly.
! Where do you live?
! I bought a bright red car.