Adverb

What is an Adverb?
An adverb is a word that is used to change or qualify the meaning of an adjective, a verb, a
clause, another adverb, or any other type of word or phrase with the exception of determiners
and adjectives that directly modify nouns.

Traditionally considered to be a single part of speech, adverbs perform a wide variety of

functions, which makes it difficult to treat them as a single, unified category. Adverbs normally
carry out these functions by answering questions such as:

 When? She always arrives early.

 How? He drives carefully.
 Where? They go everywhere together.
 In what way? She eats slowly.
 To what extent? It is terribly hot.

This is called adverbial function and may be accomplished by adverbial clauses and adverbial
phrases as well as by adverbs that stand alone.

There are many rules for using adverbs, and these rules often depend upon which type of adverb
you are using. Remember these basics, and using adverbs to make sentences more meaningful
will be easier for you.

 Adverbs can always be used to modify verbs. Notice that the second of these two
sentences is much more interesting simply because it contains an adverb:
o The dog ran. (You can picture a dog running, but you don’t really know much
more about the scene.)
o The dog ran excitedly. (You can picture a dog running, wagging its tail, panting
happily, and looking glad to see its owner. You can paint a much more interesting
picture in your head when you know how or why the dog is running.)
 Adverbs are often formed by adding the letters “-ly” to adjectives. This makes is very
easy to identify adverbs in sentences. There are many exceptions to this rule; everywhere,
nowhere, and upstairs are a few examples.
 An adverb can be used to modify an adjective and intensify the meaning it conveys. For
example:
o He plays tennis well. (He knows how to play tennis and sometimes he wins.)
o He plays tennis extremely well. (He knows how to play tennis so well that he
wins often.)

As you read the following adverb examples, you’ll notice how these useful words modify other
words and phrases by providing information about the place, time, manner, certainty, frequency,
or other circumstances of activity denoted by the verbs or verb phrases in the sentences.
Examples of Adverbs
As you read each of the following adverb examples, note that the adverbs have been italicized
for easy identification. Consider how replacing the existing adverbs with different ones would
change the meaning of each sentence.

1. She was walking rapidly.

2. The kids love playing together in the sandbox.
3. Please come inside now.
4. His jokes are always very funny.
5. You don’t really care, do you?

Adverbs Exercises
The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how adverbs work.
Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

1. The driver stopped the bus _______________.

A. Financially
B. Exactly
C. Abruptly
D. Now

Answer: C. The driver stopped the bus abruptly.

2. During autumn, colorful leaves can be seen falling ______________ from trees.
A. Everywhere
B. Very
C. Gently
D. Loudly

Answer: C. During autumn, colorful leaves can be seen falling gently from trees.

3. My grandmother always smiled _______________.

A. Cheerfully
B. Sadly
C. Never
D. Yesterday

Answer: A. My grandmother always smiled cheerfully.

4. After the party, confetti was strewn _________________.

A. Blandly
B. Everywhere
C. Later
 D. Carefully

Answer: B. After the party, confetti was strewn everywhere.

5. It’s time to go ____________.

A. Before
B. Now
C. Yesterday
D. Lightly

Answer: B. It’s time to go now.

Adverbs List
There are many different words that function as adverbs. The following list is broken down into
segments which list adverbs by function. After reading, you will be able to think of additional
adverbs to add to your own list – after all, there are thousands.

Many adverbs end in “-ly”. This makes it very easy to spot the adverbs in most sentences.

Abruptly

Boldly

Carefully

Deliberately

Excitedly

Financially

Horribly

Mildly

Naughtily

Openly

Poorly

Quickly
Adverbs
Grammarly ·

 Grammar Tips

What Do Adverbs Modify?

An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb (he sings loudly), an adjective (very tall),
another adverb (ended too quickly), or even a whole sentence (Fortunately, I had brought an
umbrella). Adverbs often end in -ly, but some (such as fast) look exactly the same as their
adjective counterparts.

Tom Longboat did not run badly.

Tom is very tall.

The race finished too quickly.

Fortunately, Lucy recorded Tom’s win.

It’s easy to identify adverbs in these sentences.

Adverbs and Verbs

One of the things adverbs do is modify verbs. This means that they describe the way an action is
happening.

Phillip sings loudly in the shower.

My cat waits impatiently for his food.

I will seriously consider your suggestion.

The adverbs in each of the sentences above answer the question in what manner? How does
Phillip sing? Loudly. How does my cat wait? impatiently. How will I consider your suggestion?
Seriously. Adverbs can answer other types of questions about how an action was performed.
They can also tell you when (We arrived early) and where (Turn here).

That cake looks good.

My elderly neighbor looks well.

These two descriptive words are a little more difficult to identify as adverbs. Even though good
is usually an adjective, it’s modifying the look of the cake (How does the cake look? It looks
good.) so it’s an adverb. We can’t answer the question “what is the cake” because we haven’t
tasted it yet, so we don’t know if it’s good cake or bad cake. Well in the second example is tricky
because it’s one of the adverbs that doesn’t follow the typical adverb -ly spelling.

Most of the time, it’s pretty straightforward. However, there is one type of verb that doesn’t mix
well with adverbs. Linking verbs, such as feel, smell, sound, seem, and appear, typically need
adjectives, not adverbs. A very common example of this type of mixup is

I feel badly about what happened.

Because “feel” is a verb, it seems to call for an adverb rather than an adjective. But “feel” isn’t
just any verb; it’s a linking verb. An adverb would describe how you perform the action of
feeling—an adjective describes what you feel. “I feel badly” means that you are bad at feeling
things. If you’re trying to read Braille through thick leather gloves, then it might make sense for
you to say “I feel badly.” But if you’re trying to say that you are experiencing negative emotions,
“I feel bad” is the phrase you want.

Adverbs and Adjectives

Adverbs can also modify adjectives and other adverbs. Often, the purpose of the adverb is to add
a degree of intensity to the adjective.

The woman is quite pretty.

This book is more interesting than the last one.

The weather report is almost always right.

The adverb almost is modifying the adverb always, and they’re both modifying right.

“Is my singing too loud?” asked Phillip.

My cat is incredibly happy to have his dinner.

We will be slightly late to the meeting.

This bridesmaid dress is a very unflattering shade of puce.

Adverbs and Other Adverbs

You can use an adverb to describe another adverb. In fact, if you wanted to, you could use
several.
Phillip sings rather enormously too loudly.

The problem is that it often produces weak and clunky sentences like the one above, so be
careful not to overdo it.

Adverbs and Sentences

Some adverbs can modify entire sentences—unsurprisingly, these are called sentence adverbs.
Common ones include generally, fortunately, interestingly, and accordingly. Sentence adverbs
don’t describe one particular thing in the sentence—instead, they describe a general feeling about
all of the information in the sentence.

Fortunately, we got there in time.

Interestingly, no one at the auction seemed interested in bidding on the antique spoon collection.

At one time, the use of the word hopefully as a sentence adverb (e.g., Hopefully, I’ll get this job)
was condemned. People continued to use it though, and many style guides and dictionaries now
accept it. There are still plenty of readers out there who hate it though, so it’s a good idea to
avoid using it in formal writing.

Degrees of Comparison
Like adjectives, adverbs can show degrees of comparison, although it’s slightly less common to
use them this way. With certain “flat adverbs” (adverbs that look exactly the same as their
adjective counterparts), the comparative and superlative forms look the same as the adjective
comparative and superlative forms. It’s usually better to use stronger adverbs (or stronger
adjectives and verbs) rather than relying on comparative and superlative adverbs.

An absolute adverb describes something in its own right:

He smiled warmly A hastily written note

To make the comparative form of an adverb that ends in -ly, add the word more:

He smiled more warmly than the others. The more hastily written note contained the clue.

To make the superlative form of an adverb that ends in -ly, add the word most:

He smiled most warmly of them all. The most hastily written note on the desk was overlooked.

Placement of Adverbs
Place adverbs as close as possible to the words they are supposed to modify. Putting the adverb
in the wrong spot can produce an awkward sentence at best and completely change the meaning
at worst. Be especially careful about the word only, which is one of the most often misplaced
modifiers. Consider the difference between these two sentences:

Phillip only fed the cat. Phillip fed only the cat.

The first sentence means that all Phillip did was feed the cat. He didn’t pet the cat or pick it up or
anything else. The second sentence means that Phillip fed the cat, but he didn’t feed the dog, the
bird, or anyone else who might have been around.

When an adverb is modifying a verb phrase, the most natural place for the adverb is usually the
middle of the phrase.

We are quickly approaching the deadline.

Phillip has always loved singing.

I will happWhat are 5 examples of facts and

opinions?
English Grammar English Composition Literary Devices

1 Answer
537

Coffee and 1 other Share

Dec 15, 2016

Answer:

Facts are valid statements, while opinions are beliefs.

Explanation:

Facts:

1. The sun is a star

2. Yogurt is a dairy product
3. USA lost the Vietnam War
4. The US has the largest military in the world
5. Humans are warm-blooded mammals
Opinions:

1. Cable is expensive
2. Christianity is the best religion
3. Putin is a jerk
4. Cats are better than dogs
5. Coffee tastes good

ily assist you.

When to Avoid Adverbs

Ernest Hemingway is often held up as an example of a great writer who detested adverbs and
advised other writers to avoid them. In reality, it’s impossible to avoid adverbs altogether.
Sometimes we need them, and all writers (even Hemingway) use them occasionally. The trick is
to avoid unnecessary adverbs. When your verb or adjective doesn’t seem powerful or precise
enough, instead of reaching for an adverb to add more color, try reaching for a stronger verb or
adjective instead. Most of the time, you’ll come up with a better word and your writing will be
stronger for it.

What are 5 examples of facts and opinions?

English Grammar English Composition Literary Devices

1 Answer
537

Coffee and 1 other Share

Dec 15, 2016

Answer:

Facts are valid statements, while opinions are beliefs.

Explanation:

Facts:

1. The sun is a star

2. Yogurt is a dairy product
3. USA lost the Vietnam War
 4. The US has the largest military in the world
5. Humans are warm-blooded mammals

Opinions:

1. Cable is expensive
2. Christianity is the best religion
3. Putin is a jerk
4. Cats are better than dogs
5. Coffee tastes good