KINDS OF ADVERBS

ADVERBS OF DEGREE

Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity or degree of an action, an adjective or

another adverb.

Common adverbs of degree:

Almost, nearly, quite, just, too, enough, hardly, scarcely, completely, very, extremely.

Adverbs of degree are usually placed:

1. before the adjective or adverb they are modifying:

e.g. The water was extremely cold.
2. before the main verb:
e.g. He was just leaving. She has almost finished.

Examples:

 She doesn't quite know what she'll do after university.

 They are completely exhausted from the trip.
 I am too tired to go out tonight.
 He hardly noticed what she was saying.

Enough, very, too

Enough as an adverb meaning 'to the necessary degree' goes after adjectives and
adverbs.

Example:

 Is your coffee hot enough? (adjective)

 He didn't work hard enough. (adverb)

It also goes before nouns, and means 'as much as is necessary'. In this case it is not an
adverb, but a 'determiner'.

Example:

 We have enough bread.

 They don't have enough food.

Too as an adverb meaning 'more than is necessary or useful' goes before adjectives and
adverbs, e.g.

 This coffee is too hot. (adjective)

 He works too hard. (adverb)

Enough and too with adjectives can be followed by 'for someone/something'.

Example:

 The dress was big enough for me.

 She's not experienced enough for this job.
 The coffee was too hot for me.
 The dress was too small for her.

We can also use 'to + infinitive' after enough and too with adjectives/adverb.

Example:

 The coffee was too hot to drink.

 He didn't work hard enough to pass the exam.
 She's not old enough to get married.
 You're too young to have grandchildren!

Very goes before an adverb or adjective to make it stronger.

Example:

 The girl was very beautiful. (adjective)

 He worked very quickly. (adverb)

If we want to make a negative form of an adjective or adverb, we can use a word of

opposite meaning, or not very.

Example:

 The girl was ugly OR The girl was not very beautiful
 He worked slowly OR He didn't work very quickly.

BE CAREFUL! There is a big difference between too and very.

 Very expresses a fact:

He speaks very quickly.
 Too suggests there is a problem:
He speaks too quickly (for me to understand).

Other adverbs like very

These common adverbs are used like very and not very, and are listed in order of
strength, from positive to negative:

extremely, especially, particularly, pretty, rather, quite, fairly, rather, not especially,
not particularly.

Note: rather can be positive or negative, depending on the adjective or adverb that
follows:
Positive: The teacher was rather nice.
Negative: The film was rather disappointing.

Note on inversion with negative adverbs:

Normally the subject goes before the verb:

SUBJECT VERB

I left
She goes

However, some negative adverbs can cause an inversion - the order is reversed and the
verb goes before the subject

Example:

I have never seen such courage. Never have I seen such courage.

She rarely left the house. Rarely did she leave the house.

Negative inversion is used in writing, not in speaking.

Other adverbs and adverbial expressions that can be used like this:

seldom, scarcely, hardly, not only .....

but also, no sooner .....
than, not until, under no circumstances.

KINDS OF ADVERBS

INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS

These are:

why, where, how, when

They are usually placed at the beginning of a question.

Examples:

 Why are you so late?

 Where is my passport?
 How are you?
 How much is that coat?
 When does the train arrive?

Notice that how can be used in four different ways:

1. meaning 'in what way?':
How did you make this sauce?
How do you start the car?

2. with adjectives:
How tall are you?
How old is your house?

3. with much and many:

How much are these tomatoes?
How many people are coming to the party?

4. with other adverbs:

How quickly can you read this?
How often do you go to London?

KINDS OF ADVERBS

RELATIVE ADVERBS

The following adverbs can be used to join sentences or clauses. They replace the more
formal structure of preposition + which in a relative clause:

where, when, why

Examples:

 That's the restaurant where we met for the first time.

(where = at/in which)
 I remember the day when we first met.
(when = on which)
 There was a very hot summer the year when he was born.
(when = in which)
 Tell me (the reason) why you were late home.
(why = for which, but could replace the whole phrase 'the reason for
which')

COMPARATIVE FORMS OF ADVERBS

In general, comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are the same as for adjectives:

 add -er or -est to short adverbs:

Adverb Comparative Superlative

hard harder the hardest

late later the latest
fast faster the fastest
Example:

 Jim works harder than his brother.

 Everyone in the race ran fast, but John ran the fastest of all.

with adverbs ending in -ly, use more for the comparative and most for the superlative:

Adverb Comparative Superlative

quietly more quietly most quietly

slowly more slowly most slowly
seriously more seriously most
seriously

Example:

 The teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.

 Could you sing more quietly please?

Some adverbs have irregular comparative forms:

Adverb Comparative Superlative

badly worse worst
far farther/further farthest/furthes
little less t
well better least
best
Example:
 The little boy ran further than his friends.
 You're driving worse today than yesterday !

BE CAREFUL! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':

 We were most grateful for your help

 I am most impressed by this application.