Adverbs

Verbs tell you what things do. For example, tigers roar
and birds sing. Adverbs tell you how they do it. Most
adverbs end in -ly, and they usually come after verbs.
Adverbs that tell you how someone does something are
called adverbs of manner.

The lion Some birds

roared can sing
fiercely. beautifully.

She tiptoed The sun

quietly down was shining
the stairs. brightly.

I won You have

easily. to balance
them carefully.

Top
tip Using adverbs to describe how people do things
can make your writing more lively and interesting.
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Some adverbs don’t end in -ly, but they are still adverbs if they tell
you how something is done.

We played well today.

I can run fast.

I always work hard. You need to hold on tight.

m b er !
Re m e s m ile,
a n
v e r b , you c hile.
i t h o u t an ad or sleep a w fully,
W
r i d e a bike m i l e glee
Or b s , y o u s
a c e f u lly.
dver pe
With a illfully, sleep
Ride sk
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 Adjectives into adverbs
We can change most adjectives into adverbs by
adding -ly to the end of the adjective.

Snails are slow movers. Anika is an

They move slowly. elegant dancer.
She dances
elegantly.

If an adjective already ends in -l, we still add another one, so the

adverb has a double l.

Sam gave me a The puppy gave

cheerful smile. a playful bark.
He smiled He barked
cheerfully. playfully.

If an adjective ends in -y, we change the ending to -ily.

The crocodile looked We had a happy day

hungry. on the beach.
He looked at me hungrily. We played happily all day.

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Adverbs of place
Some adverbs tell us where something happens. These are
called adverbs of place, and they don’t usually end in -ly.

Pickles, We can sit there.

come here!

I’ve looked
everywhere, It’s raining.
but I can’t find Let’s go
my gloves. indoors.

The dog ran Can you

upstairs. skateboard
backward?

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 Adverbs of time
Some adverbs tell us when something happens.
These are called adverbs of time.

I got some new

roller skates
yesterday.
It’s my
birthday
today.

We’re going on I don’t want

vacation tomorrow. to do my
homework
now. I’ll do
it later!

Badgers usually sleep She’s always trying to

during the day. catch the fish, but she
never manages to!

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Adverbs before adjectives
We can use some adverbs before adjectives, to change
the meaning of the adjective slightly. See how these
adverbs change the meaning of the adjective strong.

Dogs are Grizzly bears Gorillas are Elephants are

fairly are very extremely amazingly
strong. strong. strong. strong.
We often use these kinds of adverbs to emphasize or exaggerate something.

This book is The apple was

unbelievably deliciously
exciting! sweet.

Sometimes, adverbs make a comment on the sentence. You can use adverbs
to give your opinion. We often use them at the beginning of a sentence.

Luckily, I found my mobile DO Unfortunately,

phone under my bed. NOT we couldn’t
FEED THE
MONKEYS! feed the
Thank monkeys.
you

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