Adverbs are words that modify a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?

), an adjective (He drove

a very fast car. — How fast was his car?) or another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly
did she move?)
As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened.
1. Adverbs of Manner tell us the manner or way in which something happens. They answer the question "how?".
Adverbs of Manner mainly modify verbs.
Examples are: slowly, carefully, terribly, seriously, well, pleasantly, really, thus
He speaks slowly. (How does he speak?) They helped us cheerfully. (How did they help us?)
James Bond drives his cars fast.
(How does James Bond drive his cars?) He ran fast.
We normally use Adverbs of Manner with dynamic (action) verbs, not with stative or state verbs.
She came quickly.
They worked happily.
2. Adverbs of Place tell us the place where something happens. They answer the question "where?". Adverbs of
Place mainly modify verbs.
Examples are: here, there, upstairs, downstairs, everywhere, nowhere, in, out, inside, away, above, abroad, anywhere, away, back,
backwards, behind, below, down, downstairs, elsewhere, far, here, in , indoors, inside, near, nearby, off, on, out, outside, over, there,
towards, under, up, upstairs.
Please sit here. (Where should I sit?) They looked everywhere.
(Where did they look?)
Two cars were parked outside. (Where were two cars parked?)
3. Adverbs of Time tell us something about the time that something happens. Adverbs of Time mainly modify verbs.
They can answer the question "when?". Examples are: tomorrow, today, yesterday, now, then, never, soon, later
He came yesterday.
(When did he come?) I want it now. (When do I want it?)
4. Adverbs of Degree tell us the degree or extent to which something happens. They answer the question "how
much?" or "to what degree?". Adverbs of Degree can modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. Examples
are: much, very, fully, partly, little, enough, so, rather. a lot, almost, nearly, quite, just, too, hardly, scarcely,
completely, extremely,
She entirely agrees with him. (How much does she agree with him?)
Mary is very beautiful. (To what degree is Mary beautiful? How beautiful is Mary?)
He drives me dangerously. (To what degree did he drive dangerously? How drove dangerously did he drive?) He
was rather busy. He is entirely wrong.
He is quite strong. She is very beautiful. I am fully prepared. My work is almost finished. This is good enough.
You are absolutely right.
5. Adverbs of Reason-These adverbs answer the question ‘why’. Adverb of Reason explains why certain action takes place.
Adverb of reason commonly occurs in the form of a clause which is preceded by conjunctive adverbs such as because, since, as, for,
that, etc.
Examples are: hence, thus, consequently etc. {accidentally, technically, intentionally, purposely, hence, thus, therefore, so, so
that, in order to, because, since.
He did not work hard, therefore, he failed. Consequently he refused to come.
6. Adverbs of Purpose- express the purpose of an action which the verb directs. Adverb of purpose is commonly in the form of a
phrase or a clause, rather than a single-word adverb. But the most common form of adverb of purpose is a to-infinitive clause. And
adverb of purpose is usually placed at the end position of a clause.
She drives her boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks.
She shops in several stores to get the best buys.
. I stay awake to finish my task. She climbed the mountain to see a great view from the peak He went away to avoid her
7. Adverbs of Affirmation or Negation- These adverbs are used to answer the questions raised by others. Adverbs such
as YES and YEAH are called Adverbs of Affirmation. Adverbs such as NO and NEVER are called Adverbs of Negation. Examples
are: surely, yes, no, certainly etc.
I will not come. We will certainly help you.
Note that when used alone yes or no represents a whole sentence.
Will you come? Yes. (= Yes, I will come.) Have you finished the work? No. (= No, I haven’t finished the work.)
8. Adverbs of Number-These adverbs answer the question ‘in what order’.
Examples are: firstly, secondly, lastly, once, never, twice etc.
I have seen him only once. Secondly, I can’t afford to buy it.
9. Adverbs of Frequency- Adverbs of Frequency are Adverbs of Time that answer the question "How frequently?" or "How
often?". It describes HOW OFTEN or HOW FREQUENTLY something happens. Examples are: OFTEN, , OCCASIONALLY, daily,
weekly, yearly, always, never, often, seldom, rarely, barely, randomly, sometimes, usually, ...}
She takes the boat to the mainland every day. She often goes by herself..
10.Adverbs of Comment- used to provide a comment, viewpoint or opinion about a situation. It is placed at the beginning of the
sentence and is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma (,). Examples are: frankly, honestly, seriously, clearly, surely,
undoubtedly, surprisingly, officially, obviously, personally,}
 Examples of Viewpoint or Opinions:
Frankly, I think it is not good to spread gossips. Surprisingly, the amateur singer sings better than the professional one.
Seriously, you look so cute when you smile. Honestly, you should change your outfit. It does not suit you. Obviously, your
showing off that you are rich.
Positions of Adverbs
One of the hallmarks of adverbs is their ability to move around in a sentence. Adverbs of manner are
particularly flexible in this regard.
Solemnly the minister addressed her congregation. The minister solemnly addressed her congregation. The minister
addressed her congregation solemnly.
Indefinite adverbs of time can appear either before the verb or between the auxiliary and the main verb:
He finally showed up for batting practice. She has recently retired.
Adverbs in Series
There is a basic order in which adverbs will appear when there is more than one. It is similar to The Royal
Order of Adjectives, but it is even more flexible.
THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADVERBS
Verb Manner Place Frequency Time Purpose
Beth Enthusiastically in the pool every morning before dawn to keep in shape.
swims
Dad walks Impatiently into town every afternoon before supper to get a newspaper.
Tashonda in her room every morning before lunch.
naps
In actual practice, of course, it would be highly unusual to have a string of adverbial modifiers beyond
two or three (at the most). Because the placement of adverbs is so flexible, one or two of the
modifiers would probably move to the beginning of the sentence: "Every afternoon before supper, Dad
impatiently walks into town to get a newspaper." When that happens, the introductory adverbial
modifiers are usually set off with a comma.
More Notes on Adverb Order
As a general principle, shorter adverbial phrases precede longer adverbial phrases, regardless of content. In
the following sentence, an adverb of time precedes an adverb of frequency because it is shorter (and simpler):
 Dad takes a brisk walk before breakfast every day of his life.
A second principle: among similar adverbial phrases of kind (manner, place, frequency, etc.), the more specific
adverbial phrase comes first:
 My grandmother was born in a sod house on the plains of northern Nebraska.
 She promised to meet him for lunch next Tuesday.
Bringing an adverbial modifier to the beginning of the sentence can place special emphasis on that modifier. This is
particularly useful with adverbs of manner:
 Slowly, ever so carefully, Jesse filled the coffee cup up to the brim, even above the brim.
 Occasionally, but only occasionally, one of these lemons will get by the inspectors.
Quiz 1: Identify the adverbs used in the sentence below.
1. Her articles are extremely accurate.
2. She will write a story tomorrow.
3. She will carefully take notes.
4. Ramona works sometimes for a small newspaper.
5. My sister is a very talented artist.
6. When Michelle spilled her soda, Joshua generously gave her his.
7. Grace nearly lost control of her bike while trying to eat her sandwich.
8. I usually eat all of my vegetables.
9. Let’s have a picnic outside.
10. The car rolled backward.
11. The big dog guarded its owner’s house fiercely.
12. Katherine jumped up energetically and rudely pushed past her sister to get to the bathroom.
13. The lion roared quite fiercely.
14. He drives too fast.
15. A man promptly received aid.