Adverbs – definition, types, and examples

Adverb definition: Word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb and often used to show degree, manner, place, or time. 

Examples of an Adverbs

• He is often wandering the streets
• She never tells a lie
• He is almost late
• The dog ran excitedly. 
• The baby was crying adoringly for the cake
• She always arrives early.
•  He drives carefully.
• She passed the road easily.
• We walk quickly to catch the train.
• The dinner party went badly.
• John answered the question correctly.
• She eats slowly.
• It is terribly hot.
• The child was weeping badly.

Now that you know what an adverb is, you’re closer to using adverbs to beautify and make your writing more speech full to the audience. 

Identifying an Adverb

Most of the Adverb ends with- ly in the end. But other adverbs don’t follow this same rule. The best way to identify an Adverb is to determine its function in the sentence

Types of Adverbs

Below are the types of Adverb-

• adverbs of manner (how things happen) – strongly, perfectly, honestly, slowly, badly, sweetly, warmly, sadly, happily, 
• adverbs of time (when does something happen) – yesterday, tomorrow, next week, today, last year, now
• adverbs of frequency (how often something happens) – always, never, often, usually, normally, always, hourly, monthly, weekly, daily, 
• adverbs of place (the place where something happens) – here, there, north, down, anywhere, around, far away, close, on, in, upward, forward, 
• adverbs of degree (how much does something happen) – almost, so, very

Finding Adverbs in a Sentence- A describing word

• We go bowling quite often. (How often do you go bowling?)
• Let’s eat dinner outside. (Where should we eat dinner?)
• My roommate is so beautiful. (How beautiful is he?)
• She neatly washed the dishes. (How did she wash the dishes?)
• This house is incredibly expensive. (How expensive is it?)

Look that you can remove all of these adverbs without affecting the meaning of the sentences. 

The Right Position of Adverbs in a Sentence

Adverb positions include:

1. Initial position (Unfortunately, we made a mistake.)
2. Middle position (We made unfortunately a mistake.)
3. Last position (We made a mistake, unfortunately.)

Positions of Adverbs

Read Also

• Verbs – Definition, meaning, and 5 types

Adverb position with adjectives and other adverbs

These adverbs will usually be placed before the adjective or adverb being modified:

• We gave them a really tough match. The adverb really modifies the adjective tough.

Adverb position with verbs

Adverbs of manner or place are usually positioned at the end of the sentence:

• She laughed timidly.
• I stroked the cat gently.
• Janine lived here.
• There is money everywhere.

As mentioned, the adverb will be placed at the end of the sentence, if it is of definite time 

• I did it yesterday.
• We can discuss it tomorrow.
• Let’s go to Paris next week.

However, it will go between the subject and main verb, if it is an indefinite period of time, 

• We often go to Paris in the springtime.
• Debbie regularly swims here.
• Bobby and Audrey always loved fishing by the lake.

Sequence/Order of Adverbs

Adverb sequence is so significant it has clear guidelines. It’s now referenced that a few adverbs will act to adjust another, yet how would you choose the design of a sentence with a few modifiers? Fortunately, there is a straightforward arrangement of rules to keep, called the order of adverbs. In short, the adverbs get preference (are placed first) in the following order:

• Adverbs of manner.
• Adverbs of place.
• Adverbs of frequency.
• Adverbs of time.
• Adverbs of purpose.

Consider this sentence:

I woke up (verb) early (manner) at home (place) every morning (frequency) before school (time) because (purpose) I might miss the bus.

I run (verb) quickly (manner) down the road (place) every morning (frequency) before school (time) because (purpose) I might get late for my bus.

While it is great to learn the right sequence and order of adverbs, there is flexibility with language, and we have previously referenced adverbs of time and frequency that can be placed at the start of a sentence to change the emphasis. But the order guideline can’t be broken.

Examples of Adverbs

Read Also

• What is an Adjective – definition, meaning, types, and examples

As you read the below examples of Adverbs, note that the Adverbs has been bold for simple recognizable proof. 

• She was strolling quickly.
• The children love playing together in the sandbox.
• Please come inside now.
• His jokes are always very pathetic.
• You don’t really care, do you?

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