Lesson 10 Adverbs

10.1 Definition

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, prepositional phrases and sometimes a whole sentence. It is any word that modifies any part of speech or other verbs other than a noun (nouns are primarily modified by adjectives). Because of the extensive use of adverbs serving a number of different functions, some modern grammarians would go so far as to call adverbs a "catch-all" category that includes all words that do not belong to one of the other parts of speech.

You can recognize adverbs easily because many of them are formed by adding -ly to an adjective, though that is not always the case. The most common questions that adverbs answer are how, how often, when, where, why. Eg.

  • Usain Bolt runsfast. (modifies the verbruns)
  • Pamela is reallybeautiful. (modifies the adjectivebeautiful)
  • Peter drives incrediblyslowly. (modifies the adverbslowly)
  • The box isimmediatelyinside the door. (modifies the prepositional phrase inside the door)
  • Obviously, I can't know everything. (modifies the sentence I can't know everything)
  • Susanspeaksloudly. (How does Susan speak?)
  • Marbellagets a ride from her brother every day. (How often does Marbella get a ride?)
  • Kelly livesnearby. (Where does Kelly live?)
  • Davidneversmokes. (When does David smoke?)

10.2 Forms of Adverbs

10.2.1 Many adverbs end in-ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the
adjectives. Eg.

  • quickly, really, hardly, barely, strongly, honestly, mostly, interestingly

But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs.#The following words that end in -ly are all adjectives:

  • friendly, homely, ugly, lonely, lovely, early*

*earlyis both an adjective and an adverb.

# examples of some ly words that are not adverbs:

ally, anomaly, apply, assembly, belly, bely, bodily, bubbly, bully, burly, chilly, comely, comply, costly, courtly, cuddly, curly, daily, dally, dastardly, deadly, deathly, disorderly, doily, dolly, dragonfly, early, family, fly, friendly, frilly, ghastly, goodly, gravelly, grisly, gully, heavenly, hilly, holly, holy, homely, homily, hourly, imply, jelly, jolly, kindly, leisurely, likely, lily, lively, lonely, lovely, lowly, mannerly, mealy, measly, melancholy, monopoly, monthly, multiply, nightly, oily, only, orderly, pearly, pebbly, ply, rally, rarely, rely, reply, scaly, shapely, sickly, silly, sly, smelly, sprightly, squiggly, stately, steely, supply, surly, tally, timely, ugly, unlikely, weekly, wily, wobbly, wooly, worldly, wrinkly, yearly

10.2.2 Some adverbs have no particular form, eg.

  • well, fast, very, never, always, often, still, now

10.3 Position of Adverbs

Adverbs have 3 main positions in the sentence:

  • Front (before the subject):
    - Nowwe will begin our class.
  • Middle (between the subject and the main verb):
    - Weoftenmake mistakes.
  • End (after the verb or object):
    - Usain Bolt runsfast.
    - We study adverbscarefully.

10.4 Kinds of Adverbs

10.4.1 Adverbs of Frequency (How often?)

The common adverbs of frequency are:

always, frequently, often, usually, sometimes, occasionally, seldom, rarely, never, normally, regularly, every day, once in a while, once a week, twice a day, again

Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb (except the main verb “be”):

  • Our familyusuallygo shopping on Saturday.
  • Peter hasseldomgone to parties.
  • Maryisalways late for class. (after “be”)

Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence:

  • Usually they come and stay with us.
  • Yao playsbasketballoften.

Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with “very”):

  • We see them rarely.
  • Parkerdrinks liquor very seldom.

10.4.2 Adverbs of Time (When?)

The common adverbs of time are:

yesterday, today, tomorrow, then, later, tonight, right now, now,last night, last, this morning, next week, next, already, recently, lately, soon, immediately, still, yet,ago, after, during, finally, just, when, while

10.4.3 Adverbs of Place (Where?)

The common adverbs of place are:

here, there, over there, everywhere, anywhere, nowhere, somewhere,abroad,away, out, in, home*, downtown*, back*, downstairs*, upstairs*, outside*, underground*

*These are also used as nouns and sometimes adjectives.

10.4.4 Adverbs of Manner (How?)

The common adverbs of manner are:

very, quite, pretty, really, fast, well, hard, quickly, slowly, carefully, hardly, barely, mostly, almost, absolutely, together, alone, correctly, eagerly, easily, loudly, patiently, quietly

10.4.5 Adverbs of Purpose (Why?)

The common adverbs of purpose are:

so, so that, to, in order to, because, since, accidentally, intentionally, purposely

10.5 Common Confusions between adverbs, adjectives and some expressions (see also 9.5)

10.5.1 Bad or Badly?

When you want to describe how you feel, you should use the adjectivebad, because an adjective always follows verbs like “feel, taste, smell, sound, look, appear, and seem” — when it modifies the noun before the verb. So you would say, "I feel bad," or “It tastes bad.”

You would use the adverb badly to modify dynamic verbs, so you would say, ”Sam plays football badly.”

10.5.2 Good or Well?

Good is an adjective, so you do not do good or live good, but you do well and live well—well used here as an adverb. Remember, though, that an adjective follows sense-verbs and be-verbs, so you also feel good, look good, smell good, are good, have been good, etc.

Confusion can occur because well can function either as an adverb or an adjective. When well is used as an adjective, it means "not sick" or "in good health." For this specific sense of well, you could say you feel well or are well — for example, after recovering from an illness. When not used in this health-related sense, however, well functions as an adverb; for example, "I did well on my exam."

10.5.3 Double-negatives

Scarcely and hardly are already negative adverbs. To add another negative term is redundant, because in English only one negative is ever used at a time.

  • I can scarcely hear you. (not scarcely not...)
  • Hardly anyone came to the party. (not hardly no one...)

10.5.4 Sure or Surely?

Sure is an adjective, and surely is an adverb. Sure is also used in the idiomatic expression sure to be. Eg.

  • I am sure that you were there.
    (sure is an adjective that modifies the pronoun I.)
  • He is surely ready to take on the project.
    (surely is an adverb that modifies the adjective ready.)
  • She is sure to be a great leader.
    (sure to be is an idiomatic phrase that functions as an adjective that modifies the pronoun she.)

(Mok: Sure is sometimes used as an adverb, but most commentators consider the adverb sure to be something less than completely standard; surelyis usually recommended. Sure, when used as an adverb, is used in much more informal contexts than surely.)Examples of sure used as an adverb:

  • I can never know how much I bored her, but, be certain, she sureamused me. — Norman Mailer
  • It's a moot point whether politicians are less venal than in Twain's day. But they're sure as the devil more intrusive. — Alan Abelson

10.5.5 Real or Really?

Real is an adjective, and really is an adverb. Eg.

  • She did really well on that test.
    (really is an adverb that modifies the adverb well.)
  • In China, the real problem is corruption.
    (realis an adjective that modifies the noun problem.)

10.5.6 Near or Nearly?

Near can function as a verb, adverb, adjective, or preposition. Nearly is used as an adverb to mean "in a close manner" or "almost but not quite." Eg.

  • Facebook’s2009 revenue neared $800 million.
    (neared is a verb in the past tense.)
  • The project is nearly finished.
    (nearly is an adverb that modifies the verb finished.)
  • The cat crept near.
    (near is an adverb of place that modifies the verb crept.)
  • First cousins are more nearly related than second cousins.
    (nearly is an adverb that modifies the verb related.)
  • The detective solves the mystery in a scene near the end of the movie.
    (near is a preposition. The prepositional phrase near the end of the movie modifies the noun scene.)

Partly adapted from

10.5.7 Maybe or May be? (see also 4.4.1)

Maybe (one word) is an adverb meaning "perhaps" or "possibly."

May be (two words) is a verb phrase showing possibility, meaning "might be," "could be," or "would be." The word "may" in "may be" is an auxiliary verb; the word "be" is a linking verb.Eg.

  • Maybe we can visit the King.
  • We may be able to visit the King.

10.6 List of Adverbs

A
abnormally
absentmindedly
accidentally
acidly
actually
adventurously
afterwards
almost
always
angrily
annually
anxiously
arrogantly
awkwardly / B
badly
bashfully
beautifully
bitterly
bleakly
blindly
blissfully
boastfully
boldly
bravely
briefly
brightly
briskly
broadly
busily / C
calmly
carefully
carelessly
cautiously
certainly
cheerfully
clearly
cleverly
closely
coaxingly
colorfully
commonly
continually
coolly
correctly
courageously
crossly
cruelly
curiously / D
daily
daintily
dearly
deceivingly
delightfully
deeply
defiantly
deliberately
delightfully
diligently
dimly
doubtfully
dreamily
/ E
easily
elegantly
energetically
enormously
enthusiastically
equally
especially
even
evenly
eventually
exactly
excitedly
extremely
F
fairly
faithfully
famously
far
fast
fatally
ferociously
fervently
fiercely
fondly
foolishly
fortunately
frankly
frantically
freely
frenetically
frightfully
fully
furiously / G
generally
generously
gently
gladly
gleefully
gracefully
gratefully
greatly
greedily / H
happily
hastily
healthily
heavily
helpfully
helplessly
highly
honestly
hopelessly
hourly
hungrily / I
immediately
innocently
inquisitively
instantly
intensely
intently
interestingly
inwardly
irritably / J
jaggedly
jealously
joshingly
joyfully
joyously
jovially
jubilantly
judgmentally
justly
K
keenly
kiddingly
kindheartedly
kindly
kissingly
knavishly
knottily
knowingly
knowledgeably
kookily / L
lazily
less
lightly
likely
limply
lively
loftily
longingly
loosely
lovingly
loudly
loyally / M
madly
majestically
meaningfully
mechanically
merrily
miserably
mockingly
monthly
more
mortally
mostly
mysteriously / N
naturally
nearly
neatly
needily
nervously
never
nicely
noisily
not / O
obediently
obnoxiously
oddly
offensively
officially
often
only
openly
optimistically
overconfidently
owlishly
P
painfully
partially
patiently
perfectly
physically
playfully
politely
poorly
positively
potentially
powerfully
promptly
properly
punctually / Q
quaintly
quarrelsomely
queasily
queerly
questionably
questioningly
quicker
quickly
quietly
quirkily
quizzically
/ R
rapidly
rarely
readily
really
reassuringly
recklessly
regularly
reluctantly
repeatedly
reproachfully
restfully
righteously
rightfully
rigidly
roughly
rudely / S
sadly
safely
scarcely
scarily
searchingly
sedately
seemingly
seldom
selfishly
separately
seriously
shakily
sharply
sheepishly
shrilly
shyly
silently
sleepily
slowly
smoothly
softly
solemnly
solidly
sometimes
soon
speedily
stealthily
sternly
strictly
successfully
suddenly
surprisingly
suspiciously
sweetly
swiftly
sympathetically
/ T
tenderly
tensely
terribly
thankfully
thoroughly
thoughtfully
tightly
tomorrow
too
tremendously
triumphantly
truly
truthfully
U
ultimately
unabashedly
unaccountably
unbearably
unethically
unexpectedly
unfortunately
unimpressively
unnaturally
unnecessarily
utterly
upbeat
upliftingly
upright
upside-down
upward
upwardly
urgently
usefully
uselessly
usually
utterly / V
vacantly
vaguely
vainly
valiantly
vastly
verbally
very
viciously
victoriously
violently
vivaciously
voluntarily / W
warmly
weakly
wearily
well
wetly
wholly
wildly
willfully
wisely
woefully
wonderfully
worriedly
wrongly / Y
yawningly
yearly
yearningly
yesterday
yieldingly
youthfully / Z
zealously
zestfully
zest

The List of Adverbs is adopted from

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