ADVERBS

To describe the action of a

verb such as how, where or
when it is done.

Learning objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

categorize different types of adverbs

identify the different forms of adverbs
identify the different functions of adverbs
identify the adverbs used in text
differentiate between adverbs
explain the grammar rules related to
adverbs

ADVERBS = Modifying Words

(adjective + -ly)
* any word that is not easily classed as a noun, an
adjective,
a verb, a determiner, a preposition, or a
conjunction
* words that modify any part of language
(i.e. verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs)
* are normally placed closely to the words they
modify

Examples
Modifies a verb

Modifies an
adjective

Modifies another
adverb

She sang softly to

herself.
The man built a very big
mansion.

She drove quite slowly

down the lane.

How did she sing?

How big was the

mansion?

How slowly did she

drive?

Adverbs : FORMS
Derivational Adverbs
Adverbs of manner & some adverbs or degree adjectives + suffixes
(-y, -ly, -ily, -ally)
able +y = ably
gentle +y = gently
terrible +y = terribly

bad +ly = badly

wise +ly = wisely
certain +ly = certainly

gay +ily = gaily

busy +ily = busily
crazy +ily = crazily

basic +ally = basically

historic +ally = historically
accident +ally = accidentally
Compound Adverbs

Two or more elements are combined into a single word

Somehow (some + how), Anywhere (any + where), Somewhere
(some + where)
Eg. Somewhere, he managed to finish his work.
I have seen this somewhere.

Simple Adverbs
Denote position & direction near, out, under, down
Same form as adjectives fine, fast, high, alone, late, little,
quick

The police tried hard to catch the robber. (adv.)

Painting is a hard job. (adj.)
She came home early yesterday. (adv.)
I am going out for an early lunch today. (adj.)

Many adverbs are not morphologically indicated at all and not

related to any adjective.
alike, indeed, and, anyway, meanwhile, besides, almost,
perhaps, however, either, quite, much, half, rather, thus,
maybe, though, somehow, more, very, too

Adverbs : Two main functions

Adverbs as adverbials
Function :
to give us more information on the action or the circumstances of
the action
to tell us how, where, or when an action happened
My aunt is temporarily putting up with
me.

Adverbs of duration

Alice shrieked loudly when she saw Mawi.

Adverbs of manner

John goes away on holiday twice a year.

She completely forgot about the
meeting.

Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of degree

Adverbs as modifiers
Function :
to add information to another word, such as an adjective, another
adverb, determiners, pronouns or numerals normally come before
the word they modify and usually Adverbs of Degree.
Exception!
enough is placed after the adjective or adverb that it
modifies.
Nur Amalina scored exceptionally
well in her SPM exam.
Fear Factor is an extremely exciting
game show.
The sun is right above our head.
Over one thousand homes were
damaged during the flash floods in
Shah Alam.
He seems to have too many friends.

As modifier of other adverb

As modifier of adjective
As modifier of prepositional
phrase
As modifier of numeral

As modifier of a determiner

Adverbs : FUNCTIONS

Time

Duration

Frequency
Place / Position

Direction

Manner
Degree
Interrogative
Linking
Sentence
focusing

Adverbs of time
- To specify the precise time
- To provide information about the time of an action in
relation to some other point in time, now
- The use of this adverb might affect the verb tenses in a
particular clause
- Can be placed at the initial, middle or final position
(before the main verb, after the auxiliary verb, between
an auxiliary and a main verb, or at the end of a clause)
- Answer When?

Examples

I hurt my ankle yesterday.

We shall now start the meeting.
I will receive the parcel from him tomorrow.
She is currently working as a marketing manager.
Common Adverbs of Time
Present Time

now, yet, today, presently, instantly,

immediately, directly, currently

Past Time

already, just now, lately, recently,

yesterday, once, since, long ago

Future

tomorrow, henceforth, next month

Relative Time

when, then, first, just before, before,

after a while

Adverbs of duration
Tell us how long something lasts or takes.
Used when you want to be less precise about
the length of time an event lasts.
Answer How long?

Examples
I have been trying to contact you since
Jane spent all afternoon baking cookies.
The Tan family has been controlling the share
market for more than two decades.
Common Adverbs of Duration
all, since, long, for ever, overnight, temporarily,
always, permanently, lately, indefinitely, briefly

Adverbs of frequency
To indicate how often we do things or how
many times something happens
Can be placed before main verb, after the
auxiliary verb, between an auxiliary and a
main verb, or at the end of a clause
Modify or give information about verbs
Answer How often?

Adverbs of Frequency : TWO

categories

Definite
twice, daily, every day

Indefinite
always, usually, often

Examples
The newspapers are delivered daily to my house.
Sean seldom comes here because of his busy work
schedule.
Endangered animals like tigers are often in danger of
being
killed.
Common Adverbs of Frequency
twice, never, often, ever, again, rarely, daily, seldom,
always, usually, frequently, occasionally, regularly,
sometimes

Chart of frequency adverbs

Always

100 %

Nearly / almost always

90 %

Usually

80 %

Very often / frequently

70 %

Often

60 %

Sometimes

50 %

Occasionally

40 %

Almost never / ever

30 %

Seldom / almost never

20 %

Never

10 %

Adverbs of place
To inform us where an incident or event takes
place
Usually placed after the main verb / an auxiliary
verb / the object
Often used in phrasal verbs
Go with positions verbs (i.e. be, live, stay,
work)
May also be two words combining to emphasize
place (i.e. down, below, far ahead, over here)
Most common adverbs of place function as
prepositions

Examples
The famous chicken rice shop is there.
Tanissha buried her jewellery box outside.
I dropped my pen somewhere around here.

Common Adverbs of Place

inside, near indoors, abroad, outside, ahead,
anywhere, somewhere, around, there,
underneath, everywhere, downstairs, elsewhere

Adverbs of direction
To indicate destinations
Often go with movement verbs (i.e. go)
Cannot usually begin a sentence
Answer in what direction?, where
to? or where from?

Examples
The couple just laughed and drove ahead.
The owner does not want anyone trampling
around.
They left the base camp and climbed higher.
Common Adverbs of Direction

up, north, left, along, around, clockwise,

everywhere, northward, down, right, south,
ahead, anticlockwise, backward, southward

Adverbs of manner
Give more information about the way in which
an event or action takes place
To describe the way in which something is done
Normally end in ly (but, not all i.e. fast,
hard, straight)
Usually placed after the main verb and the
object
Answer How? and In what manner?

Examples
Stella stroked her cat gently.
Aaron neatly stacked the books up.
Her mannerisms are distinctly different
from her twin sisters.
Common Adverbs of Manner

fast, hard, badly, finely, easily, widely,

gently,
softly, quietly, evenly, neatly, simply,
warmly,
slowly, politely, sharply, carefully,
beautifully

Adverbs of degree
to make the meaning of a verb, adverb or
adjective stronger or weaker by placing
qualities / ideas on a scale
are placed before the word they modify,
after the auxiliary verb, before the main
verb, between the auxiliary verb and the
main verb
* Intensifiers (really, absolutely, extremely)
* Downtoners (fairly, rather, quite)

Examples
Taylor practically won all the races.
Rashmeka is really good at her work.
The contract workers cleaned the area
thoroughly.
Common Adverbs of Degree

so, very, quite, nearly, almost, completely,

spectacularly, too, just, fairly, rather, enough,
hardly, extremely, considerably

Interrogative Adverbs
are questioning words such as
where ,when, why, how
known as Wh-Adverbs
to introduce questions and various types
of clauses
How

in what way?

How high are the Petronas Twin

Towers?

Why

for what reason?

Why were they angry?

When

at what time?

When do you need to pay the

bill?

Where

in what place?

Where is KLPAC situated?

Examples
Where is KLPAC situated?
How high are the Petronas Twin Towers?
I do not know where my aunt is staying.
Common Interrogative Adverbs
TIME

PLACE

MANNER

DEGREE

REASON /
CAUSE

when

where

how

how

why

whenever

wherever

however

Linking Adverbs
Also called Conjunctive Adverbs
To link ideas / clauses in spoken discourse /
written text
Requires the use of a semicolon (;)
Most L.A. can go in middle position in the
clause
Some L.A. (so, yet) only at the front of the
clause
like, too, as well cannot go at the front
of the clause

Examples
He broke his arm; therefore, he will not be
coming to work tomorrow.
Muhammad did not attend the revision
classes. Consequently, he was
reprimanded by his teacher.
Two of the workers were retrenched, and,
as a result, everyone went on strike.
These herbal supplements are very
effective. Besides, they are not very
expensive.
We invited everyone to the opening

Common Linking Adverbs

Linking Adverbs

Functions

too, also, besides,

to introduce a related point or to
furthermore, as well,
add an extra piece of information
moreover, at the same
time
again, likewise,
equally, similarly, in
the same way

to add a new fact that illustrate

the same point as the one you
have just made

yet, instead, however,

alternatively, on the
contrary, nevertheless

to add a sentence that contrasts

with the previous one or to give
a different point of view

Sentence Adverbs
to convey speakers belief on the content
of what he is saying
to show the speakers attitude or
viewpoint towards certain events
S.A. usually qualify a whole sentence
known as viewpoint adverbs - qualify
what is being said. do not affect
grammatical structure.

 usually placed at the beginning of a

sentence.
set off from the rest of the sentence with a
comma (,).
can also come at the end of a clause,
before a complement / between a subject
and a verb.

Examples

Hes surprisingly only 16 years old.

I will inform you, perhaps, by 7 oclock.
Fortunately, the event went on smoothly.
Apparently, they have been trying to use
the online banking system for weeks.
Common Sentence Adverbs

really, surely, luckily, actually, perhaps,

certainly, surprisingly, blindly, clearly,
apparently, admittedly, naturally, hopefully,
fortunately

Focusing Adverbs
to indicate / focus on the main quality of
something involved in what we are saying
to indicate the main reason for something :
- especially, particularly, exclusively
to express some kind of restriction :
- just, only, merely
to refer back to something :
- too, also, either

Examples
Even Ram heard about the incident.
Only Sherry has the key to the guest
house.
Ramli Ibrahim is specifically interested in
Indian classical dance.
Common Focusing Adverbs
just, purely, chiefly, notably, primarily,
especially, particularly, alone, either, mainly,
mostly, specially, exclusively, specifically

Order of Adverbs
This is the basic order in which adverbs
will appear when there is more than one
adverbs.
Subject &
verb

manner

place

frequency

time

Tanissha
exercises

earnestly

here

every
morning

before
breakfast

The child plays

excitedly

there

every
evening

after tea

Adverbs & Adjectives

Common characteristics : gradability
(comparative & superlative)
Difference : Adverbs do not modify nouns,
either attributively or predicatively
Adjective

Adverb

David is a happy child.

* David is happily child.

David is happy.

* David is happily.

Examples (early, far, fast, hard, late)

Adjective

Adverb

Ill catch the early train.

I awoke early this

morning.

READ MORE~!
http://www.edufind.com/english/gram
mar/adverbs_interrogative.php
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/le
arningenglish/grammar/learnit/learni
tv288.shtml
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internetgrammar/adverbs/sentadvb.htm

YET
functions sometimes as an adverb
and has several meanings: in
addition ("yet another cause of
trouble" or "a simple yet noble
woman"), even ("yet more
expensive"), still ("he is yet a
novice"), eventually ("they may yet
win"), and so soon as now ("he's not
here yet").