Adverbs & Adverb Types

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, that is, they describe verbs. They also show to what degree something has been done. Many adverbs end in -ly. For example:

• Annie walked quietly into the room.
• My house was completely destroyed in the earthquake.
• He blatantly ignored my request.

Sometimes we use adverbs that do not end in -ly and we often refer to these as irregular adverbs. For example:

• I’ve heard enough of your get rich quick schemes!
• Martin screwed the lid on the peanut butter jar tight.
• You’re going to have to drive your car fast to get there on time.

An adverb can also modify other words such as adjectives.

• The whole lesson was extremely boring.
  (The adjective is boring)
• The stones were hot enough to fry an egg on them.
  (The adjective is hot)
• The man was completely unaware of the crime.
  (The adjective is unaware)

An adverbial can often be a phrase or a group of words that function as an adverb. For example:

• Get down here as quickly as possible.
• We get together twice a week for dinner.
• The children could run around to their heart’s content.

Adverbs of Manner, Time, Place and Frequency

There are different types of adverbs and they do a lot of work. However, in this module we are going to examine just four types of adverb:

Adverbs of Manner
These adverbs concentrate on how something is done. For example:

• Please don’t speak so quickly. I can’t hear what you are saying.
• The man walked hurriedly to the train station.
• The man next door plays his music so loudly. He must be deaf.

Adverbs of Time
These adverbs concentrate on when something is done.

• Shall I come round now?
• I saw Martin last week.
• I saw him yesterday.

Adverbs of Place
These adverbs concentrate on where something is done.

• Shall we meet here again another time?
• There it is! Can you see it?
• I was walking through the mountains and everywhere I could hear the sound of grazing sheep.

Adverbs of Frequency
These adverbs concentrate on how often something is done.

• I usually go to the cinema every week.
• I always catch the train to work.
• Martin plays chess occasionally.

We often use adverbials that generally give more information when we use these kinds of adverbs, such as:

• I go to the cinema about four times a month.
• I catch the train to work most days.
• Martin plays chess a couple of times a year.