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God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand."
Adverbs modify verbs. FUNCTION
ADVERBS OF MANNER
ADVERBS OF Place
Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of Time.
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Adverbs are preceded by verbs that refer to manner or
conduct like:
Example : He behaves politely.
: She plays cleverly.
: They work well,
: John works hard.
: Peter acts differently.
FUNCTION
Adverbs modify, or tell us more about other words,
usually verbs:
Examples
The bus moved slowly.
The bears ate greedily.
Sometimes they tell us more about adjectives:
Examples
You look absolutely fabulous!
They can also modify other adverbs:
Examples
She played the violin extremely well.
You're speaking too quietly.
Rules
1. In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding '-ly' to
an adjective:
Adjective
Adverb
cheap quick slow
cheaply quickly slowly
Examples:
Time goes quickly.
He walked slowly to the door.
She certainlyhad an interesting life.
He carefully picked up the sleeping child.
Rules
1. In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding '-ly' to
an adjective:
Adjective
Adverb
cheap quick slow
cheaply quickly slowly
Examples:
Time goes quickly.
He walked slowly to the door.
She certainlyhad an interesting life.
He carefully picked up the sleeping child.
2. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective:
Adjective and Adverb
early fast hard high
late near straight wrong
Compare:
It is a fast car.
He drives very fast.
This is a hard exercise.
He works hard
We saw many high buildings.
The bird flew high in the sky.
3. 'Well' and 'good'
'Well' is the adverb that corresponds to the adjective 'good'.
Examples:
He is a goodstudent.
He studies well
She is a good pianist.
She plays the piano well.
They are good swimmers.
They swim well.
KINDS OF ADVERBS
ADVERBS OF MANNER
Rule
Adverbs of manner tell us how something happens. They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object.
Examples:
He swims well, (after the main verb)
He ran... rapidly, slowly, quickly..
She spoke...softly, loudly, aggressively..
James coughed loudly to attract her attention.
He plays the flute beautifully. (after the object)
He ate the chocolate cake greedily.
BE CAREFUL!
The adverb should not be put between the verb and the object:
Examples
He ate greedily the chocolate cake [incorrect]
He ate the chocolate cake greedily[correct]
Rule
If there is a preposition before the object, e.g. at, towards, we can place the adverb either before the preposition or after the object.
Examples
The child ran happilytowardshis mother.
The child ran towards his mother happily.
Rule
Sometimes an adverb of manner is placed before a verb + object to add emphasis:
Examples
He gently woke the sleeping woman.
Some writers put an adverb of manner at the beginning of the sentence to catch our attention and make us curious:
Examples
Slowlyshe picked up the knife.
Rule
(We want to knowwhat happened slowly, whodid it slowly, whythey did it slowly)
However, adverbs should always come AFTER intransitive verbs (=verbs which have no object).
Examples
The town grew quickly
He waited patiently
Also, these common adverbs are almost always
placed AFTER the verb:
well
badly
hard
fast
Rule
The position of the adverb is important when there is more than one verb in a sentence. If the adverb is placed after a clause, then it modifies the whole action described by the clause.
Notice the difference in meaning between the
following pairs of sentences:
She quickly agreed to re-type the letter (= her agreement was quick)
She agreed to re-type the letter quickly (= the re-typing was quick)
He quietly asked me to leave the house (= his request was quiet)
He asked me to leave the house quietly (= the leaving was quiet
ADVERBS OF PLACE
Rule
Adverbs of place tell us wheresomething happens. They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object:
Examples:
after the main verb:
I looked everywhere
John looked away, up, down, around...
I'm going home, out, back
Come in
after the object:
They built a house nearby
She took the child outside
Common Adverbs of Place
'Here' and'there'
With verbs of movement, here means towards
or with the speaker:
Come here (= towards me)
It's in here (= come with me to see it)
There means away from, or not with the speaker:
Put it there (= away from me)
It's in there (= go by yourself to see it)
Here and there are combined with prepositions
to make many common adverbial phrases:
down here, down there; over here, over there; under here, under there; up here, up there
Here and there are placed at the beginning of the sentence in exclamations or when emphasis is needed.
They are followed by the verb if the subject is a noun:
Herecomes the bus. (followed by the verb)
Or by a pronoun if this is the subject (it, she, he etc.):
Hereit is! (followed by the pronoun)
Thereshe goes! (followed by the pronoun)
NOTE: most common adverbs of place also
function as prepositions.
Examples:
about, across, along, around, behind, by, down, in, off, on, over, round, through, under, up.
Other adverbs of place: ending in '-wards',
expressing movement in a particular direction:
northwards southwards eastwards westwards home wards onwards
Examples:
Cats don't usually walk backwards.
The ship sailed westwards.
BE CAREFUL! 'Towards' is a preposition, not an adverb, so it is always followed by a noun or a pronoun:
He walked towardsthe car.
She ran towards me.
expressing both movement and location:
ahead, abroad, overseas, uphill, downhill,
sideways, indoors, outdoors
Examples:
The child went indoors.
He lived and worked abroad.
ADVERBS OF DEGREE
Usage
Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity or degree
of an action, an adjective or another adverb.
Common adverbs of degree:
Almost, nearly, quite, just, too, enough, hardly,
scarcely, completely, very, extremely.
Adverbs of degree are usually placed:
before the adjective or adverb they are modifying: e.g. The water was extremelycold.
before the main verb: e.g. He was just leaving. She has almost finished.
Examples
She doesn't quiteknow what she'll do after university.
They are completelyexhausted from the trip.
I am tootired to go out tonight.
He hardly noticed what she was saying.
Enough, very, too
Enough as an adverb meaning 'to the necessary
degree' goes after adjectives and adverbs.
Examples
Is your coffee hot enough? (adjective)
He didn't work hardenough. (adverb)
It also goes before nouns, and means 'as much as is
necessary'. In this case it is not an adverb, but a
'determiner'.
Examples
We have enoughbread.
They don't have enough food.
Too as an adverb meaning 'more than is necessary or useful' goes before adjectives and adverbs, e.g.
This coffee is too hot. (adjective)
He works too hard. (adverb)
Enough and too with adjectives can be followed
by 'for someone/something'.
Examples
The dress was big enough for me.
She's not experienced enough for this job.
The coffee was too hot for me.
The dress was too small for her.
We can also use 'to + infinitive' after enough and too
with adjectives/adverb.
Examples
The coffee was too hot to drink.
He didn't work hard enough to pass the exam.
She's not old enough to get married.
You're too young to have grandchildren!
Very goes before an adverb or adjective to make
it stronger.
Examples
The girl wasvery beautiful. (adjective)
He worked very quickly. (adverb)
If we want to make a negative form of an adjective or adverb,
we can use a word of opposite meaning, or not very.
Examples
The girl was ugly OR The girl was not very beautiful
He worked slowly OR He didn't work very quickly.
BE CAREFUL! There is a big difference between
too and very.
Very expresses a fact: He speaks very quickly.
Too suggests there is a problem: He speaks too quickly (for me to understand).
Other adverbs like very
These common adverbs are used like very and not
very, and are listed in order of strength, from positive
1. Adverbs of certainty go before the main verb but
after the verb 'to be':
He definitelyleft the house this morning.
He is probably in the park.
2. With other auxiliary verb, these adverbs go between the auxiliary and the main verb:
He has certainly forgotten the meeting.
He willprobably remember tomorrow.
3. Sometimes these adverbs can be placed at the beginning of the sentence:
Undoubtedly, Winston Churchill was a great politician.
BE CAREFUL! with surely. When
it is placed at the
beginning of the sentence, it means the speaker
thinks
something is true, but is looking for confirmation:
Surely you've got a bicycle?
COMMENTING ADVERBS
There are some
adverbs and adverbial expressions
which tell us about the speaker's
viewpoint or opinion
about an action, or make some comment on the
action.
Viewpoint
Frankly, I think he is a liar. (= this is my frank, honest opinion)
Theoretically, you should pay a fine. (= from a
theoretical point of view but there may be another
way of looking at the situation)
These adverbs are placed at the beginning of the
sentence and are separated from the rest of the
sentence by a comma.
Some common Viewpoint adverbs:
honestly,
seriously, confidentially, personally,
surprisingly, ideally,
economically, officially,
obviously, clearly, surely, undoubtedly.
Examples
Personally, I'd rather go by train.
Surprisingly, this car is cheaper than the smaller model.
Geographically, Britain is rather cut off from the rest of Europe.
Commenting
These are very similar to viewpoint adverbs, and often the same words, but they go in a different position - after the verb to be and before the main verb.
Examples
She is certainly the best person for the job.
You obviously enjoyed your meal.
Some common Commenting adverbs:
definitely, certainly, obviously, simply.
RELATIVE ADVERBS
Rule
The following adverbs can be used to join sentences or clauses. They replace the more formal structure of preposition + which in a relative clause:
where, when, why
Examples:
That's the restaurant wherewe met for the first time. (where = at/in which)
I remember the day when we first met. (when = on which)
There was a very hot summer the year when he was born. (when = in which)
Tell me (the reason) why you were late home. (why = for which, but could replace the whole phrase
'the reason for which')
Adverbs of Time
Adverbs of time tell us when an action happened,
but also for how long, and how often.
Examples
When:today, yesterday, later, now, last year
For how long:all day, not long, for a while, since last year
How often:sometimes, frequently, never, often, yearly
"When" adverbs are usually placed at the end of the sentence:
Examples
Goldilocks went to the Bears' house yesterday.
I'm going to tidy my room tomorrow.
This is a "neutral" position, but some "when" adverbs can be put in other positions to give a different emphasis
Compare:
Later Goldilocks ate some porridge. (the time is more important)
Goldilocks later ate some porridge. (this is more formal, like a policeman's report.
Goldilocks ate some porridge later. (this is neutral, no particular emphasis)
"For how long" adverbs are usually placed at
the end of the sentence:
Examples
She stayed in the Bears' house all day.
My mother lived in France for a year.
Notice:'for' is always followed by an expression of
duration:
Examples
for three days,
for a week,
for several years,
for two centuries.
'since' is always followed by an expression of a
point in time:
Examples
since Monday,
since the last war.
"How often" adverbs expressing the frequency of an action are usually placed before the main verb but after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, may, must):
Examples
I often eat vegetarian food. (before the main verb)
He never drinks milk. (before the main verb)
You must always fasten your seat belt. (after the auxiliary must)
She is never sea-sick.(after the auxiliary is)
I have never forgotten my first kiss. (after the auxiliary have and before the main verb forgotten)
Some other "how often" adverbs express the exact
number of times an action happens and are usually
placed at the end of the sentence:
Examples
This magazine is published monthly.
He visits his mother once a week.
When a frequency adverb is placed at the end of a
sentence it is much stronger.
Compare:
She regularly visits France.
She visits France regularly.
Adverbs that can be used in these two positions:
frequently,
generally,
normally,
occasionally,
often,
regularly,
sometimes,
usually
'Yet' and'still'
Yetis used in questions and in negative sentences, and is placed at the end of the sentence or after not.
Examples
Have you finished your work yet?(= a simple request for information) No, not yet. (= simple negative answer)
They haven't met him yet. (= simple negative statement)
Haven't you finished yet? (= expressing slight surprise)
Stillexpresses continuity; it is used in positive sentences and questions, and is placed before the main verb and after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, might, will)
Examples
I am still hungry.
She is still waiting for you
Are you still here?
Do you still work for the BBC?
MORE GRAMMAR RULES ABOUT ADVERBS
1. You can use adverbs before adjectives
That was a totally stupid thing to do
She was surprisingly good at English for a beginner
Sara is absolutely brilliant at speaking English but not so good at writing tasks.
He said he was terribly sorry for what he did.
2. You can use adverbs TOGETHER WITH
other adverbs
She finished the IELTS writing exam amazingly quickly.
I complained because they made my coffee incredibly slowly.
3. You can use adverbs with PAST PARTICIPLES
They have been happily married for 15 years.
Don't go home until you have completely finished what you are doing!