Adverbs in English

using adverbs in English image - car going quickly
using adverbs in English image - car going quickly

In this post we will look at how we use adverbs in English. We also have a  post on adverb suffixesIn English, adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to provide extra details about an action or a quality. We often think about

  • how
  • when
  • where
  • how much 

Let’s see how these different forms of adverbs are used.

Types of adverbs

  • Manner  (how we do something): quickly, slowly, carefully, well
    – Example: She sang beautifully.
  • Place (where something happens): here, there, everywhere, nowhere, upstairs, outside
    – Example: They looked everywhere for the missing keys.
  • Time (when something happens): now, later, yesterday, soon
    – Example: I will call you later.
  • Frequency  (how often something happens): often, rarely, sometimes, usually, frequently
    – Example: They rarely go out for dinner.
  • Degree (how much): very, too, quite, almost, enough
    – Example: The soup is very hot.

Adverbs with different forms

  • As you know the way to create adverbs is by adding -ly to the end of an adjective. One familiar exception to this is well from the adjective good

    However, we also have a group of adverbs with the same form as adjectives.  Here are some common examples.

    Adjective & adverb form

    • daily
    • early
    • fast
    • hard
    • late
    • straight

    There is another group of adverbs which have more than one form or more than one meaning to the adverb.

    free/freely

    Free means at no cost
    Children are admitted free

    Freely means without restriction or control
    People with European passports can travel freely in the EU

    hard/hardly

    Hard means difficult or make a lot of effort.
    I work hard every day
    It’s a hard problem to solve

    Hardly means very little
    I have hardly any money left after my shopping

    late/lately

    late means not on time
    I arrived late

    Lately means recently
    Have you seen Alice lately?

Comparing adverbs

We commonly use more and most to make the comparative and superlative forms.

Here are some examples

easily       more easily      most easily

quickly    more quickly     most quickly

  • easily
  • quickly
  • more easily
  • more quickly
  • most easily
  • most quickly

Finally, we also have a group of adverbs that have different comparative and superlative forms.

  • well
  • badly
  • little
  • much
  • better
  • worse
  • less
  • more
  • best
  • worst
  • least
  • most
Adverb
  • well
  • badly
  • little
  • much
  • better
  • worse
  • less
  • more
  • best
  • worst
  • least
  • most