ADVERBS

FORM

not formed from just, well, soon,

other words

too, quite, still

fixed phrases kind of, of

course, at last

FORMED FROM OTHER WORDS

adjective + -ly
tragictragically

excitableexcitably
easyeasily
noun/preposition

realreally
homehomeward

+ -ward(s)/-wise afterafterwards

pricepricewise
compounds

healthhealthwise
some+ times

Adverbs which have the same

form as adjectives

close,

dead, fast,
fine, long, low,
pretty, short,
straight, wide,
wrong

Common adverbs from the same

base, with different meanings:

directly
direct(= without
stopping)
(= immediately/
We flew direct
very soon)
from La Guardia to Dont go. Ill be
Houston.
with you directly.
late (= not on
lately (= recently)
time/not early)
She s been
The plane arrived
rather ill lately.
late due to bad
weather.

 highly
high(= to a
great height)
(= extremely)
He lifted it high
Arsenic is highly
over his head.
toxic.
hard (= with a
hardly
lot of effort/
(= scarcely, almost
severely)
not)
He braked hard
We hardly know
when he saw the
our neighbours.
cat.

 rightly
right
(= direction/
(= correctly in
correctly)
my opinion)
Turn right at
The tribunal
the
rightly
crossroads.
condemned
the war
Try to do it
right this time! criminals.

 freely
free
(= without paying) (= without
limitation or
We got into the
control)
concert free!
Sheep roam freely
deep (= to a
over the hills.
great depth/
deeply
distance)
(= thoroughly)
We explored
Im deeply
deep into the
ashamed of my
jungle.
behaviour.

Confusing forms

friendly, lonely, cowardly look like

adverbs
use alternative words or phrases
or the adjective with manner or way
He left cowardlyly, sneaking out
the back door.
He left like a coward. He left in
a cowardly way.

Confusing forms

some common adjectives as adverbs

(in informal conversational English)
They sell things very cheap in that
market.
real and good can be used instead of
really and well (informal US English)
Shes a real nice girl.
The teams running good this season.

Modifying and adding information

adverbs modify adjectives the

adverb usually comes before the
adjective
I thought his answers were
pretty good on the whole.
really, almost, quite, pretty can
modify another adverb
The French team did really well
in the first round.

Modifying and adding information

quite, roughly, about, approximately

following noun phrases, prepositional
phrases and numbers
Her news came as quite a shock.
In our school roughly fifty students have
mobile phones.
add information about the time, manner or
place of an action or state described in a
sentence
He hit the ball hard and this time it flew
into the back of the net.

Modifying and adding information

noun phrases (this time) = adverbs

prepositional phrases (into the back of the
net) = adverbs
adverbs with as, so, too, enough, etc.
She performed so enthusiastically that the
judges overlooked her inexperience.
We missed the bargains because we didnt
get there soon enough.
some adverbs to show the speakers
attitude in conversation
Understandably, you can sympathise with the
unhappy situation she was in.

Using adverbs in comparisons

in comparatives and superlatives more and

most:

Of all the relatives at Grans funeral I think Mum

felt her loss most deeply.
Certain numbers seem to come up more frequently
in the lottery draw.

adverbs not ending in ly take the same

comparative and superlative forms as
adjectives

If you tuned the engine more often, the car would

go faster.

the comparative and superlative forms of the

adverb well are better and best

POSITION OF ADVERBS IN SENTENCES

adverbs which modify a verb or add

information about how, when or
where something happens can take
several positions in a sentence:
front position (before the subject),
mid position (next to the verb)
final position (after the object or
complement)

POSITION OF ADVERBS IN SENTENCES

These days I probably take my health much more seriously.

front
mid
final
if the object or complement of a
verb is very long put a final
position adverb before it:
These days I take much more
seriously all those things I used
to take for granted.

Front position

adverbs which link or contrast with

information in the previous sentence
Ive been incredibly busy this week.
Yesterday I worked more than
twelve hours.
do not use adverbs of definite
frequency, e.g. daily, weekly, in front
position
Monthly I get paid.
I get paid monthly.

Front position
put the verb before the subject
(inversion):
after negative adverbs, (e.g. never)
after adverbs of time and place
followed by a verb of movement or
position
Never have I seen such a disturbing
sight.
Little did he realize the absurdity of
the situation.

Mid position

adverbs of indefinite
frequency
adverbs of degree
adverbs of certainty
one-word adverbs of time
even and only

Mid position
adverbs of always, frequently,
indefinite generally, hardly
frequency

ever, never,
normally,
occasionally, often,
rarely, seldom,

Mid position

adverbs of

absolutely,

degree

almost,
completely,
entirely, just,
hardly, partly,
quite, rather,

Mid position

adverbs of certainly,
certainty

definitely,

one-word

probably
already, finally,

adverbs of immediately, just,

time

now, no longer,

Mid position

with a simple verb between the subject and

the verb
with simple forms of be goes after the verb
She

always arrives by taxi and she is always

on time.

with modal or auxiliary verb after the(first)

auxiliary verb
Weve
You
Sea

never been to the Greek islands.

can just see the coast.

eagles have occasionally been seen around

the lake.

Mid position
sometimes, still, certainly,
definitely and probably before a
negative auxiliary
I dont sometimes understand
his arguments.
I sometimes dont understand his
arguments.
He hasnt still convinced me.
He still hasnt convinced me.

Mid position

emphasise an auxiliary verb or a simple

form of be put a mid-position adverb
before it (spoken British English)
You really dont understand me at all!
But she never is on time!
Compare:
I dont really like him. (unmarked
position = I slightly dislike him.)
I really dont like him. (emphatic
position = I hate him.)

Mid position

do not use adverbs of

definite time or
frequency in mid position
We every day buy our
lunch at that sandwich
bar on the corner.

Final position
yet, a lot, any more, any longer,
too, as well
They arent selling it any more.
adverbs of manner
adverbs of definite frequency
He plays the guitar well.
adverbs of manner ending in ly
(except badly) final or mid position
Harry

painstakingly counted out the coins

and arranged them neatly into piles.

Final position

hardly ever or never not in

final position
They watch television hardly ever.
They hardly ever watch television.
often, rarely, seldom in final
position must use very or quite
These days I eat desserts rarely.
These days I eat desserts very
rarely.

Final position

several adverbs in final

position sequence of
adverbs of manner, place
and finally time
The statue was lifted
(carefully) (onto the
mantelpiece) (before the
ceremony).

Viewpoint adverbs

describe the particular aspect of

something we are commenting on
Economically, the current
government has been a resounding
success. (= The government has
successfully managed the
economy.)
Although economically successful,
the government is starting to lose
popularity.

Attitude/sentence adverbs

clearly, honestly, obviously, surprisingly,

understandably our attitude towards
an action
Youve obviously been eating too many
sweets, young man!
sentence adverbs at the front or end
of the sentence, separated by a comma
Incidentally, I noticed they were looking
for new players down at the Red Lion.
I dont think he knows what hes talking
about, frankly.

adverb
meaning
admittedly This probably qualifies or

contradicts what I have

just said/heard.
apparently This is something I
believe to be true or
have heard, although Im
not certain it is correct.

adverb
meaning
fortunately This is something

positive which contrasts

with something else I
have said/heard. I am
frankly

pleased about this.

This is my true opinion,
although it may be

adverb
incidentally/

meaning
I am changing the

by the way

subject this is some

information which is
not directly
connected with the

previous information.
understandably One can sympathise

Attitude/sentence adverbs

some adverbs, e.g. naturally and clearly:

as sentence adverbs
as adverbs of manner
Despite being in a zoo, the animals behaved
quite naturally. (= in a natural way)
Naturally, wild animals behave quite
differently in captivity. (= what is expected)
The teacher answered the question clearly
and precisely. (= in a clear way)
Clearly, the teacher didnt answer the
question. (=This is obvious.)