This document defines and provides examples of adverbs. It begins by stating that adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, phrases, or clauses by indicating manner, place, cause, or degree. The document then provides examples of different types of adverbs including adverbs that modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. It discusses how most adverbs are formed by adding "-ly" and lists exceptions. It also explains the different kinds of adverbs like manner, place, time, frequency, and degree. The document concludes by covering adverb position, the three degrees of adverbs, forming comparative and superlative adverbs, irregular adverbs, adverbial phrases, and adverb clauses

1. GESTOSANI, SANIEJOIE A. BSBA- FM 1
What is an Adverb?
Adverb
- modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause.
- indicate manner, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as how, when,
where, how much
(*modify- means to add to or change the meaning of a word)
 Modify a verb
Examples: Loudly, Locally
John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)
Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)
 Modifies an adjective
Examples: Really, Very
He is really handsome. (How handsome is he?)
He drove a very fast car. (How fast was his car?)
 Modifies an adverb
Examples: Incredibly, Quite
She drives incredibly slowly. (How slowly does she drive?)
She moved quite slowly down the aisle. (How slowly did she move?)
Adverb Form
- We make many adverbs by adding – ly to an adjectives.
Example:
Beautiful (adjective) > beautifully (adverb)
Basic rules about spelling for -ly adverbs
adjective ending do this adjective adverb
most adjectives add -ly quick
nice
sole
careful
quickly
nicely
solely
carefully

2. adjective ending do this adjective adverb
-able or -ible change -e to -y regrettable
horrible
regrettably
horribly
-y change -y to -ily happy happily
-ic change -ic to -
ically
economic economically
le change -e to -y gentle gently
* Not all words that end in ly are adverbs
Example:
Friendly, Lovely, Lonely, Neighborly
(All are adjectives)
* Some adverbs have no particular form
Example:
Well, Fast, Very, Never, Always, Often, Still
Kinds of Adverbs
Adverb of Manner
- Tells us the manner or way in which something happens
- They answer the question “HOW”
- Mainly modifies verbs
Examples:
He speaks slowly. (How does he speak?)
They helped us cheerfully. (How did they help us?)

3. Adverb of Place
- Tells us the place where something happens
- They answer the question “WHERE”
- Modify verbs
Examples:
Please sit here. (Where should I sit?)
They looked everywhere. (Where did they look?)
Adverb of Time
- Tells us something about the time that something happens
- Answer the question “WHEN”
- Modify verbs
Examples:
He came yesterday. (When did he come?)
I want it now. (When do I want it?)
Adverb of Frequency
- Are adverbs of time
- Answer the question “HOW FREQUENTLY” or “HOW OFTEN”
- Tells us how often something happens
Definite Frequency- tells us exactly how often
Examples: Daily, Weekly, Yearly
Indefinite Frequency- gives us an idea about frequency but doesn’t tell exactly
Examples: Often, Sometimes, Rarely
* We separate them in two groups because they normally go in different positions in the
sentence.
Adverb of Degree or Quantity
- Tells us the degree or extent to which something happens
- Answer the question “TO WHAT DEGREE”
- Can modify verbs, adjective and other adverbs
Examples:
She entirely agrees with him. (How much does she agree with him?)
Mary is very beautiful. (To what degree is Mary beautiful? How beautiful is Mary?)

4. Adverb Position
When an adverb modifies a verb, there are usually 3 possible positions within the sentence or
clause.
1. FRONT- before subject Now I read a book.
2. MID- between subject + verb I often read books.
3. END- after verb/ object I read books carefully.
When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it usually goes in front of the word that
it modifies, for example:
adverb adjective
She gave him a really dirty look.
adverb adverb
We quite often Study English.
The position of an adverb often depends on the kind of adverb (manner, place, time, degree). The
following tables give you some guidelines for the placement based on the kind of adverb.
Kind of adverb
Mainly modifies Sentence Usual
positionadverb
Manner verbs She spoke gently. END
Place verbs He lived here. END
Time/Frequency
Definite I’ll do it today. END
Indefinite We often go to Paris. MID
Degree
Verbs, adjective,
and adverb
I nearly died. MID
It was terribly funny.
before
adjective
He works really fast.
before
adjective
*guidelines only and there are many exceptions.
3 Degrees of Adverbs
1. Positive Adverbs
- Qualify the modified word without comparing it to anything else.
Example: softly
2. Comparative Adverbs
- Are used to compare two qualities
Example: more softly

5. 3. Superlative Adverbs
- Are used to indicate that one modified word has quality to a greater or lesser degree than
two or more other.
Example: most softly
Forming of Comparative and Superlative Adverbs
Adverbs ending in –ly take the forms of comparative and superlative.
Example: I arrived early. - Positive
He arrived earlier than me. - Comparative
She arrived earliest of all of us. - Superlative
Comparative adverbs of two or more syllables use more or less.
Example: I finished quickly. – Positive
He finished more quickly. – Comparative
She finished most quickly of all of us. – Superlative
Word Form Examples
Comparative
Rule
Examples
Superlative
Rule
Examples
One syllable
adverbs
Late
Soon
Hard
Fast
Add “r” or
“er”
Later
Sooner
Harder
Faster
Add “st” or
“est”
Latest
Soonest
Hardest
Fastest
Adverbs with
two or more
syllables
Often
seldom
Do not
change the
word
Add the word
“more” before
the adverb
More often
More seldom
Do not
change the
word
Add the word
“most” before
the adverb
Most often
Most seldom
Some two
syllable
adverbs
ending in “y”
early
Change the
“y” to “i” and
add the suffix
“er”
earlier
Change the
“y” to “i” and
add the suffix
“est”
Earliest
Adverbs that
end in “ly”
Wisely
Quietly
Sweetly
Do not
change the
word
Add the word
“more” before
the adverb
More quietly
More sweetly
Do not
change the
word
Add the word
“most” before
the adverb
Most wisely
Most quietly
Most sweetly

6. Irregular Comparative and Superlative Adverbs
There are few adverbs that don’t play by the rules. These are the most common adverb
exceptions.
Word Comparative form Superlative form
Badly Worse Worst
Little Less Least
Much More Most
Well Better Best
Far Farther Farthest
Far Further Furthest
*(farther/farthest- distance only) * (further/furthest- distance, sequence & time)
Adverbial Phrase/Adverb Phrase
- Contains no subject or predicate
- Functions like adverbs. They can tell when, how, where, and to what extent or purpose.
Adverb phrase can start with a preposition.
*Preposition- Is a word governing, usually coming in front of, a
noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or elements.
Examples:
He lived in the north of Germany.
He acts like he owns the place.
She went to the movie every month.
I went to bed after I finished my homework.
An adverb or adverb phrase is a workhorse in the world of grammar, changing and enhancing the
meaning of their partner verbs.
Adverbial Clause/ Adverb Clause
- Is a group of words which plays the role of an adverb; that is, the entire clause modifies
a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. As with all clauses, it contains a subject and predicate,
although the subject as well as the (predicate) verb may sometimes be omitted and implied.
Properties of an Adverbial Clause
 An adverbial clause is an adjunct. This means it can be removed without the sentence
being grammatically wrong.
 An adverbial clause is a dependent clause. This means it cannot stand alone as
meaningful sentence in its own right.
 An adverbial clause usually starts with a subordinating conjunction (e.g. although,
because, if , until, when)
 An adverbial clause will contain a subject and a verb. (This is what makes it a clause as
opposed to phrase.)

7. *Subordinating conjunction
- joins subordinate clause (also known as dependent clause) to the main clause
(also known as independent clause)
Examples: After, Although, As, Because, Before, How, If, Once, Since, That, etc.
* Conjunction- Is a word that joins. It joins two parts of a sentence.
Examples: And, But, Or, No, For, Yes, So, Unless, Than, Till, Until, When, etc.
* Independent Clause- Can express a complete thought (and can standalone sentence)
Example: Tara ate a cheese roll after she watched the news.
(Tara ate cheese roll is an independent clause. It works as a standalone sentence)
*Dependent Clause- Is one that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence because it does not
express a complete thought.
Example: He literally stitched mail sacks until his fingers bled.
(The dependent clause until his fingers bled modifies the verb to stitch.)
Types of Adverbial/ Adverb Clauses
Type of Clause Common Conjunctions Function Example
Time
Conjunctions answering the
question “when?”, such as:
when before, after, since while,
as, as long as, till, until, etc.;
Or the paired (correlative)
conjunctions:
Hardly... when, scarcely...
when, barely... when, no
sooner... when
These clauses:
Say when
something happens
by referring to a
period or point of
time, or to another
event.
Her goldfish died
when she was young.
He came after night
had fallen.
We barely had gotten
there when mighty
Casey struck out.
Condition If, unless, lest Talks about
possible or
counterfactual
situation and its
consequences
If they lose weight
during an illness,
they soon regain it
afterwards.
Purpose
In order to, so that, in order
that
Indicate the
purpose of an
action
They had to take some
of his land so that
they could extend the
churchyard.
Reason
Because, since, as, given Indicate the reason
for something
I couldn’t feel anger
against him because I
liked him too much.
Concession
Although, though, while Make two
statements, one of
which contrasts the
other or makes it
seem surprising
I used to read a lot
although I don’t get
much time for books
now.

8. Place
Answering the question
“where?”: where, wherever,
anywhere, everywhere, etc.
Talk about the
location or position
of something
He said he was happy
where he was.
Comparison
As... as, than, as State comparison
of a skill, size or
amount, etc.
Johan can speak
English as fluently as
his teacher.
Manner
Answering the question,
“how?”: as, like, the way
Talk about
someone’s
behaviour or the
way something is
done
I was never allowed to
do things as I wanted
to do them.
Results
So... that, such... that Indicate the
result(s) of an act
or event
My suitcase had
become so damaged
that the lid would not
stay closed.