Handout 1

In the parts of speech adverb plays an

important role.
Adverb:- Basically, most adverbs tell you how, where or when something is
done. In other words, they describe the manner, place or time of an action.
examples
He speaks quietly. ( quietly is an adverb of manner.)
I live here. (here is an adverb of place.)
We'll leave tomorrow . (tomorrow is an adverb of time.)
She never sleeps late . (never is an adverb of frequency)
Kinds of Adverbs
1. Manner

1. It describes in which manner an action is

done.
Some adverbs and adverb phrases describe the
way people do things.

The girls answered all the questions

correctly.

He was driving carelessly.

The plane landed safely.
Slash plays guitar skillfully.
2. Place

2. It describes where an action is done.

Some adverbs and adverb phrases answer the
question where?.
The kids are playing upstairs.

3. Time

The cat is in the garden.

Were going to Montreal on our school trip.

Its rainy but warm outside.

3. It describes when an action is done.

The bus has already left.

4. Frequency

We moved into our new apartment last

week.
Our favorite TV game show starts at 5o
clock.

 Im going to my new flat tomorrow.

5. Purpose/Reason
6. Adverbs of quantity or
degree

7. Affirmation /Negation

4. It shows how many times an action is done.

the children always do their homework
before their bed time.
Ill never visit such building.
I clean my bathroom every day.
Dad polishes his shoes once a week.

5. It describes the purpose or reason for the

action.
He is hence unable to refuse the fine.
He therefore left the building.
6. It shows how much, or in what degree or
to what extent.
He was too sloppy..
The sea is very foggy.
I am rather exhausted.
I am fully prepared.
These mangos are almost rotten.
7. Which says yes if it is yes and no if it is no
Surely you are wrong.
He certainly won the match.

1. An adverb is a word that modifies verbs, adjectives and other

adverbs.
2. Adverbs vs. Adjectives
The difference between an adverb and an adjective is the following:
An adjective modifies a noun.
Example:
"John is tall." (The adjective tall modifies the noun John)
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
Examples:
"That idea is simply ridiculous." (The adverb simply modifies the
adjective ridiculous)
"She sings nicely." (The adverb nicely modifies the verb sing)
"She did it really well." (the adverb really modifies the adverb well)
Read the passage:
Mrs. Smith immediately called the police when she saw the criminals
assaulting the poor boy aggressively. It was the most horrible scene that she
had ever witnessed in her life. She had always lived peacefully in that
neighborhood. No one had ever disturbed her quiet nights there.
The words " immediately, aggressively, peacefully, ever, always, there"
are adverbs.
He speaks quietly. ( quietly is an adverb of manner.)

 I live here. (here is an adverb of place.)

We'll leave tomorrow . (tomorrow is an adverb of time.)
She never sleeps late . (never is an adverb of frequency.)
4. Adverb rules:
1. Regular adverbs:
Adverbs in English often end in -ly.
These adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of an adjective:
Adjective + ly
Examples:
Adjective
slow
beautiful
careful
violent

Adverb
slowly
beautifully
carefully
violently

5. Spelling rules:
true truly (the silent e is dropped and add ly)
happy happily ( y becomes i and add ly.)
possible possibly (e after a consonant is dropped and ly is added.)
full fully (after ll and add y is added.)
fanatic fanatically (after adjectives ending in -ic add -ally - there
is an exception: public-publicly)
6. Exceptions:
However, this is not the only way to form an adverb. Many adverbs do not end
in -ly.
This is a list of adverbs that don't follow the rule:
Adjective
fast
hard
late
early
daily

Adverb
Fast
Hard
Late
Early
Daily

Some adjectives change their form when they become adverbs:

adjective
good

Adverb
Well

7. Things to remember:
Many words are not adverbs although they end in -ly. Here are examples of
adjectives that end in -ly.
Examples:
a lonely girl
an elderly person
a friendly policeman
To decide whether a word is an adverb asks questions
with how, where and when.
How does James speak Spanish? He speaks Spanish fluently.
Where do the kids play soccer? They play soccer here.
When did she write the email to her husband? She wrote the
email immediately.
More examples on Adverbs:
angrily
anxiously
awkwardly
badly
beautifully
blindly
boldly
bravely
brightly
busily
calmly
carefully
carelessly
cautiously
cheerfully
clearly
closely
correctly
courageously
cruelly
daringly
deliberately
doubtfully
eagerly
easily
elegantly
enormously
enthusiastically
equally

hurriedly
inadequately
ingeniously
innocently
inquisitively
irritably
joyously
justly
kindly
lazily
loosely
loudly
madly
mortally
mysteriously
neatly
nervously
noisily
obediently
openly
painfully
patiently
perfectly
politely
poorly
powerfully
promptly
punctually
quickly

eventually
exactly
faithfully
fast
fatally
fiercely
fondly
foolishly
fortunately
frankly
frantically
generously
gently
gladly
gracefully
greedily
happily
hard
hastily
healthily
honestly
hungrily
tenderly
tensely
thoughtfully
tightly
truthfully
unexpectedly
victoriously
violently
vivaciously
warmly
weakly
widely

quietly
rapidly
rarely
really
recklessly
regularly
reluctantly
repeatedly
rightfully
roughly
rudely
sadly
safely
selfishly
sensibly
seriously
sharply
shyly
silently
sleepily
slowly
smoothly
so
softly
solemnly
speedily
stealthily
sternly
straight
stupidly
successfully
suddenly
wearily
well
wisely