Using Adverbs in English

Adverbs have many jobs in English. They modify (tell us more about) other types of words, including verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They provide context, by indicating when, where, and how something happens.

Adverbs of Manner

You can often recognize an adverb of manner by the –ly at the end of an adjective. While adjectives tell us about nouns, adverbs of manner describe how an action is done.

For example:
A slow turtle walks on the sand. Slow refers to the turtle, so it is an adjective.
A turtle walks slowly. Slowly refers to the verb walk, so it is an adverb.

Try using the adjectives and adverbs in sentences.
Remember that adjectives only modify nouns and pronouns, while adverbs can modify many types of words. Let’s look at some examples:

Jason is an incredible person. (Incredible is modifying the noun person.)
Jason is an incredibly patient person. (Here, the adverb is modifying the adjective patient.)
Jason sings incredibly. (The adverb is modifying the verb.)
Incredibly, Jason sings. (It is incredible that Jason sings.)
Jason sings incredibly loudly. (The adverb is modifying another adverb.)

Flat Adverbs

Flat, or bare adverbs are easily confused with adjectives, because they look exactly the same. They don’t have to take the -ly ending. Let’s look at the word slow again. As we saw at the beginning, slow is an adjective, and slowly is an adverb. Slow is also a flat adverb!

Correct: If you encounter a bear, go slow and avoid direct eye contact.
Correct: If you encounter a bear, move slowly and avoid direct eye contact.

Some Adverbs Have Different Meanings When They are Flat, or End in -ly.

Near and Nearly
Near indicates physical proximity, and it is the opposite of far. Nearly means almost.

I am near the exit. = I am close to the exit.
I nearly missed the exit. = I almost missed the exit.

Late and Lately
Late is the opposite of early. Lately means recently.

Why are you late?
What have you been doing lately?

Hard and Hardly
Hard is an adjective that means the opposite of soft or easy. It is also an adverbs that means with force. With the addition of -ly, the meaning changes completely, to mean not much.

Tammy hit the ball hard. = Tammy hit the ball with force.
Tammy hardly hit the ball. = Tammy almost didn’t hit the ball at all.

Short and Shortly
Short as an adjective is the opposite of tall or long. As a flat adverb it is synonymous with impatiently or suddenly. Shortly means soon.

Don’t be short with me. I’m just trying to help.
She stopped short.
The doctor will be with you shortly.

High and Highly
High is the opposite of low. Highly means a lot or greatly.

Aim high. = Point your weapon (or aspirations) at an elevated point.
I think highly of you. = I like you a lot.

Live and Lively
Live as a flat adverb means at the actual time of occurrence. Lively is usually used only as an adjective that denotes high energy. It can also be used as a flat adverb, though it sounds a bit antiquated.

We are broadcasting live from the scene. = What we are showing is occurring now.
Step lively! = Walk with energy.

Right and Rightly
Right signifies correct, and is the opposite of wrong. Rightly means justifiably.

He wants to do right by his family. = He wants to do the correct things.
He is rightly concerned. = He is correct to be concerned.

Kind and Kindly
As adverbs, kind and kindly are very similar. Kind is the opposite of cruel, and kindly is to behave in a friendly way. But have a slightly different connotation. Notice that when kindly is used at the beginning of a sentence, it signifies that what follows is a request.

Be kind to him. = Treat him with kindness, not cruelty.
Think kindly of him. = Think the best of him that you can.
Kindly, think of him. = Please think about him.

Real and Really
While very informal, real is often used as an adverb in casual speech to intensify an adjective. Really is a more broadly accepted adverb for this purpose. But really also has a secondary meaning, as a synonym for truly, actually, or in reality.

This story is real good. = It is very good. (Very informal)
This story is really good. = It is very good.
What really happened? = What happened in reality?
It doesn’t really matter. = It isn’t actually important.

Try the Flat Adverbs Geography Quiz!

A note about punctuation:

We do not need a hyphen with adverbs that end in -ly, because the -ly already indicates that we are modifying another word. However, with flat adverbs, we can add a hyphen for clarity.

Incorrect: The rule is out of date, and largely-irrelevant. (The hyphen is redundant.)
Correct: My sister is a large-animal specialist. (The hyphen is required, to clarify that my sister is not a large animal.)

A note about adverbs that already end in -ly

Occasionally, you will encounter an adverb of manner that already ends in -ly. In these cases, you can use ‘in a … way’.

Be polite. Speak to people in a friendly way.
Penguins walk in a silly way.

Don’t make this common mistake!
We don’t use adverbs of manner after linking verbs.
Correct: Lunch smells delicious.
Incorrect: Lunch smells deliciously.

Correct: The answer is wrong.
Incorrect: The answer is wrongly.

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency tell us how frequently something occurs. Here are some common ones:

Adverbs of Time

As well as how frequently something occurs, adverbs convey when something happens, its duration, and the time relationship between events.

Examples:
We have just finished lunch.
Mary went to the bank yesterday.
David has been in Cali for two weeks.
I’ll finish my chores later.

Adverbs of Degree

Adverbs of degree refer to how strong or intense something is. Here are some common adverbs of degree:

Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place indicate where someone or something is located.

A Note about Adverbs of Place and the English Parts of Speech

We categorize words into eight (or nine) different types called ‘parts of speech’. English grammarians and teachers don’t always agree on the classifications.

You might be thinking, “hey! aren’t words like above and under prepositions?” If you are, well done! And yes, you are correct. It’s useful for English learners to know about the parts of speech. But if you are a beginner, don’t worry about this now. English teachers introduce these words in their prepositional form for a reason. We teachers tend to be grammar nerds, and enjoy getting into the nitty-gritty details. As an English student, you don’t need this level of complexity to be able to learn and speak English fluidly.

Not satisfied? For advanced English learners that like grammar, keep reading, to learn how can you tell prepositions and adverbs apart. Here is a rule of thumb that you can use:

Prepositions modify an object.
Example: Juan ran down the hill. Juan ran down what? The hill.
The hill is an object, and so down in this case is a preposition.

Adverbs don’t refer to an object.
Example: Please sit down. Sit down what? The question doesn’t make sense.
Down is not referring to an object, so down in this case is an adverb.

Here is a Daily Grammar lesson, to learn more about the grammar.

Avoid this Common Error!
Do not separate the verb and its object with an adverb:
Correct: Jason sang the song beautifully.
Incorrect: Jason sang beautifully the song.