Learning the English language involves knowing the basic components of an English sentence. It’s the foundation you should build to communicate well. Given that, you should know how to convey your ideas with emotions so that you can connect with people better.
It’s useful not only in regular conversations but also in your travels and business deals. And to make your sentences convincing and descriptive, you should practice using adverbs!
What is an Adverb?
An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, and other adverbs. Basically, it gives more meaning to a word by telling where, when, or how an action is carried out. It is essential to convey emotions and more detail to your listeners or readers.
It basically makes your sentences more descriptive and alive.
Adverbs vs. Adjectives
In the English language, adjectives also modify words. How is it different from adverbs?
The difference is adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. And for everything else, adverbs do the job. Some words can be used both as adverbs and adjectives, depending on the usage. You just need to determine what they modify. Here is an example.
- “The event ended late evening.”
The word “late” modifies the noun evening. Therefore, it’s an adjective.
- “The coordinator arrived late.“
In this sentence, “late” modifies the word “arrived,” which is a verb — making it an adverb.
Most adverbs also are adjectives with “- ly” as a suffix to their adverb forms. For example:
- “How is the recent project doing?”
- “Why are you busy recently?”
In the two examples above, “recent” is used as an adjective to the noun “project.” On the other hand, “recently” modifies the verb “busy.”
So, to start using adverbs, you should know that there are 5 basic types. Here are as follows.
Adverbs of Time (When?)
The first type of adverb are adverbs of time. These words relay WHEN the verb took place. Examples of these adverbs are:
- Yesterday
- Daily
- Tomorrow
- Recently
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Yearly
- Annually
Here are some sample sentences.
- “The assignments for the English lessons were given yesterday.”
- “Have you done the monthly tasks required?”
- “The big event is done annually.”
- “We should perform our tasks daily!”
- “Recently, the kids are playing outside the house.”
Adverbs of Frequency (How Often?)
Also relating to time, adverbs of frequency describes HOW OFTEN a verb occurs. Here are some common adverbs used.
| Always | 100% of the time |
|---|---|
| Usually | 90% of the time |
| Generally | 80% of the time |
| Often | 70% of the time |
| Normally | 60% of the time |
| Sometimes | 50% of the time |
| Seldom | 40% of the time |
| Occasionally | 30% of the time |
| Rarely | 5% of the time |
| Never | 0% of the time |
| Again | The actions were done once more. |
Here are some examples:
- “Always wash your hands when you go out.”
- “I seldom get messages from Martin.”
- “An eclipse rarely happens during our lifetime.”
- “I am practicing my guitar lessons again”
- “Never underestimate the power of your dreams.”
Adverbs of Manner (How?)
Next, we go to “how” an action is carried out. Adverbs of manner show just that. Most of these adverbs are adjectives with “-ly” as a suffix. Here are some examples.
- Happily
- Greedily
- Sadly
- Hastily
- Harshly
- Angrily
- Merrily
Here are some examples:
- “The mailman happily delivered the parcel to our house.”
- “You should not hastily eat your breakfast.”
- “Sadly, the people did not care about the petition we released.”
- “Some people are harshly criticizing the action of the opposition.”
- “Let’s merrily celebrate our wins in this month.”
Adverbs of Degree (How much?)
Relating to what degree an action was done. It answers the question, “How Much?” We can also escalate the degree of intensity a verb was done. Here are some examples.
- almost
- simply
- extremely
- enough
- hardly
- nearly
- quite
- so
- too
- just
Here are some examples:
- “I almost finished the game, but Mike decided to delete my files.”
- “I just want to say I’m sorry.”
- “It’s simply adding the numbers to get the answer.”
- “I am extremely surprised at how the ending went.”
- “Enough rambling about the losing team.”
Adverbs of Place (Where?)
Lastly, we show adverbs that modify verbs to show where the verb took place. Think about point to the action and where it’s done. Here are some examples.
- above
- below
- down
- here
- in
- into
- inside
- out
- outside
- there
- nearby
- everywhere
- nowhere
Here are some examples:
- “Harry jumped above the fence.”
- “Let’s go down the next stop.”
- “Have you looked around the hallways?”
- “We should not go there when we are not with our parents.”
- “Should venture below the deep sea?”
Conclusion
If you want to learn more about adverbs and use it in English well, check LingualBox for reliable online English lessons. LingualBox’s high-caliber certified tutors will help you learn the English language regardless of your current skill level. And prices just start as low as $2 per session! It’s a steal!
With that, let’s learn how to tell our stories better with adverbs!
More Related Articles:
Practical Tips To Remember When Learning the English Grammar
