ADVERBS

ENGLISH 4
WHAT ARE ADVERBS?

• Adverbs are single-word modifiers.

This means that they describe something.
• They describe verbs most of the time.
• Sometimes they describe adjectives and other adverbs.
WHAT ARE ADVERBS?

• Most adverbs describe an action verb.

Run is a verb. You could:
run fast
run slow
run backward
run sideways
Fast, slow, backward, sideways – these are all adverbs
because they describe the action run.
WHAT ARE ADVERBS?

• Some adverbs describe adjectives.

Pretty is an adjective.
You could say:
quite pretty
really pretty
not pretty
definitely pretty

Quite, really, not, definitely – these are all adverbs because they describe
the adjective pretty.
WHAT ARE ADVERBS?

• Some adverbs also describe other adverbs.

Cowardly is an adverb.
You could say:
very cowardly
never cowardly
always cowardly
thoroughly cowardly

Very, never, always, thoroughly – these are adverbs because they

describe other adverbs.
TYPES OF ADVERBS

• One type of adverb is the adverb of time.

• Adverbs of time tell “when?” or “how often?” an
action occurs.
Example:
I never saw the movie.
(When did I see it? Never. That means “never” is
an adverb of time.)
Example:
We wrote a story yesterday in class.
(When did we write it? Yesterday. That means
“yesterday” is an adverb of time.)
TYPES OF ADVERBS

• Another type of adverb are adverbs of place.

• Adverbs of place tell “where?” an action
occurred.
Example:
Did you put your book there on the table?
Where did you put your book? There. That
means that there is an adverb. “On the table”
is a prepositional phrase. It is not an adverb.
Remember that an adverb is a single-word
modifier.
TYPES OF ADVERBS

• The most common type of adverbs are adverbs of manner.

• Adverbs of manner tell “how?” or “in what manner?” an
action has occurred.
• Many adverbs of manner end in the letters “ly.”
Example:
We walked slowly down the hall.
(How did we walk? Slowly. That means
“slowly” is an adverb of manner.)
TYPES OF ADVERBS

• Adverbs of degree are the hardest type of adverb to locate

in a sentence.
• Adverbs of manner tell “how much?” or “to what degree?”
something occurs.
• Adverbs of manner are often the ones that describe
adjectives or other adverbs.
Example:
I am very tired.
(To what degree am I tired? Very. “Very” is an
adverb of manner.)
Example:
We were too sleepy to continue the activity.
(How much were we sleepy? Too. That means that “too”is
an adverb of degree.)
TYPES OF ADVERBS

• The final type of adverb are adverbs of affirmation and

negation.
• The three adverbs of affirmation are:
yes, indeed, undoubtedly
• The three adverbs of negation are:
no, not, never

• Anytime these words appear in sentences, they are adverbs.

ADVERB OR ADJECTIVE?

• An ADVERB modifies verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

• An ADJECTIVE modifies nouns.

Example:
The fast car is racing.
(Fast describes car. Car is a noun. The kind of word that
describes a noun is an adjective; therefore, in this sentence,
fast is an adjective.)
Example: The car races fast.
(Fast describes how it races. Races is a verb. The kind of
word that describes a verb is an adverb; therefore, in this
sentence, fast is an adverb.)
• This completes the review of adverbs.
• Additional review can be done in the review folders housed
in 106 and the library.