Adverbs

English Grammar

What are Adverbs?

èAn adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. It "qualifies" or "modifies" a verb. Lets try to understand this with a small example.
Examples :

àThe bus moved slowly

àThe bears ate greedily.

Sometimes they tell us more about adjectivesè

Examples :

àYou look absolutely fabulous

 They can  also modify other adverbsè

Examples :

àShe played violin extremely well.

àYou ‘re speaking too quietly.

Adverbs: Comparative & Superlativeè

Ruleè

In general, comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are the same as for adjectives:

add -er or -est to short adverbs:

Adverb                       Comparative              Superlative

hard                             harder                          hardest

late                              later                             the latest

fast                              faster                           the fastest

Example:

àJim works harder than his brother.

àEveryone in the race ran fast, but John ran the fastest of all.

Rule è

With adverbs ending in -ly, use more for the comparative and most for the superlative:

Adverb                       Comparative              Superlative

quietly                          more quietly               most quietly
slowly                          more slowly                most slowly

seriously                      more seriously            most seriously

Example:

àThe teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.

à Could you sing more quietly please?

Ruleè

Some adverbs have irregular comparative forms:

Adverb                       Comparative              Superlative

badly                           worse                         worst

 far                               farther/further           farthest/furthest
little                              less                             least

Example:

àThe little boy ran further than his friends.

àYou're driving worse today than yesterday !

BE CAREFUL! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':

àWe were most grateful for your help

àI am most impressed by this application.

  ADVERBS OF MANNERè

Ruleè

Adverbs of manner tell us how something happens. They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object.

Examples:

àHe swims well, (after the main verb)

àHe ran... rapidly, slowly, quickly..

àShe spoke... softly, loudly, aggressively..

àJames coughed loudly to attract her attention.

àHe plays the flute beautifully. (after the object)

àHe ate the chocolate cake greedily.

BE CAREFUL! è

The adverb should not be put between the verb and the object:

Examples

àHe ate greedily the chocolate cake [incorrect]

àHe ate the chocolate cake greedily [correct]

Ruleè

If there is a preposition before the object, e.g. at, towards, we can place the adverb either before the preposition or after the object.

Examples

àThe child ran happily towards his mother.

àThe child ran towards his mother happily.

Ruleè

Sometimes an adverb of manner is placed before a verb + object to add emphasis:

Examples:

àHe gently woke the sleeping woman.

è Some writers put an adverb of manner at the beginning of the sentence to catch our attention and make us curious:

Examples:

àSlowly she picked up the knife.

Ruleè

(We want to know what happened slowly, who did it slowly, why they did it slowly)

However, adverbs should always come AFTER intransitive verbs (=verbs which have no object).

Examples

àThe town grew quickly

àHe waited patiently

 Also, these common adverbs are almost always placed AFTER the verb:

well, badly, hard, fast