2.15: Adverbs
- Page ID
- 53520
Reading Exercise
Read the sentences below and identify the adverbs. Then discuss with your class. The adverbs are giving more information (modifying) about certain words or phrases in the sentence. Which ones?
- San Diego has a very diverse population
- Immigrants to San Diego don't always speak English
- Fortunately, they are learning English
- The students in this class are learning English very quickly
Answers
- The adverb is "very," it is modifying "diverse"
- The adverb is "always," it is modifying "speak"
- The adverb is "fortunately," it is modifying "they are learning English"
- The adverb is "very quickly," it is modifying "are learning"
Why Use Adverbs?
Compare these sentences. Which sentence in each pair gives more information? What kind of information do we learn?
- Immigrants are learning English
- Fortunately, immigrants are learning English
- The students in this class are learning English
- The students in this class are learning English very quickly
- San Diego has nice beaches
- San Diego has incredibly nice beaches
Answers
- The second sentence in the first pair gives more information, we learn the author's opinion about the sentence
- The second sentence in the second pair gives more information, we learn how the students are learning
- The second sentence in the third pair gives more information, we learn that the beaches are not just nice but incredibly nice
Read the list of phrases below. What are the parts of speech of the words/phrases that are modified?
- Very diverse
- Always speak
- Fortunately, they are learning English
- Are learning very quickly
- Very quickly
Answers
- "Diverse" is an adjective
- "Speak" is a verb
- "They are learning English" is a clause
- "Are learning" is a verb
- "Quickly" is an adverb
From the examples, we can say an adverb can modify a verb, a clause, an adjective, or another adverb
More on Adverbs
Read the list of adverbs below. What is a common ending for many adverbs (but not all)?
- Incredibly
- Always
- Happily
- Angrily
- Quickly
- Fast
- Early
- Never
- Sometimes
- Often
- Usually
- Sadly
- Fortunately
- Rarely
- Delightedly
- Hungrily
- Basically
- Definitely
- Probably
- Possibly
- Too
- Unfortunately
- Luckily
- Certainly
- Hardly
- Quietly
Many adverbs end with -ly. Sometimes an adverb can be created from an adjective + -ly (e.g. quick, quickly)
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of frequency are used to tell how often something happens. These adverbs are usually used with simple present or simple past verbs. Which of the adverbs from the list below can be used with this sentence to give information about "how often"?
- I __________ eat breakfast
- Incredibly
- Always
- Happily
- Angrily
- Quickly
- Fast
- Early
- Never
- Sometimes
- Often
- Usually
- Sadly
- Fortunately
- Seldom
- Rarely
- Delightedly
- Hungrily
- Basically
- Definitely
- Probably
- Possibly
- Too
- Unfortunately
- Luckily
- Certainly
- Hardly
- Quietly
- Frequently
- Occasionally
Answers
- Always
- Often
- Frequently
- Usually
- Sometimes
- Occasionally
- Seldom
- Rarely
- Never
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner answer the question "how." Adverbs of manner modify verbs and usually come after the verb. Which of the adverbs on the list below may be used in the sentences to show how she walked or ate?
- She walked _____________
- She ate ________________
- Incredibly
- Always
- Happily
- Angrily
- Quickly
- Fast
- Early
- Never
- Sometimes
- Often
- Usually
- Sadly
- Fortunately
- Rarely
- Delightedly
- Hungrily
- Basically
- Definitely
- Probably
- Possibly
- Too
- Unfortunately
- Luckily
- Certainly
- Hardly
- Quietly
Answers
- Happily
- Angrily
- Quickly
- Fast
- Sadly
- Delightedly
- Hungrily
- Quietly
Comment Adverbs
Comment adverbs give the speaker's opinion about the sentence. These adverbs usually come before the sentence and are followed by a comma. Which of the adverbs on the list below can fill in the blank to show the author's opinion about arriving before the concert?
- _________________, we arrived before the concert began
- Incredibly
- Always
- Happily
- Angrily
- Quickly
- Fast
- Early
- Never
- Sometimes
- Often
- Usually
- Sadly
- Fortunately
- Rarely
- Delightedly
- Hungrily
- Basically
- Definitely
- Probably
- Possibly
- Too
- Unfortunately
- Luckily
- Certainly
- Hardly
- Quietly
Answers
- Incredibly
- Sadly
- Fortunately
- Basically
- Unfortunately
- Luckily
- Certainly
Videos
Watch this video and this video for more information about adverbs...