Looking to add more detail to your speaking and writing? Then you’ve come to the right place! Adverbs are a great way to include more information, and there are many types of adverbs, each with a different purpose and way to use them. This guide breaks it down for you.

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All about adverbs in English

Adverbs are words that give more information about verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs. They typically answer a question such as how, when, where, how often, or to what extent. For a sentence like She eats slowly, you can ask: How does she eat? The answer is: slowly. So, slowly is the adverb that tells us more about how this person eats. Other types of adverbs work similarly:

EXAMPLE They live nearby.
QUESTION Where do they live?
ANSWER nearby
EXAMPLE They're incredibly excited!
QUESTION To what extent are they excited?
ANSWER incredibly
EXAMPLE I sometimes forget my keys.
QUESTION How often do I forget my keys?
ANSWER sometimes

Adverbs can appear in a number of different positions in a sentence, depending on both the type of adverb and the element of the sentence the speaker wants to emphasize. Possible positions include:

POSITION EXAMPLE
after the main verb I ate quickly.
after a direct object She drew the picture carefully.
before the main verb They immediately smiled.
at the start of a sentence Sometimes he’s late.
before an adjective or adverb I’m really confused!

Essential English adverb types

There are many different types of adverbs in English. Some of the most common categories include adverbs of manner, time, frequency, degree, place, and certainty as well as interrogative adverbs. Here’s how to use them:

Adverbs of manner

Adverbs of manner describe how an action is done. Words like quickly, carefully, and softly are all adverbs of manner.

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Adverbs of manner are typically formed by adding -ly to the end of an adjective.

For example:

ADJECTIVE ADVERB OF MANNER EXAMPLE
bad badly I sing very badly.
kind kindly The teacher smiled kindly.
perfect perfectly You don’t need to do things perfectly.
quick quickly Can you quickly go to the store?
slow slowly They walk very slowly.

Adverbs of time

Words in this category give information about when an action takes place. Adverbs of time include still, yet, and tomorrow. Other common adverbs of time are:

ADVERB OF TIME EXAMPLE
forever I will love you forever.
immediately Please sit down immediately!
meanwhile Joe cooked dinner. Meanwhile, Amy set the table.
now I live in Texas now.
previously She previously worked at a bank.
yesterday I saw Junior yesterday.

Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency are words that describe how often an action takes place. They can either do this in a precise manner (as in daily) or in a more general manner (as in sometimes). Some common adverbs of frequency include:

ADVERB OF FREQUENCY EXAMPLE
daily Eddy goes to the gym daily.
weekly We go to the supermarket weekly.
always They always have dessert.
never She never yells.
sometimes You sometimes forget your hat.

Adverbs of degree

This type of adverb describes the extent of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Adverbs of degree can intensify, diminish, or limit the words they modify. These are words like extremely, slightly, and almost. Some other common adverbs of degree are:

ADVERB OF DEGREE EXAMPLE
so We’re so hungry!
a little I’m a little tired.
hardly You hardly spoke.
just He just bought a book.

Adverbs of place

These are adverbs that give information on where an action takes place. This category includes three types:

  1. Adverbs of position, which describe the location of an action (like
    here
    and
    inside
    ).
  2. Adverbs of direction, which describe the path of an action (like
    across
    and
    backward
    ).
  3. Adverbs of distance, which describe how near or far an action took place (like
    nearby
    and
    further
    ).

Common adverbs of place are:

ADVERB OF PLACE EXAMPLE
backward or backwards He always wears his hat backwards.
further I can’t walk any further.
here You can sit here.
inside Let’s go inside.
nearby Does he live nearby?
there We already looked there.
outside Do you want to eat outside?

Adverbs of certainty

Adverbs of certainty express how sure the speaker feels about an action. They include words like probably, definitely, and maybe. While these adverbs are often used with the present or future tenses (as in I’ll probably want to take a shower), they can also be used to describe how certain the speaker is about an event in the past (as in She was definitely sick).

Frequent adverbs of certainty include:

ADVERB OF CERTAINTY EXAMPLE
definitely I definitely want to go!
certainly You’ll certainly be tired tomorrow.
maybe Maybe we’ll have lunch together.
possibly Could he possibly close the door?
probably I’ll probably study tonight.
likely They’ll likely need a nap.
perhaps Perhaps you’ll like it!
potentially She can potentially babysit.

Interrogative adverbs

This category of adverb is used to ask questions about when, where, why and how an action takes place. They typically appear at the beginning of a question. 

English has four interrogative adverbs:

INTERROGATIVE ADVERB EXAMPLE
when When does the party start?
where Where did you eat dinner?
why Why is he crying?
how How did it work?
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Adverbs are extremely helpful!

Whether you’re a little nervous or really excited to use English adverbs, keep studying and soon you’ll be using adverbs expertly!