You’ve heard of adjectives and verbs, but what about adverbs? When you want to add details to your sentence, adverbs in English help you describe when, where, and how something happens. Use this guide to pick the right type of adverb for the situation and put it in the correct part of the sentence.
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What are adverbs in English?
Adverbs are one of the parts of speech in English. They mostly describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. The six main types of adverbs in English are:
- adverbs of time: show when (I’m going now.)
- adverbs of frequency: show how often (She drives often.)
- adverbs of place: show where (Put it there.)
- adverbs of degree: show how much (I’m very tired.)
- adverbs of manner: show how (You sing beautifully.)
- conjunctive adverbs: connect sentences or clauses (However, there’s more.)
Sometimes, the types of adverbs are called by different names. However, the adverb functions stay the same.
Adjective vs. adverb
Adjectives and adverbs both describe other words, but the words they describe are different parts of speech.
Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They can either go in front of the noun or after a connecting verb like be (am, is, are).
- She’s taking a photo of a famous building.
- This building is famous.
Adverbs describe adjectives and verbs in English.
- This hat is very big.
- He cooks badly.
When to use English adverbs
Adverbs are important when you want to give details that the main verb or adjective doesn’t show. For example, imagine you’re telling your friend about a party. You’ll need to use adverbs to explain specific things they need to know.
- The party will be here.
- It will be tomorrow at 3:00.
- Please come early to help set up.
Adverbs also make your sentences more interesting! Instead of just using a verb or an adjective, you can add a more detailed description.
- I’m reading quietly.
- She is stunningly beautiful.
How to use adverbs in English
Different types of adverbs can be put in different parts of a sentence. Here are some general rules about where to put adverbs in a sentence:
- An adverb at the beginning of a sentence introduces information or makes it more important.
- An adverb at the end of a sentence or after the main verb gives extra information.
- An adverb describing an adverb is usually put before the adjective.
- If there is a main verb and an auxiliary verb, the adverb usually goes between them.
- If there is more than one adverb, they generally go in the order of: manner, place, time.
Sometimes, an adverb can fit in more than one place in a sentence. The best way to learn how that changes the meaning is to practice using and listening to them. Taking advantage of programs that use native audio, like Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method, will help.
Charts and examples of the types of English adverbs
English has dozens of important adverbs for you to learn. You’ll expand your vocabulary over time, but starting with the basics will help you learn to use the different types.
Examples of adverbs of time
Adverbs of time describe when something happened, is happening, or will happen. They usually go at the end of a sentence. You can also put the adverb at the beginning of the sentence or before the main verb if you want to make it more important.
| English | Pronunciation | Example |
| now | nou | Now I play here. |
| soon | soon | They will get married soon. |
| later | LEI-ter | Karen will call you later. |
| earlier | UR-lee-er | I would like to eat earlier. |
| today | tuh-DEY | What did you do today? |
| yesterday | YES-ter-dey | The election was yesterday. |
| tomorrow | tuh-MAWR-oh | Bring it tomorrow. |
| this morning | this MAWR-ning | Andrew bought it this morning. |
| this afternoon | this af-ter-NOON | We’re practicing this afternoon. |
| tonight | tuh-NAHYT | I’m sleeping outside tonight. |
| finally | FAHYN-l-ee | Her mom finally read the book. |
| early | UR-lee | I’m leaving work early. |
| late | leyt | She slept late. |
| before | bih-FOHR | Don’t eat before dinner. |
| after | AF-ter | After I went to Spain, I went to France. |
| next | nekst | Lisa is going next. |
Examples of adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of frequency show how often something happens. You can put this type of adverb:
- in the middle of a sentence and before the main verb
- at the end of a sentence
Some adverbs can be moved to the beginning of the sentence to make them more important to the sentence (like sometimes).
| English | Pronunciation | Example |
| always | AWL-weyz | Jeff always wears glasses. |
| usually | YOOZH-wuh-lee | Nancy usually drinks coffee. |
| often | AW-fuhn | I often play baseball. |
| sometimes | SUHM-tahymz | Sometimes we work together. |
| frequently | FREE-kwuhnt-lee | Her friend naps frequently. |
| occasionally | uh-KEY-zhuh-nl-ee | I lie occasionally. |
| rarely | RAIR-lee | They rarely watch TV. |
| never | NEV-er | My father never reads. |
| daily | DEY-lee | I take medicine daily. |
| weekly | WEEK-lee | They have weekly meetings. |
| biweekly | bahy-WEEK-lee | Emily is paid biweekly. |
| monthly | MUHNTH-lee | She has monthly appointments. |
| annually | AN-yoo-uh-lee | We pay taxes annually. |
| every day | EV-ree dey | I bathe every day. |
| every week | EV-ree week | Steven goes grocery shopping every week. |
| hourly | OUUHR-lee | Mark is paid hourly. |
| once | wuhns | He travels once a year. |
| twice | twahys | My class meets twice per week. |
Examples of adverbs of place
Adverbs of place show where something is. Most of the time, they go at the end of a sentence.
Be careful about the difference between adverbs of place and prepositions in English. Adverbs are connected to verbs or adjectives.
- The dog rolled over.
But, prepositions usually connect to a noun to show where something is.
- I drove over the bridge.
| English | Pronunciation | Example |
| here | heer | We live here. |
| there | thair | I’m heading there. |
| everywhere | EV-ree-wair | It’s raining everywhere. |
| nowhere | NOH-wair | We’re going nowhere. |
| nearby | NEER-BAHY | The restaurant is nearby. |
| far away | fahr uh-WEY | New York is far away. |
| inside | in-SAHYD | I’m staying inside today. |
| outside | out-SAHYD | Take the dog outside. |
| indoors | in-DOHRZ | The party moved indoors. |
| outdoors | out-DOHRZ | They work outdoors. |
| abroad | uh-BRAWD | He’s studying abroad. |
| off | awf | Ashley rolled off the bed. |
| on | awn | I drove on the highway. |
| upstairs | UHP-STAIRZ | She’s studying upstairs. |
| downstairs | DOUN-STAIRZ | The bathroom is downstairs. |
| forward* | FAWR-werd | Move your seat forward. |
| backward* | BAK-werd | Take a step backward. |
| upward* | UHP-werd | The plane tilted upward. |
| downward* | DOUN-werd | The hill slopes downward. |
*You may notice adverbs of place that end in -ward sometimes end in -wards. The meaning is usually the same. It is more common in American English to use the word without the “s” at the end, but it’s OK if you use backward or backwards as an adverb.
Examples of adverbs of degree
Adverbs of degree show how much something is. You often see this type of adverb with an adjective. So, these adverbs can be put in the middle of the sentence before the adjective or verb they’re describing.
A few of these adverbs use the English article a.
- a lot
- a little
It’s important to keep these adverbs as separate words.
| English | Pronunciation | Example |
| very | VER-ee | It was very difficult to read. |
| quite | kwahyt | I’m quite happy. |
| really | REE-lee | It’s really hot today. |
| extremely | ik-STREEM-lee | Tornadoes are extremely windy. |
| completely | kuhm-PLEET-lee | This is completely free. |
| absolutely | ab-suh-LOOT-lee | She’s absolutely going to the party. |
| barely | BAIR-lee | The sun has barely risen. |
| slightly | SLAHYT-lee | Paul opened the bag slightly. |
| hardly | HAHRD-lee | That’s hardly fair. |
| fairly | FAIR-lee | March can be fairly cold. |
| altogether | awl-tuh-GETH-er | It cost $25 altogether. |
| just | juhst | The temperature is just right. |
| almost | AWL-mohst | I’m almost fluent. |
| a lot | uh LOT | She studies a lot. |
| a little | uh LIT-l | Amy speaks a little Chinese. |
| too | too | Calculus is too difficult for me. |
Examples of adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner show how something is happening. If the adverb is what you want someone to remember, it typically goes at the end of the sentence. If the verb is more important to know, the adverb typically goes before it.
Most adverbs of manner ending in -ly are formed from adjectives. You can make adverbs from almost any adjective by following these general rules:
- adjective ends in -l: add -ly (hopeful → hopefully)
- adjective ends in -y: change -y to -i and add -ly (angry → angrily)
- adjective ends in consonant + -e: add -ly (cute → cutely)
- all other adjectives: add -ly (sweet → sweetly)
| English | Pronunciation | Example |
| quickly | KWIK-lee | The baby quickly fell asleep. |
| slowly | SLOH-lee | Please drive slowly. |
| loudly | LOUD-lee | He cried loudly. |
| quietly | KWAHY-it-lee | The girl is reading quietly. |
| calmly | KAHLM-lee | The teacher spoke calmly. |
| excitedly | ik-SAHY-tid-lee | She clapped excitedly. |
| warmly | WAWRM-lee | Gary greeted me warmly. |
| coldly | KOHLD-lee | They stared coldly. |
| strongly | STRAWNG-lee | I strongly believe in ghosts. |
| weakly | WEEK-lee | The patient waved weakly. |
| accidentally | ak-si-DEN-tl-ee | Scott accidentally spilled the milk. |
| clearly | KLEER-lee | I can see clearly. |
| easily | EE-zuh-lee | She easily passed the test. |
| happily | HAP-uh-lee | Carolyn happily accepted the proposal. |
| straight | streyt | Walk straight this way. |
| well | wel | The doctor said to eat well. |
| fast | fast | He speaks fast. |
| hard | hahrd | She was breathing hard. |
Examples of conjunctive adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs are similar to conjunctions (like but), and they connect sentences or clauses. Most of the time, they go at the beginning of the second sentence (or clause) to show the oreder of events.
- First, she cooked.
- Then, she ate dinner.
- Finally, she washed the plates.
Remember to add a comma after a conjunctive adverb at the beginning of a sentence.
| English | Pronunciation | Example |
| also | AWL-soh | Also, do your homework. |
| finally | FAHYN-l-ee | Finally, it’s raining. |
| however | hou-EV-er | However, it’s not easy. |
| still | stil | Still, she made it home. |
| besides | bih-SAHYDZ | Besides, I like reading. |
| thus | thuhs | Thus, they were married. |
| for example | fawr ig-ZAM-puhl | For example, “here” is an adverb. |
| regardless | ri-GAHRD-lis | I’m going regardless. |
| then | then | Then, we’ll drive home. |
| meanwhile | MEEN-wahyl | Meanwhile, the baby was sleeping. |
| furthermore | FUR-ther-mawr | Furthermore, we need evidence. |
| in fact | in fakt | In fact, English is the most widely spoken language. |
| in conclusion | in kuhn-KLOO-zhuhn | In conclusion, vegetables are healthy. |
| naturally | NACH-er-uh-lee | Naturally, fire is hot. |
| additionally | uh-DISH-uhn-lee | Additionally, we need tickets. |
Key takeaways about adverbs in English
You probably use adverbs every day, whether you realize it or not. They make your sentences easier to understand and more interesting, which makes you sound more fluent as you learn English. Here are the most important things to remember about the adverbs English uses:
- English adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
- English has six main types of adverbs: time, frequency, place, degree, manner, and conjunctive.
- The type of adverb determines where to put it in a sentence.
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