How to Use Adverbs

Last Updated: March 29, 2019 References

If adverbs are confusing you, you're not alone! Grammar can be tricky, and adverbs are a little obscure. Never fear, though, you can figure out how to use them properly. Adverbs are just words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. First figure out where they go in a sentence, and then learn a few key rules to help point you in the right direction.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Placing Adverbs in a Sentence

1
Use an adverb to describe a verb. One use of an adverb is to modify a verb. The verb is the action in the sentence, and so an adverb tells when, why, to what extent, where, or how you did the action. You might have done the action quickly, calmly, or quietly, for instance. When using an adverb with a verb, the adverb often goes before the verb, though not always.^{[1]
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- For instance, say you have the following sentence: "She ran to the store."
- Identify the verb. In this case, the verb is "ran." Add an adverb before "ran" to describe or modify it: "She quickly ran to the store."
- You could also write this sentence this way: "She ran to the store quickly."
2
Modify an adjective with an adverb. An adjective describes or modifies a noun, which is a person, place, thing, or idea. An adverb can be used to modify adjectives. It tells more about the adjective.^{[2]
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- Take the following sentence: "She was a sad cat."
- Identify the adjective in the sentence. "Sad" describes cat, a noun.
- Add a modifier before "sad," which is the adverb: She was a very sad cat.
- "Very" tells you to what degree the cat was sad--not a little, not a moderate amount, but extremely sad.
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3
Pair an adverb with an adverb. When you use a word to modify or describe an adverb, it's also an adverb. It tells you more about the other adverb.
- For instance, start with this sentence: "She walked quickly." In this sentence, "quickly" is an adverb.
- Next, put an adverb before it to modify it: "She walked extremely quickly."^{[3]
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- In this sentence, "extremely" and "quickly" are both adverbs. "Extremely" modifies the adverb "quickly," and "quickly" modifies the verb, "walked."
4
Use an adverb to introduce a sentence. Sometimes, you can use an adverb at the beginning of a sentence to change what the sentence means. These adverbs are followed by a comma.^{[4]
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- Take this sentence: "The dog was outside."
- If you add an adverb at the beginning, the meaning shifts a little: "Unexpectedly, the dog was outside."
5
Connect independent clauses with conjunctive adverbs. Conjunctive adverbs, which are types of adverbs, can help you join two sentences together. An independent clause is just a sentence with a subject and verb that can stand on its own. When you use conjunctive adverbs to connect or transition between sentences, you need a period or semi-colon.^{[5]
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- For example, say you have these two independent clauses: She ate pie. She regretted it.
- You can connect these sentences in one of two ways with conjunctive adverbs:
  - "She ate pie. However, she regretted it."
  - "She ate pie; however, she regretted it."

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Learning the Rules of Adverbs

1
Keep in mind that adverbs can also be phrases. A phrase is a collection of words that can't stand on its own and doesn't have both a subject and a verb. For instance, prepositional phrases, which begin with prepositions such as under, over, to, for, with, and through, often act as adverbs in sentences.^{[6]
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- For example, look at this sentence: "They ate the apples at the table."
- "At the table" describes where they ate the apples, making it an adverb phrase.
2
Pay attention to the degrees of adverbs. Adverbs come in three basic degrees, positive, comparative, and superlative. The positive adverb is your basic adverb used to describe one thing or one group of things. A comparative adverb compares two things or groups, and the superlative establishes that one thing or group is better than several other sets of groups or things.^{[7]
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- To clarify, many adverbs can be expressed in degrees, such as "fast," "faster," "fastest."
- You could say, "She runs fast," which is the positive case. "She runs faster than my sister," is the comparative because it's comparing two things. "She runs the fastest in her class," is superlative because you're establishing it's the best out of many things.
3
Pay attention to position. Position is also important in adverbs. Adverbs that connect sentences to other sentences are found at the beginning of sentences, such as "however." Adverbs that modify certain parts of the sentence often go in the middle, such as "only," which can change the meaning of the sentence if moved. Adverbs that modify manner, place, or frequency can sometimes be found at the end of the sentence.^{[8]
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- For instance, "afterwards" often comes at the beginning of the sentence because it connects it to the previous sentence: "We played games all afternoon. Afterwards, we ate ice cream."
- "Only" can move around in the sentence depending on what you want it to modify. For example, "They only ate pie in the afternoon," has a different meaning than, "They ate pie only in the afternoon." In the first sentence, they didn't eat anything else but pie in the afternoon. In the second sentence, they consumed pie just in the afternoon, rather than other times of day.
- Other adverbs end up at the end of the sentence: "He picked the bowtie that suited him best." "Best" is the adverb in this sentence, describing how it suited him.
4
Cut out redundant adverbs. Sometimes, an adverb used with a verb is repetitive, and it makes your writing feel clunky. The verb often is enough to describe what is going on without adding extra words.^{[9]
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- For example, take this sentence: "She exclaimed excitedly."
- "Exclaimed" already implies excitement. Adding "excitedly" is redundant.

Expert Q&A
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Question

What is an adverb of place?

Diana Con Webber
Teacher
Diana Con Webber is a Teacher in Arizona. She received her Standard Elementary Education, K-8 Certificate in 2017.

Diana Con Webber

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Expert Answer

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An adverb of palce usually talks about talks the location where the action of the verb is being carried out. For instance, in "Please put the books here," the adverb of place is "here."
Question

What is an adverb in this sentence? "The father glanced down at the paper which he was holding in his hand."

Donagan

Top Answerer

"Down" is an adverb modifying "glanced." Everything after "down" is an adverbial phrase also modifying "glanced." The adverbial phrase consists first of a prepositional phrase and then an independent clause (which includes a second prepositional phrase).
Question

What are the 2 steps I do when finding the adverb in a sentence?

Donagan

Top Answerer

First identify all verbs and adjectives in the sentence. Then identify any words that modify the verbs or adjectives. Those modifiers are adverbs. If the adverbs are modified by other words, those modifiers are also adverbs.