Adverbs in English: Definition, Types, and Position

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Adverbs are an important part of English grammar. They help describe how, when, where, how often, and to what extent an action happens. In this lesson, you will learn what adverbs are, the main types of adverbs, and how to use them correctly in English sentences.

Adverb Definition

Adverbs are words that are used in sentences to describe or change the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or even another adverb. They often answer questions like how, when, where, how often, and to what extent. For example:

• He walked slowly across the square.

Here, one can see that the adverb slowly is describing the verb walk by telling how the person walked.

Types of Adverbs

Adverbs are used in sentences to answer many questions about the verbs/adjectives/adverbs themselves. The different types of adverbs are as follows.

If you want to explore more examples, you can check out our complete list of adverbs, organized by type and usage.

Adverbs of Time

What is an adverb of time? Look at examples below:

• The results were announced yesterday.

Here, the adverb is yesterday, which answers the question: When were the results announced? Announced is the verb in this sentence.

• She will visit the hospital tomorrow.

Here the verb is visit and the adverb is tomorrow as the question being asked is: When will she visit the hospital?

Other examples of adverbs of time include yesterday, today, now, soon, then, etc. (Note: daily can be an adverb or an adjective depending on the sentence.)

Adverbs of Place

What is an adverb of place? Look at examples below:

• They will meet you there.

The adverb here is there that is specifying a place for the verb meet and the question being answered is: Where will they meet you?

• In spring, flowers bloom everywhere.

Here the verb is bloom and the adverb is everywhere, answering the question: Where do the flowers bloom in spring?

Other examples of adverbs of place include: anywhere, somewhere, near, far, etc.

Adverbs of Manner

What is an adverb of manner? Look at examples below:

• He quietly slipped away.

The adverb here is quietly which is telling the way or manner in which the action was carried out and the verb is slipped. The question is: How did he slip away?

• She works fast.

The verb here is works and the adverb is fast and the question being asked is: How does she work?

These adverbs tell about the manner of the action being done. Other examples of adverbs of manner include: honestly, joyfully, cunningly, etc.

Adverbs of Frequency

What are adverbs of frequency? Let’s take a look at the examples below:

• He likes to watch TV every day.

Here, the adverb is every day and it is telling the frequency of the action. The verb is watch. The question in this sentence is: How often does he watch TV?

• They meet every week.

The adverb here is every week and it is telling the frequency and the verb is meet. The sentence is telling us: How often do they meet?

These adverbs tell us how often an action happens. Other examples of adverbs of frequency include: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, never, once, etc.

Adverbs of Degree

• She almost finished the work.

The verb phrase here is finished the work, and the adverb is almost, which shows the degree of completion. The question being asked is: To what extent did she finish the work?

• They were completely surprised by the windfall.

The adverb here is completely which is showing the degree to which they were surprised. The question being asked here is: How much were they surprised?

The adverbs of degree are used to show to what extent or how much an action or feeling is. Other examples of these adverbs include: fully, partially, altogether, etc.

Adverbs of Confirmation and Negation

• They will certainly like this vase.

The adverb here is certainly which is reinforcing the verb like in answer to the question: Will they like this vase?

• He never leaves his house.

The adverb never is negating the verb leave. It is answering the question in denial: Does he ever leave his house?

These adverbs either confirm or deny an action. Other examples of adverbs of confirmation include: definitely, absolutely, surely, etc. Examples of adverbs of negation include: not, never, no, etc. (Note: don’t and can’t are not adverbs; they are contractions of auxiliary verbs + not.)

Adverbs of Comment (Sentence Adverbs)

These adverbs are used to make a comment on the entire sentence. They give a look at the speaker’s viewpoint or opinion about the sentence. These adverbs don’t just change or describe the verb; they influence the whole sentence.

• They found his secret easily.
• Unfortunately, they found his secret easily.

Here, we see that adding the adverb unfortunately has changed the entire tone of the sentence.

• Luckily, the dog did not bite the children.
• Happily, the power returned before the big match.
• Did he honestly expect me to lie for him? (The adverb adds a comment on the speaker’s attitude.)
• And they would win the world cup, obviously. (This can sound sarcastic or positive, depending on the context.)

Adverbs of Conjunction

Conjunctive adverbs are used to connect ideas or independent clauses. They often show consequence, contrast, or addition.

When a conjunctive adverb connects two independent clauses, we usually place a semicolon (;) before it.

Example:

• Clause 1: He was going for an important interview.
• Clause 2: He made sure he reached on time.

➡️ He was going for an important interview; accordingly, he made sure he reached on time.

In this sentence, the adverb accordingly connects the two clauses and shows their relationship.

Accordingly means “therefore” or “that is why.”

Common Adverbs of Conjunction:

• However – synonyms include: yet, on the other hand, nevertheless, in spite of that
• Consequently – synonyms include: as a result, therefore
• Moreover – synonyms include: besides, in addition
• Conversely – synonyms include: on the contrary, in contrast

Interrogative Adverbs

Interrogative adverbs are those that ask a question – words such as where, when, why and how.

• Where do you live?
• When does the movie start?
• Why are you late?
• How did you do that?

Relative Adverbs

Relative adverbs consist of the same words as interrogative adverbs but connect clauses (they often replace “which + preposition”).

• This is the store where I bought the table.
• Last Friday was when I last saw the professor.
• Construction work is the reason why I was late.

Nouns Used Like Adverbs (Note)

Important: Some nouns (time, distance, money) can function like adverbs in a sentence, but grammatically, they are still nouns.

• Distance: We drove 300 miles in total.
• Direction: We drove north from Texas.
• Duration: The journey lasted six hours.
• Measurement: My coffee mug holds eight ounces of coffee.
• Value: The car is now worth around 4,000 dollars.

Position of Adverbs

Adverbs are flexible, but they generally follow these patterns:

1. At the Beginning (Front Position) Used for emphasis or sentence adverbs.

• Tomorrow, I am leaving for New York.

• Unfortunately, the bus was late.

2. In the Middle (Mid Position) Often used for adverbs of frequency or certainty.

• You are always late.

• I will probably be absent.

3. At the End (End Position) Common for adverbs of manner, place, and time.

• He wrote the answers correctly.

Special Rules (Intensifiers & Sentence Adverbs)

• Intensifiers: Must be placed before the adjective/adverb (e.g., very quickly).

• Meaning Changes: Note the difference between “John spoke naturally” (Manner) and “Naturally, John spoke” (Comment).

Exercises: Adverbs in English

Exercise 1: Identify the Adverb

Underline the adverb in each sentence.

1. She speaks clearly during presentations.
2. We will meet tomorrow after work.
3. He almost finished the project on time.
4. They usually eat dinner at home.
5. The children played outside all afternoon.
6. She answered the question politely.
7. I have never tried sushi before.
8. The train arrived late last night.
9. He completely forgot about the meeting.
10. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Exercise 2: Choose the Correct Adverb

Choose the correct adverb to complete each sentence.

1. She finished her homework ___ . (quick / quickly)
2. We will travel ___ next week. (abroad / abroadly)
3. He ___ checks his email in the morning. (always / every)
4. The baby is sleeping very ___ . (quiet / quietly)
5. I have ___ seen that movie before. (never / ever)
6. They were ___ surprised by the news. (complete / completely)
7. Please speak ___ so everyone can hear you. (clear / clearly)
8. She visits her grandparents ___ . (weekly / week)
9. ___ , the weather improved in the afternoon. (Fortunately / Fortunate)
10. He placed the keys ___ on the table. (careful / carefully)

Exercise 3: Rewrite the Sentence

Rewrite each sentence using the adverb in brackets in the correct position.

1. She finished the test. (quickly)
2. I have seen such a beautiful place. (never)
3. He explained the rules. (clearly)
4. They meet on Fridays. (usually)
5. The children were playing. (outside)
6. She was surprised by the result. (completely)
7. We will leave for Paris. (tomorrow)
8. He answered the phone. (politely)
9. She speaks in meetings. (confidently)
10. The bus arrived. (late)

Answers:

Exercise 1:

1. clearly
2. tomorrow
3. almost
4. usually
5. outside
6. politely
7. never
8. late
9. completely
10. fortunately

Exercise 2:

1. quickly
2. abroad
3. always
4. quietly
5. never
6. completely
7. clearly
8. weekly
9. Fortunately
10. carefully

Exercise 3:

(Other correct placements may be possible.)

1. She finished the test quickly.
2. I have never seen such a beautiful place.
3. He explained the rules clearly.
4. They usually meet on Fridays.
5. The children were playing outside.
6. She was completely surprised by the result.
7. We will leave for Paris tomorrow.
8. He answered the phone politely.
9. She speaks confidently in meetings.
10. The bus arrived late.