What Are Adverbs?
An adverb is a word modifying (describing) a verb, an
adjective, or another adverb.
Adverbs can answer:
How
Badly
Brightly
Directly
Quickly
Quite
Very
More
Better
Less
Worse
Most
Least
When
Again
Often
Sometimes
Once
Now
Then
Soon
Tomorrow
Yesterday
Never
Where
Here
There
Everywhere
Nowhere
Somewhere
Anywhere
Nearby
Up
Down
Out
Adverb Modifying Verbs
Jessica sings well.
(How does Jessica sing?)
She is singing tomorrow in a show.
(When is she singing?)
She is performing here at this theater.
(Where is she performing?)
Adverb Modifying Adjectives
We went for a very long car ride.
(How long was the ride?)
It was a really boring trip.
(How boring was the trip?)
I was extremely tired when we got home.
(How tired was I?)
Adverb Modifying Adverbs
We go to the movies quite often.
(How often do we go?)
The actress screamed very loudly.
(How loudly did she scream?)
We left the theater more quickly than usual.
(How quickly did we leave?)
Adverbs Modify Verbs:
Adverbs can be used to describe or modify verbs.
Adverbs answer the questions how, when, or where.
Most adverbs are formed by adding –ly to adjectives: carefully, usually, nearly.
Examples:
 Jaime plays skillfully. [how]
 Jaime plays outside. [where]
 Jaime plays often. [when]
When used to modify a verb, an adverb may appear:
 Before the verb
 After the verb
 At the beginning of the sentence
 At the end of the sentence
Examples:
 Jaime softly played with the band. [before the verb]
 Jaime played softly with the band. [after the verb]
 Softly Jaime played with the band. [beginning of sentence]
 Jaime played with the band softly. [end of sentence]
Adverbs Modify Adjectives:
Adverbs can be used to describe or modify adjectives.
Examples:
 Jim Henson created a group of very unusual puppets.
 The seriously late train arrived at the station.
Adverbs Modify Adverbs:
Adverbs can be used to modify or describe other adverbs.
Examples:
 His puppet creations have worked very successfully.
 Their appearance on Sesame Street increased their popularity quite rapidly.
Tip: Adverbs that modify adjectives and other adverbs almost always appear
directly before the word they modify.