Adverbs: A Complete Guide
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other
adverbs. They provide more information about how, when,
where, why, or to what extent something happens.
1. Types of Adverbs
a) Adverbs of Manner (How?)
Describe how an action is performed.
Usually end in -ly but not always.
Examples:
o She sings beautifully.
o He drives carefully.
o They spoke loudly.
b) Adverbs of Time (When?)
Indicate when something happens.
Examples:
o I saw her yesterday.
o We will leave soon.
o He wakes up early.
c) Adverbs of Place (Where?)
Tell where something happens.
Examples:
o She looked everywhere.
o The kids are playing outside.
o He moved upstairs.
d) Adverbs of Frequency (How often?)
Describe how often an action occurs.
Examples:
o I always wake up at 7 a.m.
o She rarely / hardly ever eats junk food.
o Sometimes, we go to the beach.
o Always 100 %
o Usually 90 %
o Very often 80 %
o Often 75 %
o Sometimes 50 %
o Rarely / Hardly ever 25 %
o Never 0 %
o Everyday / daily
o Once in three days
o Twice in a week
o Three times in a month
e) Adverbs of Degree (To what extent?)
Show intensity or degree.
Examples:
o The movie was very interesting.
o I am too tired to go out.
o She is almost finished.
2. Position of Adverbs
Adverbs can appear in different positions in a sentence:
a) Front Position (before the subject)
Suddenly, it started to rain.
Sometimes, I go jogging.
b) Mid Position (between subject and verb or after
auxiliary verb)
She always arrives early.
We have never seen this before.
c) End Position (after the verb or object)
He ran quickly.
She waited patiently.
3. Forming Adverbs
a) Adding "-ly" to adjectives
Slow → Slowly
Happy → Happily
Careful → Carefully
b) Irregular Adverbs
Some adverbs do not follow the "-ly" rule:
Good → Well (not "goodly")
Fast → Fast
Hard → Hard
Late → Late
4. Common Mistakes with Adverbs
1. Using an adjective instead of an adverb
❌ He plays good.
✅ He plays well.
2. Confusing "hard" and "hardly"
o Hard = with effort (He works hard.)
o Hardly = barely (He hardly works.)
3. Misplacing adverbs
o ❌ She eats quickly her lunch.
o ✅ She quickly eats her lunch.
### Exercise 1: Identify the Adverb
Identify the adverb in each sentence and state its type (manner,
time, place, frequency, or degree).
1. She sings beautifully.
2. He will arrive soon.
3. They looked everywhere for the keys.
4. I often go to the gym.
5. The movie was extremely exciting.
### Exercise 2: Fill in the Blanks
Choose the correct adverb from the options provided.
6. She speaks __ (quiet/quietly) in the library.
7. He runs __ (fast/fastly) to catch the bus.
8. They arrived __ (late/lately) to the party.
9. The baby slept __ (sound/soundly) through the night.
10. She __ (rare/rarely) eats junk food.
### Exercise 3: Adverb Placement
Rewrite the sentences by placing the adverb in the correct
position.
11. She goes to the park. (often)
12. He has finished his homework. (already)
13. They are late for class. (never)
14. I will call you. (tomorrow)
15. She speaks English. (fluently)
### Exercise 4: Adverbs of Manner
Change the adjective in parentheses into an adverb of manner.
16. He drives __ (careful).
17. She answered the question __ (quick).
18. They danced __ (graceful) at the party.
19. The dog barked __ (loud).
20. He solved the puzzle __ (easy).
### Exercise 5: Adverbs of Frequency
Rewrite the sentences using the adverb of frequency in brackets.
21. I go to the movies. (sometimes)
22. She is late for work. (never)
23. They eat out on weekends. (often)
24. He forgets to call. (always)
25. We visit our grandparents. (rarely)
### Exercise 6: Adverbs of Degree
Complete the sentences with an appropriate adverb of degree
(e.g., very, quite, extremely, too, enough).
26. The coffee is __ hot to drink right now.
27. She was __ tired after the long journey.
28. The test was __ difficult for me to finish.
29. He is __ talented to be ignored.
30. The movie was __ interesting; I loved it!
### Exercise 7: Create Your Own Sentences
Write sentences using the following adverbs:
31. Carefully
32. Yesterday
33. Here
34. Always
35. Very
### Exercise 8: Correct the Errors
Find and correct the adverb errors in the following sentences.
36. She sings beautiful.
37. He runs fastly.
38. They arrived lately to the meeting.
39. The children played happy in the park.
40. She speaks English good.
### Exercise 9: Adverb or Adjective?
Decide whether the underlined word is an adverb or an adjective.
41. She is a quick learner.
42. He runs quickly.
43. The cake tastes sweet.
44. She smiled sweetly.
45. The weather is extremely hot.
### Exercise 10: Adverb Challenge
Combine the sentences using an adverb.
46. She finished her homework. She did it quickly.
47. He spoke to the audience. He spoke confidently.
48. They walked to the store. They walked slowly.
49. She answered the question. She answered correctly.
50. He completed the project. He completed it successfully.
