Adverbs are one of the four major word classes, along with nouns, verbs and adjectives. We use adverbs to add more information about a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a clause or a whole sentence and, less commonly, about a noun phrase.
Can you move it carefully? It’s fragile.
Quickly! We’re late.
She swims really well.
Don’t go so fast.
You have to turn it clockwise.
Come over here.
Actually, I don’t know her.
I haven’t seen them recently.
The bathroom’s upstairs on the left.
Adverbs have many different meanings and functions. They are especially important for indicating the time, manner, place, degree and frequency of something.
time
I never get up early at the weekends.
manner
Walk across the road carefully!
place
When we got there, the tickets had sold out.
degree
It’s rather cold, isn’t it?
frequency
I’m always losing my keys.
Time, place and manner adverbs (early, there, slowly)
Time adverbs
Time adverbs tell us about when something happens.
already
lately
still
tomorrow
early
now
soon
yesterday
finally
recently
today
yet
Have you seen Laurie today?
I’d prefer to leave early.
I went to the cinema on my own recently.
There’s been an increase in house burglary lately.
Degree adverbs (slightly) and focusing adverbs (generally)
Degree and focusing adverbs are the most common types of modifiers of adjectives and other adverbs. Degree adverbs express degrees of qualities, properties, states, conditions and relations. Focusing adverbs point to something.
Degree adverbs
absolutely
enough
perfectly
somewhat
a (little) bit
entirely
pretty
terribly
a lot
extremely
quite
too
almost
fairly
rather
totally
awfully
highly
remarkably
utterly
completely
lots
slightly
very
Manner adverbs
Manner adverbs tell us about the way something happens or is done.
accurately
beautifully
expertly
professionally
anxiously
carefully
greedily
quickly
badly
cautiously
loudly
quietly
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