Adverbs

1- Adverbs of manner : Tell how something happens: fast, hard, well, quickly, slowly, kindly, happily,angrily,clearly, patiently, generously....

→ They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object.

He swims fast. She sings the song beautifully.

The child ran happily towards his mother.

2- Adverbs of place : Tell where something happens : here, there, up, down, near, far, away, right, left, west, south, southwards, downstairs, outside, indoors, inside, anywhere, everywhere, somewhere, nowhere, elsewhere, home, in, off, on, over,......

→ They are usually placed after the main verb or after the object.

The students are walking home. He threw the ball downstairs. Come here !

I would like to go somewhere warm for my vacation.

→ Here and there are combined with prepositions to make many common adverbial phrases. e.g. Come over here and look what I found ! What are doing up there ?

→ Most common adverbs of place also function as prepositions.

3- Adverbs of time :Tell when something happens, and for how long : now, soon, still, today, yesterday, tomorrow, tonight, early, late, recently, currently, after, before, afterwards, yet, then, just, immidiately, next, all day, not long,.......

→The use of adverbs of time might affect the verb tenses in a particular clause and can be placed at the initial, middle or final position of a clause.

- She currently works as a news caster. (present tense)

- My father is currently working with the press.

- She went to school yesterday. (past tense)

- I will finish doing my work tomorrow. (future tense)

4- Adverbs of frequency : Tell how often/ how many times something happens : once, twice, often , rarely, never, ever, always, usually, occasionally, seldom, sometimes, daily, everyday, monthly, annually, ...

→ They can be placed at the initial, middle or final position of a clause.

- Occasionally, culture interferes with business. Once is fine, but twice is not.

- You should always think about your future.

- She cleans her room daily.

5- Sentence Adverbs : They modify the whole sentence/clause and normally express the speaker's/narrator's opinion or degrees of certainty.

actually (= in fact/really), apparently, certainly, clearly, evidently, obviously, presumably, probably, undoubtedly , definitely

→ They are placed before the main verb, but they come after ‘to be', or between the auxiliary and the main verb.

- She definitly left the house on October 1998.

- She is probably in Paris.

- She has certainly forgotten my birthday.

frankly, ideally, officially, personally, , theoretically, honestly, seriously, ...

→ They are usually placed at the beginning and are separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.

- Personally, I can't do what she had done.

Honestly, Tom didn't get the money.

6- Adverbs of degree : Tell about the intensity or degree of an action, an adjective or another adverb : very, fairly, rather, too, totally, so, almost, just, nearly, quite, hardly, much, enough, completely, partially, extremely, such, even, pretty, only ...

→ They are placed before the adjective or adverb they are modifying, after an auxiliary, before the main verb or between the auxiliary and the main verb.

He is really good. She almost noticed his presence.

They don't really know you. He played very badly.

7- Interrogative adverbs : Are used to ask questions : when ?, where ?, why ?, how ?

→ They are placed at the beginning and are always followed by the main verb.

- When will she come ?

- Where do you come from ?

- Why have you said that ?

- How is your father ?

NOTE : In English, the adverb does not come between the main verb and the direct object.

My brother cleans never his room. → My brother never cleans his room.

8- Relative adverbs :They are "where," "when," and "why." A relative adverb is an adverb that introduces an adjective clause. For example:

I remember a time when adults were respected.

We do not know why he left.

I know the town where you live.