Adverbs

Adverbs modify, or tell us more about, other words. Usually adverbs modify verbs, telling us how, how often, when, or where something was done. The adverb is placed after the verb it modifies.

 Adverbs are a very broad collection of words that may describe how, where, or when an action took place. They may also express the viewpoint of the speaker about the action, the intensity of an adjective or another adverb, or several other functions. Use these pages about the grammar of adverbs in English to become more precise and more descriptive in your speaking and writing.

Examples

• The bus moved slowly.
• The bears ate greedily.
• The car drove fast.

Sometimes adverbs modify adjectives, making them stronger or weaker.

In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding -ly to an adjective

Adjective	Adverb
cheap	cheaply
quick	quickly
slow	slowly

If the adjective ends in -y, replace the y with i and add -ly

Adjective	Adverb
easy	easily
angry	angrily
happy	happily
lucky	luckily

If the adjective ends in -able, -ible, or -le, replace the -e with -y.

Adjective	Adverb
probable	probably
terrible	terribly
gentle	gently

If the adjective ends in -ic, add -ally. Exception: public -> publicly

Adjective	Adverb
basic	basically
tragic	tragically
economic	economically

Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective: early, fast, hard, high, late, near, straight, & wrong

Examples

• It is a fast car.
• He drives very fast.
• This is a hard exercise.
• He works hard.
• We saw many high buildings.
• The bird flew high in the sky.

Well is the adverb that corresponds to the adjective good.

Examples

• He is a good student.
• He studies well.
• She is a good pianist.
• She plays the piano well.
• They are good swimmers.
• They swim well.

With adverbs ending in -ly, you must use more to form the comparative, and most to form the superlative.

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
quietly	more quietly	most quietly
slowly	more slowly	most slowly
seriously	more seriously	most seriously

Examples

• The teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.
• Could you sing more quietly please?

With short adverbs that do not end in -ly comparative and superlative forms are identical to adjectives: add -er to form the comparative and -est to form the superlative. If the adverb ends in e, remove it before adding the ending.

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
hard	harder	hardest
fast	faster	fastest
late	later	latest

Examples

• Jim works harder than his brother.
• Everyone in the race ran fast, but John ran the fastest of all.

Some adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms.

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
badly	worse	worst
far	farther/further	farthest/furthest
little	less	least
well	better	best

Examples

• The little boy ran farther than his friends.
• You're driving worse today than yesterday !
• He played the best of any player.