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Adverbs

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1. Introduction to Adverbs

An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
For example:
Gini drives carefully.
(The word ‘carefully’ is an adverb. It is describing the verb ‘drives’. It is telling us how Gini drives.)
It is a very beautiful painting.
(The word ‘very’ is an adverb. It is describing the adjective ‘beautiful’. It is telling us how beautiful the painting is.)
The team won the match quite easily.
(The word ‘easily’ is an adverb. It is telling us how the team won the match. The word ‘quite’ is also an adverb. It is describing ‘easily’. It is telling us how easily the team won the match.)
Sometimes, an adverb can also modify an entire clause that follows it.
For example:
Luckily, the boy reached home in time.
(The word ‘luckily’ is an adverb. It is describing the clause ‘the boy reached home in time’.)
Sometimes a clause can perform the role of an adverb in a sentence.
For example:
The movie started before I entered the theatre.
(Here, the clause ‘before I entered the theatre’ is performing the
function of an adverb. It is describing the verb ‘started’. It is
telling us when the movie started.)
Sometimes a phrase can perform the role of an adverb in a sentence.
For example:
The girl is singing very sweetly.
(Here, the phrase ‘very sweetly’ is performing the function of an
adverb. It is describing the main verb (‘singing’). When you ask the
question ‘singing how?’, you get the answer ‘very sweetly’.)

2. Simple Adverbs and Interrogative Adverbs

Simple adverbs
A simple adverb is one which describes a verb, an adjective or an adverb.
Words like ‘carefully’, ‘very’, ‘quite’ and ‘luckily’ are all examples of simple adverbs.
Interrogative adverbs
An interrogative adverb is one which asks questions. The interrogative adverbs are as follows:
Why
The answers to all these questions will be in the form of a REASON.
Why is she laughing so much?
Why are they clapping?
Why was the man hiding?
Why were the children crying?
Why does he play with a heavy bat?
Why do these machines make so much noise?
Why did Renuka wear that cap to office?
Why has Madhav taken a leave?
Why have you come?
When
The answers to all these questions will be some form of TIME.
When is the next train for Lucknow?
When are the guests arriving?
When was Akbar born?
When were you trying to call me?
When does the match start?
When do you leave for college?
When did the postman come?
Where
The answers to all these questions will be some PLACE.
Where is my coat?
Where are the books?
Where was the Battle of Panipat fought?
Where were those people from?
Where does your wife work?
Where do they both go after dinner?
Where did you leave your phone?
Where has he disappeared?
Where have you been all these years?
How
The answers to these questions will indicate IN WHAT MANNER.
How are you going back home?
How was the party?
How do you always manage to finish your work on time?
How does this robot work?
How did he find out?
How is also attached to an adjective.
How old is this building?
How tall is he?
How is also attached to much and many.
How much does this suit cost?
How much is that watch worth?
How many children are there in the class?
How many days are there in a week?
How is also attached to another adverb.
How often do you bathe in a week?
How quickly can you score runs?

3. Adverbs of Manner and Degree

Adverbs Expressing Manner
These adverbs answer the question ‘how?’
Nina read the article carefully.
(Ask the question ‘read how?’ and you get the answer ‘carefully’.)
Gauri has answered the question correctly.
(Ask the question ‘has answered how?’ and you get the answer ‘correctly’.)
The children waited eagerly.
(Ask the question ‘waited how?’ and you get the answer ‘eagerly’.)
I can solve this problem easily.
(Ask the question ‘can solve how?’ and you get the answer ‘easily’.)
Rishabh works hard.
(Ask the question ‘works how?’ and you get the answer ‘hard’.)
The new bowler bowls fast.
(Ask the question ‘bowls how?’ and you get the answer ‘fast’.)
The new recruit went about his work quietly.
(Ask the question ‘went about how?’ and you get the answer ‘quietly’.)
Pick up the phone quickly.
(Ask the question ‘pick up how?’ and you get the answer ‘quickly’.)
[Note: An adverb of manner is usually placed after the verb or after the object of the verb.]
Adverbs Expressing Degree
These adverbs answer the question ‘how much?’
Raju is a very naughty boy.
(Ask the question ‘how much naughty?’ and you get the answer ‘very’.)
Your last movie was pretty nice.
(Ask the question ‘how much nice?’ and you get the answer ‘pretty’.)
The teacher was quite angry with me.
(Ask the question ‘how much angry?’ and you get the answer ‘quite’.)
That song is so good.
(Ask the question ‘how much good?’ and you get the answer ‘so’.)
My work is almost done.
(Ask the question ‘how much done?’ and you get the answer ‘almost’.)
The Indian team is fully prepared for the next match.
(Ask the question ‘how much prepared?’ and you get the answer ‘fully’.)
I will be rather busy tomorrow morning.
(Ask the question ‘how much busy?’ and you get the answer ‘rather’.)
Your solution is partly correct.
(Ask the question ‘how much correct?’ and you get the answer ‘partly’.)
It was too hot yesterday.
(Ask the question ‘how much hot?’ and you get the answer ‘too’.)
[Note: An adverb of degree is usually placed before the adjective or adverb it describes.]

4. Adverbs of Time and Frequency

Adverbs Expressing Time
These adverbs answer the question ‘when?’
He wants to see the report now.
(Ask the question ‘see when?’ and you get the answer ‘now’.)
I will meet your principal tomorrow.
(Ask the question ‘meet when?’ and you get the answer ‘tomorrow’.)
The two teams play each other tonight.
(Ask the question ‘play when?’ and you get the answer ‘tonight’.)
She came to the party yesterday.
(Ask the question ‘came when?’ and you get the answer ‘yesterday’.)
His exam is today.
(Ask the question ‘is when?’ and you get the answer ‘today’.)
Rajesh left early.
(Ask the question ‘left when?’ and you get the answer ‘early’.)
Vinod comes late.
(Ask the question ‘comes when?’ and you get the answer ‘late’.)
He goes to the temple daily.
(Ask the question ‘goes when?’ and you get the answer ‘daily’.)
[Note: An adverb of time is usually placed after the verb or after the object of the verb.]
Adverbs Expressing Frequency
These adverbs answer the question ‘how often?’
The batsman never fails.
(Ask the question ‘how often fails?’ and you get the answer ‘never’.)
They usually go for a walk after dinner.
(Ask the question ‘how often go?’ and you get the answer ‘usually’.)
[Note: An adverb of frequency is usually placed between the subject and the verb when the verb has only one word.]
She has never seen him before.
(Ask the question ‘has seen how often?’ and you get the answer ‘never’.)
My teacher has often told me to improve my handwriting.
(Ask the question ‘has told how often?’ and you get the answer ‘often’.)
[Note: When the verb has more than one word, an adverb of frequency is usually placed after the first word of the verb.]
She is never at home between 10 and 11.
(Ask the question ‘how often at home between 10 and 11?’ and you get the answer ‘never’.)
They are always talking.
(Ask the question ‘how often talking?’ and you get the answer ‘always’.)
[Note: When the verb is only ‘is’, ‘am’, ‘are’ or ‘was’, an adverb of frequency is usually placed after the verb.]

5. Adverbs of Place, Affirmation, Negation and Reason

Adverbs Expressing Place
These adverbs answer the question ‘where?’
Hearing the noise, the boy looked up.
(Ask the question ‘looked where?’ and you get the answer ‘up’.)
After fighting the mouse for five hours, the tired cat fell down.
(Ask the question ‘fell where?’ and you get the answer ‘down’.)
Naina was standing here.
(Ask the question ‘was standing where?’ and you get the answer ‘here’.)
Why don’t you go there?
(Ask the question ‘go where?’ and you get the answer ‘there’.)
My friends are calling me outside.
(Ask the question ‘are calling where?’ and you get the answer ‘outside’.)
Let us go inside.
(Ask the question ‘go where?’ and you get the answer ‘inside’.)
Please come in.
(Ask the question ‘come where?’ and you get the answer ‘in’.)
My parents have gone out.
(Ask the question ‘have gone where?’ and you get the answer ‘out’.)
Let us go on foot. They live near.
(Ask the question ‘live where?’ and you get the answer ‘near’.)
[Note: An adverb of place is usually placed after the verb or after the object of the verb.]
Adverbs Expressing Affirmation and Negation
You are surely mistaken.
I can certainly do this.
The place was very humid indeed.
This is not right.
Adverbs Expressing Reason or Cause
As mentioned before, a clause can act like an adverb in a sentence.
Sometimes such an adverb clause expresses the relation of reason or
cause.
He reads a lot of English books because he wants to improve his English.
(Here, the clause ‘because he wants to improve his English’ gives a
reason for the verb ‘reads’. Ask the question ‘reads why?’ and you get
the clause as the answer.)

6. The Positive, Comparative and Superlative

Like adjectives, some adverbs also have three forms—the positive, the comparative and the superlative.
Let us look at some adverbs and their different forms.
Where the comparative and superlative are formed by adding ‘−er’ and ‘−est’
Positive Form
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
Fast
Faster
Fastest
Gagan runs fast.
Girish runs faster than Gagan.
Ganesh runs the fastest in his class.
Hard
Harder
Hardest
Aarti works hard.
Aarti has worked harder than ever before.
Aarti has worked the hardest this week.
High
Higher
Highest
My paper plane flies high.
Your paper plane does not fly higher than mine.
Among a paper plane, a real plane and a bird, a real plane flies the highest.
Where the comparative and superlative are formed by adding ‘more/less’ and ‘most/least’
Positive Form
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
Wisely
More wisely
Most wisely
Solomon judged wisely.
Satish judges more wisely than Solomon did.
Pankaj judges most wisely when he is in a good mood.
Fluently
More fluently
Most fluently
He speaks English fluently.
They speak English more fluently than their teacher.
The people of Timbuktoo speak English most fluently.
Noisily
More noisily
Most noisily
Jamal entered the room noisily.
Jijo goes about his daily chores more noisily than the others living in his room.
Together, Jamal and Jijo work most noisily.
Irregular adverbs
Positive Form
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
Badly
Worse
Worst
Tony’s kid sister bowls badly.
Tony’s kid brother bowls worse than her.
Tony bowls the worst of the three.
Well
Better
Best
Tina writes well.
Meena writes better than her.
Reena writes the best of the three.
Much
More
Most
My friend Tinku blabbers much.
Tinku says that I blabber more than him.
Our teacher says that we both blabber the most in class.
Little
Less
Least
Papi exercises little.
He says that his friend Jhapi exercises less than him.
Topi, the king of laziness, exercises the least of the three.
Far
Farther
Farthest
Ravi threw the discus far.
Nikita threw it farther than him
Bilal threw it the farthest of the three.
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