An adverb is a type of word that adds information to the meaning of verbs, adjectives, adverbs, phrases, or to whole statements. For example, if someone says “I ate quickly,” the adverb “quickly” gives the listener more specific information about the eating–it was quick. This is an example of an adverb modifying a verb. When adverbs modify verbs, they give information about how something is done, how often it is done, where it is done, or when it is done. Words like “tonight,” “never,” “often,” “here,” “there,” “fast,” “accidentally,” “easily,” and “cleverly” are some of the many adverbs in English that are used to give more information about things people do and things that happen.
Below are a few more examples of how adverbs modify verbs. The adverbs in these examples are in italics. Notice how adverbs sometimes precede and sometimes follow verbs.
went downtown / swims beautifully / thinks clearly
always forgets / usually happens / seriously believed
climbed up /walked far / sat straight / left early
whistled twice / blew hard / hurts terribly
Another important function of adverbs is to modify adjectives; that is, adverbs can expand on or intensify the meaning expressed by adjectives. For example, instead of saying just “This chili is spicy” (with just the adjective “spicy”), one can add an adverb to intensify or otherwise refine that meaning. For example, one can say something like “This chili is very spicy,” “This chili is mildly spicy,” “This chili is unusually spicy,” or “This chili is amazingly spicy.”
Adverbs can also be used to modify other adverbs, so, for example, we can say just “She sang badly,” or we could say something like “She sang really badly” or “She sang extremely badly.”
Many adverbs end in “-ly,” like “mildly,” “quickly,” “really,” and “accidentally,” and most adjectives can be made into adverbs by the addition of “-ly” (e.g., “nice” > “nicely”; “sloppy” > “sloppily”; “neat” > “neatly”). However, many common adverbs, particularly those that are related to the idea of when, where, or how often something is done, do not end in “-ly.” For example, the adverbs “yesterday,” tomorrow,” “often,” “always,” “never,” “sometimes,” “here,” “there,” “once,” and “twice” do not end in “-ly.”
Adverbs have greater freedom than any other part of speech to occupy different positions in a sentence. We can say:
The car drove down the street slowly.
or
The car drove slowly down the street.
or
The car slowly drove down the street.
or
Slowly, the car drove down the street.
Of course, there are some differences in emphasis and in formality of tone when the position of the adverb is moved, but it can be seen from these sentences that adverbs have a fair amount of grammatical freedom.
Besides giving information about verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and other parts of speech, adverbs give information about phrases or entire statements. For example, if we say “Fortunately, we had just enough time to make the bus,” the adverb “fortunately” gives information concerning the whole statement about having enough time to make the bus. It tells the listener that it was lucky that that happened. These types of adverbs actually describe the attitude or point of view of the speaker concerning his or her statement.
Often, adverbs make a comment on what was just said and describe how it links to what is just about to be said. The adverb “however” is an example. When someone uses “however,” it means that what they are about to say contrasts or is in contradiction with what they just said a moment before (e.g., “The house is old and needs a few repairs; however, it’s in generally good condition and will probably sell at a good price.”) The adverb “therefore” is another of this type of adverb. It is used to introduce a statement that tells the result or consequence of what was stated just before (e.g., “We do not know all the facts yet; therefore, we should postpone making any judgments.”) These types of adverbs are often called “conjunctive adverbs” or “sentence adverbs.”