Mohamed Khider University of Biskra

Faculty of Letters and Languages

Department of Letters and Foreign Languages
English Division
Module: Grammar Academic Year: 2023-2024

Level: First Year LMD Teacher: Dr. Hadjer GHECHAM

Lesson 07

Adverbs
Definition: Adverbs tell us more about other words, especially verbs, adjectives, and
other adverbs.
a. Adverbs modifying verbs.
Examples:
- The child smiled sweetly. (sweetly modifies the verb smiled)
- She walked slowly. (slowly modifies the verb walked)
- He talked politely. (politely modifies the verb talked)

b. Sometimes adverbs modify adjectives.

Examples:
- It was a very important question. (very modifies the adjective important)
- You are so sweet. (so modifies the adjective sweet)

c. Adverbs can also modify other adverbs.

Examples:
- He walked very slowly. (very modifies the adverb slowly)
- She sang extremely well. (extremely modifies the adverb well)

Types of Adverbs
a. Adverbs of Manner: they answer the question “how?” (such as: slowly, badly,
quickly, in a friendly way, etc.)
Examples:
- The truck moved slowly.
- You must pick the glass up carefully.

b. Adverbs of Time: they answer the question “when?” (such as: on Saturday, for a
long time, now, eventually, etc.)
- We will go to the park tomorrow.
- Jane will meet you on Saturday.

c. Adverbs of Place: they answer the question “where?” (such as: everywhere, in
Algiers, to Algeria, abroad, downstairs, underneath, over here, etc.)
Examples:
- She is working inside.
- Ann is staying abroad.
1
 d. Adverbs of Frequency: they answer the question “how often?” (such as: always,
often, sometimes, twice a week, monthly, again, etc.)
Examples:
- I often meet Laura in the park.
- I will always take care of my parents.
- Sara is never here on time.
- I practice sports twice a week.

e. Adverbs of Degree: they answer the question “to what degree?” (such as: almost,
a bit, quite, hardly, very much, only, even, etc.)
Examples:
- I went to bed early. I was really tired.
- I quite like that dress.

f. Sentence Adverbs: they modify the whole sentence (such as: obviously, definitely,
presumably, probably, naturally, etc.)
Examples:
- Hopefully, I will be there before 10 o'clock.

g. Relative Adverbs: they are ‘when’, ‘where’, and ‘why’. They are used to join two
clauses.
- That's the restaurant where we met for the first time. (‘where’ refers to place)
- I remember the day when we first met. (‘when’ refers to time)
- Tell me (the reason) why you came home late. (‘why’ refers to reason)

Clause 01 Clause 02

h. Interrogative Adverbs: they are used to ask questions that will tell us more about
adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. Interrogative adverbs are just four in number (when,
where, why, how).
 When: it is used to ask questions relating to time. For example:
- When did your plane land?
- When will you eat?
- When can I drive a car?
 Why: it is used to ask about reason. For example:
- Why are you late?
- Why are they quiet?
- Why is Rita baking a cake?
 Where: it is used to ask questions related to place or location. For example:
- Where are you going?
- Where did you find my eraser?
- Where is your school?
 How: it is used to ask questions about manner, quantity, time, and frequency.
For example:
- How did the show end? (to ask about manner)
- How often do you go shopping? (to ask about frequency)
- How much do you love your mother? (to ask about quantity)
- How many sandwiches can you finish? (to ask about quantity)
- How long was your journey? (to ask about time/duration)

2
Position of Adverbs: Adverbs can take various positions within the sentence. There
are basically three positions:
Front position: adverb + subject (+auxiliary) main verb (+object)
Mid-position: subject (+auxiliary) + adverb + main verb (+object)
End-position: subject (+auxiliary) + main verb (+object) + adverb
a. Front position:
Adverb subject verb
- Suddenly the car stopped.
(the adverb comes before the subject, at the beginning of the sentence)

b. Mid-position:
Subject Adverb verb
- The sun always rises in the east.
(the adverb comes between the subject and the verb, in the middle of the sentence)

Subject Verb to be adverb

- Chris is always nervous before a test.
(The adverb comes after verb to be, in the middle of the sentence)

Subject auxiliary adverb Verb

- You can always ask me.
- The money has never been found.
- Tom doesn’t usually come late.
(If there is an auxiliary verb, the adverb comes after the first auxiliary, in the
middle of the sentence)

c. End-position
Subject verb (object) adverb.
- I shouted angrily.
- Tina opened the door quietly.
(The adverb comes after the verb (+object), at the end of the sentece)

N.B.,
 Adverbs of manner such as beautifully, carefully, politely, quickly, quietly, and well
are usually placed in the end-position:
- Helen draws and paints beautifully.
- The guide answered the questions politely.
 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. (correct)
- My cousin speaks well French.  My cousin speaks French well. (correct)

Order of Adverbs when Together: There is a basic order in which adverbs will
appear when there is more than one in one sentence. Check the following table:

3
However, these adverbs can take other positions:
 Before dawn, Beth always swims enthusiastically in the pool.
 Every afternoon, dad walks impatiently into town.
 Every morning before lunch, Tashonda naps in her room.

Formation of Adverbs
a. If the adjective ends in -y, replace it with -i and then add -ly.

b. If the adjective ends in -ic, add -ally.

This rule has an exception. The adverb formed from ‘public’ is ‘publicly’, and not
‘publically’.

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

illegible  illegibly

d. Irregular adverbs: Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective (e.g.
slow ⇒ slowly). Here is a list of irregular adverbs, i.e. adverbs which do not follow
the normal rule.
Adjective Adverb
good well
fast fast
far far
hard hard
late late
early early
lively lively
daily daily
straight straight
wrong wrong, wrongly
Examples:
 He drives too fast. (NOT: fastly)
 He speaks English well. (NOT: goodly)
 My mother always worked hard. (NOT: hardly)
 They arrived late for the party. (NOT: lately)

4
Adverbs and Adjectives with the Same Form
Some adverbs have the same form as adjectives (also part of irregular adverbs). The
most common are: fast, hard, outside, right, straight, late, well, and time words such as
daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.
Examples:
Adjective Adverb
This coconut is really hard. You’ll need a You have to bang the door hard to shut
hammer to break it up. it.
She drives a fast car. They can swim quite fast now actually.
An outside light would be a really good idea When I went outside, the light came on
for our house. automatically.
I get a monthly pay. My company pays me monthly.

Practice (Adverbs)
Activity One: Underline the adverbs in the following sentences and state their types.
1. The policeman blew the whistle loudly.
2. My uncle lives here.
3. How much electricity did he use up?
4. You are quite right.
5. The servant works willingly.
6. We are going for a picnic tomorrow.
7. I often see him at the bus stop.
8. With all his time spent studying, George couldn’t comprehend why he failed the
exam.
9. We will meet soon.
10. She always speaks the truth.
11. The child is following his mother everywhere.
12. The soldiers fight bravely.
13. The two brothers never fight.
14. They lived in Mumbai formerly.
15. The servant has gone upstairs.
16. He is rather afraid to speak.
17. I have exercised enough.
18. Fortunately, Ned was invited to a surprise party. Unfortunately, the party was a
thousand miles away.
19. Why does David always ask boring questions?

Activity Two: Rewrite the following adjectives as adverbs.

1. slow ____________ 2. cool ____________
3. beautiful ____________ 4. comfortable ____________
5. strong ____________ 6. wise ____________
7. tidy ____________ 8. quiet ____________
9. brave ____________ 10. merry ____________
11. soft ____________ 12. busy ____________

5
Activity Three: Which of the following sentences is correct?
1. a) I have never seen a whale.
b) I never have seen a whale.
c) Never I have seen a whale.
2. a) I am seldom late for work.
b) Seldom I am late for work.
c) I seldom am late for work.
3. a) I get up early always.
b) Always I get up early.
c) I always get up early.
4. a) It sometimes gets very windy here.
b) Sometimes, it gets very windy here.
c) Both sentences are correct.
5. a) My boss is often bad-tempered.
b) My boss often is bad-tempered.
c) My boss is bad-tempered often.
6. a) I usually get up early.
b) Usually, I get up early.
c) Both sentences are correct.
7. a) I occasionally go there.
b) I go there occasionally.
c) Both sentences are correct.
8. a) She just has gone out.
b) She has just gone out.
c) She has gone out just.

Activity Four: Fill in the blanks with the most suitable adverb from the box.

when – always – too – tomorrow – badly – everywhere – never – heavily – sadly –

abroad - really
1. The little lamb followed Marry ……………….
2. ………………. put your fingers onto your mouth when you eat.
3. Do not speak ………………. loudly.
4. He ………………. tries to do his best.
5. It is raining ……………….
6. I hurt my knee ……………….