13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb?

Definition and Examples | Grammarly

It’s GO time for generative AI writing assistance Try GrammarlyGO ⟶

Real-time suggestions, wherever you write.

GET GRAMMARLY IT'S FREE

What Is an Adverb? Definition and

Examples

Grammarly
Updated on May 8, 2023
GRAMMAR

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 1/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb (“he sings loudly”), an

adjective (“very tall”), another adverb (“ended too quickly”), or even a whole
sentence (“Fortunately, I had brought an umbrella.”). Adverbs often end in -ly, but
some (such as fast) look exactly the same as their adjective counterparts.

Example Tom Longboat did not run badly.

Example Tom is very tall.

Example The race finished too quickly.

Example Fortunately, Lucy recorded Tom’s win.

It’s easy to identify the adverbs in these sentences.

Your writing, at its best

GET GRAMMARLY IT'S FREE
Be the best writer in the office.

Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines? Grammarly can check your
spelling and save you from grammar and punctuation mistakes. It even proofreads
your text, so your work is extra polished wherever you write.

Your writing, at its best

WRITE WITH GRAMMARLY
Grammarly helps you communicate confidently

Adverbs and verbs

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 2/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

Adverbs often modify verbs. This means that they describe the way an action is
happening.

Example Huan sings loudly in the shower.

Example My cat waits impatiently for his food.

Example I will seriously consider your suggestion.

The adverb in each of the sentences above answers the question In what manner?
How does Huan sing? Loudly. How does my cat wait? Impatiently. How will I
consider your suggestion? Seriously. Adverbs can answer other types of questions
about how an action was performed. They can also tell you when (“we arrived
early”), where (“turn here”), or with what frequency (“I go there often”).

However, there is one type of verb that doesn’t mix well with adverbs. Linking
verbs, such as feel, smell, sound, seem, and appear, typically precede adjectives,
not adverbs. A very common example of the type of mixup that happens with
linking verbs is the following:

Incorrect Paz feels badly about what happened.

Because feel is a verb, it seems to call for an adverb rather than an adjective. But
feel isn’t just any verb; it’s a linking verb, which means that it links the subject of a
sentence to the modifier that follows it. Since a subject is, by definition, a noun (or
a pronoun), it is modified by an adjective. An adverb would describe how you
perform the action of feeling—an adjective describes what you feel. “Paz feels
badly” means that Paz is bad at feeling things. If Paz is trying to read Braille
through thick leather gloves, then it might make sense for you to say “Paz feels
badly.” But if you’re trying to say that Paz is experiencing negative emotions, “Paz
feels bad” is the phrase you want.

Adverbs and adjectives

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 3/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

Adverbs can also modify adjectives. An adverb modifying an adjective generally

adds a degree of intensity or some other kind of qualification to the adjective.

Example The lake is quite beautiful.

Example This book is more interesting than the last one.

Example “Is my singing too loud?” asked Huan.

Example My cat is incredibly happy to be having his dinner.

Example We will be slightly late to the meeting.

Example This shirt is a very unflattering shade of puce.

Adverbs and other adverbs

You can use an adverb to describe another adverb. In the following sentence, the
adverb almost is modifying the adverb always (and they’re both modifying the
adjective right):

Example The weather report is almost always right.

In fact, if you wanted to, you could use several adverbs to modify another adverb.

Example Huan sings rather enormously too loudly.

However, that often produces weak and clunky sentences like the one above, so
be careful not to overdo it.

Adverbs and sentences

Some adverbs can modify entire sentences—unsurprisingly, these are called

sentence adverbs. Common ones include generally, fortunately, interestingly, and
accordingly. Sentence adverbs don’t describe one particular thing in the sentence

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 4/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

—instead, they describe a general feeling about all of the information in the
sentence.

Example Fortunately, we got there in time.

Example Interestingly, no one at the auction seemed interested in bidding on the

antique spoon collection.

At one time, the use of the word hopefully as a sentence adverb (e.g., “Hopefully,
I’ll get this job”) was condemned. People continued to use it, though, and many
style guides and dictionaries now accept it. That said, there are still plenty of
readers out there who hate it, so it’s a good idea to avoid using it in formal writing.

Degrees of comparison

Like adjectives, many adverbs can show degrees of comparison, although it’s
slightly less common to use them this way. With certain flat adverbs (adverbs that
look exactly the same as their adjective counterparts), the comparative and
superlative forms look the same as the adjective comparative and superlative
forms. It’s usually better to use stronger, more precise adverbs (or stronger, more
precise adjectives and verbs) than to rely on comparative and superlative
adverbs.

An absolute or positive adverb describes something in its own right:

Example He smiled warmly.

Example They asked me to deliver a hastily written note.

To make the comparative form of an adverb that ends in -ly, add the word more:

Example He smiled more warmly than the others.

Example The more hastily written note contained the clue.

To make the superlative form of an adverb that ends in -ly, add the word most:

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 5/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

Example He smiled most warmly of them all.

Example The most hastily written note on the desk was overlooked.

Placement of adverbs

In general, adverbs should be placed as close as possible to the words they are
intended to modify. Putting the adverb in the wrong spot can produce an awkward
sentence at best and completely change the meaning at worst. Consider the
difference in meaning between the following two sentences:

Example I almost dropped all the papers I was holding.

Example I dropped almost all the papers I was holding.

The first sentence is correct if it’s meant to communicate that you very nearly
dropped the papers but managed to hold on to them—the adverb almost comes
right before the verb dropped, so it’s most naturally understood as modifying
dropped. In the second sentence, almost has moved to modify the adjective all,
communicating that you did drop most of the papers.

Be especially careful about the word only, which can be an adverb, an adjective, or
a conjunction and is one of the most often misplaced modifiers. Consider the
difference between these two sentences:

Example Phillip only fed the cat.

Example Phillip fed only the cat.

The first sentence means that all Phillip did was feed the cat. He didn’t pet the cat
or pick it up or anything else. The second sentence means that Phillip fed the cat,
but he didn’t feed the dog, the bird, or anyone else who might have been around.

When an adverb is modifying a verb phrase, the most natural place for it is usually
the middle of the phrase.

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 6/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

Example We are quickly approaching the deadline.

Example Huan has always loved singing.

Example I will happily assist you.

When to avoid adverbs

Ernest Hemingway is often held up as an example of a great writer who detested

adverbs and advised other writers to avoid them. In reality, it’s impossible and
unnecessary to avoid adverbs altogether. Sometimes we need them, and all
writers (even Hemingway) use them occasionally.

The trick is to avoid superfluous adverbs. When your verb or adjective doesn’t
seem powerful or precise enough, instead of reaching for an adverb to add more
color, try reaching for a stronger verb or adjective instead. For example, the
following two sentences are both grammatically correct and mean the same thing,
but you’ll probably agree that the second, in which the verb wrested does all the
work that the adverbs forcefully and away are doing in the first, packs more of a
punch.

Example The board forcefully took control away from the founder.

Example The board wrested control from the founder.

If you find yourself piling on the adverbs, many times you cancome up with a
better word, and your writing will be stronger for it.

Your writing, at its best.

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 7/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

Get Grammarly It's free

Works on all your favorite websites

Related Articles

GRAMMAR

“Has” vs. “Have”: What’s the Difference?

GRAMMAR

“Inter” vs. “Intra”: What’s the Difference?

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 8/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

GRAMMAR

Affixes: Definition and Examples

GRAMMAR

“Your” vs. “You’re”: Definitions and

Examples

GRAMMAR

English Capitalization Rules

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 9/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

GRAMMAR

Learn the Difference Between “Either”

and “Neither”

Writing, grammar, and communication

Get Grammarly tips for your inbox.
Learn More Features

Grammarly for Your Desktop Plans Grammar Checker

Grammarly for Windows Grammarly Premium Plagiarism Checker

GrammarlyYour
for Mac
email... Grammarly Business Citation Generator SUBSCRIBE

Grammarly Browser Grammarly for Education Essay Checker

Extension
Grammarly API Paraphrasing Tool
Grammarly for Chrome
GrammarlyGO Tone Detector
Grammarly for Safari
Blog Style Guide
Grammarly for Firefox
Tech Blog Snippets
Grammarly for Edge
Education Blog Analytics
Grammarly for MS Office
Business Blog Brand Tones
Grammarly for Google Docs
Developers Blog
Grammarly for Mobile

Grammarly for iPhone

Grammarly for iPad

Grammarly for Android

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 10/11
13.06.2023, 13:56 What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly

Company Connect

About Help Center

Responsible AI Contact Us

Careers & Culture Facebook

Press Instagram
Affiliates Twitter

Partners LinkedIn
Trust Center

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Customer Business
Agreement

CA Privacy Notice

Security

Accessibility

2023 © Grammarly Inc.

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adverb/ 11/11