Overview: Adverbs | Basic English Grammar for Competitive Exams - Bank Exams PDF Download

Introduction of Adverbs

Adverbs are words that describe or modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. They provide more information about how, when, where, or to what extent something is happening.

Types of Adverbs

1. Simple Adverbs: It is an adverb is a word that gives a verb, an adjective, a phrase, or another verb more information regarding place, time, method, cause, or degree.

Examples of simple adverbs:

• I am visiting my grandmother this weekend.
• I forgot to bake the cake due to my busy schedule, however, I will make it up to you with this dish.
• The flowers on her balcony are extremely beautiful.
• My little sister almost got lost at the carnival.
• Riya seldom likes to visit the museum.

Adverb of Time: Whenever you want to add information of 'when' to a verb, the adverb of time will be your answer. So, we can say that an adverb of time shows the time or moment of doing a task. For example,

• 'I will go there tomorrow.'
• So, if you ask me when I go? I will answer it by saying 'tomorrow'. 

So, here, tomorrow is the adverb of time that provides information regarding the time of the happening of an event.

Adverbs of Place: Whenever you want to add information of 'where' to a verb, the adverb of place will be your answer. So, we can say that an adverb of the place shows the place where the task is being done or has to be done. For example,

• 'You may sit there.'

So, if you ask where you may sit? The answer will be 'there'. So, here, 'there' is the adverb of time that shows the place of the happening of an event.

Adverbs of Frequency: Whenever you want to add information regarding 'how often' to a verb, the adverb of frequency will be your answer. So, we can say that an adverb of the frequency shows the frequency with which the task has to be done. For example,

• 'I go for a walk daily.'

So, if you ask how often do I go for a walk? The answer will be 'daily'. So, here, 'daily' is the adverb of frequency that shows how often an event takes place.

Adverbs of Manner: Whenever you want to add information regarding 'how' or 'in what way', the adverb of manner will be used, so, we can say that an adverb of manner shows the form with which the task has to be done. For example,

• 'I speak beautifully.'

So, if you ask how do I speak? I will answer it by saying 'beautifully'. So, here, 'beautifully' is the adverb manner that shows how or in what way an event takes place.

Adverbs of Degree: Whenever you want to answer something starting from 'how much' or 'to what degree or extent', the adverb of degree will be your answer. So, we can say that an adverb of degree shows the degree or extent to which the task has been done. For instance:

• 'He is extremely talented.'

So, if you question me, how often how much talent is he? I will answer it by saying 'extremely'. So, here, 'extremely' is the adverb of degree that shows with what degree an event takes place.

Adverb of Reason: Whenever you want to answer something, starting from 'why', the adverb of reason will be your answer. So, we can say that an adverb of reason shows the reason behind doing a particular task. For instance: Therefore, So, Hence, Because and Since.

• 'I go there because I love that place.'

So, if you question me, why do I go there? I will answer it by saying 'because I love the place'. So, here, 'because' is the adverb of the reason that shows why an event happens.
There was a snowstorm, so we stayed in.

2. Interrogative Adverbs: Whenever you ask a question and the question word is used as an adverb, you are using interrogation adverbs. They possess a unique feature, and that is, they are placed at the beginning of a sentence.
For instance:

• 'Why do you talk to him?'

Here, ‘why’ is a question word used as an adverb. So, ‘why’ is an interrogation adverb.

Examples of interrogative adverbs:

• Why are you painting the canvas?
• How is your brother feeling?
• Where did Mala keep all the books from the teacher?
• Is Joey coming with us?
• What are your friends wearing to the party?

3. Relative Adverbs: Whenever an adverb is used to relate or connect or join any two sentences, we use relative adverbs. These adverbs are just three- where, when, and why.
For instance:

• 'I met him when no one was around.'

Here, ‘when’ is the adverb that connects the two sentences that have I met him and No one was around. So, here, ‘when’ is the relative adverb.
Examples of relative adverbs:

• I was already walking home when it started to rain.
• The reason why works on the weekends is because she is saving money for her daughter’s graduation gift.
• The building where I first lived is now being renovated to a restaurant.

So, eight types of adverbs are mentioned here, which can be used anywhere to make the text more informative.

Rules Related to Adverbs

1. We use an adverb of time such as always, often, never, ever, sometimes, generally, usually, seldom, hardly, rarely etc before the verb they modify.

Example Sentences:

• He often plays every week.
• They never tried to do better in life.
• She sometimes feels uncomfortable while speaking.

2. We place adverb of manners after the Intransitive verb. However, we can place an adverb either before or after the Transitive verb.

Example Sentences:

• He sang beautifully.
• He played confidently the last match.
• He narrated to me the story interestingly.

3. An adjective qualifies a noun or a pronoun But an adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
Example Sentences:

• He worked hard to achieve success.
• She teaches very seriously.
• He runs more slowly than me.

4. Uses of ‘Else‘ and ‘Other‘.

• ‘Else’ should be followed by ‘but’
• ‘other’ and ‘otherwise’ are followed by ‘than’

Example Sentences:

• He has no other choice than leaving the room.
•  It is nothing else but a foolishness.

5. While we answer a question we should use the adverb ‘yes’ and ‘no’ according to the affirmation and negative answer.

Example Sentences:

• Yes, I have completed the task.
• No, I have not completed the task.

6. We should use the adverb ‘as’ to introduce predicative of the verbs like regard, describe, view, know etc. We should not use adverb ‘as’ to introduce predicative of verbs like name, elect, think, call, make, choose etc.
Example Sentences

• The teacher calls me intelligent.
• He is considered the best actor of Bollywood.
•  He regards me as his brother.
• Cricket is known as a religion in India.

7. We should not use negative adverbs like seldom, nowhere, never, nothing, barely, merely, neither, rarely etc with the negative meaning words. Two negative words should be avoided.

Example Sentences:

• I rarely go to meet anybody in the city.
• They hardly know anybody in the college.
•  He seldom plays on this ground.

8. Uses of Very, Much, So, Too and Enough.

• Very- Very modifies present participle used as an adjective, adverb, and adjective in a positive degree.
• Much- Much is used in comparative degree and past participle.
• So and Too- We should not use ‘so’ and ‘too’ without ‘that’ (adverb clause) and ‘to’ (infinitive) respectively.
• Enough- ‘Enough’ is both an adjective and adverb. as an adverb, it is always used after the adjective and as an adjective, it is used before a noun.

Example Sentences:

• It is a very beautiful place.I
• I was very happy after getting the job.
• He is much taller than his brother.
• They completed the mission much faster.
• He is so strong that no one mess with him.
• She is too good to do this job.
• They have enough time to play.
• He is good enough to get admission.

Function of adverbs with Examples

1. Modifying verbs: Adverbs modify verbs by describing how an action is performed.

• Example: She danced gracefully.

2. Modifying adjectives: Adverbs modify adjectives by providing additional information about the adjective.

• Example: The boy is extremely intelligent.

3. Modifying other adverbs: Adverbs can also modify other adverbs to provide more specific information.

• Example: He runs very quickly.

4. Expressing time: Adverbs can also be used to indicate when something happened or how long it lasted.

• Example: I will see you tomorrow.

5. Expressing frequency: Adverbs can indicate how often something occurs.

• Example: She always arrives on time.

6. Expressing degree: Adverbs can indicate the degree or extent of something.

• Example: He was quite upset.

7. Expressing manner: Adverbs can also indicate the manner in which something is done.

• Example: She spoke softly.

Solved Exercise

Exercise 1: Identifying adverbs
In this exercise, the goal is to identify the adverb in each sentence. The adverb is highlighted in bold, and an explanation is provided.
The cat slept soundly.

(Soundly describes how the cat slept, so it is an adverb.)

The flowers bloomed early this year.

(Early describes when the flowers bloomed, so it is an adverb.)

She completed her work efficiently.

(Efficiently describes how she completed her work, so it is an adverb.)

The sun shone brightly.

(Brightly describes how the sun shone, so it is an adverb.)

He spoke too quickly.

(Quickly describes how he spoke, and too modifies quickly, so they are both adverbs.)

Exercise 2: Choosing the correct adverb
In this exercise, choose the correct adverb to complete the sentence.
She sings (beautiful/beautifully).

beautifully (We need an adverb to describe how she sings, so we choose the adverb form, "beautifully.")

The athlete runs (quick/quickly).

quickly (We need an adverb to describe how the athlete runs, so we choose the adverb form, "quickly.")

The train arrived (late/lately).

late (We need an adverb to describe when the train arrived, so we choose the adverb form, "late.")

He speaks (fluent/fluently) in Spanish.

fluently (We need an adverb to describe how he speaks Spanish, so we choose the adverb form, "fluently.")

She always arrives (early/earlier) to meetings.

early (We need an adverb to describe when she arrives at meetings, so we choose the adverb form, "early.")

Exercise 3: Forming adverbs from adjectives
In this exercise, change the adjective in parentheses to its adverb form and use it to complete the sentence.
The teacher explained the concept (clear).

The teacher explained the concept clearly.

The dog barked (loud) at the stranger.

The dog barked loudly at the stranger.

He works (hard) on his assignments.

He works hard on his assignments. (Note: "hard" remains the same as an adjective and adverb.)

The car drove (slow) down the street.

The car drove slowly down the street.

She smiled (happy) when she saw her friends.

She smiled happily when she saw her friends.

Spotting Errors (Adverbs)

Exercise 1: Spotting Errors
Instructions: Identify the errors related to adverbs in the following sentences and correct them.
She almost works hardly on her projects.

Error: hardly
She almost works hard on her projects.

He drives careful when it is raining.

Error: careful
He drives carefully when it is raining.

She sings beautiful in the choir.

Error: beautiful
She sings beautifully in the choir.

He just completed the race quick.

Error: quick
He just completed the race quickly.

She writes neat and precise.

Error: precise
She writes neatly and precisely.

They spoke very quiet during the presentation.

Error: quiet
They spoke very quietly during the presentation.

He runs more fast than his brother.

Error: more fast
He runs faster than his brother.

She finished her work hardly on time.

Error: hardly
She finished her work barely on time.

He was too much tired after the workout.

Error: too much
He was too tired after the workout.

She played the piano very skillful.

Error: skillful
She played the piano very skillfully.