Do you ever feel bad, or do you feel badly? Do you ever run real fast, or do you run really fast? Do you want to write well, or good?
Welcome to the world of adverbs.
Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs and usually (but not always) end in -ly. They can appear anywhere in a sentence, depending on their type and what they are describing, and they can be a single word, a phrase or an adverb clause.
In short, identifying and correctly using adverbs can be challenging. Where do you start in figuring out adverbs?
What Are Adverbs?
Adverbs tell us the hows, wheres, whens and how oftens of verbs. They can tell us if someone talked loudly, softly, nasally, sharply, politely, rudely, annoyingly or pleasingly. Adverbs tell us if something happens here or there, now or then, sometimes, usually or never.
For example:
She ran.
She ran quickly.
She ran inside the house.
She ran yesterday.
She runs often.
Adverbs’ sentence positions depend on what they are doing, what they are modifying and how important they are to the greater meaning of the sentence.
Adverbs vs. Adjectives
While adjectives describe or modify nouns, adverbs describe or modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs and pretty much everything else. When you read a sentence and see a modifying word, determine what is being modified or described.
For example:
Sarah is happy.
and
Sarah played happily.
In the first sentence, the adjective happy is describing the noun Sarah. In the second example, the adverb happily is describing the verb played.
More examples:
The contest was easy for Millicent. (adjective)
Millicent won the content easily. (adverb)
Come quickly! (adverb)
A squirrel ran into the house and it is too quick for me to catch on my own. (adjective)
Commonly Confused Adverbs and Adjectives
Real/Really
Real is an adjective, while really is an adverb. Use real when you are describing a noun. Use really when you are describing or modifying an action.
For example:
The stone in her engagement ring isn’t a real diamond. (adjective describing the stone)
vs.
She really thought the stone in her engagement ring was a diamond. (adverb describing the verb thought)
Bad/Badly
Bad is an adjective, while badly is an adverb. Are you describing a noun or pronoun, or are you describing the actual action of the sentence?
For example:
I feel bad about Clarissa burning her fingers on the hot pan. Maybe I should not have hidden all her oven mitts. (You are describing your state of mind, so you use the adjective bad.)
vs.
Clarissa feels badly since she burned her fingers on the hot pan. She lost feeling in her fingertips, so she drops everything she tries to pick up. (You are actually describing the action of Clarissa feeling something, so you use the adverb badly.)
Another example:
He made a bad grade after he did badly on the test.
Good/Well
Good is an adjective; well is an adverb. If you are doing good, you are doing good things (e.g., volunteering, rescuing kittens from fires, etc.). If you want to describe how you are feeling, you would say, “I am doing well.”
For example:
He cooked a good lasagna the other night.
vs.
He cooks well.
and
Susie smelled good for someone who spent the day at a pig farm.
vs.
Susie smells well for someone whose nose is constantly stuffy due to allergies.
In the first example, you are describing how Susie smells, so you use the adjective good. In the second example, you are describing the action of smelling, so you use the adverb well.
Types of Adverbs and Sentence Positions
Manner Adverbs
Manner adverbs tell us about how an action was done. They are also some of the easiest adverbs to identify, as they usually end in -ly. Manner adverbs usually go at the end of the sentence, but they can go in the middle of the sentence if they are not the most important part of the sentence, or if the sentence object is very long.
Manner adverb examples: safely, strongly, bravely, smartly, cowardly, slowly, quickly, loudly, quietly, thus, so, well
For example:
He fought bravely, yet foolishly.
She writes well.
Steve quickly wrote a note to his roommates and ran out the door.
Place Adverbs
Place adverbs show where an action is happening and it is usually at the end of the sentence or is placed after the main verb or object. Some writers place the adverb at the front of the sentence for emphasis or effect.
Place adverb examples: here, there, somewhere, everywhere, nowhere, inside, outside, below, over, under, above, below, into
For example:
I can’t find my keys anywhere!
The wind stopped and the kite fell down.
Inside, she had built a small shrine to Mothra.
Time/Duration/Frequency Adverbs
Time, duration and frequency adverbs tell when, how often or how long an action is taking place. These adverbs usually go at the beginning or end of the sentence; placing the adverb at the beginning of the sentence gives the adverb greater importance.
Time adverb examples: never, lately, during, recently, yet, soon, so far, now
Duration adverb examples: briefly, shortly, permanently, temporarily, until, all night/day, ever since, long
Frequency adverb examples: never, always, rarely, often, sometimes, usually
For example:
We need to leave now.
So far, I haven’t seen any evidence of Keith’s claims of telekinesis.
It has been raining fireballs since 4 o’clock.
I always insist on travelling with my companion hippo.
The penguin tried to pole vault again and again.
Quality/Degree Adverbs
Adverbs of quality/degree tell us how much/to what extent/in what degree? Many degree adverbs usually go in the middle of the sentence, but others like much, a lot or a bit are found at the end.
Quality/Degree adverb examples: really, very, too, extremely, almost, somewhat, only, partly, largely, hardly, quite, a lot, enough, much
For example:
Careful! That tea is too hot to drink!
Sarah’s story about her awful tattoo is extremely funny.
In my defense, I am only partly responsible for the fire in the science lab.
I didn’t like his one-man play about the War of 1812 very much.
Degree of Comparison Adverbs
Degree of comparison adverbs show positive, negative and superlative degrees. They are usually placed in the middle of the sentence.
Degree of comparison adverbs examples: as…as, so…as, than, most, best, more
For example:
She walked as carefully as she could, but she could not get through the Lego minefield without injury.
Ryan is not so unintelligent as you make him out to be.
We arrived at the party earlier than they did.
I like Empire Strikes Back most out of all the Star Wars movies.
Notes on Forming Degrees of Comparison in Adverbs
Adverbs of one syllable form their superlative forms by adding -er and -est.
For example:
hard, harder, hardest
high, higher, highest
early, earlier, earliest
late, later, latest
Adverbs ending in -ly form comparatives by using more and most.
For example:
slowly, more slowly, most slowly
clearly, more clearly, most clearly
beautifully, more beautifully, most beautifully
Some adverbs have irregular forms.
For example:
well, better, best
badly, worse, worst
little, less, least
much, more, most
Reason/Purpose Adverbs
Adverbs of reason or purpose give readers the reason behind actions or events. These clauses are introduced by a subordinating conjunction (e.g., because, since, that, as, etc.).
Reason/purpose adverb examples: therefore, hence, since, because, accidentally
For example:
Because he could not swim, Bradley could not sign up for the underwater basket weaving competition.
We were unable to secure the venue we needed and therefore had to cancel the zombie-themed dance contest.
Affirmation or Negation Adverbs
Adverbs of affirmation or negation show if something is true or false, positive or negative.
Affirmation/negation adverb examples: certainly, never, definitely, clearly, exactly, hardly, scarcely, surely, no longer
For example:
The vampire scarcely ever used sunscreen.
I have never seen him eat vegetables, despite his claims of vegetarianism.
Daphne no longer takes any interest in playing her accordion.
Conjunctive Adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs link independent clauses in a sentence or link separate, yet connected sentences. Where you place your conjunctive adverb in your sentence will determine your punctuation; see the Making Connections: Conjunctions post for more information.
Conjunctive Adverb examples: however, consequently, therefore, moreover, nevertheless
For example:
I did not win the dance marathon this year; however, I will keep practicing in hopes that I will win next year.
Cathy spent the evening before the test binge-watching old TV shows instead of studying; consequently, she failed spectacularly.
Shawn was told he would never be able to teach his dog to play the piano. Nevertheless, he persisted and eventually his dog was able to play “Chopsticks.”
Evaluative/Viewpoint/Certainty Adverbs
Evaluative/viewpoint/certainty adverbs seem like manner adverbs, but evaluative adverbs show the attitude of the writer or speaker about the information (manner adverbs more directly modify the verb). Evaluative adverbs usually appear at the beginning or end of the sentence.
Evaluative/viewpoint/certainty adverb examples: hopefully, sadly, fortunately, unfortunately, apparently, personally, clearly, obviously, surely, certainly, definitely, luckily
For example:
Hopefully, my teacher will overlook that my required 10-page essay is 1.5 pages long.
Sadly, I do not yet know how to juggle.
Fifteen minutes before the plane leaves is too late to get to the airport, apparently.
She will probably arrive on time, if she remembered to set an alarm.
Interrogative Adverbs
Interrogative adverbs are placed at the beginning of a question. The answers to questions begun by interrogative adverbs are usually answered by a simple adverb.
Interrogative adverbs examples: why, when, where, how
For example:
How are you? (I am well.)
Where are my glasses? (Your glasses are upstairs.)
Why did you miss class? (I missed class because I was sick.)
When did you get home from your trip? (I got home yesterday.)
Grammaphile 