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What Is an Adverb? Definition and Examples | Grammarly Adverbs: A Definitive Guide Grammarly Updated on March 24, 2025 Parts of Speech An adverb is a word that modifies or 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 provide additional context, such as how, when, where, to what extent, or how often something happens. Adverbs are categorized into several types based on their function and what they describe: time , frequency , duration , manner , place , degree , purpose , and conjunctive adverbs . Adverbs often end in -ly , but some (such as fast ) look the same as their adjective counterparts. Adverbs can show comparison (“ more quickly ,” “ most quickly ”) and should be placed near the words they modify to avoid ambiguity. Adverbs are versatile words that enhance sentences, but knowing when to use them can be confusing. Here, we’ll use rules and examples to explain what adverbs are, how they’re used correctly, and when to avoid them. Work smarter with Grammarly The AI writing assistant for anyone with work to do Get Grammarly Table of contents Adverb definition Types of adverbs Adverbs and verbs Adverbs and adjectives Adverbs and other adverbs Adverbs and sentences Adverbs and degrees of comparison Placement of adverbs Common adverb mistakes to avoid Adverb FAQs Adverb definition Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or sentences, providing additional information about how , where , when , to what extent , or how often something happens. Adverbs often end in -ly , but that’s not always the case. Tom Longboat did not run badly . Tom is very tall. The race finished too quickly. Fortunately , Lucy recorded Tom’s win. What is an adverb? An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, providing context about how, when, where, how much, or how often something happens. How? When? Where? How much? How often? badly afterward above almost always carefully already abroad barely annually cheerfully early away completely daily closely eventually back deeply frequently easily later behind entirely hardly fast now below fairly hourly gently recently down just never loudly soon far nearly occasionally peacefully then here quite often quietly today indoor rather once skillfully tomorrow inside slightly rarely slowly tonight nearby too seldom thoroughly yesterday out totally usually well yet there very yearly How adverbs modify parts of speech and sentences Here’s how adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and sentences: Verb: An adverb describes how, when, where, or to what extent the action happens. (Example: She runs quickly .) Adjective: An adverb adds intensity or degree to an adjective. (Example: The lake is incredibly beautiful.) Adverb: When an adverb modifies another adverb, it clarifies or intensifies it. (Example: She sings very beautifully .) Sentence: An adverb used with a sentence conveys the speaker’s attitude or provides a general perspective on the statement. (Example: Fortunately , we arrived on time.) Types of adverbs Adverbs can be categorized into several types based on their function. Here are the different types of adverbs: Types of Adverbs Type Function Examples Adverbs of time Describe when, how long, or how often something happens now , soon , rarely , yesterday Adverbs of frequency Describe how often an action occurs always , usually , often , sometimes , rarely , never Adverbs of duration Describe how long an action lasts briefly , temporarily , forever , permanently , indefinitely Adverbs of manner Describe how an action is performed quickly , carefully , happily , gently , loudly , easily Adverbs of place Describe where an action happens here , there , everywhere , nowhere , outside , upstairs Adverbs of degree Describe the intensity, extent, or level of an action, adjective, or another adverb very , too , quite , almost , extremely , completely Adverbs of purpose Explain why an action happens or the reason behind it therefore , thus , so , because , consequently , hence Conjunctive adverbs Connect the ideas in different independent clauses or sentences alternatively , moreover, as a result , on the other hand Adverbs and verbs Adverbs most often modify verbs. They do this by characterizing the action of the verb. They usually do this by specifying something about the manner, time, place, frequency, or degree of the action. Manner: These adverbs describe how a verb’s action is performed. (Example: My cat waits impatiently for his food.) Time: These adverbs describe when or how long a verb’s action is done. (Example: We arrived at the theater and got in line early .) Place: These adverbs describe where a verb’s action takes place. (Example: The others hiked to the peak while she waited below .) Frequency: These adverbs describe how often a verb’s action occurs. (Example: Farid prefers to be paid monthly rather than weekly .) Degree: These adverbs describe the intensity, extent, or level of a verb’s action. (Example: The company is owned entirely by its workers.) Here’s a tip: Want to make sure you’re using adverbs correctly in your writing ? Grammarly can check your spelling and save you from grammar and punctuation mistakes. It even proofreads your text, so your work is polished wherever you write. Adverbs and adjectives Adverbs can also modify adjectives. They appear before the adjectives they modify in a sentence, and they add detail to how the adjectives describe nouns. That detail generally has to do with how the quality described by an adjective is true, the degree to which it is true, or how often it is true. Manner: When modifying an adjective, these adverbs give more detail about the degree or way in which the adjective describes something. (Example: The pilot’s voice sounded reassuringly quiet.) Degree: These adverbs communicate the intensity with which the adjective describes its noun or to what extent it does so, either on its own or in comparison to something else. (Example: The lake looks quite calm this morning.) Frequency: These adverbs describe how often an adjective applies to the noun it modifies. (Example: That cat is always happy to be having its dinner.) Flat adverbs Flat adverbs are adverbs that have the same form as their adjective counterparts. Common flat adverbs include safe , fast , hard , slow , easy , and bright : We’ll have to drive fast to get there in time. Learning languages has always come easy to Kit. Some flat adverbs have alternate forms that do take on -ly — safe/safely , slow/slowly , and bright/brightly are three pairs of adverbs in which both forms are acceptable as adverbs: The moon is shining bright [or brightly ] tonight. Drive safe [or safely ]. Adverbs and other adverbs Adverbs sometimes modify other adverbs. Like an adverb modifying an adjective, a second adverb adds detail to the information the original adverb communicates about the word it is modifying. The adverbs that can modify other adverbs generally convey degree—answering the question of to what extent or how intensely the principal adverb applies to the word it modifies. In the following sentence, the adverb of degree ( almost ) modifies the adverb of frequency ( always ), which modifies the adjective right : The weather report is almost always right. Here’s an example in which a degree adverb ( quite ) modifies a manner adverb ( elaborately ): Farran cooks quite elaborately for guests. Multiple adverbs together Because adverbs can modify other adverbs, it is grammatically possible to string together multiple adverbs, each modifying the next. This can be useful for expressing unusual intensity, especially in informal or emotional contexts, or for a specific tonal emphasis. Here are a couple of examples: I am so deeply, eternally indebted to everyone who has supported me. Xavier felt their teammates were not quite sufficiently prepared after all. However, such devices are best used thoughtfully and sparingly. They can make sentences too equivocal, indirect, weak, or clunky. Here’s an example of such a sentence: Huan sings rather enormously too loudly. Adverbs and sentences Some adverbs, called sentence adverbs , modify entire sentences. Common ones include generally , fortunately , interestingly , naturally , hopefully , and accordingly . The meaning of a sentence adverb applies to the writer or speaker’s feeling about all the information contained in the sentence, rather than modifying a specific sentence element. Here are a couple of examples: Fortunately , we got there in time. Surprisingly , no one at the auction seemed interested in bidding on the antique spoon collection. Sentence adverbs often convey certain rhetorical things like certainty about what the rest of the sentence expresses, doubt about it, or anticipation of objections to it, as in the following examples: Clearly , we have a lot more research to do on this subject. Arguably , this was the best course of action available. Admittedly , we haven’t yet located any primary sources. Adverbs and degrees of comparison Like adjectives, many adverbs can show degrees of comparison. In fact, the adverbs that can do this are very closely related to adjectives—they are almost all adverbs that have corresponding adjectives, including the many that are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. The three degrees of comparison are the absolute , the comparative , and the superlative . The absolute The absolute (or positive ) degree of an adverb is the adverb in its most basic form. An absolute adverb communicates a specific way in which an action was performed directly, without reference to anything else. He smiled warmly . They asked me to deliver a hastily written note. The comparative The comparative degree of adverbs is for comparing the way two people, groups, or other entities did something in terms of the specific quality expressed by an a