Adverbs give extra information about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. They answer questions like how, when, where, and to what degree. In She spoke softly, softly tells how she spoke. In We arrived late, late tells when. In Put the keys here, here tells where. In The soup is very hot, very tells the degree of hot.

Without an adverb, the sentence still works, but the meaning is less precise. Compare He drove and He drove carefully. The first sentence only says that he drove. The second sentence says how he drove.

Main functions of adverbs

Example	Pattern
She sings beautifully.	An adverb can describe how something happens.
We will leave soon.	An adverb can tell when something happens.
The children are playing outside.	An adverb can show where something happens.
I am very tired today.	An adverb can show degree or amount.

Many adverbs are made from adjectives by adding -ly. Slow becomes slowly, careful becomes carefully, and quiet becomes quietly. These adverbs usually describe how an action happens.

Use the adjective to describe a noun: a careful driver. Use the adverb to describe an action: The driver was careful or The driver drove carefully. The adjective goes with a noun or after a linking verb. The adverb goes with a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Regular adverb formation with ly

Example	Pattern
She spoke quietly during the meeting.	Many adverbs are formed by adding the ending ly to an adjective.
He drove carefully through the city.	We often use this form to make an adjective describe an action.
They worked slowly because the road was icy.	The new word usually keeps the same basic meaning as the adjective.

When an adjective ends in y, change y to i before -ly. Happy becomes happily, easy becomes easily, and angry becomes angrily.

When an adjective ends in le after a consonant, drop the e and add -ly. Simple becomes simply, possible becomes possibly, and terrible becomes terribly.

When an adjective ends in ll, keep both l letters and add y. Full becomes fully. A few common words keep the spelling of the base word and do not follow the most common pattern, so the full form must be learned as a word.

Common spelling changes before ly

Example	Pattern
She finished the task happily.	If an adjective ends in y, we often change it to i before adding ly.
He answered easily.	If an adjective ends in le, we often change it to ly after dropping e.
The team played fully today.	If an adjective ends in ll, we keep both l letters before adding y.

Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective. Fast, hard, late, and early can work this way. In She runs fast, fast is an adverb. In a fast runner, fast is an adjective.

Good is different from its adverb form. The adverb is well. Use well for the way someone does something: He plays well. Use good for a noun: a good player. Hard also has a special adverb use that means with effort or strongly: She worked hard. Hardly is a different word and means almost not.

Unchanged and irregular adverbs

Word	Definition	Example
well	It means in a good way and is the adverb form related to good.	She writes well.
fast	It means at a high speed and does not change form.	The bus is moving fast.
hard	It means with a lot of effort when it is used as an adverb.	He works hard every day.
late	It means after the expected time and often stays the same as an adverb.	We arrived late.
early	It means before the usual time and does not change in adverb form.	She came early to class.

Scramble

Adverbs of manner show how something happens. She answered politely. Adverbs of time show when. We met yesterday. Adverbs of frequency show how often. He usually walks to work. Adverbs of degree show how much or how strong. The water is very cold.

These groups often appear together in real sentences. In I always study carefully at night, always shows frequency, carefully shows manner, and at night shows time. The adverb tells the reader more about the action, the moment, or the strength of the description.

Main adverb categories

Example	Pattern
He answered politely.	An adverb of manner tells how an action happens.
We will meet tomorrow.	An adverb of time tells when something happens.
I usually walk to school.	An adverb of frequency tells how often something happens.
The soup is very hot.	An adverb of degree tells how strong or complete something is.

A short adverb of manner often comes after the main verb or after the object. She sang beautifully. She sang the song beautifully. An adverb of place or time often comes after the verb or at the end of the sentence. We met there. They left early.

With be-verbs, the adverb usually comes after the be-verb. The room is very quiet. He is always late. With an auxiliary, the adverb usually comes between the auxiliary and the main verb. She has already left. They will probably agree. When the sentence has no auxiliary, the adverb usually comes before the main verb. We often eat here.

Common positions of adverbs in sentences

Usage	Explanation	Example
Before the main verb	Use this position when the adverb gives general information about the action and the verb is not be.	They often visit their grandparents.
After be verbs	Use this position when the sentence uses be as the main verb.	She is always kind.
Between the subject and auxiliary	Use this position when an adverb comes before an auxiliary verb in a verb phrase.	We never have seen that movie.
After the object	Use this position when the adverb describes how the action is done and follows the object.	He closed the door quietly.

Adjectives describe nouns. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. In a happy child, happy describes the noun child. In The child smiled happily, happily describes the verb smiled.

Many words ending in -ly are adverbs, but not all of them. Friendly, lonely, and lovely are adjectives. They describe nouns, so a friendly neighbor is correct, not a friendly speaking style. Some adverbs also modify adjectives and make their meaning stronger or weaker. Very in very tired modifies the adjective tired. Quite in quite slowly modifies the adverb slowly.

Avoiding confusion between adjectives and adverbs

Example	Pattern
She is a careful driver.	Use an adjective to describe a noun.
She drives carefully.	Use an adverb to describe a verb.
He gave a friendly smile.	Some ly words are adjectives, not adverbs.
The room is very cold.	Some adverbs can modify adjectives.
She sang extremely well.	Some adverbs can modify other adverbs.