Adverbs and adverbials

Adverbs tell us more about a verb: how (⟦quietly⟧), when (⟦yesterday⟧), where (⟦outside⟧) or how often (⟦never⟧). Many adverbs are adjectives + ⟦-ly⟧. A group of words that does the same job is an adverbial: ⟦after lunch⟧, ⟦in the garden⟧. An adverbial at the start of a sentence is a fronted adverbial and is followed by a comma.

Key facts

  • How: ⟦slowly⟧, ⟦carefully⟧, ⟦well⟧. When: ⟦today⟧, ⟦soon⟧, ⟦later⟧. Where: ⟦here⟧, ⟦outside⟧, ⟦upstairs⟧. How often: ⟦always⟧, ⟦usually⟧, ⟦sometimes⟧, ⟦never⟧.
  • Most adverbs add ⟦-ly⟧: ⟦quick → quickly⟧. ⟦y⟧ becomes ⟦i⟧: ⟦happy → happily⟧. ⟦-le⟧ becomes ⟦-ly⟧: ⟦gentle → gently⟧.
  • Some are different: ⟦good → well⟧; ⟦fast⟧, ⟦hard⟧ and ⟦late⟧ stay the same.
  • An adjective describes a noun (⟦a quiet room⟧); an adverb describes a verb (⟦She spoke quietly.⟧).
  • Fronted adverbial: ⟦After lunch, we played chess.⟧ ⟦Very slowly, the cat crept forward.⟧

Worked examples

Example 1

Choose: ⟦She sang (beautiful / beautifully).⟧

  1. The word tells us how she sang: it describes the verb ⟦sang⟧.
  2. So we need the adverb: ⟦She sang beautifully.⟧

Answer: ⟦beautifully⟧

Example 2

Find the adverb: ⟦We sometimes eat fish on Fridays.⟧

  1. Ask: how often do we eat fish?
  2. ⟦sometimes⟧ answers it: it is an adverb of frequency.

Answer: ⟦sometimes⟧

Example 3

Move the adverbial to the front: ⟦We played chess after lunch.⟧

  1. The adverbial is ⟦after lunch⟧ (when).
  2. Put it first with a capital letter, then a comma.
  3. ⟦After lunch, we played chess.⟧

Answer: ⟦After lunch, we played chess.⟧

Example 4

Write the adverb from ⟦good⟧.

  1. ⟦good⟧ does not add ⟦-ly⟧.
  2. Its adverb is ⟦well⟧: ⟦She plays well.⟧

Answer: ⟦well⟧