TYPES OF ADVERBS AND THEIR POSITION IN SENTENCES

 

Originally published in

July 18, 2021

@ jeanillec.blogspot.com

An adverb is a part of speech that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Lots of adverbs end in –ly but there are also a lot of them that don’t end in –ly. It can be very well remembered as well, that adverbs do not come in single words; they can be in phrases or clauses too.

Adverb	Question to Ask	Single-word adverb	Adverbs in phrases or clauses
Manner	HOW	He ran quickly.	He ran at 10 miles per hour.
		He ran fast.	He ran faster than Philip.
Time	WHEN	He ran yesterday.	He ran when he saw mom.
Place	WHERE	He ran here.	He ran to the police station.
Degree	HOW MUCH	He ran very fast.
Frequency	HOW OFTEN	He runs often.	He ran every week.
Negation		He can never understand me.
Affirmation		He is indeed wise.
Reason	WHY		He ran to call the police.

 

The position of adverbs is sentences is not really fixed however, there some rules to help us decide where to put certain adverbs in sentences depending on whether the adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb or what type of adverb it is.

Adverbs are usually found before the adjective or the adverb being modified.

-          She was terribly sorry. -          We have watched your show terribly often.

 

In the first sentence, “She was terribly sorry,” the adverb “terribly” is found before the adjective sorry. In the second sentence, “We have watched your show terribly often,” the adverb “terribly” is found before the adverb of frequency “often”.

 

Adverbs of manner, place and time are usually found after the verb or at the end of the sentence.

-          I stroke the cat gently. -          Jessica lived here. -          Let’s go home next week.

 

“I stroke the cat gently.” The adverb of manner, “gently”, is found at the end of the sentence. In the sentence “Jessica lived here,” the adverb of place, “here”, is found at the end of the sentence and immediately after the verb “lived”. Lastly, in the sentence, “Let’s go home next week,” the adverb of time, “next week”, is found at the end of the sentence and at the same time is found after the adverb of place, “home.” The adverb of place “home” is found immediately after the verb, “go.”

Adverbs indicating indefinite time and adverbs of frequency are found in between the subject and the main verb.

-          Lucy and Gary always loved strolling by the beach. -          Doris regularly shops here.

“Always” is found between the compound subject, “Lucy and Gary”, and the verb, “loved.” “Regularly” is found in between the subject, “Doris”, and the verb, “shops.”

Watch this video to learn more.

References:

Adverb https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/adverb/ 

What are Adverbs? https://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/adverbs.htm

Adverbs of Degree https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/adverbs-degree/