What Is Adverb? Definition and types of adverbs with examples

Let’s begin with today’s topic: Adverb or Modifier Words. It is essential to understand the concept of adverbs in speech. It is so because adverbs increase the beauty of the verb. So in this article, I am going to tell you what is adverb in English grammar, different types of adverbs and why we use adverbs.

what is adverb and their types

You will get a feel while looking at the sentence. When we say “I am sorry”, the person feels sorry for his action. But what if someone says, “I am extremely sorry” it shows that person is repenting for his actions. This “extremely” word enhances the stress of the verb.

Don’t worry, this is a very simple topic if understood precisely. After going through the content of this article, your knowledge about the subject will increase manifolds. So, let’s begin.

  • What do you mean by the term adverb?
  • Definition and meaning of adverb/what does adverb mean?
  • ‘Adverb’ concept understanding, along with examples of adverbs.
  • Different types of adverbs?

At the end of this article, you will understand the full concept of adverbs and their applications in speech.

What is adverb? – Definition of adverb

An adverb is a word in a sentence that, when used, provides a stressed meaning to the verb. An adverb is a word that modifies the verb and guides its purpose. Adverb drives the sentence on how the action is done, when this action will be done, and where the action is done. For example:

  • Ram eats hurriedly. (This shows how the action is done)
  • Mohan will play cricket on Tuesday. (This shows when the action will be done)
  • The sun shines everywhere. (This shows where the action is done)

Let’s look at a few more examples for better understanding.

  • You are incredibly talented.
  • Why are you so late? 
  • I love you a lot.

So, How you, me, or anyone is doing something becomes an Adverb. 

Now, you have understood ‘What is an adverb’. Let’s move toward the ‘Definition and meaning of the adverb’.

Definition and meaning of adverbs/what do adverbs mean?

The textbook definition of the adverb is a word that adds more information about the place, time, manner, cause, or degree to a verb, an adjective, a phrase, or another adverb. In simple form, we can say that when an adverb modifies the verb, then an adverb answers “Where, When, How, How much, and how many times” the action is being performed.  

Let’s understand how adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, whole sentences, or other adverbs. 

  1. To modify Verb:
  1. Indian cricket team plays amazingly in the last game. (play is a verb)
  2. Rohan dances handsomely. (dance is a verb)
  1. To modify adjective:
  1. It was an extremely difficult question. (difficult is an adjective)
  2. They were very tired yesterday. (tired is an adjective)
  1. To modify the sentence:
  1. Unfortunately, we lost the match yesterday. 
  2. Obviously, Ram was a great team player. 
  1. To modify adverb:
  1. She danced extremely badly yesterday. (badly as adverb)
  2. She danced amazingly beautifully at the party. (beautifully as adverb)

Adverb concept understanding along with examples of Adverbs.

  1. Ram speaks loudly.
  2. He paints well.
  3. He was extremely funny.
  4. My brother walks so slowly.
  5. Jasmine has an extremely cute dog.
  6. Shiva was highly impressed with ram’s dress style.
  7. The team arrived late for the meeting.
  8. He runs quickly.
  9. He looked pretty confident.
  10. This scooter is very expensive.

Read: What are verbs and their types

Different types of adverbs?

In this section, we will be going to understand a variety of adverbs. In addition, we will take simple examples to grasp the knowledge of it thoroughly. You can also call it “different types of adverbs”. There are primarily seven types of adverbs.

  1. Adverb of place.
  2. Adverb of purpose.
  3. Adverb of degree.
  4. Adverb of manner.
  5. Adverb of time.
  6. Adverb of probability.
  7. Adverb of frequency.

Adverb of place:

An adverb of place is the word in the sentence which describes the location or place of action of the verb that took place. It specifically provides the answer of “Where the action was/is/will do” There are words like “here”, “there”, “anywhere”, etc. For example:

  • Ramesh is playing outside.
  • We can stop our car nearby the road.
  • Police still come here.
  • Go and sit there.
  • Sun shines brightly everywhere.

Adverb of purpose:

An adverb of purpose is the combination of words in the sentence which describes the reason for the verb. It specifically provides the answer of “need of the action being done” There are words that come after “to” in the sentence. This usually comes in the middle of the sentence, where the second half provides the reason for the action done in the first half. For example:

  • Raj runs daily to get the selection for the army.
  • She sings loudly to improve her tone.
  • He studies harder to secure good marks in exams.
  • Ram kept his books safe to make his library.
  • She wakes up early to meditate.

Adverb of degree:

The adverb of degree is the word in the sentence that tells the extent of the verb or action. It defines the ‘degree to’ of something occurs. It is also known by the name “ Adverb of quantity” It provides explicitly the answer of “how much of the action done” There are words like “much”, “fully”, “very”, etc. For example:

  • He was very enthusiastic about sports.
  • The coach was a bit angry with his performance.
  • The drawing is almost completed.
  • I nearly recovered from the trauma.
  • Shyam came fully prepared to the courtroom.

Adverb of manner:

This is the word in the sentence describing the way or technique of action of the verb or action. It specifically provides the answer to “How the action is done” There are words like “fast”, “wisely”, “slowly”, etc. For example:

  • Ramesh runs very fast.
  • The truck moves slowly at the intersection.
  • Ram acted wisely in tough times.
  • The band sings softly.
  • Manish spends all his pocket money foolishly.

Adverb of time:

The adverb of time is the word in the sentence that describes the time of action or verb. It specifically provides the answer to “When the action is done” There are words like “today”, “soon”, “never”, etc. For example:

  • Ramesh walks every day in the park.
  • The flight will arrive tomorrow.
  • He came late to class.
  • Go away from my sight now.
  • Manisha replies immediately to all his texts.

Adverb of probability:

The adverb of probability is the word in the sentence that describes the likelihood of action or verb. It specifically provides the answer to the “possibility of the action” There are words like “impossibly”, “surely”, “unlikely”, etc. For example:

  • She might talk to you.
  • Victory is unlikely today for the team.
  • He probably will come late to class.
  • The hero will kill the villain, certainly.
  • Ram will surely succeed in the following semester’s exams.

Adverb of frequency:

The adverb of frequency is the word in the sentence that describes the rate of occurrence of an action or verb. It specifically provides the answer to “How many times the action happens” There are words like “never”, “monthly”, “seldom”, etc. For example:

  • He woke up early n the morning daily.
  • Shyam often misses the catch.
  • He always comes late to class.
  • She seldom visits the temple.
  • Rajesh never tells lies.

So, This is where our topic on “Adverbs and its Types” concluded. This is the simplest explanation of the topic. I hope that you grasp the total content very well. Do share your feedback in the comments section. Visit our website for more knowledgeable stuff. 

Conclusion

Everyone wants to learn to speak English. But to speak and write correct English, it is very important to have knowledge of grammar. The Adverb is a very important topic in English Grammar. We also use many adverbs in our ordinary speech. But many people do not know according to the rules of grammar, what is an adverb. different types of adverbs? definition of the adverbs with examples, Adverb in English grammar.

This article of ours today was about adverbs only. I tried to tell all the things about adverbs in this article. And I am sure that you must have understood all the points very well.

In conclusion, I would like to tell you that if you really liked this article about what is adverb, definition and different types of adverbs with examples then please share it on social media with your friends and family.

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Mr. Paul is 10 years experienced English teacher from the USA. Yes, you heard it right. I did my masters in English and after that started sharing my knowledge with others. Our aim is to make your vocabulary and grammar ultra strong & correct.

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