Read these two sentences: "The boy ran." and "The boy ran quickly." Which sentence gives you a better picture? The second one, of course! The word "quickly" tells us how the boy ran. It adds more meaning to the verb "ran."
Words like "quickly" that tell us more about a verb are called adverbs. Adverbs make our sentences clearer and more interesting. They answer questions like How?, When?, and Where?
An adverb is a word that describes a verb. It tells us more about how, when, or where an action happens.
Just as an adjective describes a noun, an adverb describes a verb.
Example: "Priya sings beautifully." Here, "sings" is the verb and "beautifully" is the adverb that tells us how Priya sings.
Adverbs of manner tell us how an action is done. They answer the question "How?"
Many adverbs of manner are formed by adding -ly to an adjective:
| Adjective | Adverb | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| slow | slowly | The tortoise walked slowly. |
| quick | quickly | Aarav finished his homework quickly. |
| careful | carefully | Meera crossed the road carefully. |
| loud | loudly | The teacher called out loudly. |
| neat | neatly | Riya writes neatly in her notebook. |
| polite | politely | He asked politely for a glass of water. |
Note: Not all adverbs end in -ly. Some common adverbs of manner are: well, fast, hard.
Example: "Sachin bats well." / "The train moves fast."
Adverbs of time tell us when an action happens. They answer the question "When?"
Common adverbs of time: today, yesterday, tomorrow, now, soon, always, never, often, already, later.
"We went to the park yesterday." (When did we go? Yesterday.)
"Amma will make biryani tomorrow." (When will she make it? Tomorrow.)
"I always brush my teeth before bed." (When? Always -- every time.)
"Rohan never forgets his lunch box." (When? Never -- not at any time.)
Adverbs of place tell us where an action happens. They answer the question "Where?"
Common adverbs of place: here, there, everywhere, outside, inside, nearby, upstairs, downstairs, away.
"Come here and sit down." (Where? Here.)
"The children are playing outside." (Where? Outside.)
"I looked everywhere for my pencil." (Where? Everywhere.)
"Grandma is resting upstairs." (Where? Upstairs.)
To find the adverb in a sentence, first find the verb (action word). Then ask: How?, When?, or Where? The word that answers these questions is the adverb.
Verb: sang. How did it sing? Sweetly. So "sweetly" is the adverb of manner.
Verb: will visit. When will we visit? Tomorrow. So "tomorrow" is the adverb of time.
Verb: wait. Where should you wait? Outside. So "outside" is the adverb of place.
Adding adverbs makes plain sentences more interesting and descriptive:
| Plain Sentence | With Adverb |
|---|---|
| The girl danced. | The girl danced gracefully. |
| We will go to the market. | We will go to the market tomorrow. |
| The cat sat. | The cat sat there quietly. |
| Appa drives the car. | Appa drives the car carefully. |
| Type | Question It Answers | Common Words |
|---|---|---|
| Adverb of Manner | How? | slowly, quickly, carefully, loudly, neatly, well, fast |
| Adverb of Time | When? | today, yesterday, tomorrow, soon, always, never, often |
| Adverb of Place | Where? | here, there, everywhere, outside, inside, upstairs, away |
Finished learning? Now test what you know!