What is an Adverb in a Sentence? A List of 50 Adverbs With Relevant Examples

Does only adding a few words in a sentence make it versatile for conversation? The simplest answer is “NO”

There are so many things that work together in making a meaningful sentence. Let’s say “She sings beautifully,” instead of saying “She sings.” Which one is correct and sounds more engaging?

Obviously, the second one is more captivating and with the addition of more detailed information in an interesting way.

According to a general survey around 40-45% of writing features are adverbs to provide depth and convey the intensity of actions or qualities.

There are about more than a hundred adverbs in the English language which can be used by bloggers, writers, authors and other professionals.

In this article i’m gonna discuss about;

• What are adverbs?
• How are adverbs used?
• 5 types of adverbs?
• When to avoid adverbs?

Keep reading to check out different types of adverbs with examples that you can use in your own sentences!

What is an adverb?

Adverbs help explain things better!

Let’s say “he answered the question”. What do you understand from this statement?

In frustration or excitement? What if I write “he answered the question confidently”? Obviously! More understandable.

An adverb is a word that modifies verbs in the sentences and adjectives or other adverbs by giving more detail about it. It tells us the manner, time, place, or intensity of something.

When you use adverbs in your sentences, it makes your sentences more detailed and interesting. It helps your reader to understand exactly what’s happening.

Note: Adverbs often end in “-ly,” like “happily” or “slowly,” but not always. Some adverbs like “very” or “well” don’t end in “-ly.”

How are adverbs used?

In English, all grammatical rules for making a sentence include a particular subject, verb, and object. The subject is the main element that adds clarity to the sentence, whether it refers to a place, person, or thing.

For example, we can’t replace adverbs with adjectives or any other part of speech. Just like everything plays its unique role overall. Let me tell you about the usage of adverbs!

So, Is there any specific position for adverbs?

No! There is no particular place for them. They can be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence depending on what you want to emphasize.

No matter where you are using the adverb. It works at any place in the sentence like “She quickly finished her work and went home” and “Quickly, she finished her work and went home”.

Doesn't seem interesting? Well! If you understand them, it's like an interesting thing for you in writing.

The placement of adverbs helps make sentences more meaningful. It focuses attention on different parts of the action or description and makes your writing clearer and more engaging. Have a look at some rules about usage of adverbs:

• Place adverbs after the verb they modify when describing how, where, or when. Like “We will meet tomorrow”. Use the adverb at the end position for emphasis on the action or time.
• In sentences with auxiliary verbs, the adverb comes after the first auxiliary e.g., "She has already left.".
• Use adverbs at the beginning to set the tone of the sentence. Like “Yesterday, she went to Paris”.

5 commonly used types of adverbs with relevant examples

There are further types of adverbs that help you to use them at appropriate places. You can use these adverbs with different types of sentences.

Curious to know about types? Have a look:

1. Adverbs of manner

Did you carefully read the definition of adverbs? Adverb of manners is a type of adverb that describes “how” an action is performed. They tell us the way something is done.

They include words like quickly, happily, gracefully, carefully, easily, smoothly, gently, loudly, neatly, softly, clearly, fluently, politely, efficiently, skillfully, and bravely.

Notice that almost all these adverbs end with the same letters? Yes, These adverbs often end in "-ly", but not always in some rare cases.

Let’s have some examples by using simple sentences to clarify how we use the adverb of manners. Have a look:

1. Jacob drives the car carefully.
2. The boy is eating badly.
3. Childrens are playing happily in the park.
4. Tom is running slowly to attack the ant.
5. She is smiling softly.
6. He ran fast.
7. Kea completed the task quickly.
8. Baby was crying loudly.
9. The people are dancing confidently.

Did you get the point? All the highlighted words are adverbs regarding the manner. By the way do you notice the sentence no. 6? Look, “He ran fast”? Yes! The words like fast, well and hard etc are also used for adverbs as in case of manner.

2. Adverbs of time

Now, let’s learn about the most useful type of adverbs!

An adverb of time is a type of adverb that provides information about when, how often, or for how long an action takes place. It helps specify the timing of an event or action.

These are best for clarity about whether something happens in the past, present or future. The common words used to show time are now, soon, yesterday, today, tomorrow, always, never, frequently, occasionally, eventually, often, later, immediately, regularly, and constantly. 

Let’s have some examples with some simple and complex sentences for your better understanding.

11. Erick went to the market yesterday because he needed fresh vegetables for dinner.
12. I’ll call you soon after I finish my meeting with the clients.
13. She always wakes up early.
14. I once lived in New York.
15. Eda never got to bed late.
16. I recently saw a documentary on space exploration that was fascinating.
17. We travel frequently for work.
18. You will succeed sooner, if you keep working hard and stay focused.
19. They will arrive late.
20. I am now working on the project.

The adverb of time indicates a different time period. As you can see in the examples like example no.16 shows that the act happened in the past while in no.19 example the action takes place in the future.

Shall we move to the next? Keep reading to know a few more interesting types of adverbs that help you to show place, frequency and degree correctly!

3. Adverbs of place

Adverbs of place are all about location or direction of an action!

An adverb of place is a word that tells us “where” an action takes place. Adverbs of place are usually placed at the “end” of a sentence, but they can sometimes appear earlier for emphasis.

They include here, there, everywhere, nearby, somewhere, nowhere, elsewhere, outside, inside, upstairs, downstairs, above, below, and far. 

Let’s have examples with some simple and compound sentences;

21. She searched everywhere for her keys, but she couldn't find them.
22. The cat is outside.
23. My books are on the table.
24. They moved far from their hometown, but they still visit often.
25. We could hear the music playing inside, so we decided to go in and join the party.
26. I will meet you there.
27. He looked above for the missing bird, but it had flown away.
28. Burak wants to travel abroad next summer, and he hopes to visit Europe.
29. He looked above for the missing bird.
30. I could hear noises from below, so I went downstairs to check what was happening.

So, you can see in each example that the adverb provides additional information about where the action happens.

4. Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency tell us “how often” an action occurs!

They help express regularity or repetition and answer the question "How often?" These adverbs can describe habits, routines, or general tendencies and usually include words like always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never, frequently, occasionally, seldom, regularly, daily, weekly, monthly, annually, and habitually.

Let’s clear it with examples of using some simple and exclamatory sentences:

31. He always finds a way to surprise us!
32. I do a monthly subscription of sentence rewriter.
33. Wow, he rarely loses his temper!
34. I often think about those good old days!
35. They sometimes bring homemade treats, how nice!
36. I usually walk in the morning.
37. Doruk never skips breakfast.
38. Hazal frequently checks her emails.
39. Epik regularly walks in the morning.
40. She bites her nails habitually.

You can see in all the examples that these specific words act best to show the frequency of any task. Use these adverbs in your writing to indicate “how often” you spend your time on a single task.

5. Adverbs of degree

Shows the intensity of an action, adjective, or adverb!

Adverbs of degree describe the intensity or extent of an action, quality or another adverb. They answer the question “to what extent?” or “how much?” and help to clarify how intense, complete or partial an action or quality is. 

They include very, too, almost, quite, extremely, fairly, incredibly, somewhat, really, highly, partially, totally, absolutely, moderately, slightly, and deeply. 

Let’s have some examples with different sentence structure;

41. I am quite impressed with your work.
42. The soup is too hot to eat right now.
43. They were completely exhausted after the long hike.
44. She sang extremely well in the concert.
45. Are you sure enough about your answer?
46. Is this project really important for the team?
47. This exercise is much harder than the last one.
48. She’s almost as tall as her brother now.
49. You’re so lucky to have won the prize!
50. That’s just amazing!
51. He didn’t try hard enough to make a difference.
52. I’m not entirely convinced by his explanation.

Adverbs of degree are versatile and help to convey the speaker's perspective on the intensity of an action and add depth to descriptions and enhance clarity. Sometimes we get stuck in trouble adjusting the appropriate adverb type in sentence results in wrong sentence structure. 

In this situation search over an AI sentence rewriter to maintain your flow with correct sentence structure and grammar. This tool performs well in rewriting the sentences and provides high-quality results. It may take a few seconds to rephrase the sentence with the appropriate type of adverb as in your prompt.

When to avoid adverbs?

Do you frequently use adverbs? Not a good approach in writing. It should be used carefully in writing. You can take help from a paragraph writer for engaging content. It generates the paragraph with correct grammar, vocabulary and structure that enhances its readability and accuracy.

If you go with your own then avoid followings while using adverb in the sentences:

• Avoid them when they simply repeat what strong verbs or adjectives already convey. Like instead of saying “run quickly,” use “sprint.” This makes your writing better. 
• Be cautious of overusing adverbs, which can make your sentences wordy and less impactful. In formal writing, unnecessary adverbs make your sentences less clear and concise. 
• Skip adverbs that don’t add new meaning, like “very unique,” since “unique” already means one-of-a-kind.

Final thoughts

Ready to use adverbs correctly?

Adverbs add detail and make your sentences more interesting. By using them wisely, you can make your writing more engaging. Instead of overusing adverbs, try to choose strong verbs and adjectives to make your writing clearer and more effective. 

Try using adverbs in your writing to add detail and make your ideas clearer. Start practicing today, and watch how your sentences become stronger and more expressive!

Frequently asked questions

How do I identify an adverb in a sentence?

An adverb typically describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Look for words that answer questions like “how,” “when,” “where,” or “to what extent” something happens. For example, in "He runs quickly," the word “quickly” is an adverb because it describes how he runs.

What are some common adverbs?

Common adverbs include words like "quickly," "happily," "often," "never," and "very." These adverbs help describe the manner, time, frequency, place, or degree of an action or description.

Do adverbs always end in -ly?

No, while many adverbs end in “-ly,” such as “slowly” or “happily,” some don’t. For example, words like “very,” “well,” “here,” and “always” are also adverbs, even though they don’t follow the -ly pattern.

What is the role of an adverb in a sentence?

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, providing more detail about actions, descriptions, or intensities. They help explain how, when, where, or to what extent something happens, making sentences more informative.

Additional information

• 4 Main Types of sentences With Their Examples
• Compound-Complex Sentences: Structure + 5 Best Examples
• AI paragraph expander

Other resources

• Adverbs: What is an adverb? | English For Kids | Mind Blooming
• Word grammar: Adverbs
• Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: What Is an Adverb?