Adverbs
Parts of Speech
In English, different types of words do different jobs. The types of words are called parts of speech. There are four parts of speech you need to know to understand this lesson. Nouns name people, places, things, and ideas. Pronouns replace nouns. Pronouns include words like it, they, and we. Action verbs name actions. Adjectives modify or describe nouns or pronouns.
This is a lesson about a fifth part of speech, adverbs.
What Is an Adverb?
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb. To put it another way, an adverb describes actions, and it describes other descriptive words.
Look at the beginning of this story:
Field day was finally here. George, Naomi, Achilles, and Turiya were so excited to compete together in their favorite events.
In these sentences, the adverb ''together'' describes the verb ''compete,'' the adverb ''finally'' describes the verb ''was,'' and the adverb ''so'' describes the adjective ''excited.''
Adverb or Adjective?
It's easy to confuse the two main types of describing words: adverbs and adjectives. An adjective only has one job: modifying nouns and pronouns. An adverb gets the rest of the modifying work: to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. So when you look at a describing word, the first questions you should ask are, what word does it describe? And what kind of word is that?
Let's see if we can identify the adjectives and adverbs in this sentence.
The sweaty runners waited anxiously for the signal to start the race.
''Sweaty'' is describing ''runners,'' which is a noun. ''Sweaty'' is an adjective.
''Anxiously'' is describing ''waited,'' which is a verb. ''Anxiously'' is an adverb.
Note that an adjective can often be turned into an adverb by adding the ending ''-ly''. Look for adverbs that end in ''-ly'' in the rest of this lesson.
The Adverb Questions
An adverb generally answers one of four questions about the word it modifies. These questions are:
1. When?
George ran already. Naomi will run soon.
The adverb ''already'' tells when George ran. The adverb ''soon'' tells when Naomi will run.
2. Where?
Achilles put down his trophy after the race.
The adverb ''down'' tells where Achilles put his trophy.
3. In what manner, or how?
Turiya jumped gracefully over the obstacles in the obstacle course.
The adverb ''gracefully'' tells in what manner Turiya jumped.
4. To what extent?
The four friends were extremely happy with the results of field day.
The adverb ''extremely'' tells to what extent they were happy.
Writing With Adverbs
Adverbs add information and make writing more interesting. Look at this story without any adverbs:
The Relay Race
Four friends waited at their stations for the relay race. The starting pistol boomed. Naomi dashed. As Naomi ran, George grabbed the baton from her and started his run. He ran and Turiya had to wait before her turn came. Achilles finished the race. The friends were pleased that they worked and won the relay race.
Now, let's go through a version of the story with adverbs:
The Relay Race
Four friends waited restlessly at their stations for the relay race. Suddenly, the starting pistol boomed loudly. Immediately, Naomi dashed soundlessly away. As Naomi ran past, George neatly grabbed the baton from her and started his run. He ran so quickly that Turiya barely had to wait before her turn came. Achilles effortlessly finished the race. The friends were quite pleased that they worked hard and happily won the relay race.
Makes a big difference, doesn't it? The adverbs give us more information about what happened and help us imagine the excitement of the race.
Lesson Summary
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb.
Adverbs answer these questions:
When?
Where?
In what manner?
To what extent?
Adverbs add precision and interest to writing.