What is an adverb?
An adverb tells you more about a verb (a doing word). It answers:
| Question | Adverbs |
|---|---|
| How? | quickly, slowly, carefully, loudly, well |
| When? | yesterday, soon, now, later, tomorrow |
| Where? | outside, upstairs, here, everywhere, nearby |
| How often? | always, never, often, sometimes, rarely |
The tortoise walked slowly. We will leave soon. The dog ran outside.
Making adverbs with -ly
| Rule | Examples |
|---|---|
| Most words: add -ly | quick → quickly, sad → sadly |
| Ends in y: change to i, add -ly | happy → happily, easy → easily |
| Ends in -le: change to -ly | gentle → gently, simple → simply |
| Ends in -ful: add -ly (double l!) | careful → carefully |
Adverbs can also make adjectives stronger: very tall, really cold, extremely fast.
Watch out! Good is an adjective; the adverb is well. “She sings well” ✔, not “She sings good” ✘. And some -ly words are adjectives: friendly, lovely, lonely.
Top tip: find the verb, then ask “how?”, “when?” or “where?”. The word that answers is the adverb.
🗂️ How, when or where?1 of 9
What does this adverb tell you?
💨
quickly
🎮 Make the adverbQuestion 1 of 5