An adverb is a word that describes or gives more information about a verb, an adjective, another adverb or even a whole sentence. There are various types of adverbs such as adverbs of manner, place, time, frequency, degree and reason.

Adverbs of manner

These adverbs provide information about how an action occurs. We usually place the adverbs of manner after the verb or after the object of a verb in a sentence.

Examples of adverbs of manner used in sentences:

1. The old man walked slowly.

2. She ate her food quickly.

3. Sam came into the room quickly.

4. The boy played happily with his toys.

Adverbs of place

These adverbs provide information about where an action occurs. We use the adverbs of place right after the verb or after the object of a verb in a sentence.

Examples of adverbs of place used in sentences:

1. The clothes are lying there.

2. Please sit here.

3. She took the child outside.

4. They built a house nearby.

Adverbs of time

These adverbs provide information about when an action occurs. We usually place the adverbs of time at the end of a sentence. However, they can be placed at the beginning of a sentence to stress the time.

Examples of adverbs of time used in sentences:

1. I will meet her tomorrow.

2. We have met her before.

3. Soon I will meet my best friend.

4. I ate pizza yesterday.

Adverbs of frequency

These adverbs provide information about how often an action occurs. We place the adverbs of frequency at the beginning, the end or in the middle of a sentence depending on what needs to be conveyed.

Examples of adverbs of frequency used in sentences:

1. I have gone to the market twice.

2. I usually wake up early.

3. Usually, my parents come to pick me up from school.

4. My son is always working.

Adverbs of degree

These adverbs provide information about the degree or extent of an action or quality. The adverbs of degree are usually placed right before the words they describe.

Examples of adverbs of degree used in sentences:

1. He walked very quickly.

2. He is an extremely shy kid.

3. Amrita is very happy today.

4. Anandi had completely forgotten about the party.

Adverbs of reason

These adverbs state the reason and answer the question why.

Examples of adverbs of reason used in sentences:

1. I study because I want to become a doctor.

2. He received a call from his father. Therefore, he left.

Like adjectives, adverbs also have three degrees of comparison – positive, comparative and superlative.

Some adverbs and adverbial phrases are classified as ‘negative’. For example, not only, under no circumstances, no sooner, at no time, seldom, only then, not until, never etc.

When a sentence begins with a ‘negative’ adverb or adverbial phrase, the word order of the subject and verb (or auxiliary verb) is reversed to first auxiliary verb and then subject. This is called inversion. Some examples are given below.

Adverbial	Mid-sentence	At beginning
Not only	It was not only cold; it rained every day as well.	Not only was it cold; it rained every day as well.
Under no circumstances	Children under no circumstances should be left alone near electrical appliances.	Under no circumstances should children be left alone near electrical appliances.
No sooner	He had no sooner finished his homework than his friends arrived.	No sooner had he finished his homework than his friends arrived.
At no time	The working classes at no time were adequately housed in the 19th century.	At no time were the working classes adequately housed in the 19th century.
Seldom	There has seldom been so much trouble in this part of the country.	Seldom has there been so much trouble in this part of the country.
Only then	It was only then that I realized how exhausted I was.	Only then did I realize how exhausted I was.
Not until	It was not until later that I noticed my book was missing.	Not until later did I notice my book was missing.
Never	We had never seen so many people in one place.	Never had we seen so many people in one place.