ADVERBS

An adverb is a word that accompanies the verb to modify its meaning. An adverb can also modify adjectives, nouns, or other adverbs. For example:

• My mom walks slowly in the street (Slowly is the adverb that qualifies the verb walk)
• Quickly finish shopping for food so we can get to the party on time. (Quickly is the adverb)

Adverbs have certain grammatical rules and they are the following: 

• The general rule to form adverbs is to add the ending “ly” to an adjective, which is equivalent to the ending in Spanish of (“mente”). Examples:

Quick → quickly

Honest → honestly 

Slow → slowly

Strong → strongly

• For adjectives that end in a consonant + "y" change "y" to "ily." Examples:

Easy → easily

Happy → happily 

Ready → readily

Merry → merrily

• Adjectives ending in "ic" change the ending "ic" to "ically." Examples:

Automatic → automatically

Tragic → tragically 

Basic → basically

Idiotic → idiotically

• Adjectives ending in "le," change the ending "le" to "ly." Examples:

Terrible → terribly 

Incredible → incredibly

Possible → possibly

Forcible → forcibly

• Some irregular adverbs do not end in "ly." Examples:

Hard → hard

Fast → fast

Straight → straight

TYPES OF ADVERBS

• Adverbs of affirmation / denial / certainty: They serve to confirm or reject an idea. The most common are:

1. Affirmation Adverbs:
2. Certainly
3. Definitely
4. Indeed
5. Likely
6. Naturally
7. Obviously
8. Of course
9. Perhaps
10. Really
11. Surely
12. Adverbs of negation:
13. No/not (it is an adverb, when it is a response to something)
14. Never
15. Not at all

Examples:

→ She is definitely coming to the party.
→ We will never agree to his plans.

• Duration adverbs: They serve to know the time that some actions last. They usually answer the question for how long?

1. All day
2. All week
3. Ever since
4. For (x) minutes/hours/weeks/months/years
5. For a while
6. Forever
7. From now on
8. From the beginning
9. Permanently
10. Since
11. So far
12. Temporarily
13. The whole morning
14. Until now
15. Up to now

Examples:

→ I waited for my dad all day.

→ Since I got a new car, I don’t use public transport.

• Frequency adverbs: They express the periodicity of actions. The question to find them is how often?

1. Always
2. Annually
3. Daily
4. Ever
5. Frequently
6. From time to time
7. Hardly ever
8. Never
9. Normally
10. Occasionally
11. Once
12. Regularly
13. Seldom
14. Usually
15. Weekly

Examples:

→ I always drink soda on by birthday.

→ My sister normally eats pizza.

• Adverbs of degree: They are useful to express different intensities.

1. Absolutely
2. Almost
3. Barely
4. Extremely
5. Less
6. Mainly
7. More
8. Mostly
9. Much
10. Nearly
11. Not at all
12. Rather
13. Relatively
14. Totally

Examples:

→ We nearly bumped into a tree.

→ I like dogs more than cats.

• Question adverbs: They serve, as the name implies, to ask questions. They are the WH questions.

1. How?
2. What?
3. When?
4. Where?
5. Which?
6. Who?
7. Why?

Examples:

→ What color is your dog?

→ Where are my phone?

Note: These same adverbs can fulfill the function of subject or complement in a sentence. For example:

What I want is a new computer.

She was where I asked her to be.

• Adverbs of place: They are used to specify the space where something happens. They can be identified with the question where?

1. Above
2. Abroad
3. Ahead
4. Away
5. Behind
6. Below
7. Beyond
8. Far
9. Here
10. In
11. Inside
12. Near
13. Opposite
14. Out
15. There

Examples:

→ There were trees around the stadium.

→ The accident happened here.

• Adverbs of manner: They serve to express how something is done.

1. Badly
2. Carefully
3. Carelessly
4. Clearly
5. Easily
6. Honestly
7. Fast
8. Happily
9. Hard
10. Naturally
11. Separately
12. Simply
13. Slowly
14. Well
15. Worse
16. Wrong

Examples:

→ The worm got the apple slowly.

→ She honestly said that she didn’t like me.

• Order adverbs: They are used to list, enumerate and order concepts.

1. At last
2. Eventually
3. Finally
4. First
5. First of all
6. In the end
7. In the first place
8. Initially
9. Lastly
10. Secondly

Examples:

→ At first I disliked my new house, but now I love it.

→ First of all, let me introduce you.

• Adverbs of time: They are useful to express when something happens. They answer the question when?

1. After
2. Already
3. Before
4. Earlier
5. Early
6. Just
7. Late
8. Later
9. Now
10. Someday
11. Soon
12. Still
13. Today
14. Tomorrow
15. Yesterday

Examples:

→ My son is with my dad currently.

→ We had a sandwich for breakfast today.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

Place the adverbs as close as possible to the words they are supposed to modify. Putting the adverb in the wrong place can make for an awkward sentence at best and completely change the meaning at worst. Be especially careful with the word only, which is one of the most frequently missed modifiers.

WHEN TO AVOID ADVERBS

It is impossible to avoid adverbs entirely. Sometimes we need them, and all writers use them occasionally. The trick is to avoid unnecessary adverbs. When your verb or adjective doesn't seem powerful or precise enough, instead of searching for an adverb to add more color, try searching for a stronger verb or adjective. Most of the time, you will come up with a better word and your writing will be more solid.

ONE APPLICATION TO LIFE

Modify the variable, they place us in time, they remind us that life is a here and a now, and that a suffix in mind is enough to change the way of doing and seeing things. And they console, and explain, especially in black years. The senses deceive us, but the invariable does not. Maybe that's why they don't seem important to us, but the good thing is that they don't change, they never indicate plural or feminine, and they modify the verb, the whole sentence, or another adverb.