What Are Adverbs? 100+ Examples & Sentence Usage

Knowing what to say is one thing; learning how to say it is another.

This is where adverbs come in. Adverbs provide flair and color to your speech and writing.

They enable you to explain a sentence in greater detail.

The expression “I slept last night” becomes more effective when you modify it to read “I slept groggily last night.”

This gives people the exact amount of detail to read between the lines. 

In this article, you will learn all about adverb definition and examples and how to use them.

You will also be able to start practicing right away by using words from our list. Let’s get started!

What Is an Adverb?

An adverb is a word that modifies or gives more information about a noun, a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

These words detail when actions occur as well as their location alongside the reasons and frequency patterns.

These words usually end in “-ly,” but not always.

They answer questions like “How?” “When?” and “To what extent?”

Types of Adverbs

The six common types of adverbs include:

• Conjunctive adverbs
• Adverbs of time
• Adverbs of frequency
• Adverbs of manner
• Adverbs of place
• Adverbs of degree

Conjunctive Adverbs 

Conjunctive adverbs are adverbs that connect words, phrases, or clauses. They express the relationship between ideas or parts of a speech.

Conjunctive adverbs are often set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma. An example will look like this:

We can’t afford to eat out tonight. Besides, I already cooked dinner at home.

They can also go at the end of a sentence, where they don’t need to be set off by a comma.

Below is an example:

I didn’t really want to go to the concert anyway.

Below is a list of conjunctive adverb examples:

• so
• then
• yet

• accordingly
• additionally
• also
• anyway
• instead
• in conclusion
• lately
• likewise
• moreover
• namely
• nevertheless
• besides
• certainly
• conversely
• finally
• hence
• however

Adverbs Of Time

These types of adverbs describe when things occur. They answer the question, “When?”. 

The position of time adverbs shows versatility because they can appear first in the sentence or before or after the targeted verb or clause.

The placement of an adverb depends on both its selected word and the context of sentence usage.

Here are some examples:

• Next week, the church is going for the funeral
• We previously saw her at lunch
• Are you going to London after?

Here is a list of some adverbs of time:

• then
• early
• late
• later
• today
• already
• daily
• last
• next
• previously
• after
• afterwards
• since
• still
• just
• tomorrow
• tonight
• yesterday
• now
• seldom

Adverbs of Frequency

These adverbs detail the rate at which the action takes place per time.

They answer the question, “How often?” Adverbs of frequency generally go before the clause they are modifying.

Consider these examples:

• My brother will never get over losing his phone 
• She rarely greets strangers

Here is a list of some commonly used adverbs of frequency:

• always
• frequently
• normally
• once
• twice
• rarely
• never
• ever
• hardly ever
• occasionally
• seldom
• usually
• often
• sometimes
• generally

Adverbs of Manner 

Unlike their name, these adverbs aren’t necessarily polite.

When used in this situation, the word manner represents “a way of doing something.”

Adverbs that describe manner answer “How” questions, and they appear either before or after the verb or noun they modify.

For example:

• The students proudly submitted their assignments 
• Our president spoke loudly and quickly.

Here is a list of adverbs of manner:

• well
• hard
• loudly
• proudly
• suspiciously
• eagerly
• accidentally
• rapidly
• hungrily
• foolishly
• fast
• straight
• strangely
• kindly
• easily
• rudely
• neatly
• quickly
• generously
• cheerfully

Adverbs of Place

These adverbs describe location.

They answer the question, “Where?” Adverbs of place go after the verb they are modifying.

Here are some examples:

• Gravity is everywhere
• Go toward the orange tree and go downstairs.
  

A list of adverbs of place include:

• behind
• above
• nearby
• around
• over
• overseas
• close
• away
• upstairs
• downstairs
• here
• there
• backward(s)
• toward(s)
• outside
• inside
• everywhere
• deeply
• next-door

Adverbs Of Degree

Adverbs of degree describe the intensity or quantity of an action.

They answer the question, “How much?” Generally, these adverbs go before the verbs they modify.

For instance:

• We could barely scream as they robbed us
• The dog is somewhat frantic 

Examples of adverbs of degree include:

• lots
• somewhat
• barely
• extremely
• enough
• so
• slightly
• especially
• just
• almost
• very
• much
• most
• nearly
• too
• scarcely
• virtually
• fully
• far
• exceptionally

100+ Adverb Examples For Everyday Use 

Here is a list of Adverbs for day-to-day use:

Quickly	Soon	Far	Exceedingly	Entirely
Slowly	Next	Near	Fast	Swiftly
Loudly	Late	Above	Slow	Smoothly
Wisely	Early	Always	Thoughtfully	Steadily
Politely	Already	Never	Kindly	Swiftly
Brightly	Just	Often	Successfully	Universally
Highly	Recently	Rarely	Efficiently	Uniformly
Rapidly	Frequently	Usually	Effectively	Utterly
Firmly	Here	Sometimes	Meticulously	Vividly
Gently	There	Almost	Thoroughly	Warmly
Yesterday	Nowhere	Nearly	Completely	Widely
Today	Somewhere	Slightly	Virtually	Normally
Tomorrow	Anywhere	Moderately	Exactly	Obviously
Slowly	Nearby	Meanwhile	Recklessly	Consequently
Energetically	Downstairs	However	Harmoniously	Totally
Tonight	Across	Consequently	Swiftly	Really
Never	Far away	Thus	Clearly	Highly
Everywhere	Somewhat	Swiftly	Later	Across
Accurately	Instantly	Previously	Below	Furthermore
Fluently	Eventually	Suddenly	Above	Moreover

Adverbs serve as flavoring elements in sentences to make them more animated and appealing.

Apply these examples to learn adverbs, which will benefit your everyday communication while developing your writing abilities.

How To Identify an Adverb in a Sentence

Here are a few ways to identify an adverb in a sentence:

Recognizing Common Adverb Suffixes (-ly, -ward, -wise)

The term “ly words” describes adverbs since they frequently add “ly” as their terminal element.

While “ly” marks most adverbs in English grammar, it does not include all adverbs in the language.

This test becomes unreliable because specific adjectives also use “ly” endings.

Other adverbs can end in -”ward,” and this indicates direction.

Forward, backward, upward and downward constitute an illustration showing the use of this context.

Some adverbs function with the suffix “-wise”, which establishes a relationship of “with respect to.”

Examples include clockwise, edgewise, anticlockwise, and likewise.

Tips for Finding Adverbs in a Sentence

To identify adverbs in sentences, try these practical approaches:

•  Find The Verb First: After finding the main verb, check for descriptive words that explain the timing and location of the action along with its intensity and purpose.

• Apply The Adverb Questions: Ask:
  • How was the action performed? (manner)
  • When was it done? (time)
  • Where did it happen? (place)
  • How often does it occur? (frequency)
  • To what extent? (degree)

• Check For Mobility: Many adverbs can be moved to different positions in a sentence without changing the meaning, which is a helpful test. Consider this:
  • She spoke softly during the meeting.
  • Softly, she spoke during the meeting.
  • She softly spoke during the meeting.

• Look For Modifiers of Adjectives or Other Adverbs: Adverbs are words which modify either adjectives or other existing adverbs in the sentence.
  • The exam proved very challenging to students. (“very” acts as a modifier for the adjective “challenging”)
  • She runs very quickly. (“very” modifies the adverb “quickly”)

How To Use Adverbs Effectively in Your Writing

Every writing project requires the appropriate application of adverbs to deliver style and color yet maintain readability.

Here’s how to do that:

1. Use Adverbs Sparingly: The repeated application of “-ly” adverbs together with other adverbs throughout the text diminishes the professionalism of writing. Using specific, strong action verbs provides better results than filling the text with “-ly” adverbs.
2. Choose Specific Adverbs: When selecting adverbs, select those that provide exact meanings for your intended message instead of general ones.
3. Place Adverbs Strategically: How you place adverbs in your sentences determines their emphasis level and sentence flow.
4. Avoid Redundancy: No redundancy should exist in your writing since adverbs need to avoid repeating the essential information presented by the verb (for example, “shouted loudly”).
5. Use Your Adverbs to Create Tone: Adverbs can help create a certain tone in your writing. For instance, using adverb examples sentences like “she spoke softly” creates a gentle scenario.
6. Balance Adverbs With Other Descriptive Elements: Individual description elements, like adverbs, should balance with strong verbs, nouns, and adjectives to establish interesting written content.
7. Get Feedback From Others: It is not enough to get it right by reading your work out loud, ask others to review your writing and provide feedback on the way you use adverbs.

Alternatives to Adverbs for Stronger Writing

Various writing professionals support strong alternative verbs instead of using adverbs to enhance writing effectiveness.

The alternatives include:

• Strong, Specific Verbs: The reader understands walking more accurately when the text uses “trudged,” “shuffled,” or “ambled” instead of “walked slowly.”

• Descriptive Adjectives and Nouns: Instead of using adverbs, use descriptive adjectives to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. The writer can replace “her words came through clenched teeth” instead of “spoke angrily.” Another example of this is “her  voice was like honey “ instead of “she sang sweetly.”

• Contextual Details: A narrative works better than verbalization because it reveals occurrences through concrete data and executed movements. For instance, you can write “The room was cluttered with dirty laundry, empty pizza boxes and scattered papers” instead of “The room was very messy.” 

• Dialogue and Actions: Let the characters’ words and actions show their emotions and attitudes instead of describing them with adverbs. For example “oh great, she said, rolling her eyes” paints a better picture than “she spoke sarcastically.”

• Sensory Details: These details make the reader fully engrossed, instead of using adverbs. For example, you can replace “the cookies taste extremely delicious” with  “The smell of cookies wafted through the air.” 

How AI Can Help Improve Your Adverb Usage

Here is how AI can improve your Adverb Usage:

AI Can Suggest Alternatives for Stronger Writing

AI writing tools can instantly identify weak adverbs and suggest more substantial alternatives.

When you enter “walked quickly” in the text, Undetectable AI suggests possible alternatives that include “strode” and “dashed.”

They serve as detection instruments to identify repetitive adverbs, and they help users discover accurate replacement expressions through their functionality.

AI-Powered Grammar Checkers Help Correct Misplaced Adverbs

Multiple grammatical errors occur when the automated system finds adverbs placed incorrectly, thus leading to reading difficulties and interrupted sentence flow.

These AI writing tools detect adverbs that lose their intended purpose because of interference between modifiers and phrases or appearance in unnatural word sequences.

The tools detect superfluous adverbs such as “shouted loudly,” which fail to enhance the written text in any way.

Finally, AI chat assistants provide immediate personalized feedback on your adverb usage. Paste a sentence or paragraph, and the AI will suggest specific improvements.

For example:

You: “The athlete ran very quickly to the finish line.”

AI: “Try ‘The athlete sprinted to the finish line’ for stronger impact.”

These assistants adapt to your writing style and can explain their recommendations, helping you learn when to use adverbs effectively and when to choose alternatives.

Explore the features of our AI Detector and Humanizer in the widget below!

FAQs About Adverbs

Conclusion

In conclusion, adverbs are the secret sauce that adds flavor, depth, and clarity to your sentences.

Whether you’re describing how, when, or where something happens, they help bring your writing to life!

If you ever need help fine-tuning your writing, our Chat AI from Undetectable AI has your back.

And for school projects, Ask AI is the perfect study buddy to keep you on top of your game. Give them a try and make your writing effortlessly smooth!