An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. An adverb "qualifies" or "modifies" a verb (The man ran quickly). But adverbs can also modify adjectives (Tara is really beautiful), or even other adverbs (It works very well).

Many different kinds of word are called adverbs. We can usually recognise an adverb by its:

Function (Job)
Form
Position
1. Function

The principal job of an adverb is to modify (give more information about) verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the word that it modifies is in italics.

Modify a verb:
- John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)
- Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)
- She never smokes. (When does she smoke?)


Modify an adjective:
- He is really handsome.


Modify another adverb:
- She drives incredibly slowly.
But adverbs have other functions, too. They can:

Modify a whole sentence:
- Obviously, I can't know everything.


Modify a prepositional phrase:
- It's immediately inside the door.
2. Form

Many adverbs end in -ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Here are some examples:

quickly, softly, strongly, honestly, interestingly
But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. "Friendly", for example, is an adjective.

Some adverbs have no particular form, for example:

well, fast, very, never, always, often, still
3. Position

Adverbs have three main positions in the sentence:

Front (before the subject):
- Now we will study adverbs.


Middle (between the subject and the main verb):
- We often study adverbs.


End (after the verb or object):
- We study adverbs carefully.
Adverbs of Frequency
always, sometimes, never...

Recent Accidents

Date: April 13, 2010 Time:09:36
Location: Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia
Operator: Merpati Airlines
AC Type: Boeing B-737-300
Reg: PK-MDE cn: 24660/1838
Aboard: 103 Fatalities: 0 Ground: 0
Route: Sorong - Manokwari
Details: The airliner overshot the runway while landing and ran into trees at Rendani airport. The aircraft broke into several pieces. Heavy rain and fog were suspected in playing a part in the accident. At least 20 people were injured.

Fatal Accidents

IN HARMS WAY: Despite recent fatal crashes, drivers still not stopping at crosswalks

English Learning

Here are some of the terms used in discussing verbs and tenses.

Mood
indicative mood expresses a simple statement of fact, which can be positive (affirmative) or negative

I like coffee.
I do not like coffee.
interrogative mood expresses a question

Why do you like coffee?
imperative mood expresses a command

Sit down!
subjunctive mood expresses what is imagined or wished or possible

The President ordered that he attend the meeting.
Voice
Voice shows the relationship of the subject to the action. In the active voice, the subject does the action (cats eat mice). In the passive voice, the subject receives the action (mice are eaten by cats). Among other things, we can use voice to help us change the focus of attention.

Aspect
Aspect expresses a feature of the action related to time, such as completion or duration. Present simple and past simple tenses have no aspect, but if we wish we can stress with other tenses that:

the action or state referred to by the verb is completed (and often still relevant), for example:
I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she has the report)
(This is called perfective aspect, using perfect tenses.)


the action or state referred to by the verb is in progress or continuing (that is, uncompleted), for example:
We are eating.

English Test

Can you get good marks in this test.