Explore the 6 Types of Adverbs in English Through Examples

Adverbs in English describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Explore the six types of adverbs in this guide with charts and examples.

You’ve heard of adjectives and verbs, but what about adverbs? When you want to add details to your sentence, adverbs in English help you describe when, where, and how something happens. Use this guide to pick the right type of adverb for the situation and put it in the correct part of the sentence.

What are adverbs in English?

Adverbs are one of the parts of speech in English. They mostly describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. The six main types of adverbs in English are:

adverbs of time: show when (I’m going now.)
adverbs of frequency: show how often (She drives often.)
adverbs of place: show where (Put it there.)
adverbs of degree: show how much (I’m very tired.)
adverbs of manner: show how (You sing beautifully.)
conjunctive adverbs: connect sentences or clauses (However, there’s more.)

Sometimes, the types of adverbs are called by different names. However, the adverb functions stay the same.

Adjective vs. adverb

Adjectives and adverbs both describe other words, but the words they describe are different parts of speech.

Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They can either go in front of the noun or after a connecting verb like be (am, is, are).

She’s taking a photo of a famous building.
This building is famous.

Adverbs describe adjectives and verbs in English.

This hat is very big.
He cooks badly.

When to use English adverbs

Adverbs are important when you want to give details that the main verb or adjective doesn’t show. For example, imagine you’re telling your friend about a party. You’ll need to use adverbs to explain specific things they need to know.

The party will be here.
It will be tomorrow at 3:00.
Please come early to help set up.

Adverbs also make your sentences more interesting! Instead of just using a verb or an adjective, you can add a more detailed description.

I’m reading quietly.
She is stunningly beautiful.

How to use adverbs in English

Different types of adverbs can be put in different parts of a sentence. Here are some general rules about where to put adverbs in a sentence:

An adverb at the beginning of a sentence introduces information or makes it more important.
An adverb at the end of a sentence or after the main verb gives extra information.
An adverb describing an adverb is usually put before the adjective.
If there is a main verb and an auxiliary verb, the adverb usually goes between them.
If there is more than one adverb, they generally go in the order of: manner, place, time.

Sometimes, an adverb can fit in more than one place in a sentence. The best way to learn how that changes the meaning is to practice using and listening to them. Taking advantage of programs that use native audio, like Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method, will help.

Charts and examples of the types of English adverbs

boy wearing backpack pointing at schedule board

English has dozens of important adverbs for you to learn. You’ll expand your vocabulary over time, but starting with the basics will help you learn to use the different types.

Examples of adverbs of time

Adverbs of time describe when something happened, is happening, or will happen. They usually go at the end of a sentence. You can also put the adverb at the beginning of the sentence or before the main verb if you want to make it more important.

English	Pronunciation	Example
now	nou	*Now* I play here.
soon	soon	They will get married *soon*.
later	LEI-ter	Karen will call you *later*.
earlier	UR-lee-er	I would like to eat *earlier*.
today	tuh-DEY	What did you do *today*?
yesterday	YES-ter-dey	The election was *yesterday*.
tomorrow	tuh-MAWR-oh	Bring it *tomorrow*.
this morning	this MAWR-ning	Andrew bought it *this morning*.
this afternoon	this af-ter-NOON	We’re practicing *this afternoon*.
tonight	tuh-NAHYT	I’m sleeping outside *tonight*.
finally	FAHYN-l-ee	Her mom *finally* read the book.
early	UR-lee	I’m leaving work *early*.
late	leyt	She slept *late*.
before	bih-FOHR	Don’t eat *before* dinner.
after	AF-ter	*After* I went to Spain, I went to France.
next	nekst	Lisa is going *next*.

Examples of adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency show how often something happens. You can put this type of adverb:

in the middle of a sentence and before the main verb
at the end of a sentence

Some adverbs can be moved to the beginning of the sentence to make them more important to the sentence (like sometimes).

English	Pronunciation	Example
always	AWL-weyz	Jeff *always* wears glasses.
usually	YOOZH-wuh-lee	Nancy *usually* drinks coffee.
often	AW-fuhn	I *often* play baseball.
sometimes	SUHM-tahymz	*Sometimes* we work together.
frequently	FREE-kwuhnt-lee	Her friend naps *frequently*.
occasionally	uh-KEY-zhuh-nl-ee	I lie *occasionally*.
rarely	RAIR-lee	They *rarely* watch TV.
never	NEV-er	My father *never* reads.
daily	DEY-lee	I take medicine *daily*.
weekly	WEEK-lee	They have *weekly* meetings.
biweekly	bahy-WEEK-lee	Emily is paid *biweekly*.
monthly	MUHNTH-lee	She has *monthly* appointments.
annually	AN-yoo-uh-lee	We pay taxes *annually*.
every day	EV-ree dey	I bathe *every day*.
every week	EV-ree week	Steven goes grocery shopping *every week*.
hourly	OUUHR-lee	Mark is paid *hourly*.
once	wuhns	He travels *once* a year.
twice	twahys	My class meets *twice* per week.

Examples of adverbs of place

Adverbs of place show where something is. Most of the time, they go at the end of a sentence.

Be careful about the difference between adverbs of place and prepositions in English. Adverbs are connected to verbs or adjectives.

The dog rolled over.

But, prepositions usually connect to a noun to show where something is.

I drove over the bridge.

English	Pronunciation	Example
here	heer	We live *here*.
there	thair	I’m heading *there*.
everywhere	EV-ree-wair	It’s raining *everywhere*.
nowhere	NOH-wair	We’re going *nowhere*.
nearby	NEER-BAHY	The restaurant is *nearby*.
far away	fahr uh-WEY	New York is *far away*.
inside	in-SAHYD	I’m staying *inside* today.
outside	out-SAHYD	Take the dog *outside*.
indoors	in-DOHRZ	The party moved *indoors*.
outdoors	out-DOHRZ	They work *outdoors*.
abroad	uh-BRAWD	He’s studying *abroad*.
off	awf	Ashley rolled *off* the bed.
on	awn	I drove on the highway.
upstairs	UHP-STAIRZ	She’s studying *upstairs*.
downstairs	DOUN-STAIRZ	The bathroom is *downstairs*.
forward*	FAWR-werd	Move your seat *forward*.
backward*	BAK-werd	Take a step *backward*.
upward*	UHP-werd	The plane tilted *upward*.
downward*	DOUN-werd	The hill slopes *downward*.

*You may notice adverbs of place that end in -ward sometimes end in -wards. The meaning is usually the same. It is more common in American English to use the word without the “s” at the end, but it’s OK if you use backward or backwards as an adverb.

Examples of adverbs of degree

Adverbs of degree show how much something is. You often see this type of adverb with an adjective. So, these adverbs can be put in the middle of the sentence before the adjective or verb they’re describing.

A few of these adverbs use the English article a.

a lot
a little

It’s important to keep these adverbs as separate words.

English	Pronunciation	Example
very	VER-ee	It was *very* difficult to read.
quite	kwahyt	I’m *quite* happy.
really	REE-lee	It’s *really* hot today.
extremely	ik-STREEM-lee	Tornadoes are *extremely* windy.
completely	kuhm-PLEET-lee	This is *completely* free.
absolutely	ab-suh-LOOT-lee	She’s *absolutely* going to the party.
barely	BAIR-lee	The sun has *barely* risen.
slightly	SLAHYT-lee	Paul opened the bag *slightly*.
hardly	HAHRD-lee	That’s *hardly* fair.
fairly	FAIR-lee	March can be *fairly* cold.
altogether	awl-tuh-GETH-er	It cost $25 *altogether*.
just	juhst	The temperature is *just* right.
almost	AWL-mohst	I’m *almost* fluent.
a lot	uh LOT	She studies *a lot*.
a little	uh LIT-l	Amy speaks *a little* Chinese.
too	too	Calculus is *too* difficult for me.

Examples of adverbs of manner

Adverbs of manner show how something is happening. If the adverb is what you want someone to remember, it typically goes at the end of the sentence. If the verb is more important to know, the adverb typically goes before it.

Most adverbs of manner ending in -ly are formed from adjectives. You can make adverbs from almost any adjective by following these general rules:

adjective ends in -l: add -ly (hopeful → hopefully)
adjective ends in -y: change -y to -i and add -ly (angry → angrily)
adjective ends in consonant + -e: add -ly (cute → cutely)
all other adjectives: add -ly (sweet → sweetly)

English	Pronunciation	Example
quickly	KWIK-lee	The baby *quickly* fell asleep.
slowly	SLOH-lee	Please drive *slowly*.
loudly	LOUD-lee	He cried *loudly*.
quietly	KWAHY-it-lee	The girl is reading *quietly*.
calmly	KAHLM-lee	The teacher spoke *calmly*.
excitedly	ik-SAHY-tid-lee	She clapped *excitedly*.
warmly	WAWRM-lee	Gary greeted me *warmly*.
coldly	KOHLD-lee	They stared *coldly*.
strongly	STRAWNG-lee	I *strongly* believe in ghosts.
weakly	WEEK-lee	The patient waved *weakly*.
accidentally	ak-si-DEN-tl-ee	Scott *accidentally* spilled the milk.
clearly	KLEER-lee	I can see *clearly*.
easily	EE-zuh-lee	She *easily* passed the test.
happily	HAP-uh-lee	Carolyn *happily* accepted the proposal.
straight	streyt	Walk *straight* this way.
well	wel	The doctor said to eat *well*.
fast	fast	He speaks *fast*.
hard	hahrd	She was breathing *hard*.

Examples of conjunctive adverbs

Conjunctive adverbs are similar to conjunctions (like but), and they connect sentences or clauses. Most of the time, they go at the beginning of the second sentence (or clause) to show the oreder of events.

First, she cooked.
Then, she ate dinner.
Finally, she washed the plates.

Remember to add a comma after a conjunctive adverb at the beginning of a sentence.

English	Pronunciation	Example
also	AWL-soh	*Also*, do your homework.
finally	FAHYN-l-ee	*Finally*, it’s raining.
however	hou-EV-er	*However*, it’s not easy.
still	stil	*Still*, she made it home.
besides	bih-SAHYDZ	*Besides*, I like reading.
thus	thuhs	*Thus*, they were married.
for example	fawr ig-ZAM-puhl	*For example*, “here” is an adverb.
regardless	ri-GAHRD-lis	I’m going *regardless*.
then	then	*Then*, we’ll drive home.
meanwhile	MEEN-wahyl	*Meanwhile*, the baby was sleeping.
furthermore	FUR-ther-mawr	*Furthermore*, we need evidence.
in fact	in fakt	*In fact*, English is the most widely spoken language.
in conclusion	in kuhn-KLOO-zhuhn	*In conclusion*, vegetables are healthy.
naturally	NACH-er-uh-lee	*Naturally*, fire is hot.
additionally	uh-DISH-uhn-lee	*Additionally*, we need tickets.

Key takeaways about adverbs in English

You probably use adverbs every day, whether you realize it or not. They make your sentences easier to understand and more interesting, which makes you sound more fluent as you learn English. Here are the most important things to remember about the adverbs English uses:

English adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
English has six main types of adverbs: time, frequency, place, degree, manner, and conjunctive.
The type of adverb determines where to put it in a sentence.

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