### The 7 most common types of English adverbs

Adverbs are *everywhere* in English. Here’s what you need to know about them.

Looking to add more detail to your speaking and writing? Then you’ve come to the right place! Adverbs are a great way to include more information, and there are many types of adverbs, each with a different purpose and way to use them. This guide breaks it down for you.

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### In this post:

- [What are adverbs in English?](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#all-about-adverbs-in-english)
- [Types of adverbs in English](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#essential-english-adverb-types)
  - [Adverbs of manner](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-manner)
  - [Adverbs of time](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-time)
  - [Adverbs of frequency](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-frequency)
  - [Adverbs of degree](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-degree)
  - [Adverbs of place](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-place)
  - [Adverbs of certainty](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-certainty)
  - [Interrogative adverbs](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#interrogative-adverbs)

## All about adverbs in English

Adverbs are words that give more information about [verbs](https://blog.duolingo.com/verb-forms/), [adjectives](https://blog.duolingo.com/kinds-of-adjectives/), and even other adverbs. They typically answer a question such as _how_, _when_, _where_, _how often_, or _to what extent_. For a sentence like She eats slowly, you can ask: _**How** does she eat?_ The answer is: slowly. So, _slowly_ is the adverb that tells us more about _how_ this person eats. Other types of adverbs work similarly:

| EXAMPLE | They live nearby. |
| QUESTION | **Where** do they live? |
| ANSWER | nearby |

| EXAMPLE | They’re incredibly excited! |
| QUESTION | **To what extent** are they excited? |
| ANSWER | incredibly |

| EXAMPLE | I sometimes forget my keys. |
| QUESTION | **How often** do I forget my keys? |
| ANSWER | sometimes |

Adverbs can appear in a number of [different positions in a sentence](https://blog.duolingo.com/how-to-make-sentences-in-spanish-french/), depending on both the type of adverb and the element of the sentence the speaker wants to emphasize. Possible positions include:

| POSITION | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| after the main verb | I ate quickly. |
| after a direct object | She drew the picture carefully. |
| before the main verb | They immediately smiled. |
| at the start of a sentence | Sometimes he’s late. |
| before an adjective or adverb | I’m really confused! |

## Essential English adverb types

There are many different types of adverbs in English. Some of the most common categories include adverbs of [manner](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-manner), [time](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-time), [frequency](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-frequency), [degree](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-degree), [place](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-place), and [certainty](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#adverbs-of-certainty) as well as [interrogative adverbs](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverb-types/#interrogative-adverbs). Here’s how to use them:

### Adverbs of manner

[Adverbs of manner](https://blog.duolingo.com/how-to-form-adverbs-of-manner) describe _how_ an action is done. Words like quickly, carefully, and softly are all adverbs of manner.

💡

Adverbs of manner are typically formed by adding _**-ly**_ to the end of an adjective.

For example:

| ADJECTIVE | ADVERB OF MANNER | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- | --- |
| bad | badly | I sing very badly. |
| kind | kindly | The teacher smiled kindly. |
| perfect | perfectly | You don’t need to do things perfectly. |
| quick | quickly | Can you quickly go to the store? |
| slow | slowly | They walk very slowly. |

### Adverbs of time

Words in this category give information about _when_ an action takes place. [Adverbs of time](https://blog.duolingo.com/time-adverbs) include still, yet, and tomorrow. Other common adverbs of time are:

| ADVERB OF TIME | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| forever | I will love you forever. |
| immediately | Please sit down immediately! |
| meanwhile | Joe cooked dinner. Meanwhile, Amy set the table. |
| now | I live in Texas now. |
| previously | She previously worked at a bank. |
| yesterday | I saw Junior yesterday. |

### Adverbs of frequency

[Adverbs of frequency](https://blog.duolingo.com/what-are-frequency-adverbs) are words that describe _how often_ an action takes place. They can either do this in a precise manner (as in daily) or in a more general manner (as in sometimes). Some common adverbs of frequency include:

| ADVERB OF FREQUENCY | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| daily | Eddy goes to the gym daily. |
| weekly | We go to the supermarket weekly. |
| always | They always have dessert. |
| never | She never yells. |
| sometimes | You sometimes forget your hat. |

### Adverbs of degree

This type of adverb describes the _extent_ of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. [Adverbs of degree](https://blog.duolingo.com/adverbs-of-degree) can intensify, diminish, or limit the words they modify. These are words like extremely, slightly, and almost. Some other common adverbs of degree are:

| ADVERB OF DEGREE | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| so | We’re so hungry! |
| a little | I’m a little tired. |
| hardly | You hardly spoke. |
| just | He just bought a book. |

### Adverbs of place

These are adverbs that give information on _where_ an action takes place. This category includes three types:

1. **Adverbs of position**, which describe the location of an action (like here and inside).
2. **Adverbs of direction**, which describe the path of an action (like across and backward).
3. **Adverbs of distance**, which describe how near or far an action took place (like nearby and further).

Common adverbs of place are:

| ADVERB OF PLACE | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| backward or backwards | He always wears his hat backwards. |
| further | I can’t walk any further. |
| here | You can sit here. |
| inside | Let’s go inside. |
| nearby | Does he live nearby? |
| there | We already looked there. |
| outside | Do you want to eat outside? |

### Adverbs of certainty

Adverbs of certainty express _how sure_ the speaker feels about an action. They include words like probably, definitely, and maybe. While these adverbs are often used with the present or future tenses (as in I’ll probably want to take a shower), they can also be used to describe how certain the speaker is about an event in the past (as in She was definitely sick).

Frequent adverbs of certainty include:

| ADVERB OF CERTAINTY | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| definitely | I definitely want to go! |
| certainly | You’ll certainly be tired tomorrow. |
| maybe | Maybe we’ll have lunch together. |
| possibly | Could he possibly close the door? |
| probably | I’ll probably study tonight. |
| likely | They’ll likely need a nap. |
| perhaps | Perhaps you’ll like it! |
| potentially | She can potentially babysit. |

### Interrogative adverbs

This category of adverb is used to _ask questions_ about when, where, why and how an action takes place. They typically appear [at the beginning of a question](https://blog.duolingo.com/what-are-wh-questions/).

English has four interrogative adverbs:

| INTERROGATIVE ADVERB | EXAMPLE |
| --- | --- |
| when | When does the party start? |
| where | Where did you eat dinner? |
| why | Why is he crying? |
| how | How did it work? |

## Adverbs are _extremely_ helpful!

Whether you’re _a little_ nervous or _really_ excited to use English adverbs, keep studying and _soon_ you’ll be using adverbs _expertly_!