An adverb is a word or set of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Examples:
He speaks slowly (modifies the verb speaks)
He is especially clever (modifies the adjective clever)
He speaks all too slowly (modifies the adverb slowly)
An adverb answers how, when, where, or to what extent—how often or how much (e.g., daily, completely).
Examples:
He speaks slowly (answers the question how)
He speaks very slowly (answers the question how slowly)
Tips and Tricks for identifying Adverbs in a sentence:
- Adverbs are often identifiable by their endings. Many have “ly” at the end.
E.g. – happily, crazily, beautifully, etc.
- If not with “ly” in the end, they can most often be seen directly before the verb, or directly after it.
E.g. – The evil dragon flew swiftly the stone castle, and the knights carefully looked out of the window to see the mighty creature.
- See if there are words that are describing the verb in the sentence. Often people get mixed up with adjectives – those are words describing nouns and pronouns NOT VERBS.