Types of Adverbs in English – Meaning and Examples (PDF)

In this post you will learn types of adverbs in English with example sentences.

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They are never used with nouns and can be found anywhere in a sentence that can be a little bit complicated for students working on English assignment. Adverbs help to describe when, where, why, and how something happens. Here you can see 7 types of adverbs with examples:

I will arrive soon. (Adverb of Time)
I always eat breakfast at 7 AM (Adverb of Frequency)
The bird flew high in the sky. (Adverb of Place)
She sings beautifully. (Adverb of Manner)
The cake was very delicious. (Adverb of Degree)
I was tired, so I went to bed early. (Adverb of Reason)
Of course, I will be there. (Adverb of Affirmation or Negation)

Many adverbs are words that ends in –ly. Here are some –ly adverbs that you may know: softly, hardly, only, rarely…

Many adverbs are formed by adding –ly to an adjective: Clear (adjective)/ clearly (adverb), hard / hardly, beautiful / beautifully.

You can find downloadable A-Z List of Adverbs PDF file at the end of this article.

Types of Adverbs

Type of Adverb	Description	Examples
Manner	Describes how an action is performed	slowly, beautifully, brilliantly
Time	Describes when an action took place	now, never, already
Place	Describes where an action took place	here, there, everywhere
Frequency	Describes how often an action takes place	always, sometimes, rarely
Degree	Describes the extent or intensity of an action	very, quite, completely

Adverb of Time

An adverb of time tells us when an action happened. Examples: yesterday, now, today, tonight, soon.

Adverb of Time	Example
Now	I am eating now.
Today	I will see you today.
Tonight	I have plans for tonight.
Yesterday	I visited my grandparents yesterday.
Tomorrow	I have a meeting tomorrow.
Soon	I will be there soon.
Later	Let’s catch up later.
Previously	I previously worked at that company.
Currently	I am currently reading a book.
Finally	Finally, it’s the weekend!
Yet	I haven’t finished my work yet.

Adverb of Frequency

An adverb of frequency tells us how often an action happens. Examples: always, often, never, rarely, sometimes.

Adverb of Frequency	Example
Often	I often play basketball on weekends.
Sometimes	Sometimes I like to watch movies.
Rarely	I rarely go to the library.
Usually	I usually have breakfast at 7 am.
Never	I never eat junk food.
Every day	I exercise every day.
Every week	I visit my grandparents every week.
Once a year	I take a vacation once a year.
Twice a month	I go to the movies twice a month.

Adverb of Place

An adverb of place tells us where an action happened. Several adverbs of place can also serve as prepositions and must be followed by a noun when used as a preposition. Examples: here, there, everywhere, inside, outside.

Adverb of Place	Example
Here	Here is my pen.
There	There is a bird on the tree.
Everywhere	I looked everywhere for my keys.
Anywhere	Can we go anywhere for lunch?
Nowhere	I can’t find my wallet, it’s nowhere to be seen.
Up	I need to go up to my room to get my book.
Down	Let’s go down to the park.
In	The cat is in the box.
Out	We’re going out for dinner tonight.
On	The book is on the table.

Adverb of Manner

An adverb of manner tells us how something was done or describe the way in which an action is performed. They often end in -ly, but not always. Examples: happily, loudly, quickly, carefully, beautifully.

Adverb of Manner	Example
Quickly	She ran quickly.
Slowly	He spoke slowly.
Loudly	The band played loudly.
Softly	She whispered softly.
Beautifully	The sunset was beautifully colored.
Gracefully	She danced gracefully.
Carefully	He handled the glass carefully.
Clearly	She explained the situation clearly.
Happily	They laughed happily.
Sadly	She spoke sadly about her loss.

Adverb of Degree

An adverb of degree tells us the level or extent of something. Examples: very, completely, almost, quite, extremely.

Adverb of Degree	Example
Absolutely	She absolutely refuses to go.
Completely	I completely agree with you.
Entirely	He was entirely to blame.
Totally	The party was totally awesome!
Utterly	I am utterly disgusted.
Wholly	The project was a wholly new experience.
Extremely	It was extremely cold today.
Fully	I fully understand what you mean.
Really	That was really helpful.
Somewhat	I am somewhat tired today.
Partly	The decision was partly influenced by her parents.
Mostly	The movie was mostly fiction.

Adverb of Reason

An adverb of reason tells us why something happened. Examples: therefore, hence, thus, consequently, as a result.

Adverb of Reason	Example
Therefore	I didn’t feel like going to the party, therefore, I stayed home.
Thus	The weather was bad, thus, we cancelled the picnic.
Hence	The store was closed, hence, I couldn’t buy what I needed.
So	I was tired, so I went to bed early.
As a result	I didn’t study, as a result, I failed the exam.
Consequently	I didn’t eat breakfast, consequently, I was hungry during the meeting.

Adverb of Affirmation or Negation

An adverb of affirmation or negation tells us whether an action was done or not. Examples: yes, no, definitely, not, probably.

Adverb of Affirmation or Negation	Example Sentences
Yes	Yes, I will come to the party.
No	No, I won’t come to the party.
Certainly	Certainly, I will come to the party.
Definitely	Definitely, I won’t come to the party.
Of course	Of course, I will be there.
Surely	Surely, I won’t be late.
Certainly Not	Certainly not, I won’t be there.
Definitely Not	Definitely not, I won’t be late.
Not	Not, I won’t come to the party.
Never	Never, I will never come to the party.

Adverbs List PDF

You can download a more detailed explanation of Adverbs in English and the A-Z Adverbs List PDF files below.