Class 5-2: Adverbs

6-2

He is finally having fun at his job.

Adverbs modify or describe verbs, and often answer the question of how.

Rules:

You can often add ly” to the end of an adjective to make an adverb. 

Examples:

Adjectives

slow

extreme

rapid

quick

Adverbs

slowly

extremely

rapidly

quickly

Sample Sentences:

Question: Is gas expensive?

Answer: Yes, it’s extremely expensive.

Question: How fast does she run?

Answer: She runs very quickly.

I am rapidly completing my homework.

Adverbs are also used to state the time or frequency an action is occurring.

always

never

sometimes

soon

today

tomorrow

yesterday

 

1. I will go back to school tomorrow.

2. I will never run a marathon.

Some adverbs occur in the
middle of a sentence. These adverbs can:

come in front of simple present
and simple past words. (except be). (Example 1)

come after be. (Example 2)

come between a helping verb and
a main verb. (Example 3)

come directly after the
subject, when in a question form. (Example 4)

Common Mid-Sentence Adverbs

always

already

ever

finally

generally

hardly

ever

just

never

not ever

often

probably

rarely

seldom

sometimes

usually

1. He usually comes late.

2. He is usually late.

3. He has frequently come late.

4. Does he usually come late?

 

Continued

Rules:

The word well

Examples:

well
(adjective)

Sample Sentences:

1. My grandfather’s health is decreasing and he is not well.

2. The instructor teaches well.

*well = good

Exercise

dailyclumsilyfamouslyjokinglypoorlyslowly
softlytearfullywiselyvaguelyunlikelyyesterday

Exercise 1:  Use an adverb from the box below to best complete each sentence. Each adverb is only used once.

1.  It is unlikely that I will finish my homework before dinner.

2.   ________________ I told my aunt I’d babysit for her.  Now I don’t want to.

3.  Brush your teeth twice ­­­­­­­­________________.

4.  This is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ________________ delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

5.  She ________________ remembers what the thief looked like.

6.  It is hard to hear Karen because she speaks so ________________.

7.  After spinning around in circles, we ________________ fell down laughing.

8.  When I ________________ told Amy that I didn’t like her haircut, she cried.

10.  When my sister left for college, we ________________ hugged and said goodbye.

11.  After coming face to face with a snake, I backed away ________________, even though I wanted to run.

12.   Carla ________________ chose the correct answer and won a million dollars!

13.  After doing ________________ on the test, I asked Mrs. Peters for help after school.

Exercise 2: Write the correct adverb or adjective in each sentence.

1.  She drives slowly (slow, slowly).

2.  My mom is a ________________ (slow, slowly) driver.

3.  I mow my lawn ________________ (frequent, frequently).

4.  She is a ________________ (quick, quickly) walker.

5.  She walked to the store ________________ (quick, quickly).

7.  I am ________________ (rare, rarely) on that side of town.

8.  You must enter the movie theater ________________ (quiet, quietly).

9.  She does her work ________________ (poor, poorly).

10.  She is a ________________ (poor, poorly) student.

11.  They dug ________________ (deep, deeply) into the ground.

12.  She drew a ________________ (beautiful, beautifully) portrait.

13.  She drew the portrait ________________ (beautiful, beautifully).