Adverbs: Lesson 1: Adverbs that tell “How?”
Adverbs:
words that describe action verbs
Action verbs: verbs that show either mental or physical action

Most adverbs describe action verbs, and one of the questions they answer is “How?”
Example: She lives simply. (“Simply” is describing the verb “lives”. It tells “how” she lives.)

Adverbs that tell how often end in “ly”.
Examples: crazily, happily, cheerfully
Adverbs: Lesson 2: Adverb or Adjective?
Adjective:
Adverb:
a word that describes a noun
a word that describes an action verb
 Adverbs and adjectives are often confused:
That man is crazy. (“crazy” is an adjective describing the noun “man”)
That man drives crazily. (“crazily” is an adverb that describes the verb “drives”)
Adjectives:
Adverbs:
beautiful
beautifully
slow
slowly
quick
quickly
Adverbs: Lesson 3: Good or Well
 “Good” is an adjective!
-Use good to describe nouns:
Example: He is a good person. (“good” describes the noun “person”)
 “Well” is an adverb!
-Use “well” to describe action verbs. “Well” tells how something was done.
Example: He sings well. (“Well” tells how he sings)
How are you feeling?
-The answer should be “good” because “feeling” is not an action; it is a linking verb.
Example: The child feels good. (“good” is describing the noun “child”)
Adverbs: Lesson 4: Adverbs that tell “Where?”
Adverb:
a word that describes an action verb
 Besides telling “how”, adverbs can also tell where.
Example: He looked up. (“up” is an adverb telling where he looked)
 Adverbs that tell where are never in prepositional phrases:
Example: He looked up the tree. (“up the tree” is a prepositional phrase, so “up” is a preposition)
Common Adverbs that tell “Where?”
here
there
downtown
everywhere
anywhere
somewhere
where
uptown
downstairs
upstairs
downstream
upstream
If NOT Part of a Prepositional Phrase, these are Adverbs Too:
in
inside
out
outside
up
around
down
near
Adverbs: Lesson 5: Adverbs that tell “When?”
Adverb:
a word that describes an action verb

Besides telling “how” and “where”, adverbs can also tell “when”.
Example: He drove today. (“today” is an adverb telling when he drove)
Common Adverbs that tell “When?”
tonight
tomorrow
today
daily
yearly
weekly
monthly
nightly
hourly
annually
early
soon
late
now
then
never

Adverbs that tell when are never in prepositional phrases:
Example: He has driven since. (“since” is an adverb describing when he has driven)
He has driven since the party. (“since” is a preposition because it is part of the prepositional
phrase “since the party”)
If NOT in a Prepositional Phrase, these Are Adverbs Too: before
after
since
Adverbs: Lesson 6: Adverbs that tell “To What Extent?”
Adverbs can also describe adjectives and other adverbs; these tell “to what extent”.
-Example: The rug is very dirty. (“very” describes the adjective “dirty”. It tells to what extent it was dirty)
He ran so fast. (“so” describes the adverb “fast”. It tells to what extent it was fast)
Common Adverbs that Tell “To What Extent?”
quite
very
somewhat
so
rather extremely
too
really
absolutely
not
Adverbs: Lesson 7: Adverb or Preposition?
These words can be adverbs or prepositions depending how they are used in a sentence:
in
above
across
after
around
before
down
up
out
inside
outside
over
 Prepositions are only prepositions if they are part of a prepositional phrase:
Example: Dad fell down the stairs. (“Down” is a preposition because it is part of a prepositional phrase
“down the stairs”)
Dad fell down. (Now “down” is an adverb telling where.)

If there are two words that you recognize as prepositions next to each other in a sentence, the
first word is an adverb, and the second word is a preposition.
Example: The guard entered in through the security door.
(“ through the security door” is a prepositional phrase. “in” is an adverb telling where the guard entered.)
Adverbs: Lesson 8: Degrees of Adverbs
Degrees of Adverbs: adverbs that make comparisons
There are 2 degrees of adverbs:
1. Comparative
2. Superlative
Comparative Adverbs:


Compare how two people or things do something:
Are formed by adding “er” to the adverb if it is no more than 2 syllables.
Example: fast = faster

If the adverb has more than 2 syllables, place “more” or “less” before the adjective.
Examples: She runs more quickly than her sister. She drives less carefully than her cousin.

The words “good” and “bad” have special forms in the comparative
Examples: good = better
bad = worse
Examples: She drives better than her sister. She drives worse than her sister.
Superlative Adverbs:


Compare how 3 or more people or things do something:
Are formed by adding “est” to the adverb if it is no more than 2 syllables
Example: fast = fastest

If the word has more than 2 syllables, place “most” or “least” before the adverb
Examples: She dances the most beautifully of all the girls at school, but she runs the least quickly of
all the girls at school.

the words “good” and “bad” have special forms in the superlative:
Examples: good = best
bad = worst
Example: Of the triplets, she dances best, but she sings the worst.
Adverbs: Lesson 9: Double Negatives
Negative Words:
no
not
never
none
no one
nothing
scarcely
hardly
neither
nobody
 Never use 2 negative words in the same sentence! Otherwise, you will be
saying the opposite of what you intended to say!
Examples: Wrong: I do not want nothing.
Correct: I do not want anything.