KINDS OF ADVERBS

ADVERBS OF DEGREE

Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity or degree of an action, an adjective or another adverb.

Common adverbs of degree:

Almost, nearly, quite, just, too, enough, hardly, scarcely, completely, very, extremely.

Adverbs of degree are usually placed:

1. before the adjective or adverb they are modifying:
   e.g. The water was extremely cold.
2. before the main verb:
   e.g. He was just leaving. She has almost finished.

Examples:

     She doesn't quite know what she'll do after university.

     They are completely exhausted from the trip.

     I am too tired to go out tonight.

     He hardly noticed what she was saying.

Enough, very, too

Enough as an adverb meaning 'to the necessary degree' goes after adjectives and adverbs.

Example:

     Is your coffee hot enough? (adjective)

     He didn't work hard enough. (adverb)

It also goes before nouns, and means 'as much as is necessary'. In this case it is not an adverb, but a 'determiner'.

Example:

     We have enough bread.

     They don't have enough food.

Too as an adverb meaning 'more than is necessary or useful' goes before adjectives and adverbs, e.g.

     This coffee is too hot. (adjective)

     He works too hard. (adverb)

Enough and too with adjectives can be followed by 'for someone/something'.

Example:

     The dress was big enough for me.

     She's not experienced enough for this job.

     The coffee was too hot for me.

     The dress was too small for her.

We can also use 'to + infinitive' after enough and too with adjectives/adverb.

Example:

     The coffee was too hot to drink.

     He didn't work hard enough to pass the exam.

     She's not old enough to get married.

     You're too young to have grandchildren!

Very goes before an adverb or adjective to make it stronger.

Example:

     The girl was very beautiful. (adjective)

     He worked very quickly. (adverb)

If we want to make a negative form of an adjective or adverb, we can use a word of opposite meaning, or not very.

Example:

     The girl was ugly OR The girl was not very beautiful.

     He worked slowly OR He didn't work very quickly.

BE CAREFUL! There is a big difference between too and very.

     Very expresses a fact:

He speaks very quickly.

     Too suggests there is a problem:

He speaks too quickly (for me to understand).

Other adverbs like very

These common adverbs are used like very and not very, and are listed in order of strength, from positive to negative:

extremely, especially, particularly, pretty, rather, quite, fairly, rather, not especially, not particularly.

Note: rather can be positive or negative, depending on the adjective or adverb that follows:

Positive: The teacher was rather nice.
Negative: The film was rather disappointing.

Note on inversion with negative adverbs:

Normally the subject goes before the verb:

SUBJECT	VERB
I	left
She	goes

However, some negative adverbs can cause an inversion - the order is reversed and the verb goes before the subject

Example:

I have never seen such courage. Never have I seen such courage.

She rarely left the house. Rarely did she leave the house.

Negative inversion is used in writing, not in speaking.

Other adverbs and adverbial expressions that can be used like this:

seldom, scarcely, hardly, not only .....
but also, no sooner .....
than, not until, under no circumstances.

See also:
Adverbs of Certainty
Adverbs of Attitude

KINDS OF ADVERBS

VIEWPOINT AND COMMENTING ADVERBS

There are some adverbs and adverbial expressions which tell us about the speaker's viewpoint or opinion about an action, or make some comment on the action.

Viewpoint

Frankly, I think he is a liar. (= this is my frank, honest opinion)
Theoretically, you should pay a fine. (= from a theoretical point of view but there may be another way of looking at the situation)

These adverbs are placed at the beginning of the sentence and are separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.

Some common Viewpoint adverbs:

honestly, seriously, confidentially, personally, surprisingly, ideally, economically, officially, obviously, clearly, surely, undoubtedly.

Examples:

     Personally, I'd rather go by train.

     Surprisingly, this car is cheaper than the smaller model.

     Geographically, Britain is rather cut off from the rest of Europe.

Commenting

     She is certainly the best person for the job.

     You obviously enjoyed your meal.

These are very similar to viewpoint adverbs, and often the same words, but they go in a different position - after the verb to be and before the main verb.

Some common Commenting adverbs:

definitely, certainly, obviously, simply.

See also:
Adverbs of Certainty
Adverbs of Degree

KINDS OF ADVERBS

ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY

These adverbs express how certain or sure we feel about an action or event.

Common adverbs of certainty:

certainly, definitely, probably, undoubtedly, surely

Adverbs of certainty go before the main verb but after the verb 'to be':

     He definitely left the house this morning.

     He is probably in the park.

With other auxiliary verb, these adverbs go between the auxiliary and the main verb:

     He has certainly forgotten the meeting.

     He will probably remember tomorrow.

Sometimes these adverbs can be placed at the beginning of the sentence:

     Undoubtedly, Winston Churchill was a great politician.

BE CAREFUL! with surely. When it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, it means the speaker thinks something is true, but is looking for confirmation:

Example:

     Surely you've got a bicycle?

See also:
Adverbs of Attitude
Adverbs of Degree