Adverbs are one of the parts of speech. Parts of speech are kinds of words. Just like we use different kinds of Legos to make things, we use different kinds of words to make sentences and say what we mean.
An adverb is a word that describes verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
In this video, Teacher Rachel explains what adverbs do and gives many examples.
Complete the exercises below about adverbs. Remember, adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Exercise A
True or false? Adverbs are a part of speech.
Exercise B
What words do adverbs describe?
a. nouns & verbs
b. nouns, verbs & adjectives
c. verbs, adjectives & other adverbs
Exercise C
How can we make some adjectives (such as “sad, slow, quick”) into adverbs?
a. Repeat the word
b. Add -ly
c. Take away the first letter
Exercise D
Which words are adverbs? Pick the verb from the three choices.
1.
a. school
b. big
c. really
2.
a. read
b. angry
c. fast
3.
a. very
b. short
c. thought
4.
a. sunny
b. totally
c. run
5.
a. too
b. friendly
c. catch
6.
a. hand
b. bite
c. extremely
7.
a. never
b. scared
c. jump
8.
a. hurt
b. quietly
c. test
9.
a. house
b. angrily
c. crying
10.
a. always
b. learn
c. exciting
11.
a. travel
b. breakfast
c. sometimes
Exercise E
Find the adverb in the sentence. Then, identify whether it describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Note: some sentences may have more than one adverb.
1. She felt really sad when her friend moved away.
2. We sometimes travel to Mexico.
3. They left the party right away.
4. They felt extremely lonely when their children moved away.
5. The lion is very scary.
6. Yesterday he was so busy!
7. The soccer team played very badly.
8. I completely forgot about our plans to go to the movie!
9. We should leave now if we want to get to the wedding on time.
10. I cannot walk fast.
11. The math test was too hard.
Answers:
Exercise A
True or false? Adverbs are a part of speech. TRUE
Exercise B
What words do adverbs describe?
c. verbs, adjectives & other adverbs
Exercise C
How can we make some adjectives (such as “sad, slow, quick”) into adverbs?
b. Add -ly
Exercise D
Which words are adverbs? Pick the verb from the three choices.
1.
a. school
b. big
c. really
2.
a. read
b. angry
c. fast
NOTE: "Fast" can also be an adjective, depending on the sentence.
3.
a. very
b. short
c. thought
4.
a. sunny
b. totally
c. run
5.
a. too
b. friendly
[Though "friendly" ends in "ly", it is an adjective, not an adverb.]
c. catch
6.
a. hand
b. bite
c. extremely
7.
a. never
b. scared
c. jump
8.
a. hurt
b. quietly
c. test
9.
a. house
b. angrily
c. crying
10.
a. always
b. learn
c. exciting
11.
a. travel
b. breakfast
c. sometimes
Exercise E
1. She felt really sad when her friend moved away.
"Really" is an adverb that describes the adjective "sad".
2. We sometimes travel to Mexico.
"Sometimes" is an adverb that describes the verb "travel".
3. They left the party quite suddenly.
"Quite" and "suddenly" are adverbs.
"Quite" describes the adverb "suddenly".
"Suddenly" describes the verb "left".
4. They felt extremely lonely when their children moved away.
"Extremely" is an adverb.
"Extremely" describes the adjective "lonely".
"Lonely", even though it ends in "ly", is an adjective and not an adverb.
5. The lion is very scary.
"Very" is an adverb that describes the adjective "scary".
6. Yesterday he was so busy!
"Yesterday" and "so" are adverbs.
"Yesterday" describes the verb "was".
When was he busy? Yesterday.
"So" describes the adjective "busy".
7. The soccer team played very badly.
"Very" and "badly" are adverbs.
"Very" describes the adverb "badly".
"Badly" describes the verb "played".
8. I completely forgot about our plans to go to the movie!
"Completely" is an adverb that describes the verb "forgot".
9. We should leave now if we want to get to the wedding on time.
"Now" is an adverb that describes the verb "leave".
10. I cannot walk fast.
"Fast" is an adverb that describes the verb "walk".
11. This math test is too hard!
"Too" is an adverb that describes the adjective "hard".
Photo by Onder Ortel