GRAMMAR LESSON / ADVERBS
 

We use adverbs to give us more information about an adjective:

The only red bike.

a verb:

She swam beautifully.

or the sentence as a whole:

Unfortunately it is raining so I cannot visit the zoo.

However, we also use adverbs in many other ways; many people see adverbs as the group of words in English which do not fit into any other category (such asnoun, verb, etc.).

We can use adverbs to answerquestions about how:

He wrote crookedly in the diary.

how often:

I regularly go to the gym.

when:

I've been ill lately.

or where something happens:

Go away!

Adverbs can also make a description stronger or weaker:

She is totally insane.

I hardly knew him.

Many, but not all, adverbs end in -ly; we make adverbs from adjectives by adding -ly to the end:

He is a bad driver; he drove badly.

It is a clear day; she can see clearly.