Adverbs

Adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs. The most common form of adverb is an adjective with -ly added to the end, for example beautifully or darkly. However, there are adjectives (like kindly and lovely) that end in -ly, and there are many adverbs that do not (like always and often). Adverbs provide the following types of information:

• When: He finally arrived at the concert.
• Where: We live here.
• How: He angrily yelled into his phone.
• How often: Jose frequently cooks us dinner.
• To what degree: He looks more annoyed.
• Why: She called to check on him. (Note that a group of words may function as an adverb in a sentence. This is called an adverbial phrase.)

One of the most common adverb-related errors is to use the adjective good instead of the adverb well. For example, the grammatically correct answer to “How are you doing?” is “I am doing well.”