Mastering English Adverbs and Their Usage

When you think of advanced English adverbs, do you panic? Do you think, what are adverbs? How do we use them? And where do they go in an English sentence? If that's you, don't worry, because here are 50 lessons that will help you understand advanced English adverbs. First, adverb position. There are three main positions for adverbs. There's the front position. before the subject. For example, quickly, they ran to get out of the rain. Quickly is the adverb. Or there is the mid position, where it comes between the subject and the verb. They quickly ran to get out of the rain. Or the end position, where it comes after everything. Because it was raining, they ran quickly. For the mid position, sometimes you have an auxiliary verb. And the adverb comes after that auxiliary verb. For example, they have probably been running to get out of the rain. So it comes after the auxiliary but before the main verb. However, with the verb to be, the adverb has to come afterwards. For example, they were completely wet by the time they arrived. Now, informally, it is possible for an adverb to go before to be if you are trying to emphasise the verb in particular. They really were trying to avoid the rain. So here really is the adverb and it's intensifying were. It's making were more prominent. So putting the adverb in that position can make to be more prominent but it's an informal use. Here are some things to be careful about. Adverbs are usually can't go between the verb and the object. In the sentence here, they left quickly the house. Quickly cannot go in that position because it's between the verb left and the object, which is the house. Adverbs don't usually belong here. Also, they don't usually go between two verbs that are next to each other. So they started quickly running from the house. Well, here we have two verbs started and running. We can't put quickly in the middle of those. So although adverbs have very flexible positions, there are some rules where you can't place them. Adverbs of degree. Here are some basic adverbs of degree. Slightly, mostly, very, completely. extremely, enough, or almost. They all tell us something about the amount or the intensity of words coming afterwards. But we can have some advanced alternatives too. So slightly could also be marginally. Marginally means close to something but not far away from. Instead of mostly, predominantly. Predominantly means similarly to mostly. It means a lot of what there is, or it takes the position which is most prominent. Very can become truly. It's not often used, but if you're looking for a formal alternative to very, it can be used in a similar way. Completely can be entirely. Extremely can be replaced sometimes with immensely. Immensely emphasises the great amount of something. Enough can be replaced with sufficiently in some context. Sufficiently means a certain amount has been achieved. And almost sometimes can be replaced with virtually, particularly if you're talking about a number that's nearly up to a certain amount but not. quite. We're almost there. We're virtually there. Let's look at some of the rules associated with adverbs of degree then. So as we mentioned, they tell how much an adjective, adverb or verb is. So these two examples, it was too hot to go outside. We almost ran out of gas. So to and almost are the adverbs and they go in the mid position. after the verb to be but immediately before the verb otherwise. However, with particular words there are some rules to be aware of. Firstly, with just. Just comes either in the mid position or it can come after the subject. Here's a bus at a bus stop picking up some people. And if you're looking at this scene, you could say the following. I've just seen the people at the bus stop. Just two people were left at the bus stop. In the first example, we have the mid position between the auxiliary have and the main verb seen. And in the second example, just comes before the subject, two people. Let's go on to the word to, which is T-O-O. This comes before a determiner or an adjective. So the lady here looks like she's worried about something. So a friend maybe came to her and said, relax, you worry too much. The lady in response says, I didn't finish the book. I heard that the ending was too upsetting. So, too would normally go in that particular position. Not at the end, not at the beginning. With the word enough, there are some complications again. Enough can come at the end of a sentence. So, if you're asking someone, do you like Instagram? I would reply this. I don't know. I don't use it enough. I hope I will one day. I'd love to put my videos on Instagram as well, but I don't know it well enough yet. Maybe I will soon. Maybe you can help me in the comments and tell me how I get set up on Instagram. That would be helpful. However, enough could also come before the noun it describes. So I stopped posting on Instagram. That's true. Why? Because my posts didn't get enough followers. really has more than one possible meaning and that affects the position of this word. Usually it comes before the word it modifies. I really enjoy eating Chinese food. Here it modifies the verb. It was a really impressive concert. Here it modifies the adjective. Really often means a lot and when it means a lot it goes before the adjective. What do you think of this car? Do you think it should be sold, scrapped? Or are you one of those people who love old cars? Well, if you love old cars, you'll probably say it is a really incredible car. And here really means a lot to do with incredible, incredible to a great amount. But really could also mean in actual fact. When it means in actual fact, it goes at the front. So if you're one of those enthusiasts about old cars, perhaps you'll say, I decided to keep my old car. Really? I should have bought a new one. So here really doesn't mean a lot. It means in actual fact. In actual fact, I should have bought a new one. I thought about it and that was the correct thing to do, even though I didn't. Adverbs of frequency. Again, let's look at some basic adverbs of frequency first. Rarely, sometimes, often, usually, always. Five very common adverbs of frequency. Can we make this more advanced? Well, there are some alternatives you could use in some circumstances. Barely means almost never. So that could be used in a frequency sense as well. Sporadically is a little bit like sometimes. Sporadically means from time to time but not very often. Instead of often, frequently is commonly used. When we get to often and frequently we're becoming a little bit more positive with the time. We're suggesting that something happens more frequently rather than less. And frequently and often both have that sense. Usually could be replaced with routinely. Routinely doesn't mean all of the time but it means at regular intervals. So a routine can possibly be something that doesn't happen that often but when we use the word routinely we very commonly do use it for something that happens perhaps every day, every week. something that happens in the same way. And then always, well, you could replace that with invariably. Invariably means it happens in a way that doesn't change. And that can have the same sense as always. I always go to the shops on Saturdays. I invariably go to the shops on Saturdays. It's got a similar meaning to always here. Invariably means every time the same. Now for some of the rules with placement of frequency adverbs. Frequency adverbs tell how often a word happens. And they usually take the mid... position. As in the example we can see here, I always brush my teeth. I, the subject, then adverb, then verb. In informal situations, they can come at the end too. Yes, I brush my teeth always. It's not something you'll see in formal situations, but you can do that if you are speaking in a casual manner. Remember, of course, with the verb to be that the adverb, again, needs to come after the verb to be instead. Adverbs of place. Some common adverbs of place could include above, below, inside or near. Sometimes adverbs of place can also be prepositions of place. But remember that an adverb will describe a verb or an adjective or a whole sentence. Where it's a preposition. wouldn't necessarily do some of those things. How can we replace these more basic adverbs of place with more advanced versions? Well, above could be replaced with over and aloft. You have to be careful with above because above has many possible meanings. Something could be above something else simply if it's sitting on top, but it could also be above if it's a long way above. Perhaps you're looking... up into the sky. And the alternative words have different meanings that may contain one of those meanings but not the other. Over is a general word to mean it's in a position that's up to the thing described, being described. But over can also mean the cover, which is different to above. Aloft is more to do with something that's very high. Below sometimes can be replaced with beneath. Again, you have to be careful because below has many meanings. Beneath covers quite a few of them. Inside can be replaced with within. And within focuses on something that is surrounded by sides. Inside has a similar meaning. And near, well, you could replace that sometimes with alongside. But again, with near, Lots of different meanings alongside won't work for all of them. Alongside means in close proximity, but near could also be in terms of time, and it may not work for that. So adverbs of place can come directly after the word it is describing. Here's a street with people, so I could use some... adverbs in this way. The street in front was full of people. The fire alarm sounded so I ran outside. So in front describes the street. So it comes afterwards. And I ran outside. Well, outside describes ran. So outside here describes the verb it comes. afterwards. So here the rules between a preposition and an adverb kind of come together because they come after words that they are describing. They could also come before as well. For example, outside the street was full of people. So outside is the adverb. And it describes the whole situation here. The street was full of people. Where? Outside. Adverbs of manner. There are many adverbs of manner and they have different types as well. Here are a few basic adverbs of manner you're probably familiar with. Slowly, quickly, quietly, loudly, carefully, carelessly. Here are some advanced alternatives to those. So slowly could be sluggishly. Sluggishly has a kind of emphasis on laziness, someone dragging themselves around, they're not moving as quickly as they should. Quickly, swiftly, quietly, faintly. This works for some meanings, not others. They heard a sound quietly. They heard a sound faintly. Well, here the meanings could overlap because they refer to a sound which is not a very high volume. But you probably wouldn't use faintly if you're giving an instruction. Please speak quietly. You wouldn't... replace it with faintly. You wouldn't say please speak faintly. So faintly works with some meanings of quietly but not others. So be aware of that. Loudly vociferously. Vociferously means with a great amount of voice. Vociferously goes further than loudly though. Vociferously can also mean that you are forcefully speaking, not loudly speaking. but it can be related to loudly as well. Carefully, attentively. They usually can be synonyms, but attentively has more of a focus on listening carefully, but it can also be concentrating carefully too. Carelessly, sloppily. Sloppily is a rather informal, casual way of saying. Carelessly. Let's go on to the position of these adverbs of manner. So adverbs of manner tell how something happens and they can go in many positions. Usually you can be very flexible with adverbs of front, mid or end positions. So confidently she entered the room. Here confidently is the adverb. That one goes at the beginning. She gladly told of all her past achievements. Gladly is the adverb. Here it's in the mid position. And she, sorry, her friends left the room quietly. Quietly here now is in the end position. So all positions possible in general. But there are, of course, some exceptions to that. One thing to be aware of is that to improve clarity, adverbs should not be too far from the word they describe. So look at the two alternative sentences at the bottom here. Think for yourself which one works better. So the first one, confidently the people who had been waiting outside in the rain for an opportunity to speak entered the room. The second one is the same but with a small difference. The people who had been waiting outside in the rain for an opportunity to speak. to speak confidently entered the room. The best one is certainly the second one. Why? Because the adverb and the word it describes are close together. The problem with the first one is that confidently is so far from entered that you may have forgotten that entered is being modified by an adverb. by the time you get there because there have been so many words in between. And therefore the clarity, the coherence of the sentence doesn't work as well. So it's best to bear this in mind if you are thinking about how to position your adverbs of manner. Try to make sure they don't come too far from the word which is being described. Adverbs of time. Basic adverbs of time could include early, late, eventually, recently and previously. Note carefully that late, not lately here. Lately has a different meaning. What are some advanced alternatives to these common time adverbs? Early could be timely in some situations. If you say I arrived early, you could also say I arrived in a timely manner. But here timely does something slightly different to early. Timely means at a good time. Now, early is normally also a good time. But if you arrive two days early, that might not be timely because that might have been too much time before you were supposed to arrive. So timely works sometimes, not always. Late could be replaced with belately. Belately means more time than expected, after the expected time, which is a similar meaning to late. We often use belatedly when you receive something or do something quite some time after we expect. Perhaps you receive a birthday card two days late. You received it belatedly. It was a long time after you expected. Eventually, could be replaced with ultimately. Ultimately means in the end. Eventually can have a similar meaning. Now recently can be replaced with lately. Don't be confused with lately. Lately actually means the time just before now. Not after, not too much time after what was expected. Lately. is similar to recently. Lately is if you have like a whole year, then the last week might be lately. Maybe in the last year, you have been trying to read a book and you found it really, really hard. But just in the last few weeks, it got easier. So you could say, lately, the book has been much easier than it was earlier in the year. And previously you could replace with formally. Now let's look at the position of time adverbs. Usually they go in the front or the end positions. Last year there was a fantastic celebration here. There was a fantastic celebration here last year. It can possibly come after the noun it describes. Look at the no entry sign here. What was the problem? Well, only 10 people got into the event. The people after had to go home. So here after comes after the words, literally, the words that it describes. Adverbs of duration are slightly different. Adverbs of duration are encompass a longer period of time, not a moment in time. They normally come at the end of a sentence or a clause, unless the adverb is the key information in the clause or the sentence. In that case, you can put it at the front. For example, for a long time, people had not left their homes due to COVID restrictions. Now, what if you have multiple adverbs? all next to each other. How do you decide the position for these? When there are several adverbs together, we often follow this order for these three types of adverbs. We start with the manner, then we have place, then we have time. Here's someone being encouraged about a game they're going to play tomorrow, perhaps a competitive game, and the two people say... Good luck for the game. You need to play brilliantly out there tomorrow. So, brilliantly is the manner adverb, out there is the place adverb, and tomorrow is the time adverb. Adverbs with modals. With modals, we normally put the adverb afterwards. So, adverbs usually follow modals. Look at the example here. You must... Always wash your hands before eating. And that's the common way to do it. But here's an exception. If you are intensifying the modal, then put it before. You really must wash your hands before eating. What's different here? Really is emphasising must. It's making must more important in the sentence. If you want to do that, put it immediately before. the modal verb. Adverbs of certainty, completeness and evaluation. First let's look at certainty. Words ending ly to do with certainty commonly but not exclusively take the mid position. So words like possibly and probably relate to certainty. The level of certainty. Probably is higher certainty. Possibly is lower certainty. And here they're both in the big position. This is possibly the hottest day of the year. So possibly after the verb to be. I probably know all of the people in this room. So here it's not the verb to be, so the mid position is between the subject and the verb. Other modals of certainty, that's those without ly, are more likely at the front or the end position. Maybe you should open the window, that's if it's too hot. Could you introduce yourself perhaps? Again, the rules for adverbs... are flexible. So these are not the only positions that you will see these adverbs in. But these tend to be the patterns that adverbs of certainty follow. Next, completeness. Again, these usually go in the mid position. The box is entirely full. We can't fit anything else in. So entirely is the adverb that describes a complete situation. If you want to emphasise the whole situation, then completeness adverbs could be placed at the end. I finished eating the cake completely. There's nothing left. So here, completely has greater emphasis because it's outside of the sentence. And with evaluative adverbs. There's no strong trend for position. So a word like surprisingly can be an adverb for evaluation because it tells us we were surprised about the information we're talking about. It gives us a response to the information. And in this sentence, it could have been in any of those positions, either the end, the front, or mid. Special word rules. And here we're going to look at some individual rules where there are some changes that are important to know about. Firstly, QUITE. When QUITE means somewhat or fairly, it usually goes before the whole noun phrase. There was quite a loud noise coming from the hall. So here it means a fairly loud noise, not the highest amount of noise, not the loudest it could be, not the quietest, but nearer loud than quiet, because it's somewhat fairly. However, quite can also mean totally when you place it before the adjective and after the article. So if I say it was a quite unnecessary noise, I no longer mean it's fairly unnecessary. I mean it's totally unnecessary. So the Position of the word changes the meaning here. Now for the word rather. Normally this comes before adjectives. It was a rather cold day. But in storytelling, it is sometimes placed before the article too. It was rather a cold winter in Canada in 1947. Next, already, yet and still. With already. we normally place it in the mid or end position. I'm already doing it. I'm doing it already. With yet, we have a choice because yet can be an adverb where it usually goes in the end position. I haven't done it yet. Although on rare occasions, some people may place it in the mid position. But it can also be a conjunction linking two clauses together. He didn't have any tickets yet. they still let him in. And here yet goes at the front of the clause it belongs to. With still, it's usually in the mid position. Sometimes it could go the end position, but usually mid. I have still got the same car that I had 10 years ago. But with negatives, this can change. It would go before the verb phrase. If it was a negative except when using to be. I still haven't been to the garage to fix the brakes. And still can also be used as a conjunction. And in that case, it would go at the front of the clause. What about even and only? Well, they can go together because they have similar rules in how they're used. They usually go in the mid position. The old car is incredible. It even has sat nav talking about that old car again. However, it only has a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour. So here they're both in the mid position. But if they're referring to the subject, put them at the front. Even my rich relatives want to buy my car. Only my father doesn't want it. So even and only are the adverbs. My rich relatives and my father are the subjects of their respective sentences. Multiple meanings. Hard or hardly. Well, hardly means not many, not much or not long. And that's true in both of these examples here. Hardly any people turned up. The room was nearly empty. We had hardly started the class when the fire alarm sounded. But hard is quite different. Hard either means there's a high effort required. Or it refers to something that's become solid and strong. The exam was hard. I didn't know many answers. So hard effort was, a high amount of effort was required for the exam. They made the road hard so that it wouldn't crack under the weight of cars. So the road was made solid and strong. So don't confuse hardly and hard. They have completely different meanings when they are adverbs. Fine or finally can also be confused. Fine is usually used as an adjective, as here, meaning good. It was a fine city. There were beautiful places everywhere. Whereas finally is an adverb that means closely or carefully. They study the results finely to identify any abnormalities. Late or lately. They can both be adverbs, but... they mean something different, as we mentioned earlier in the video. Late means after the expected time, but lately means in recent time, before now. Most or mostly? Most means the top one. So, in my opinion, the most interesting sport to watch is basketball. Here, most is describing the adjective interesting And it tells us that if you were to list all of the sports from the bottom to the top in terms of being interesting, basketball would be at the top and therefore it's the most interesting. But mostly means the majority. And most when it's an adjective can also mean this. Basketball is mostly played by children. Most children play basketball. So most changes to being the majority when it's an adjective and mostly has the same meaning as an adverb. Wide or widely. Well, wide means a big space. For example, if you go to the dentist, the dentist might tell you, open your mouth wide, please. But widely is across a large area or number of people. The dentist has been widely praised for her excellent skills. So widely praised here means by many people.

First, adverb position. There are three main positions for adverbs. There's the front position.

before the subject. For example, quickly, they ran to get out of the rain. Quickly is the adverb. Or there is the mid position, where it comes between the subject and the verb.

They quickly ran to get out of the rain. Or the end position, where it comes after everything. Because it was raining, they ran quickly. For the mid position, sometimes you have an auxiliary verb. And the adverb comes after that auxiliary verb.

For example, they have probably been running to get out of the rain. So it comes after the auxiliary but before the main verb. However, with the verb to be, the adverb has to come afterwards.

For example, they were completely wet by the time they arrived. Now, informally, it is possible for an adverb to go before to be if you are trying to emphasise the verb in particular. They really were trying to avoid the rain.

So here really is the adverb and it's intensifying were. It's making were more prominent. So putting the adverb in that position can make to be more prominent but it's an informal use.

Here are some things to be careful about. Adverbs are usually can't go between the verb and the object. In the sentence here, they left quickly the house. Quickly cannot go in that position because it's between the verb left and the object, which is the house. Adverbs don't usually belong here.

Also, they don't usually go between two verbs that are next to each other. So they started quickly running from the house. Well, here we have two verbs started and running.

We can't put quickly in the middle of those. So although adverbs have very flexible positions, there are some rules where you can't place them. Adverbs of degree. Here are some basic adverbs of degree. Slightly, mostly, very, completely.

extremely, enough, or almost. They all tell us something about the amount or the intensity of words coming afterwards. But we can have some advanced alternatives too. So slightly could also be marginally.

Marginally means close to something but not far away from. Instead of mostly, predominantly. Predominantly means similarly to mostly. It means a lot of what there is, or it takes the position which is most prominent. Very can become truly.

It's not often used, but if you're looking for a formal alternative to very, it can be used in a similar way. Completely can be entirely. Extremely can be replaced sometimes with immensely.

Immensely emphasises the great amount of something. Enough can be replaced with sufficiently in some context. Sufficiently means a certain amount has been achieved.

And almost sometimes can be replaced with virtually, particularly if you're talking about a number that's nearly up to a certain amount but not. quite. We're almost there.

We're virtually there. Let's look at some of the rules associated with adverbs of degree then. So as we mentioned, they tell how much an adjective, adverb or verb is.

So these two examples, it was too hot to go outside. We almost ran out of gas. So to and almost are the adverbs and they go in the mid position. after the verb to be but immediately before the verb otherwise. However, with particular words there are some rules to be aware of.

Firstly, with just. Just comes either in the mid position or it can come after the subject. Here's a bus at a bus stop picking up some people. And if you're looking at this scene, you could say the following.

I've just seen the people at the bus stop. Just two people were left at the bus stop. In the first example, we have the mid position between the auxiliary have and the main verb seen.

And in the second example, just comes before the subject, two people. Let's go on to the word to, which is T-O-O. This comes before a determiner or an adjective.

So the lady here looks like she's worried about something. So a friend maybe came to her and said, relax, you worry too much. The lady in response says, I didn't finish the book. I heard that the ending was too upsetting.

So, too would normally go in that particular position. Not at the end, not at the beginning. With the word enough, there are some complications again.

Enough can come at the end of a sentence. So, if you're asking someone, do you like Instagram? I would reply this. I don't know.

I don't use it enough. I hope I will one day. I'd love to put my videos on Instagram as well, but I don't know it well enough yet.

Maybe I will soon. Maybe you can help me in the comments and tell me how I get set up on Instagram. That would be helpful.

However, enough could also come before the noun it describes. So I stopped posting on Instagram. That's true. Why?

Because my posts didn't get enough followers. really has more than one possible meaning and that affects the position of this word. Usually it comes before the word it modifies.

I really enjoy eating Chinese food. Here it modifies the verb. It was a really impressive concert. Here it modifies the adjective. Really often means a lot and when it means a lot it goes before the adjective.

What do you think of this car? Do you think it should be sold, scrapped? Or are you one of those people who love old cars?

Well, if you love old cars, you'll probably say it is a really incredible car. And here really means a lot to do with incredible, incredible to a great amount. But really could also mean in actual fact. When it means in actual fact, it goes at the front. So if you're one of those enthusiasts about old cars, perhaps you'll say, I decided to keep my old car.

Really? I should have bought a new one. So here really doesn't mean a lot.

It means in actual fact. In actual fact, I should have bought a new one. I thought about it and that was the correct thing to do, even though I didn't. Adverbs of frequency.

Again, let's look at some basic adverbs of frequency first. Rarely, sometimes, often, usually, always. Five very common adverbs of frequency.

Can we make this more advanced? Well, there are some alternatives you could use in some circumstances. Barely means almost never.

So that could be used in a frequency sense as well. Sporadically is a little bit like sometimes. Sporadically means from time to time but not very often.

Instead of often, frequently is commonly used. When we get to often and frequently we're becoming a little bit more positive with the time. We're suggesting that something happens more frequently rather than less.

And frequently and often both have that sense. Usually could be replaced with routinely. Routinely doesn't mean all of the time but it means at regular intervals. So a routine can possibly be something that doesn't happen that often but when we use the word routinely we very commonly do use it for something that happens perhaps every day, every week.

something that happens in the same way. And then always, well, you could replace that with invariably. Invariably means it happens in a way that doesn't change.

And that can have the same sense as always. I always go to the shops on Saturdays. I invariably go to the shops on Saturdays.

It's got a similar meaning to always here. Invariably means every time the same. Now for some of the rules with placement of frequency adverbs.

Frequency adverbs tell how often a word happens. And they usually take the mid... position.

As in the example we can see here, I always brush my teeth. I, the subject, then adverb, then verb. In informal situations, they can come at the end too. Yes, I brush my teeth always. It's not something you'll see in formal situations, but you can do that if you are speaking in a casual manner.

Remember, of course, with the verb to be that the adverb, again, needs to come after the verb to be instead. Adverbs of place. Some common adverbs of place could include above, below, inside or near. Sometimes adverbs of place can also be prepositions of place. But remember that an adverb will describe a verb or an adjective or a whole sentence.

Where it's a preposition. wouldn't necessarily do some of those things. How can we replace these more basic adverbs of place with more advanced versions?

Well, above could be replaced with over and aloft. You have to be careful with above because above has many possible meanings. Something could be above something else simply if it's sitting on top, but it could also be above if it's a long way above.

Perhaps you're looking... up into the sky. And the alternative words have different meanings that may contain one of those meanings but not the other. Over is a general word to mean it's in a position that's up to the thing described, being described. But over can also mean the cover, which is different to above.

Aloft is more to do with something that's very high. Below sometimes can be replaced with beneath. Again, you have to be careful because below has many meanings. Beneath covers quite a few of them.

Inside can be replaced with within. And within focuses on something that is surrounded by sides. Inside has a similar meaning. And near, well, you could replace that sometimes with alongside. But again, with near, Lots of different meanings alongside won't work for all of them.

Alongside means in close proximity, but near could also be in terms of time, and it may not work for that. So adverbs of place can come directly after the word it is describing. Here's a street with people, so I could use some... adverbs in this way.

The street in front was full of people. The fire alarm sounded so I ran outside. So in front describes the street.

So it comes afterwards. And I ran outside. Well, outside describes ran. So outside here describes the verb it comes.

afterwards. So here the rules between a preposition and an adverb kind of come together because they come after words that they are describing. They could also come before as well.

For example, outside the street was full of people. So outside is the adverb. And it describes the whole situation here.

The street was full of people. Where? Outside. Adverbs of manner.

There are many adverbs of manner and they have different types as well. Here are a few basic adverbs of manner you're probably familiar with. Slowly, quickly, quietly, loudly, carefully, carelessly.

Here are some advanced alternatives to those. So slowly could be sluggishly. Sluggishly has a kind of emphasis on laziness, someone dragging themselves around, they're not moving as quickly as they should.

Quickly, swiftly, quietly, faintly. This works for some meanings, not others. They heard a sound quietly. They heard a sound faintly.

Well, here the meanings could overlap because they refer to a sound which is not a very high volume. But you probably wouldn't use faintly if you're giving an instruction. Please speak quietly. You wouldn't...

replace it with faintly. You wouldn't say please speak faintly. So faintly works with some meanings of quietly but not others. So be aware of that. Loudly vociferously.

Vociferously means with a great amount of voice. Vociferously goes further than loudly though. Vociferously can also mean that you are forcefully speaking, not loudly speaking.

but it can be related to loudly as well. Carefully, attentively. They usually can be synonyms, but attentively has more of a focus on listening carefully, but it can also be concentrating carefully too.

Carelessly, sloppily. Sloppily is a rather informal, casual way of saying. Carelessly. Let's go on to the position of these adverbs of manner. So adverbs of manner tell how something happens and they can go in many positions.

Usually you can be very flexible with adverbs of front, mid or end positions. So confidently she entered the room. Here confidently is the adverb.

That one goes at the beginning. She gladly told of all her past achievements. Gladly is the adverb.

Here it's in the mid position. And she, sorry, her friends left the room quietly. Quietly here now is in the end position. So all positions possible in general. But there are, of course, some exceptions to that.

One thing to be aware of is that to improve clarity, adverbs should not be too far from the word they describe. So look at the two alternative sentences at the bottom here. Think for yourself which one works better.

So the first one, confidently the people who had been waiting outside in the rain for an opportunity to speak entered the room. The second one is the same but with a small difference. The people who had been waiting outside in the rain for an opportunity to speak. to speak confidently entered the room.

The best one is certainly the second one. Why? Because the adverb and the word it describes are close together.

The problem with the first one is that confidently is so far from entered that you may have forgotten that entered is being modified by an adverb. by the time you get there because there have been so many words in between. And therefore the clarity, the coherence of the sentence doesn't work as well.

So it's best to bear this in mind if you are thinking about how to position your adverbs of manner. Try to make sure they don't come too far from the word which is being described. Adverbs of time. Basic adverbs of time could include early, late, eventually, recently and previously. Note carefully that late, not lately here.

Lately has a different meaning. What are some advanced alternatives to these common time adverbs? Early could be timely in some situations. If you say I arrived early, you could also say I arrived in a timely manner.

But here timely does something slightly different to early. Timely means at a good time. Now, early is normally also a good time.

But if you arrive two days early, that might not be timely because that might have been too much time before you were supposed to arrive. So timely works sometimes, not always. Late could be replaced with belately. Belately means more time than expected, after the expected time, which is a similar meaning to late.

We often use belatedly when you receive something or do something quite some time after we expect. Perhaps you receive a birthday card two days late. You received it belatedly.

It was a long time after you expected. Eventually, could be replaced with ultimately. Ultimately means in the end. Eventually can have a similar meaning. Now recently can be replaced with lately.

Don't be confused with lately. Lately actually means the time just before now. Not after, not too much time after what was expected.

Lately. is similar to recently. Lately is if you have like a whole year, then the last week might be lately. Maybe in the last year, you have been trying to read a book and you found it really, really hard. But just in the last few weeks, it got easier.

So you could say, lately, the book has been much easier than it was earlier in the year. And previously you could replace with formally. Now let's look at the position of time adverbs.

Usually they go in the front or the end positions. Last year there was a fantastic celebration here. There was a fantastic celebration here last year. It can possibly come after the noun it describes. Look at the no entry sign here.

What was the problem? Well, only 10 people got into the event. The people after had to go home. So here after comes after the words, literally, the words that it describes.

Adverbs of duration are slightly different. Adverbs of duration are encompass a longer period of time, not a moment in time. They normally come at the end of a sentence or a clause, unless the adverb is the key information in the clause or the sentence.

In that case, you can put it at the front. For example, for a long time, people had not left their homes due to COVID restrictions. Now, what if you have multiple adverbs?

all next to each other. How do you decide the position for these? When there are several adverbs together, we often follow this order for these three types of adverbs.

We start with the manner, then we have place, then we have time. Here's someone being encouraged about a game they're going to play tomorrow, perhaps a competitive game, and the two people say... Good luck for the game. You need to play brilliantly out there tomorrow. So, brilliantly is the manner adverb, out there is the place adverb, and tomorrow is the time adverb.

Adverbs with modals. With modals, we normally put the adverb afterwards. So, adverbs usually follow modals. Look at the example here.

You must... Always wash your hands before eating. And that's the common way to do it.

But here's an exception. If you are intensifying the modal, then put it before. You really must wash your hands before eating.

What's different here? Really is emphasising must. It's making must more important in the sentence.

If you want to do that, put it immediately before. the modal verb. Adverbs of certainty, completeness and evaluation.

First let's look at certainty. Words ending ly to do with certainty commonly but not exclusively take the mid position. So words like possibly and probably relate to certainty.

The level of certainty. Probably is higher certainty. Possibly is lower certainty. And here they're both in the big position. This is possibly the hottest day of the year.

So possibly after the verb to be. I probably know all of the people in this room. So here it's not the verb to be, so the mid position is between the subject and the verb.

Other modals of certainty, that's those without ly, are more likely at the front or the end position. Maybe you should open the window, that's if it's too hot. Could you introduce yourself perhaps?

Again, the rules for adverbs... are flexible. So these are not the only positions that you will see these adverbs in.

But these tend to be the patterns that adverbs of certainty follow. Next, completeness. Again, these usually go in the mid position. The box is entirely full.

We can't fit anything else in. So entirely is the adverb that describes a complete situation. If you want to emphasise the whole situation, then completeness adverbs could be placed at the end. I finished eating the cake completely.

There's nothing left. So here, completely has greater emphasis because it's outside of the sentence. And with evaluative adverbs.

There's no strong trend for position. So a word like surprisingly can be an adverb for evaluation because it tells us we were surprised about the information we're talking about. It gives us a response to the information. And in this sentence, it could have been in any of those positions, either the end, the front, or mid. Special word rules.

And here we're going to look at some individual rules where there are some changes that are important to know about. Firstly, QUITE. When QUITE means somewhat or fairly, it usually goes before the whole noun phrase. There was quite a loud noise coming from the hall.

So here it means a fairly loud noise, not the highest amount of noise, not the loudest it could be, not the quietest, but nearer loud than quiet, because it's somewhat fairly. However, quite can also mean totally when you place it before the adjective and after the article. So if I say it was a quite unnecessary noise, I no longer mean it's fairly unnecessary. I mean it's totally unnecessary. So the Position of the word changes the meaning here.

Now for the word rather. Normally this comes before adjectives. It was a rather cold day. But in storytelling, it is sometimes placed before the article too. It was rather a cold winter in Canada in 1947. Next, already, yet and still.

With already. we normally place it in the mid or end position. I'm already doing it. I'm doing it already. With yet, we have a choice because yet can be an adverb where it usually goes in the end position.

I haven't done it yet. Although on rare occasions, some people may place it in the mid position. But it can also be a conjunction linking two clauses together.

He didn't have any tickets yet. they still let him in. And here yet goes at the front of the clause it belongs to.

With still, it's usually in the mid position. Sometimes it could go the end position, but usually mid. I have still got the same car that I had 10 years ago. But with negatives, this can change.

It would go before the verb phrase. If it was a negative except when using to be. I still haven't been to the garage to fix the brakes.

And still can also be used as a conjunction. And in that case, it would go at the front of the clause. What about even and only? Well, they can go together because they have similar rules in how they're used. They usually go in the mid position.

The old car is incredible. It even has sat nav talking about that old car again. However, it only has a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

So here they're both in the mid position. But if they're referring to the subject, put them at the front. Even my rich relatives want to buy my car. Only my father doesn't want it.

So even and only are the adverbs. My rich relatives and my father are the subjects of their respective sentences. Multiple meanings.

Hard or hardly. Well, hardly means not many, not much or not long. And that's true in both of these examples here.

Hardly any people turned up. The room was nearly empty. We had hardly started the class when the fire alarm sounded. But hard is quite different.

Hard either means there's a high effort required. Or it refers to something that's become solid and strong. The exam was hard.

I didn't know many answers. So hard effort was, a high amount of effort was required for the exam. They made the road hard so that it wouldn't crack under the weight of cars.

So the road was made solid and strong. So don't confuse hardly and hard. They have completely different meanings when they are adverbs. Fine or finally can also be confused. Fine is usually used as an adjective, as here, meaning good.

It was a fine city. There were beautiful places everywhere. Whereas finally is an adverb that means closely or carefully. They study the results finely to identify any abnormalities.

Late or lately. They can both be adverbs, but... they mean something different, as we mentioned earlier in the video. Late means after the expected time, but lately means in recent time, before now. Most or mostly?

Most means the top one. So, in my opinion, the most interesting sport to watch is basketball. Here, most is describing the adjective interesting And it tells us that if you were to list all of the sports from the bottom to the top in terms of being interesting, basketball would be at the top and therefore it's the most interesting. But mostly means the majority.

And most when it's an adjective can also mean this. Basketball is mostly played by children. Most children play basketball.

So most changes to being the majority when it's an adjective and mostly has the same meaning as an adverb. Wide or widely. Well, wide means a big space. For example, if you go to the dentist, the dentist might tell you, open your mouth wide, please.

But widely is across a large area or number of people. The dentist has been widely praised for her excellent skills. So widely praised here means by many people.

Transcript for:Mastering English Adverbs and Their Usage

Transcript for:
Mastering English Adverbs and Their Usage