Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives

We use adjectives to describe someone or something. Adjectives usually come before the noun they describe, or after verbs like be, feel, look, smell, sound, taste etc.

• She's wearing her new glasses.

• The view is beautiful.

When there is more than one adjective before a noun, we use them in this order:







- a large round wooden table; - a beautiful new black dress

Adverbs

• We use adverbs to describe actions. To make some adverbs, we add -ly at the end of an adjective.
quick → quickly; bad → badly; complete → completely; extreme → extremely

• Some adjectives and adverbs have the same form. Some adverbs are irregular.
good → well; hard → hard; fast → fast; early → early; late → late; high → high

Be careful! Some adjectives form two adverbs with different meanings. Look at these examples:

They worked hard. (hard using great effort) I hardly know them. (hardly almost not)

I got up late. (late = after the usual / right time) Have you seen Jack lately? (lately = recently)

We flew high above the city. He's a highly intelligent boy. (highly = very)
(high = a long way above the ground)

Adverbs of manner

We use adverbs of manner (quickly, fast, carefully, etc.) to describe how someone or something does something. Adverbs of manner usually come after the verb or after the object, if there is one.

She writes carefully. David plays the piano beautifully.

Adverbs of place

We use adverbs of place (here, outside, etc.) to say where someone or something is, or where something happens Adverbs of place usually come after the verb or the object.
I'll wait here. Leave your shoes outside.

Adverbs of time

We use adverbs of time (now, yesterday, tomorrow, etc.) to say when something happens. Adverbs of time usually come at the beginning or end of the sentence.
Yesterday I stayed at home and watched TV. They're leaving tomorrow.

Adverbs of degree

We use adverbs of degree to make adjectives or adverbs stronger or weaker. Here are some common adverbs of degree: absolutely, almost, completely, extremely, fairly, incredibly, quite, rather, really, very.

Adverbs of degree usually come:
1. before an adjective or adverb. (I feel really tired. He ran very fast.)

2. before the main verb. (I completely agree with you.)

3. after an auxiliary or modal verb. (She didn't quite understand the situation.)

Adverbs of frequency

We use adverbs of frequency (always, usually, never, etc.) to say how often something happens. Adverbs of frequency usually come:

1. before the main verb. (I usually get up at half past seven.)

2. after to be, when it is the main verb in a sentence.(He is never late for school.)

3. after an auxiliary or modal verb. (I don't always have cereal for breakfast.)

Order of adverbs

When there is more than one adverb in a sentence, we usually use them in this order:

manner → place → time.

ex.: Jenny played beautifully at the concert yesterday.