Adverbs of Time

ADVERBS OF TIME

Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of time tell us when an action happened, but also for how long, and how often.

Examples

• When: today, yesterday, later, now, last year
• For how long: all day, not long, for a while, since last year
• How often: sometimes, frequently, never, often, yearly

When adverbs are usually placed at the end of the sentence:

Examples

• Goldilocks went to the Bears' house yesterday.
• I'm going to tidy my room tomorrow.

This is a neutral position, but some when adverbs can be put in other positions to give a different emphasis

Compare:

• Later Goldilocks ate some porridge. (the time is more important)
• Goldilocks later ate some porridge. (this is more formal, like a policeman's report)
• Goldilocks ate some porridge later. (this is neutral, no particular emphasis)

"For how long" adverbs are usually placed at the end of the sentence:

Examples

• She stayed in the Bears' house all day.
• My mother lived in France for a year.

Notice: 'for' is always followed by an expression of duration:

Examples

• for three days,
• for a week,
• for several years,
• for two centuries.

'since' is always followed by an expression of a point in time:

Examples

• since Monday,
• since 1997,
• since the last war.

"How often" adverbs expressing the frequency of an action are usually placed before the main verb but after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, may, must):

Examples

• I often eat vegetarian food. (before the main verb)
• He never drinks milk. (before the main verb)
• You must always fasten your seat belt. (after the auxiliary must)
• She is never sea-sick.(after the auxiliary is)
• I have never forgotten my first kiss. (after the auxiliary have and before the main verb forgotten)

Some other "how often" adverbs express the exact number of times an action happens and are usually placed at the end of the sentence:

Examples

• This magazine is published monthly.
• He visits his mother once a week.

When a frequency adverb is placed at the end of a sentence it is much stronger.

Compare:

• She regularly visits France.
• She visits France regularly.

Adverbs that can be used in these two positions:

• frequently,
• generally,
• normally,
• occasionally,
• often,
• regularly,
• sometimes,
• usually

'Yet' and 'still'

Yet is used in questions and in negative sentences, and is placed at the end of the sentenceor after not.

Examples

• Have you finished your work yet? (= a simple request for information) No, not yet. (= simple negative answer)
• They haven't met him yet. (= simple negative statement)
• Haven't you finished yet? (= expressing slight surprise)

Still expresses continuity; it is used in positive sentences and questions, and is placed before the main verb and after auxiliary verbs (such as be, have, might, will)

Examples

• I am still hungry.
• She is still waiting for you
• Are you still here?
• Do you still work for the BBC?

ORDER OF ADVERBS OF TIME

If you need to use more than one adverb of time at the end of a sentence, use them in this order:

1: 'how long'2: 'how often'3: 'when' (think of 'low')

Examples

• 1 + 2 : I work (1) for five hours (2) every day
• 2 + 3 : The magazine was published (2) weekly (3) last year.
• 1 + 3 : I was abroad (1) for two months (3) last year.
• 1 + 2 + 3 : She worked in a hospital (1) for two days (2) every week (3) last year.

Interrogative Adverbs

INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS

These are:

why, where, how, when

They are usually placed at the beginning of a question.

Examples

• Why are you so late?
• Where is my passport?
• How are you?
• How much is that coat?
• When does the train arrive?

Notice that how can be used in four different ways:

1. meaning 'in what way?':

• How did you make this sauce?
• How do you start the car?

2. with adjectives:

• How tall are you?
• How old is your house?

3. with much and many:

• How much are these tomatoes?
• How many people are coming to the party?

4. with other adverbs:

• How quickly can you read this?
• How often do you go to London?

Relative Adverbs

RELATIVE ADVERBS

Rule

The following adverbs can be used to join sentences or clauses. They replace the more formal structure of preposition + which in a relative clause:

where, when, why

Examples

• That's the restaurant where we met for the first time.
  (where = at/in which)
• I remember the day when we first met.
  (when = on which)
• There was a very hot summer the year when he was born.
  (when = in which)
• Tell me (the reason) why you were late home.
  (why = for which, but could replace the whole phrase 'the reason for which')

Adverbs of Certainty

ADVERBS OF CERTAINTY

Adverbs of certainty express how certain or sure we feel about an action or event.

Usage

Common adverbs of certainty:

certainly, definitely, probably, undoubtedly, surely

1. Adverbs of certainty go before the main verb but after the verb 'to be':

• He definitely left the house this morning.
• He is probably in the park.

2. With other auxiliary verb, these adverbs go between the auxiliary and the main verb:

• He has certainly forgotten the meeting.
• He will probably remember tomorrow.

3. Sometimes these adverbs can be placed at the beginning of the sentence:

• Undoubtedly, Winston Churchill was a great politician.

BE CAREFUL! with surely. When it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, it means the speaker thinks something is true, but is looking for confirmation:

• Surely you've got a bicycle?

Adverbs: Viewpoint and Commenting

VIEWPOINT AND COMMENTING ADVERBS

There are some adverbs and adverbial expressions which tell us about the speaker's viewpoint or opinion about an action, or make some comment on the action.

Viewpoint

Frankly, I think he is a liar. (= this is my frank, honest opinion)
Theoretically, you should pay a fine. (= from a theoretical point of view but there may be another way of looking at the situation)

These adverbs are placed at the beginning of the sentence and are separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.

Some common Viewpoint adverbs:

honestly, seriously, confidentially, personally, surprisingly, ideally, economically, officially, obviously, clearly, surely, undoubtedly.

Examples

• Personally, I'd rather go by train.
• Surprisingly, this car is cheaper than the smaller model.
• Geographically, Britain is rather cut off from the rest of Europe.

Commenting

These are very similar to viewpoint adverbs, and often the same words, but they go in a different position - after the verb to be and before the main verb.

Examples

• She is certainly the best person for the job.
• You obviously enjoyed your meal.

Some common Commenting adverbs:

definitely, certainly, obviously, simply.