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.

Adverbs: Comparative & Superlative

Rule

In general, comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are the same as for adjectives:

• add -er or -est to short adverbs:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
hard late fast	harder later faster	the hardestthe latest the fastest

Examples

• Jim works harder than his brother.
• Everyone in the race ran fast, but John ran the fastest of all.

Rule

With adverbs ending in -ly, use more for the comparative and most for the superlative:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
quietly slowly seriously	more quietlymore slowlymore seriously	most quietlymost slowlymost seriously

Examples

• The teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.
• Could you sing more quietly please?

Rule

Some adverbs have irregular comparative forms:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
badly far little well	worse farther/further less better	worst farthest/furthest least best

Examples

• The little boy ran further than his friends.
• You're driving worse today than yesterday !

BE CAREFUL! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':

• We were most grateful for your help
• I am most impressed by this application.