Guide to English Adverbs – TOEIC® Preparation

In English grammar, an adverb functions to modify or qualify a verb. It can also enhance an adjective or even another adverb. Several categories of adverbs exist, which we will explore in this comprehensive guide.

To modify/qualify a verb
- He runs quickly.

(Il court rapidement.)

To modify/qualify an adjective
- This exercise is remarkably easy.

(Cet exercice est remarquablement facile.)

To modify/qualify another adverb
- She responded very quickly.

(Elle a répondu très rapidement.)

1. What are the categories of adverbs in English?

Here is a summary table presenting the main categories of adverbs used in English:

Type of Adverb	Examples	Function	Illustration
Adverbs of Manner	slowly, carefully, well, badly	Specify the way in which the action is performed.	She speaks fluently.
(Elle parle couramment.)
Adverbs of Place	there, nearby, somewhere, outside	Specify the location where the action occurs.	We met outside.
(Nous nous sommes rencontrés dehors.)
Adverbs of Time	yesterday, soon, later, recently	Specify the moment when the action occurs.	She left recently.
(Elle est partie récemment.)
Adverbs of Frequency	never, seldom, frequently, always	Indicate the recurrence of the action.	He frequently travels abroad.
(Il voyage fréquemment à l'étranger.)
Adverbs of Degree	extremely, rather, almost, totally	Indicate the intensity or measure.	The task is extremely difficult.
(La tâche est extrêmement difficile.)
Conjunctive Adverbs	thus, furthermore, nonetheless, besides	Establish logical connections between statements.	He was late; nonetheless, he attended the meeting.
(Il était en retard ; néanmoins, il a assisté à la réunion.)

2. How to form an adverb in English?

English adverbs are mostly derived from adjectives, but their formation follows various rules and includes many exceptions that are crucial to master for the TOEIC®.

A. Deriving Adverbs from Adjectives

In the majority of cases, an adverb is formed by adding the suffix -ly to the base adjective. These adverbs generally describe the manner in which an action is performed (they therefore mainly belong to adverbs of manner).

Adjectives ending in a consonant

When the adjective ends in a consonant, you simply add -ly directly:

Adjective	Adverb
careful	carefully
beautiful	beautifully
soft	softly
bright	brightly
loud	loudly

They worked carefully on the project.(Ils ont travaillé soigneusement sur le projet.)

Adjectives ending in -y

If the adjective ends in -y, this letter is replaced by -i before adding the suffix -ly.

Adjective	Adverb
angry	angrily
steady	steadily
noisy	noisily
merry	merrily

She steadily improved her score.(Elle a amélioré régulièrement son score.)

Adjectives ending in -le

For adjectives ending in -le, the final -e is dropped and -y is added to form the adverb.

Adjective	Adverb
possible	possibly
probable	probably
humble	humbly

He probably won't attend the conference.(Il n'assistera probablement pas à la conférence.)

Adjectives ending in -ic

Adjectives ending in -ic form their adverbs by adding -ally (and not just -ly).

Adjective	Adverb
automatic	automatically
systematic	systematically
dramatic	dramatically

The system automatically saves your progress.(Le système enregistre automatiquement votre progression.)

Exception: public → publicly (and not publically).

B. Important Exceptions

Some adverbs have irregular forms and must be memorized individually.

Irregular Adverbial Forms

Several adjectives have a distinct adverbial form that does not follow the -ly rule.

Adjective	Adverb
good	well
fast	fast
hard	hard
late	late
early	early

She is a good singer.(C'est une bonne chanteuse.)
She sings well.(Elle chante bien.)
He is a fast learner.(C'est un apprenant rapide.)
He learns fast.(Il apprend vite.)

Distinction between Words with Similar Forms

Word	Meaning	Example
hard	with effort, intensely	She studies hard before exams.
(She studies intensely before exams.)
hardly	scarcely, almost not	I hardly understood the instructions.
(I scarcely understood the instructions.)
late	tardy, belatedly	The train arrived late.
(The train arrived tardily.)
lately	recently, these past times	Have you seen him lately?
(Have you seen him recently?)

Watch out for the TOEIC®! Confusion between "hard" and "hardly" is a classic trap in parts 5 and 6 of the TOEIC®! These two words have completely opposite meanings.

Frequent confusions to avoid:

hard and hardly ⇒ "with effort" VS "barely"
late and lately ⇒ "tardy" VS "recently"
actually ⇒ in reality (and not currently)
currently ⇒ currently (and not fluently)

C. False Friends: Adjectives ending in -ly that are not adverbs

Some adjectives end in -ly but cannot be used as adverbs. To express the corresponding adverbial idea, one must resort to a phrase. Here are the main ones:

Adjective ending in -ly	Adverbial form
friendly	in a friendly way
lovely	in a lovely manner
lonely	in a lonely way
silly	in a silly manner

❌ She smiled at me friendly.✅ She smiled at me in a friendly way.(Elle m'a souri de façon amicale.)

D. Identical Words as Adjective and Adverb

Some terms function both as adjectives and as adverbs, without any change in form. These words never take the -ly suffix in their adverbial use.

Word	Adjectival Use	Adverbial Use
fast	This is a fast connection.
(It is a quick connection.)	The data transfers fast.
(The data transfers quickly.)
hard	This is a hard question.
(It is a difficult question.)	She works hard every day.
(She works hard every day.)
late	The late bus caused delays.
(The bus that was late caused delays.)	They arrived late.
(They arrived late.)
early	She prefers early meetings.
(She prefers morning meetings.)	He woke up early.
(He woke up early.)

E. Summary of Adverb Formation

Basic Rules

Addition of the suffix -ly for most adjectives (slow → slowly).
Transformation of -y to -i before adding -ly (easy → easily).
Adjectives ending in -le: drop the -e and add -y (gentle → gently).
Adjectives ending in -ic: add -ally (basic → basically), except public → publicly.

Crucial Exceptions

Irregular forms:
- good → well
- fast → fast
- hard → hard
- late → late
- early → early
Pairs to distinguish:
- hard (with effort) ≠ hardly (barely)
- late (tardy) ≠ lately (recently)
Adjectives in -ly that cannot be transformed: friendly, lovely, lonely… require a phrase
Identical adjective/adverb forms: fast, hard, late, early remain unchanged

3. Where to place adverbs in the sentence?

The positioning of adverbs depends on their category and the element they modify. We generally identify three possible placements:

Position	Description	Typical Usage	Examples
Initial Position	The adverb or adverbial phrase begins the sentence.	Emphasis or logical transition.	Generally, she prefers tea.
Occasionally, they work from home.
Medial Position	The adverb is located after the auxiliary or before the main verb.	Adverbs of frequency, certainty, certain adverbs of degree.	She often travels for business.
They have rarely complained.
He completely forgot the deadline.
Final Position	The adverb appears at the end of the sentence or after the object.	Adverbs of manner, place, time.	He explained the concept clearly.
I'll meet you there.
We'll discuss this tomorrow.

Here is in detail the placement of adverbs according to their category:

Type of Adverb	Preferred Position	Examples
Adverbs of Manner	Generally at the end of the sentence, sometimes before the verb for emphasis.
If an adverb of place is present, the adverb of manner precedes it.	She answered confidently.
(She answered with assurance.)
He carefully reviewed the document.
(He reviewed the document carefully.)
They worked efficiently in the office.
(They worked efficiently at the office.)
Adverbs of Place	Mainly at the end of the sentence.	The meeting takes place upstairs.
(The meeting takes place upstairs.)
She moved somewhere else.
(She moved elsewhere.)
Adverbs of Time	Mainly at the end of the sentence, but sometimes at the beginning for emphasis.	We'll start the project soon.
(We will start the project soon.)
Yesterday, I received the results.
(Yesterday, I received the results.)
Adverbs of Frequency	Generally in the mid-position, before the main verb or after the auxiliary.
With be, they are placed after the verb.	She rarely misses deadlines.
(She rarely misses deadlines.)
He is usually punctual.
(He is usually punctual.)
Adverbs of Degree	Placed before the adjective, adverb, or verb they modify.	The presentation was extremely clear.
(The presentation was extremely clear.)
She speaks rather quickly.
(She speaks rather quickly.)
Conjunctive Adverbs	Placed at the beginning of the sentence or after a semicolon.	Moreover, the results exceeded expectations.
(Moreover, the results exceeded expectations.)
The budget was limited; nevertheless, we succeeded.
(The budget was limited; nevertheless, we succeeded.)

Conclusion

Adverbs are fundamental elements for enriching your sentences by specifying the manner, place, time, and frequency of an action. Their construction is generally based on the rule adjective + -ly, even though many exceptions exist (good → well, fast → fast). Their placement varies according to their type, with a tendency to appear at the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence depending on their grammatical function. Mastering adverbs is strategic for the TOEIC® because the different categories, formation rules, and pitfalls are omnipresent in parts 5, 6, and 7 of the exam!

Other Resources

Here are other grammar guides to optimize your TOEIC® preparation:

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