11+ English · Topic explained
Adverbs
Did the giant just walk… or did he walk clumsily?
The big idea
An adverb tells you more about a verb: how, when, where or how often.
Picture it
An adverb is like a film director, telling the verb how to act.
Key words
- adverb
- A word that tells you more about a verb (or an adjective, or another adverb).
- manner
- How it happens: quietly, fast, well.
- time and place
- When or where: soon, yesterday, here, outside.
- frequency
- How often: always, never, often, sometimes.
Worked examples
- 1Warm-up
The cat crept silently.
- silently tells us how the cat crept.
- It's an adverb of manner.
- 211+ standard
We will leave tomorrow.
- tomorrow tells us when.
- Adverbs don't always end in -ly.
- 311+ standard
She often reads upstairs.
- often: how often (frequency)
- upstairs: where (place)
- 411+ standard
The film was really exciting.
- really tells us how exciting.
- Adverbs can describe adjectives too.
The common mistake
The mistake
Every word ending in -ly is an adverb.
Instead
Friendly, lovely and lonely are adjectives.
Why: They describe nouns: a lovely day, a friendly dog.
Where it comes up in the 11+
Word-class questions love adverbs without -ly (soon, here, very) and -ly words that are really adjectives.
The video
Video coming soon
We're making a short video that explains adverbs step by step. Until then, everything it covers is on this page.
Free printable
Adverbs worksheet
Practice questions on this topic to print and try on paper, at home or on the way to school.
Download the worksheet (PDF)Free account needed: it takes a minute.
Quick quiz
Have a go first, then tap to see the answer.
1. Which word is an adverb? "Tom never eats sprouts."
- Tom
- never
- eats
- sprouts
Show the answerHide the answer
never
Never tells us how often Tom eats sprouts.
2. Which word is NOT an adverb?
- quickly
- yesterday
- lonely
- always
Show the answerHide the answer
lonely
Lonely describes a noun (a lonely child), so it's an adjective.
3. Which adverb tells us where?
- soon
- everywhere
- gently
- rarely
Show the answerHide the answer
everywhere
Everywhere is about place; soon is time, gently is manner, rarely is frequency.