LEARN THE 12 TOP RULES FOR USING ADVERBS CORRECTLY

(Here’s an Audiovisual Lecture on Learn The 12 TOP RULES FOR USING ADVERBS CORRECTLY: https://youtu.be/KAqwCJZ_rTQ).

Knowing how to use adverbs correctly in sentences is like knowing how to use the appropriate seasoning in your dishes. Appropriate seasoning produces the desired flavours by blending together different ingredients to make a balanced and delicious dish. Similarly, the correct use of adverbs helps you to convey information more clearly about how things appear or how things happen, as well as where, when, why, how often, to what extent, and so forth. When you use adverbs appropriately in your speech or writing, you express your ideas with greater clarity, such that your audience or readers can have clear mental pictures of the very things you’re talking about. In this article, you’ll learn the twelve top rules that govern the appropriate use of adverbs in English speech and writing.

1. Most adverbs are formed by adding –ly to adjectives, changing e to y, changing y to i and adding –ly, etc., e.g. honest-honestly, beautiful-beautifully, humble-humbly, easy-easily, etc. 
2. Some adverbs retain the same form as the adjectives, e.g. fast, hard, late, daily, early, etc. 
3. When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it usually comes before the word it modifies, e.g. she is a stunningly beautiful girl, he was ostentatiously dressed, it rained very heavily yesterday, etc. 
4. When an adverb modifies a verb, its position is not usually fixed, e.g. Occasionally, I visit the library, I occasionally visit the library, I visit the library occasionally, etc. 
5. An adverb comes before or after a verb used intransitively, e.g. the team performed well in their last match, some people erroneously believe that the earth is round, etc. 
6. An adverb usually comes after the direct object of a verb which is used transitively, e.g they sang the song badly, the robbers beat Jack mercilessly, Junior threw the cup away, etc. 
7. An adverb is usually placed after a prepositional phrase, e.g. he looked at us angrily, she spoke to her uncle rudely, etc. 
8. Adverbs of frequency (such as always, often, never, sometimes, etc.) usually come before the main verb, e.g. Dad doesn’t usually travel by night, Aboki often comes late to school, etc. 
9. Adverbs of frequency usually come after the verb ‘to be’, e.g. Jude is sometimes late for work, Jane has proved to be very serious in her studies, etc. 
10. Adverbs are usually placed between an auxiliary verb and its participle, e.g. he just completed the project, I have never been to Kafanchan, etc. 
11. The words ‘good’ and ‘well’ are used as adjective and adverb respectively in Standard British English: they are not interchangeable, e.g. ‘I did good in the exam’ is wrong, but ‘I did well in the exam’ is correct; you can say ‘I obtained good marks in the exam’ (here, ‘good’ is correctly used as an adjective).  
12. Adverbs are sometimes placed at the beginning of a sentence, e.g. Quickly, I changed my mind, etc.  

For a more detailed audiovisual explanation of the 12 top rules for using adverbs correctly, watch the following video lecture: https://youtu.be/KAqwCJZ_rTQ

The following eBooks will give you further insight into other areas of language proficiency, such as grammatical structures, essay writing – letter writing, article writing, speech writing, report writing, story writing – comprehension, summary writing, vowel and consonant sounds, and so forth:

1. Good Success in English: A Study Package or Good Success in English: A Study Package for Effective English Learning
2. Good Success English Handbook

About the Author

Benjamin Abugu

Benjamin Abugu is a university graduate with a flair for content writing. He is an English teacher with over twelve years of experience, a published author of many books (both paperback and eBook editions), a blogger, and a Youtuber.