Adverbials

Adverbials are words that we use to give more information about a verb. They can be one word (angrily, here) or phrases (at home, in a few hours) and often say how, where, when or how often something happens or is done, though they can also have other uses.

Read clear grammar explanations and example sentences to help you understand how adverbials are used. Then, put your grammar knowledge into practice by doing the exercises.

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Hello. I've got a question. Could someone tell me which sentence is better? I went to London with my parents. I went with my parents to London. Thank you very much, Kind regards, Alice Pirsoul

Hello Alice,

The normal word order here is the first one. We usually say where to before who with. It's not grammatically wrong to say it in a different order, but it is not the normal way and not how we would phrase it.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Peter, Is phrase "more than " in the following sentences used as adverb of degree. He was more than(meaning very)pleased. More than 40 people were present. I can't find any other explanation. Thanks

Could you confirm to me if the next grammar rule is true?: If the main verb has an auxiliar, the adverb goes after auxiliar and before main verb, for instance: "I have only been there once". Thanks.

Hello inaki

It's true that adverbs of frequency tend to come before the main verb (in this case, 'been'), but I'm afraid that adverbs can go in many different positions. You can read more about this on the Where adverbials go in a sentence page in this section, as well as this Cambridge Dictionary page.

Hope this helps.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir, Thanks for the above details. reference to the description as you mentioned above It might say that " An Adverbial might be a preposition or verb or Noun or any pronoun?

Hello Imran 26

I wouldn't say it that way, because it sounds as if, for example, nouns are adverbials by themselves, which is not true. An adverbial can include a noun (e.g. in a prepositional phrase), but that's a different story.

I'm not sure if I've answered your question. Please feel free to ask again if not.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, Are discourse markers, sentence connectors and conjunctive adverbs the same thing called differently by grammarians. If yes, what do they modify? The complete clause following the discourse marker since conjunctive adverbs modify the entire clause to which it is attached(sentence adverbs) . Thanks

Hi Sir, I wanna know that what is the difference between ADVERBS and ADVERBIALS ?

Hi Imran 26,

An adverb is a kind of word. An adverbial is any word, phrase or clause which functions as an adverb in the sentence. Thus, adverbial is a bigger category which contains adverbs as well as other things.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, Although by definition, adverb doesn't modify Pronoun,Noun Clause, prepositional phrases etc but their usage pattern in many sentences suggest that adverbs indeed modify the above. Why grammarians differ on this ? My second question is:- Are discourse markers, sentence connectors and conjunctive adverbs the same thing called differently by grammarians. If yes, what do they modify? The complete clause following the discourse marker since conjunctive adverbs modify the entire clause to which it is attached(sentence adverbs) . Thanks

Adverb phrase vs Adverbial phrase! I have studied that all ADVERB PHRASES are also know as ADVERBIAL PHRASES. Can all ADVERBIAL PHRASES also be called ADVERB PHRASES? For instance: Rick writes beautifully. (Here "carefully" can also be called an "ADVERB or ADVERBIAL.") Rick writes very beautifully. (Here "very beautifully" can also be called an "ADVERB phrase or ADVERBIAL phrase.") Rick writes in a beautiful manner. (Here "in a beautiful manner" can only be called "ADVERBIAL PHRASE".") Can "in a beautiful manner" also be called "ADVERB PHRASE"? Adverb is a single word and an adverb phrase is two or more adverbs together. However, an adverbial phrase is a more informative group of words that will contain other words apart from adverbs and may or may not actually contain an adverb. I have confusion about Adverb phrase and Adverbial phrase!

Hello Nehashri

It sounds to me as if you do understand this, but I'll explain it briefly in case that helps.

An adverb is a single word (e.g. 'quickly'). An adverb phrase can be simply an adverb (e.g. 'quickly') or an adverb plus other words (e.g. 'very quickly', which is two adverbs, the main one being 'quickly').

An adverbial phrase functions as an adverb, but does not necessarily contain an adverb. Prepositional phrases (e.g. 'in two years'), for example, often function as adverbs: 'I will graduate in two years'. Note that there is no adverb in this adverbial phrase.

In this grammar, adverbs and adverb phrases are also referred to as 'adverbials' -- the term 'adverbial' is used for any word or phrase that has an adverbial function in a sentence.

Hope that clears it up for you.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello sir, good evening! How are you? I hope everyone's fine. I just would like to ask what is the explanation of adverbs of quantity (with count nouns : too much, fewer, more and n't enough) and what about noncount nouns: too much, less, more and isn't enough) I don't understand them how to use them. Regards! Lavern

Hello Lavern,

We actually have a page devoted to the topic of quantifiers. I think you'll find it useful. It also has some exercises so you can test yourself on the topic. You can find the page here:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/quantifiers

We can't give detailed general explanations of language items in the comments sections of the pages but if you have any specific questions we'll be happy to answer them. Including an example to illustrate your question is helpful too.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I needa bit of help please?

Hello DanyalParacha

What do you need help with?

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

An adverb is a single word that modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb: I sing badly. (Badly is an adverb that modifies the verb sing) I sing really badly. (Badly is still an adverb, but now really is as well, modifying the adverb badly) My voice is incredibly awful. (Incredibly is an adverb, modifying the adjective awful). An adverbial is when a group of words does the job of an adverb. That group of words can contain nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, or whatever, and can be as complex as you want. Am I right?

Hello quds001

Well done, that's a great (and correct) summary!

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, I would like to ask if the following is correct When there is a house that also has a garden can we say 1.It is a house with a big garden around it. Around it, suits well in the sentence? Thank you in advance

Hello agie,

That is fine, yes.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, I would like to ask if the following are correct. 1.They will help you learn fast ot they will help you learning fast? (maths, French etc) 2.They will help you learn quickly? 3.It is the top part of the story. (does this sentence make sense? Is it correct?) Thank you in advance

Hello agie,

You can say 'help you learn' or 'help you to learn'. There is no difference in meaning.

'~~Help you learning~~' is not correct. You could say 'help you with your learning'.

We wouldn't say 'the top part of the story'. I'm not sure what you mean, but perhaps we would say 'the first part of the story' or 'the first paragraph of the story', or 'the beginning of the story'.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

We were taught at school that 'every day' is a noun phrase which functions adverbially in a sentence but many grammar books say it is an adverbial phrase. I wanted to know what kind of phrase it is -- noun phrase or adverbial phrase.

Hello Prap

It can be both. A noun phrase can be used adverbially -- this is another way of saying that the noun phrase functions as an adverb in a sentence (in this case, for example, it can tell you more about the frequency of an action) -- and in that sense it is also an adverbial phrase.

I hope that helps you make sense of it.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Some teachers say, "You're doing good" instead of "You're doing well". I'm wondering if both are acceptable? σ┃･ω･`*┃

Hello Rafaela1

Strictly speaking, 'well' is the correct form here, but people often use 'good' instead of 'well' in informal speech in a sentence like this.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

I've got a fight left in me. Please analyse this sentence for me. Thank you in advance.

Hello Bonne,

I'm not sure what you mean by 'analyse' here. Is this a sentence which you've written and would like to know if it is correct, or a sentence you have found somewhere and which you don't understand?

If the sentence is yours, then we would need to know what you want to say in order to tell you if the sentence is OK or not. If the sentence is from somewhere else, then we would need to know the context before we comment on it.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi ! I am confused about the part of speech "much" belongs to. "I didn't do much ." What is "much" here? Is it an adverbial qualifying 'do' or an object being indefinite pronoun?

Hello Kisa Batool, The sentence can be interpreted in several ways but I would say that 'much' here is a pronoun which is the object of the verb 'do'. You can see a similar example on this page under 'pronoun, noun': https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/much ~ Peter The LearnEnglish Team

I'm not quite sure the difference between these two sentences. He spoke angrily. He angrily spoke. Can somebody teache me? ʅ(´-ω-`)ʃ

Hi Rafaela1 Adverbials of manner like 'angrily' (https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar/adverbials-manner) almost always come after the verb and not before. Putting one before the verb is not exactly wrong, but it's so unusual that it would sound strange for you to use it in a normal situation. If you were writing a poem -- you've shared many very nice poems here on LearnEnglish and we are grateful! -- then it could be appropriate, but otherwise I'd recommend you use the first word order. All the best Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hello. computers brought people closer together. computers brought people together closer. which one is correct? part of speech together?

Hello amirfd The first one is correct. The words 'closer', the comparative form of the adjective 'close', and the adverb 'together' are collocates here -- see number 5 on https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/together . All the best Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Is it okay to say "They are ill from yesterday" to mean "They have been ill since yesterday"? What are the differential usages of 'for' in this particular sense? Regards

Hello Adya's That sounds strange to me. Perhaps in some varieties of English or in some specific situation people would say it, but I don't think I ever would. I'm sorry, but I don't understand your question about 'for' -- I don't see the word 'for' in the phrases you ask about. All the best Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

I have a question on that sentence,>>>> "Although we've only just met, I feel like I've known you all my life." >>>>>>>> Why couldn't we say, "I feel as though/as if" instead of, "I feel like" ?? & thanks in advance. When I made it "as though", it's considered wrong in the exercise in here https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/intermediate-grammar/and

Hello briskmusk,

Both 'as though' and 'as if' are possible here and have the same meaning as 'like'.

The exercise asks for either 'as' or 'like', however, not a two-word answer.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kirk Thank you for your prompt reply regarding 'compound nouns' I also referred to Cambridge Dictionary. It was very useful but I have a question regarding Noun + Noun e.g. shopkeeper, website , 'car park' - this also noun + noun we don't write it together like the two other two I have mentioned e.g. carpark' and many other e.g. like adjectice + noun blackberry, blackboard, but 'black belt' , not 'blackbelt' My question: Is there any rule or way to learn whether to write compound nouns together or seperately e.g. 'black belt' blackberry, website, car park? Please let me know. Thank you. Regards Lal

Hi Lal,

I'm afraid there is no way to tell this in advance. You simply have to memorise each item. Compound nouns can change their spelling over time as well, so an item may begin as two separate words but over time (many years) may become one word.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Peter, Thank you very much for your prompt reply regarding 'compound nouns.' Now it is clear. Regards Lal

Hello Sir Please help me to understand this e.g. courtship, courtyard, courtroom etc. We call this compound nouns . I am I correct? Addition of two nouns but not all some nouns are not-- they are seperated. e.g. crash helmet, credit card, credit note, but 'cowboy' why is this difference? Or tell me how can I know when to add the nouns and when not as mentioned above in my examples. Thank you. Lal

Hi Lal,

'courtship' is not a compound noun, since '-ship' is a suffix rather than a noun in this case, but the others you mention could be considered compound nouns. Please see this Cambridge Dictionary page for an introduction to this topic. If you have any specific questions after that, please let us know.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Could you help me, please? Is "breathe" means "take in air"? Thank you.

Hello Ahmed,

Yes, 'breathe' means to draw in air through your mouth or nose. If we stop doing this for any more than a short time we die!

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Could you help me, please? Which preposition should I use, "of" or "about" or both of them are correct? What is the difference in meaning? I often think ....... the time we spent in Rome that I can't forget. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

Generally, we use 'think of' to mean 'imagine' or 'dream of' and 'think about' to mean 'consider'. Both can be used when we are remembering something in a nostalgic way, and I think in your example both forms are possible.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kirk, I benefitted from competitons that have been organized by this club over the years. I benefitted from competitons that which organized by this club over the years.

Hi Nisala Jayasuriya,

I can see the two sentences but I don't see a question! What would you like to ask us?

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team