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 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

What is the rule of definite article THE for superlative form of adverb? John runs the fastest of all. Or John runs fastest of all.

Hello amol,

The superlative usually has a definite article before it unless there is a possessive adjective (my/your etc).

There are some cases in which the article is optional and some in which it should not be used.

When the superlative comes before a noun, the article is needed:

He is the best player.

not

~~He is best player.~~

When a superlative adjective is in the predicative position, meaning it comes after rather than before the noun and follows a verb, it can be omitted, especially in informal use:

Dark chocolate is the best.

Dark chocolate is best.

The same is true of superlative adverbs:

He worked the hardest.

He worked hardest.

When the superlative is in the predicative position and you are compare the same thing in different situations you should not use an article:

He works hardest in the morning when he is fresh.

not

~~He works the hardest in the morning when he is fresh.~~

I hope that helps to clarify it for you.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Should we use much or very as an adverb of degree to describe V3 used as a verb? Q. The police was much / very criticised.

Hello amol,

We would use 'very' in this sentence.

We use 'much' to modify verbs in negatives and questions, so you could say these:

Were the police criticised much?

I don't think the police were criticised much.

'Much' usually comes after the verb rather than before it.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Which adverb (much/very) is to be used when V3 is used as an adjective? 1. He is very / much satisfied. 2. I felt very / much tired.

Hello amol,

The correct word here is 'very'. We use 'much' to modify comparative adjectives (much bigger, much more beautiful) but not to modify adjectives.

There are two exceptions is in a certain type of informal/slang question:

Person A yawns.

Person B: Tired much?

As I said, this is a non-standard use.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kirk Actually I was busy with lots of things happening around me Actually I was busy with lots of things were happening around me Which one is correct

Hi Nisala Jayasuriya,

The first sentence is correct; the second is not.

The first sentence uses the -ing form as part of a participle clause. You can read more about these on this page.

The second sentence is not correct. You could add a relative pronoun ('which' or 'that'):

Actually I was busy with lots of things which were happening around me

Alternatively you could have two sentences:

Actually I was busy. Lots of things were happening around me.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Two players got injured while feilding on muddy surface Is this statement correct

Hi Nisala,

That works, though please note that 'fielding' is misspelt and that some kind of article (either 'a' or 'the') should be used before 'muddy surface'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, What is the correct way to use *last* in this sentence? 1.The police are seaching for Liza Morgan. She was last seen on Monday, 22 July. Or 2. The police are seaching for Liza Morgan. Last time, she was seen on Monday, 22 July.

Hi Goncharush,

The first sentence is correct and is the best option stylistically, in my view.

If you wanted to use 'last time' then you could say:

The police are seaching for Liza Morgan. The last time she was seen was on Monday, 22 July.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, 'much',as an adverb, is used with past participle The sentence - "She is very tired after a day's work." Is the above sentence correct? Can we use much instead of very?

Hello amol,

Much as an adverb is most often used before comparative adjectives: much better, much easier.

It can be used with superlative adjectives: much the best, much the easiest.

With past participles it is used quite rarely. It tends to be seen in more formal texts and usually only in certain expresssions: much loved, much needed, much changed. It cannot be used in place of very in most expressions.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Can you tell me which is correct? I've just woke up I've just woken up thanks

Hi David,

The second one is correct. If you changed the first one to 'I just woke up', it would be correct, though more natural in American English than in British English.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

hello Sir, can you help me to clear my doubt how to use might have/could have.. I might have been hit by a car, but luckily I just managed to get out of the way. I could have been hit by a car, but luckily I just managed to get out of the way. Which one is right w.r.t might have/could have.

Hi sujit kumar,

'might have' and 'could have' can both be used to talk about a possible action in the past with little or no difference in meaning. Your sentence is well-formed grammatically, but I wouldn't recommend saying 'might have' or 'could have' here because the last part ('luckily I just managed to get out of the way') shows that you were nearly hit. In other words, 'might have' and 'could have' suggest that it was possible in a theoretical way, whereas the last part of your sentence that it wasn't just theoretical -- it nearly happened.

What I'd recommend instead is something like 'I was nearly hit by a car, but luckily I just managed to get out of the way' or 'I might have been hit by a car but luckily was not'.

I hope this helps you make sense of it.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Sir This question is under puntuation. Can we use a full stop after a phrase e.g. Oh good. where did you find it? There is a full stop after 'good'. Is it all right? Regards Thank you.

Hello Lal,

Yes, it is perfectly fine to use a full stop. An exclamation mark (!) would also be fine if you wanted to indicate surprise or a very strong reaction, or to show sarcasm.

Don't forget to ise a capital letter after the full stop.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Sir Please let me know either both or only one is correct. then which one. e.g He quietly shut the door. He shut the door quietly.. Thank you. Rrgards

Hi Lal,

The second one is much more common than the first and is the sentence I would recommend you use. The first one is not exactly wrong, but would only be used in some kind of specific context.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

I am confused about the use of "most" or "the most". Is it correct to say " I love all people but I love my parents most." or ".....the most" and why? Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

You can use either 'most' or 'the most' as adverbs. Both are correct and there is no difference in meaning.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, there is a rule that one should use 'the' before superlatives, and as 'most' is a superlative, we should use 'the' before it, isn't it? Would I be grammatically correct if we write just 'most'.

Hello ali shah,

'most' is a very common word that is used not only in superlative constructions, but also, for example, as a quantifier, so it really depends on the particular sentence and the speaker's meaning. If you have a question about a specific sentence, please feel free to ask us about it, though please also tell us how you understand it to be correct or incorrect.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, We'll give our listeners a choice of two songs to get one of them played on the radio by us and they'll decide (choose) as to which song to be played. Two more sentences In this regard. Could you please tell me as to what songs you have played so far on the radio. I have no explanation about 'as to' How and why they did it. Now this question is, Can we drop the preposition 'as to', is it even necessary to use it here if not, then why, where are we supposed to use 'as to' or 'about' exactly ?

Hi SonuKumar,

I wouldn't use 'as to' in any of the sentences you ask about. If you remove 'as to', they are both correct, though the first one needs the word 'is' before 'to be played' to be grammatical.

'as to' means something like 'regarding', but is fairly rare, especially in contexts that are not formal. It doesn't seem natural to me to use it in either of the contexts these sentences suggest, so I'd be hard pressed to explain why someone used them there.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

'At the Learn English or on the Learn English', I know both prepositions 'at' and 'on' are used, but I'm just wondering why the speaket uses 'at' and why use 'on'? So that I get the point/reason. For example. Articles at the Learn English are very helpful. Articles on the Learn English are very helpful. At Wikipedia or on Wikipedia

Hi whitekrystal,

I'm afraid I couldn't find the sentence that you are referring to. In any case, I'm not sure I could have explained the usage of 'at' or 'on', as both can be used in some cases. In general, I think people speak of content being 'on' a website and of performing actions 'at' websites, though I doubt you will find much consistency here.

I would say 'The articles on LearnEnglish are helpful'. As for the Wikipedia, honestly I'd probably say 'Wikipedia articles are useful', but if I had to say it another way, I'd probably say 'on the Wikipedia'.

I'm sorry I can't give you a firmer answer. As far as I know, there is quite a bit of variation here.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Good evening! I wanted to know if the following sentence is grammatically correct . "As he is rich, he is not happy." Thanks!

Hello Prap,

Yes, it is grammatically correct. In cases like this, though, we tend to use 'because' instead of 'as', unless it is formal writing. 'He is not happy because he is rich' or 'The reason his is not happy is because he is rich' are other more natural-sounding alternatives.

Best regards,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi. If I remember correctly, we can use simple or continuous aspect after 'as'. But are these correct sentences? 1. Just as he raised his harpoon, silence broke. 2. As he ran towards the children, he slipped. Thank you.

Hello Marua,

Yes, that is correct -- both aspects are possible and the verb forms you use after 'as' in these two sentences are correct. 'silence broke' isn't clear to me, though; perhaps 'the silence was broken'?

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Teachers, Could you kindly tell me which of the following sentences is correct with explanation: 1. I am very disappointed/tired. 2. I am very much disappointed/tired. 3. I am much disappointed/tired. 4. I am much too disappointed/tired. 5. I am too much disappointed/tired.

Dear Teachers, Please comment.