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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Hi there... just want to know if adverbials is the same meaning with modifier thanks a lot :)

Hello nick_axe,

These are not synonyms. A modifier is any word which changes or adds to the meaning of another word. An adverbial is a more specific category. You can find definitions and examples of each of these by using the Cambridge Dictionaries Online tool on the right of this page.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Learnenglish Team, I have little hindrance while using always and ever. can we use them interchangeably? ,as in below statements, 1.I have always had good fortunes. 2.I have ever had good fortunes. Thanks and regards, Nandish

Hello Nandish,

No, it's quite unusual nowadays to use 'ever' to mean 'always'. You can find it in some different expressions where it has that meaning, but it's not usually used independently in that way.

Most of the time, 'ever' is used in questions to mean 'at any time', e.g. 'Have you ever visited the Taj Mahal?'

Best regards,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Dear kind Learn English staff, As understood from the elaborate explanation above, adjectives can only be placed after linking verbs. However, it's been quite confusing with some other verbs, that is not being able to use adjectives after the verb where I desire to describe the subject and not the verb. An example of the case would be: "I walked home tired". Although probably wrong, I'm describing the subject "I" and not the verb "walked". How can I do that correctly. Hope I've explained my query clearly. Thank you!

Could someone please help me with my query?

Hello Arctic Wolf,

Sometimes, and especially in an informal style, some adjectives can be used as adverbs of manner. For example, 'slow' in 'drive slow!' or 'tight' in 'hold on tight!' The same is true of 'tired' in the sentence you ask about.

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

I had problems with the adverbial clause.

Halo friends..... I have one problems, can someone kindly advise me....... Which one of the following is correctly.... 1. He quickly went out to the garden. 2. He went out quickly to the garden. 3. He went out to the garden quickly.

I the think, 1 is correct.

Hello everyone.... (When will they be finished?) I read this sentence in a quiz and I want to know what we use after be in this case adj or p.p and can I say When will the party be started?. thank you....

Hello med.lobo,

After a modal verb, such as 'will', we use an infinitive. However, there are different kinds of infinitive:

We will finish soon. [bare infinitive or infinitive without 'to']

It will be finished soon. [passive infinitive]

We will have finished soon. [perfect infinitive]

I hope that helps to clarify it for you.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Yes,thank you peter and sorry for annoying. =D And thanks for this helpful website.

Hi there! I have some problems with the subordinator YET. Is it used to introduce a concessive adverbial clause? When "yet" is placed at the beginning of a clause, is it interchangeable with "however"? Hope my questions are clear. Thanks for your consideration, Kind regards! Enzo

Hello Enzo,

'however' is used to point out a contrast between two points, e.g. 'I don't enjoy watching baseball, however I enjoy playing it'. 'yet' usually suggests something that is surprising because it contradicts what was said earlier in some way, e.g. 'He claims he makes no money, yet he goes on expensive holidays every year'.

There are some cases where both 'however' and 'yet' can be used, as a contrast can be surprising. For example, 'yet' could be used in my first example sentence instead of 'however'. In my second example sentence, however, 'however' is not appropriate.

The difference can be difficult to grasp. You're welcome to write some example sentences for us to comment on if you'd like. I hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

I had problems with the instructions of "Task 1" of adverbials. I didn't understand what was my task.

Hello Franco,

You have to delete all of the words except for those that are asked for. If that still doesn't make sense, try pressing the Finish button - in that way, you can see the answer to the first sentence to get an idea of what you need to do.

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, which preposition should we use with the word " page" at or on? Thanks in advance

Hello zagrus,

Normal usage is 'on page xx'.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

hello friends!

Hi I want to know what are the different of between see and seem? Tharindu

Hello Tharindu,

These two words are completely different verbs, even though they look similar. 'See' is what we do with our eyes, whereas 'seem' is used to describe an impression which we are not sure is correct or not. If I say 'He seems nice' then I am telling you what my impression is, but I am also saying that I'm still not completely certain.

You can use the Dictionaries link on the right to look up words and you'll see definitions, examples and more.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I'm practising the grammar regularly but how will I be able to speak english fluently?

Hello praveenzzz,

It's hard for me to give you specific advice on developing your fluency without knowing how you speak at the moment. However, there are some general suggestions that I can make which will help you to improve over time. The most important thing you can do is to speak English as often as possible. To do this a partner is very helpful, so think about the people you know and consider if any of them could be a practice partner for you. It may be that you know someone else who is also learning English and who would like to practise with you, or perhaps you know some people who do not speak your language but do speak English. However, if you do not have a practice partner it does not mean that you cannot practise because it is possible to practise alone. Just speaking English to yourself while you are at home, going about your normal daily activities, can help a great deal with your fluency and can help you to feel more confident, which will help you to cut down your hesitating.

You can also use the audio and video materials here on LearnEnglish to improve your fluency. After doing the exercises, try listening with the transcript (listening and reading). Then try saying the text yourself, and finally try saying it with (and at the same speed as) the recording. This will help you to develop speed in your speech, which is a key component of fluency. You'll also pick up a lot of language as chunks - words which are often used together in set phrases - which you can use to communicate with less hesitation. Use a notebook to keep a record of these so you can revise them and test yourself to see how well you remember them.

I hope that suggestions are helpful.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I am wondering whether "by other hand" exists as adverb or other introductory phrase to indicate another point not related to the previous one but inside the same text. if not, which adverb may be used? Is this synonim to the adverb "On the other hand" which means "in addition" or "besides"? Thanks!

Hi Mayela,

No, I'm afraid that "by other hand" is not standard English. By the way, "on the other hand" has a more specific meaning than "in addition to" - it is used to present a different or even opposite way of looking at something.

You can check this yourself by searching for "by other hand" and "on the other hand" in the dictionary search box on the right - you'll see that there is no entry for the former. That is usually a good indication of whether a word or expression exists.

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

i just wonder the sentences : she spoke to me very "softly"( why it is not the adj "soft" but the adv " softly") and the sentences: he tasted the various kind of tea "careful"( why it is not the adv" carefully" but the adj "careful")

Hell kentrinh92,

We use adverbs to describe verbs and so the adverb is the correct form in each sentence:

She spoke to me very softly. [softly is how she spoke]

She tasted the various kinds of tea carefully. [carefully is how he tasted the teas]

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kirk I figured it out myself I got. Thanks for helping out Rgds Wilson

Hi Kirk Still not getting the Adverbials 1 correct if there is place where the answer need to be typed accurately please let me know, as I'm getting confused on it. for e.g. Adverbials of manner: Alice said goodnight to the children and quietly shut the bedroom door. (1 word) where do I type the adverb quietly without any space. Rgds Wilson

Hi Peter M Well for example in Adverbials 1 the first e.g. Alice said goodnight to the children and quietly shut the bedroom door. the adverb here is clearly "quietly" but when it is mentioned below the sentence it gives me a wrong so how should one enter the reply Rgds Wilson

Hi Wilson,

That's strange - I just did the exercise myself; leaving only the word "quietly" (as you correctly suggest) and then pressing the Finish button, I got the answer correct. I did the same using the Check Answers button and got the same result.

Did you perhaps leave a space or other characters (e.g. (1 word)) in your answer?

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kirk Well I tired to answer the Adverbials 1, even after giving the right answer it gives be a that I'm wrong is it the placement of the answer only this part is a bit confusing can you clarify? Rgds Wilson

Hi Wilson,

I'm not sure what you mean. I've tested the activity and it seems to be working fine, recognising the correct answers whatever order I put them in. Could you let us know what exactly happened, please? Which words in which columns were marked as incorrect? We'll see if we can replicate the problem.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

The Learn English team, When we make questions in passive voice, What form we should put the infinitive? past participle or present simple??? Tharindu

Hi Thari,

Have you seen our active and passive voice and question forms pages? Please be sure to look for answers to your questions on the site before asking - there is a search box to help you find answers. And when ask a question, please ask it on a relevant page (e.g. a question about verbs should go on a page related to verbs, not adverbials) and make it as specific as possible and with an example if possible.

Thanks and best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

The Learn English team, * He do it very well. *He does it very well. What is the correct one? Tharindu

Hello Tharindu,

'He does it very well' is correct. 'He' is a third-person form, and so 'does' is needed.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, I can't understand. I don't understand. which is the correct one???? Thari

Teachers, Would is used much times. But i can't understand how use would. Some teachers say would is past of should. But would is used more than that. Tharindu,

Hello Tharindu,

You're right that would is used in many different ways. I'd suggest you read our will or would page for more information.

As for your other question (above), both sentences are correct, but they mean slightly different things: "I can't understand" implies that you have made an effort to understand something, but still don't understand it.

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello :), Can you tell me deferent between "good" and "well".

Hello Anak,

'Good' is an adjective which is used, for example, to describe nouns:

He did a good job.

'Well' is an adverb which is used, for example, to describe verbs:

He worked well.

I hope that clarifies it for you.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear,Sir, Can you tell me the difference between "during" and "while"? as I am confused of using them. example:I have met him during my vacations, and I have met him while on my vacations. thanks in advance.

Hi chenlyfen60, I am a student like you in this forum, therefore take a second advice after reading my answer. My answer- The word 'during' is a preposition and 'while' is a conjunction (conjunction= words which usually join sentences). (preposition= the words/terms which tell about the position of one thing to another) your sentence 'I have met him during my vacations' is perfect, but if you want to use while then say ' while being on my vacations' OR 'while I was on my vacations' which is better.

Hello chenlyfen60,

The meaning is the same but, as your examples show, their use is slightly different. 'During' is followed by a noun:

duing the holiday

during the weeked

during my lesson

'While' is followed by a sentence or an -ing form:

while I was working

while I was at work

while reading a book

while travelling home

I hope that clarifies it for you.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, which between these two sentences is correct? I usually use the second one. Pls help. 6 hours more to go. 6 more hours to go.

Hi nishantaims,

Both of those are perfectly acceptable.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Regarding the use of adverbs, is it correct to say that always, never, etc. go after the subject, except for verb to be, in which case it would go afterwards, i.e.; I am always late for school I always get there on time Thanks for the clarification. Regards, Maricela

Hello Maricela,

You are correct that these adverbs generally come before the main verb unless the verb is 'be', in which case they come after. That's not quite the same as coming after the subject, however. When there is a long verb phrase with multiple auxiliary verbs the position is a little more complex: the adverb generally comes after the first auxiliary verb. For example:

I always go for a run in the morning.

I have always gone for a run in the morning.

She would always have been going for a run, whatever the weather.

I hope that clarifies it for you.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team