There are certain adverbs that can be put in front of adjectives and verbs to make their meaning stronger or weaker. These are adverbs of degree.

 

She speaks very quietly.

 

My mom really loves cooking.

 

This book is fairly interesting.

 

Many adverbs of degree like ‘very’, ‘really’, ‘quite’, ‘barely’, ‘not particularly’, etc., can be used with gradable adjectives.

These are grading adverbs, making the adjective stronger or weaker:

 

This movie is extremely interesting.

 

The game was really impressive.

 

Your brother is quite talented.

 

The street is barely illuminated.

 

Tom’s feeling slightly unwell.

 

I love my puppy, it’s very funny.

 

Certain adverbs like ‘absolutely’, ‘completely’, ‘totally’, ‘nearly’, ‘practically’, ‘almost’ etc., are used only with non-gradable adjectives.

These are non-grading adverbs, used to describe things that possess some quality entirely or almost entirely.

 

Our journey was totally fascinating.

 

Today I feel myself perfectly well.

 

Mary’s new dress is absolutely amazing.

 

The students in our university are mostly American.

 

These two cars are practically identical.

 

Adverbs ‘really’, ‘fairly’ and ‘pretty’ can be used both with gradable and non-gradable adjectives:

 

It’s a really good idea (gradable, meaning the idea is very good).

 

It’s a really great idea (non-gradable, meaning the idea is absolutely the best).

 

The story is fairly interesting (gradable).

 

The story is fairly instructive (non-gradable).

 

Running marathons is pretty difficult (gradable).

 

Running marathons is pretty impossible (non-gradable).

 

Adverbs of degree ‘quite’, ‘really’ and ‘absolutely’ can also be used with the verbs. They are put before the verbs to modify their meaning a little.

 

I quite enjoy running (meaning it gives me pleasure).

 

I really like running (meaning I do it quite often and I like it).

 

I absolutely love running (meaning I can’t live without it)

 

Adverbs can have superlative forms to show extreme difference in the way things happen.

 

Which animal runs the most quickly?

 

Caterpillars move the slowest.

 

Dave visits doctors the least frequently.

 

To make superlative forms of most adverbs, use: 

‘most’ or ‘least’ + adverb:

 

Of all aircrafts autogyro flies the most safely.

 

You should consider my proposal the  most seriously.

 

Bob is lazy, he cleans his flat the least frequently.

 

This music sounds the least harmoniously.

 

Adverbs ‘well’ and ‘badly’ have the same irregular superlative forms as the adjectives ‘good’ and ‘bad’:

 

good → well → Stephanie plays violin the best in her group.

 

bad → badly → Ben knows multiplication table the worst.

 

Some short adverbs, like ‘early’, ‘fast’, ‘slow’, ‘hard’, ‘high’, ‘long’, have superlative forms of adjectives with ‘-est’ at the end:

 

Your walk the slowest I can imagine, let’s hurry up!

 

This aircraft can fly the highest in its class.

 

I can run this distance the fastest in my age group.

 

Of all his colleagues Phil works the hardest, and his boss appreciates that.

Adverbs can have comparative forms to show how differently things happen.

 

Could you speak more quietly, please?

 

It’s Sunday, so Pete can get up later.

 

Jack drives better than his brother.

 

To make comparative forms of most adverbs, use ‘more’ or ‘less’ + adverb (…than):

 

People can cycle more safely on special cycling roads.

 

You should prepare for your exams more seriously than you do now.

 

Tommy did his homework less accurately than Mary.

 

Jacks talks to people less politely than Ben.

 

Adverbs ‘well’ and ‘badly’ have the same irregular comparative forms as the adjectives ‘good’ and ‘bad’:

 

good → well → I can cook better than you.

 

bad → badly → Sally sings worse than her sister Emily.

 

Some short adverbs, like ‘early’, ‘fast’, ‘slow’, ‘hard’, ‘high’, ‘long’, have comparative forms of adjectives with ‘-er’ at the end:

 

Turtles move slower than hedgehogs.

 

I came to the office earlier than my colleagues.

 

Timothy always runs faster than his friends.

 

Kate works harder than you, so please be more friendly to her.

 

 

Adverbs of manner are used to describe how things happen. They are usually put after the verb.

 

The boy runs quickly.

 

The music plays loudly.

 

Frank speaks English very well.

 

Adverbs of manner are usually formed by adding ‘-ly’ to the adjective:

 

careful → You should drive carefully at night.

 

polite → Mary looks sad. Could you ask her politely, what has happened to her?

 

serious → Seriously speaking, I don’t like this idea.

 

If the adjective ends in ‘-le’, remove ‘-e’ and add ‘-y’:

 

gentle → This mechanism should be cleaned very gently.

 

terrible → I will miss you terribly.

 

If the adjective ends in a consonant + ‘-y’, change ‘-y’ to ‘-ily’:

 

angry → She looked at me angrily.

 

easy → Jack can do grammar exercises easily.  

 

noisy → Your old printer works noisily, you should change it for a new one.

 

If the adjective ends in ‘-ful’, double the ‘-l’ and add ‘-y’:

 

beautiful → Mary has cooked the meat beautifully.

 

successful → Not all students passed their exams successfully.

 

Some adverbs of manner are not formed by adding ‘-ly’:

 

– ‘Well’ is the adverb of ‘good’. We often use ‘very’ and ‘quite’ with ‘well’:

 

Jane speaks German and French very well.

 

Nick runs long distances quite well.

 

– Some adjectives ending in ‘-ly’, like ‘friendly’, ‘lovely’, ‘silly’, ‘ugly’, don’t change to become adverbs.

 

He spoke to me in a friendly manner. (NOT He spoke to me friendlyly)

 

Her dancing is so lovely. (NOT She dances so lovelyly).

 

– Adverbs of manner, like ‘early’, ‘late’, ‘fast’, ‘hard’, ‘low’, have the same form as their adjectives:

 

The bus is late again (adjective).

 

A am afraid, we’ll arrive late (adv).

 

Tom drives very fast, it’s dangerous.

 

We’re working hard all day long.

 

Note: an adverb of manner should not be put between a verb and an object: He plays football perfectly NOT He plays perfectly football