What are adverbs?

Adverbs, like adjectives, are modifiers—meaning that they change or "modify" your mental picture of other words. While adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

You can often make an adjective into an adverb by adding "-ly" to the end of the adjective. However, not all adverbs end in "-ly," and not all words that end in "-ly" are adverbs. Always determine the function of the word in order to determine the part of speech.

A note on "Not":
The word "not" is an adverb that is used to negate or say the opposite of the verb that is happening. It is used both with verbs and helping verbs.

How can adverbs tell us more about verbs?
If an adverb is modifying a verb, it indicates when, where, or how the verb in the sentence is done.

Examples

1. Martina Navratilova ran quickly.
"Quickly" indicates how she ran.

2. Martina Hingis practices daily.
"Daily" indicates when she practices.

3. Venus Williams takes the award home.
"Home" indicates where she takes it.