Adverbs of Manner, Time & Place

Adverbs are words that tell us more about a verb. They can tell us how, when or where something happens.

What You'll Learn

What adverbs are and how they help describe actions
The three basic types of adverbs: manner (how), time (when) and place (where)
How to spot adverbs in simple sentences

To tell how something happens (manner): "She sang softly at the concert."
To tell when something happens (time): "We went to the park yesterday."
To tell where something happens (place): "The children played outside."

Type	Question it answers	Examples
Manner	How?	slowly, quickly, softly, loudly
Time	When?	today, yesterday, tomorrow, now
Place	Where?	here, there, outside, everywhere

Ask yourself one of these questions about the verb:

Example: "The boy ran quickly to school."

Adverbs describe verbs: An adverb tells us more about what someone does. "The bird sings loudly." The adverb "loudly" tells us how the bird sings.
Ask how, when or where: To find an adverb, ask "How?", "When?" or "Where?" about the verb. The answer is the adverb.
Adverbs are not adjectives: Adjectives describe nouns (the tall boy). Adverbs describe verbs (he ran fast). They do different jobs.
One sentence can have more than one adverb: "She walked slowly outside yesterday." This sentence has three adverbs -- one for each type.

Wrong	Right	Why
He writes neat.	He writes neatly.	"Neat" describes a noun; "neatly" describes how he writes
She sings loud the song.	She sings the song loudly.	The adverb usually goes after the verb or at the end
The cat sat there angry.	The cat sat there angrily.	You need an adverb (angrily) to describe the verb, not an adjective (angry)
We played outside fun.	We played outside happily.	"Fun" is not an adverb; use "happily" to tell how

slowly, quickly, softly, loudly, quietly, neatly, happily, sadly, carefully

today, tomorrow, yesterday, now, later, soon, already, then

here, there, outside, inside, upstairs, downstairs, nearby, everywhere, away

Tip: If a word tells you HOW, WHEN or WHERE the action happens, it is an adverb!

Ask the three questions: When you read a sentence, find the verb and ask: "How?", "When?" and "Where?". Any word that answers those questions is an adverb.
Circle the verb first: Find the action word in the sentence. Then look for any word that tells you more about that action. That is the adverb.
Sort into groups: When you find an adverb, decide if it tells you how (manner), when (time) or where (place). This helps you remember the three types.

Type	Question	Common Words	Example Sentence
Manner	How?	slowly, quickly, softly, loudly, neatly, happily	The girl read quietly in the library.
Time	When?	today, yesterday, tomorrow, now, soon, later	We are going to the zoo tomorrow.
Place	Where?	here, there, outside, inside, upstairs, nearby	Please wait here for your turn.