Adverb A word is called an adverb when it is used to tell how something is done, or where it is done, or when. An adverb is one of the parts of speech. A part of speech is a kind of word that has a par­ticular duty when you say it or write it. These are the duties of the adverb: If you say, “The choir sings,” you tell what the choir does. If you say, “The choir sings clearly,” you tell how the choir does it. The word clearly is an ad­verb that tells how. In the sentence “I saw John yesterday,” yesterday is an ad­verb that tells when; in the sentence, “I see him there,” there is an adverb that tells where. When a word adds to the meaning of another word, it is said to modify it; in the sentence “The choir sings clearly,” clearly adds to the meaning of sings. In this case, the adverb clearly modifies the verb sings. An adverb may modify a verb, or an adjective, or another adverb. If you say, “It is a very clear day,” very is an adverb that modifies (adds to the meaning of) the adjective clear. If you say, “The choir sings very clearly,” the adverb very modifies another adverb, clearly. In the English language, most adverbs end with -ly. In fact, you can form an adverb from almost any adjective by adding -ly to the adjective, as in the case of clear and clearly. However, there are many adverbs that do not end in -ly.

The word there was one of the examples in the sentences used above. comparison of adverbs Often it is desirable for an adverb to show not only how something is done, but also to show how it compares with the way other things are done. Two men may both write well, but one may write better than the other. The word better is an adverb that shows how the two men compare in the way they write. Adverbs are compared in the same way that adjectives are, and this is ex­plained in the article adjective. When there are exactly two ways of doing things to be compared, the form of’the adverb is said to be comparative, and it is formed by adding -er to a short ad­verb, or using the word more before a longer adverb. “John came sooner than I did”-sooner is the comparative form of soon. “John sang more clearly than I did”–more clearly is the comparative form of clearly.

When there are three or more ways of doing something and you want to com­pare them, you use the superlative form of the adverb, which is formed by add­ing -est to short adverbs, or using the word most before longer adverbs. “They all ran fast, but John ran fastest”- fastest is the superlative form of fast. “They all sang clearly, but John sang most clearly”-most clearly is the super­lative form of clearly. Read also the article part of speech.