English Adverbs: Types, Position, Flat Adverbs, Too/Very/Enough/Much and the Hardly–No Sooner Inversion

Why Adverbs Cost Marks

An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It answers how, when, where, how often or how much. Most are made by adding -ly to an adjective, but that is exactly why exams use them: students assume every -ly word is the right choice and every word without -ly is wrong.

Both assumptions fail. Hard, late, high, near and fast are real adverbs with no -ly, and the -ly versions often mean something different. Meanwhile, after verbs like feel, look and taste, the correct choice is an adjective, not an adverb.

This short covers the five jobs adverbs do in exam questions: position in the sentence, flat adverbs against their -ly twins, the words too, very, enough and much, adjective versus adverb after linking verbs, and the hardly–no sooner pattern with its inverted word order.

1. Fill in the blank: He worked ______ to win the scholarship.

2. Fill in the blank: She was ______ tired to walk any further.

3. Choose the correct sentence.

4. Fill in the blank: Hardly had the bell rung ______ the students rushed out.

5. Which sentence has the frequency adverb correctly placed?

6. Fill in the blank: The film was ______ better than the book.

7. Fill in the blank: He is not rich ______ to buy a car.

8. Fill in the blank: The doctor is ______ respected in the town.