.

Stephen King (1947 - )

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Contents

WHAT IS AN ADVERB? 4

FORM OF ADVERBS 5

Comparative and superlative forms in adverbs 7

Comparative forms 7
Progressive comparisons 8
The construction with “less and less” 9
The construction with “the ..., the ...” 9
Superlative forms 10
The construction with “the least” 10

KINDS OF ADVERBS 11

Adverbs of Frequency 11

Adverbs of Manner 12

Adverbs of Place 12

Adverbs of Time 12

Adverbs of Duration 12

Adverbs of Purpose 12

Adverbs of degree 12

Adverbs of probability 13

Relative adverbs 13

1. Adverbs which modify adjectives and other adverbs 14

2. Adverbs which modify verbs 15

Adverbs of frequency 15

Adverbs of manner 17

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 Connecting adverbs: 17

Adverb phrases and clauses of purpose 18

Adverbs of place (or location) 18

Inverted word order 19
“Here” and “there” 19

Negative adverbs 20

Interrogative adverbs 21

ORDER OF ADVERBS 22

More notes on adverb order 22

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 ©IQ Matrix Blog

What is an adverb?

Basically, most adverbs tell you how, where, when, why, how or to what extent something is done
or something happens. In other words, they describe, among other things, the manner, place, or
time of an action:
Type Adverb Example
Manner slowly Jane drives slowly.
Place here The party is going to take place here.
Time yesterday I called him yesterday.

Adverbs modify other words:

 A VERB: He drove slowly.

 An ADJECTIVE: He drove a very fast car. (Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective
cannot modify an adverb.)
 Another ADVERB: She moved quite slowly down the aisle.
 A NOUN to indicate a certain time or place/location: The concert tomorrow.
 A NOUN PHRASE (adverbs of degree such as quite, rather, so, such): We had quite a good time.
 DETERMINERS, NUMERALS and PRONOUNS (almost, nearly, hardly, about...): Nearly everyone,
who was invited, came to the party.
 A WHOLE SENTENCE, not just a part of one: Luckily the car stopped in time.

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Form of Adverbs

Adverbs frequently end in “-ly” (formed from words adding the suffix “-ly”):
quick quickly
sudden suddenly
intelligent intelligently
rare rarely
usual usually

To form an adverb from an adjective ending in [consonant] +“y”, change the “y” to “i” before adding
“-ly”:
angry angrily
busy busily
Exceptions: shy > shyly; sly > slyly

To form an adverb from an adjective ending in [vowel] +“y”, in most cases, “-ly” is simply added:
coy coyly
grey greyly
Exception: gay > gaily

To form an adverb from an adjective ending in [consonant] + “-le”, drop the “e” before adding “-ly”:
Feeble feeblely > feebly
Simple simplely > simply

However, adjectives ending in [vowel] + “le”, add “ly” to form the adverb: agile > agilely; sole >
solely.
Exception: whole > wholly

To form an adverb from an adjective ending in “-ue”, drop the final –e before “-ly”:
Due duely > duly
True truely > truly

When the adjective ends in “ic”, the syllable “al” is usually added before the “-ly” ending:
Dramatic dramatically
Scientific scientifically
Specific specifically

When the adjective ends in “-ll”, only “-y” is added:

dull dully
Full fully
shrill shrilly

“Inanimate objects are classified scientifically into three major categories -

those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost.”
Russell Baker, American writer (1925 - )

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Some adjectives ending in “-ly” need no changes: heavenly.

But many words (fast, hard, straight) and phrases not ending in “-ly” can have an adverbial function.
The following table gives examples of adverbs of manner, location, time and frequency which have
the same forms as the corresponding adjectives.

Adjective = Adverb of Manner Adjective = Adverb of frequency

fast daily
hard monthly
little weekly
loud yearly
much daily
straight
Adjective = Adverb of Location Adjective= Adverb of time
far early
high first
low late
near long
wide

The “-ly” ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. Have a look at the following adjectives:

ADJECTIVE EXAMPLE
likely It is likely to rain later.
lively They had a lively debate.
lovely She is so lovely.
lonely I'm afraid you must be feeling just a little bit lonely.
motherly Most prisoners had dreadful childhoods, with little or none, motherly love.
friendly You will probably find the people here very friendly.
neighbourly Their purpose is to achieve peace and good neighbourly relations.

These adjectives have no corresponding adverbs. When it is desired to use one of these words to
modify a verb, a prepositional phrase with the function of adverb of manner may be used: “in a
friendly manner”.
Prepositional phrases frequently have adverbial functions (telling place and time, modifying the
verb):
They lived in Switzerland (Place) during the war (Time).
And Infinitive phrases can act as adverbs (usually telling why):
The students ran to catch the bus (Purpose).

Some adverbs have two forms, one that ends in “-ly” and one that doesn't. In certain cases, the two
forms have different meanings:
 He arrived late. (Antonym of “early”)
 Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything. (Synonym of “recently”)

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 The following table gives examples of pairs of adverbs which are closely related, but which have
different meanings:

Adverb Meaning “-ly” Adverb Meaning

hard with effort hardly scarcely
high opposite of low highly very; very well
late opposite of early lately recently
near opposite of far nearly almost
wide opposite of narrow widely commonly

The meanings of these adverbs are illustrated in the following examples.

I worked hard.  I have hardly enough time to finish.
He threw the ball high into the air.  He is highly successful in what he does.
The class began late.  The weather has been cold lately.
I held my breath as the squirrel crept near to get the nuts.  I have nearly finished reading the book.
I opened the door wide.  That theory is widely believed.

 Adverbs (as well as adjectives) can be accompanied by premodifiers: She runs very fast.

How to recognize an adverb

The best way to tell if a word is an adverb is to try making a question, for which the answer is the
word. If the question uses “how”, “where” or “when”, then the word is probably an adverb. Here is
an example:

Word in context Question Adverb?

Junko plays tennis aggressively.
They have a small house.
Matthew called the police
immediately.
How does Junko play tennis?
What kind of house do they
have?
When did Matthew call the
police?
Yes — uses HOW.
No — uses WHAT KIND OF, so
this is an adjective.
Yes — uses WHEN.

Comparative and superlative forms in adverbs

It should be noted that many adverbs, such as sometimes, never, here, there, now, then, first, again,
yesterday and daily have no comparative or superlative forms.

Comparative forms

Like adjectives, adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms to show degree:
The student who reads fastest will finish first.

We often use “more” and “most”, “less” and “least” to show degree with adverbs:
She worked less confidently after her accident.

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 The “as – as” construction can be used to create adverbs
that express equality:
He can't run as fast as his sister.

If desired, an adverb may be placed before the first

occurrence of “as”:
adverb + “as” + positive form of adverb + “as”:
I can run twice as fast as you can.
Her eyes shone almost as brightly as stars.

When an adverb ends in “-ly”, “more” is put in front of the

adverb:
Jill did her homework more frequently.

If the adverb has the same form as an adjective add the

suffix “-er” to the end:
Jill did her homework faster.

Some adverbs have irregular comparative forms:

Adverb Comparative Superlative
badly worse worst
far farther/further farthest/furthest
little less least
well better best
much more most

The little boy ran further than his friends.

You're driving worse today than yesterday.

BE CAREFUL! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':

We were most grateful for your help.
I am most impressed by this application.

When comparing two things you need to put “than” between the adverb and what is being
compared: Jill did her homework faster than Jack.

Progressive comparisons
The comparative forms of adverbs can be used in progressive
comparisons. For adverbs with the ending “-er”, the following
construction is used:
[comparative form of adverb] + and + [comparative form of
adverb] (Spanish translation: “cada vez más + [adjectivo]”)
The plane flew higher and higher.
The team performed better and better.

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The meanings expressed in these examples can also be expressed as follows:
The plane flew increasingly high.
The team performed increasingly well.

For adverbs which form the comparative with “more”, the following construction is used:
more and more + [positive form of adverb]
He solved the problems more and more easily.
We visited them more and more frequently.

The meanings expressed in these examples can also be expressed as follows:

He solved the problems increasingly easily.
We visited them increasingly frequently.

The construction with “less and less”

A similar construction, employing the expression “less

and less”, can also be used. The expressions “less and
less” and “more and more” have opposite meanings.
Less and less + positive form of adverb
He solved the problems less and less easily.
We visited them less and less frequently.

The meanings expressed in these examples can also

be expressed as follows:
He solved the problems decreasingly easily.
We visited them decreasingly frequently.

The construction with “the ..., the ...”

Two clauses, each beginning with the, and each containing a comparative form of an adjective or
adverb, can be used together in order to indicate a cause and effect relationship between two
different things or events. The two clauses beginning with the must be separated by a comma.
This construction is summarized below, followed by examples.

The + [comparative form of adverb or adjective] + [1st part of comparison], + the + [comparative
form of adverb or adjective] + [2nd part of comparison]. (Spanish translation: cuanto más… más)

The more they eat, the fatter they get.

The faster we skated, the warmer we felt.
The more cleverly we hid the Easter eggs, the more enthusiastically the children searched for them.
The more I scold her, the worse she behaves.

The human brain is unique in that it is the only container of which it can
be said that the more you put into it, the more it will hold.
Glenn Doman. American scientist.

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Superlative forms

The rule for forming the superlative of an adverb is if it has the same form as an adjective: the +
superlative form of adverb + of:
He jumped the highest of all the boys in the class.
Our team plays the best of all the teams in the league.
They sing the most sweetly of all the choirs I have heard.

The following irregular adverbs are exceptions:

well becomes the best
badly becomes the worst

In the case of adverbs which form the superlative with the ending “-est”, the superlative is
sometimes preceded by a possessive adjective, instead of by the definite article, the:
He ran his fastest.
I did my best.

The construction with “the least”

Adverbs may also be preceded by the expression “the least”. The words least and most have
opposite meanings: “the least”+ positive form of adverb
She speaks the least loudly of all the children.

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Kinds of adverbs

jasonmjones.net

Adverbs of Frequency tell us how often something is done.

She takes the boat to the mainland every day.

Some adverbs of frequency are: always, constantly, continually, frequently, infrequently,

intermittently, normally, occasionally, often, periodically, rarely, regularly, seldom, sometimes.

Most frequent always constantly

nearly always almost always
usually generally normally regularly
often frequently
sometimes periodically
occasionally now and then
once in a while rarely seldom
infrequently hardly ever
scarcely ever almost never
Least frequent never

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 Adverbs of Manner tell us how an action is or should be performed:
She moved slowly and spoke quietly.
Often these adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of an adjective.

Adverbs of Place (or location) indicate where something happens.

She has lived on the island all her life.
Some adverbs of place (or location) are: abroad, anywhere, here, outside, somewhere, there,
underground, upstairs…

Adverbs of Time tell us when something happened.

She tries to get back before dark.
Some adverbs of time are: afterwards, later, now, soon, yesterday.

Adverbs of Duration tell us how long something happened.

They were briefly occupied.
These adverbs include: briefly, forever, long, shortly, permanently, temporarily.

Adverbs of Purpose tell us why something happened.

She drives her boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks.

Adverbs of degree tell us the strength or intensity of something that happens.

The man drove very badly.

Many adverbs are gradable, that is, we can intensify them. To do this we use adverbs of degree.
These include:
 Your test was almost perfect.
 She did it extremely well.
 This hotel has been highly recommended.
 The baby made them immensely happy.
 The weather today is moderately hot.
 That story is partially true.
 I feel perfectly well.
 He is totally unpredictable.
 I’m very well, thanks.

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 Adverbs of probability tell us the likelihood of something happening.
We will certainly win the game.
They include certainly, definitely, doubtless, maybe, perhaps, possibly, probably.

It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and

certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off.
Woody Allen (1935 - )

Relative adverbs

Adjectival clauses (those that carry out or perform the same function as adjectives) are sometimes
introduced by what are called the relative adverbs: “where”, “when”, and “why”.

Although the entire clause is adjectival (performing the same function as an adjective) and will
modify a noun, the relative word itself fulfils an adverbial function (modifying a verb within its own
clause).

The relative adverb “where” will begin a clause that modifies a noun of place:
My entire family now worships in the church where my great grandfather used to be minister.

The relative pronoun "where" modifies the verb "used to be", but the entire clause ("where my great
grandfather used to be minister") modifies the word "church."

A “when” clause will modify nouns of time:

My favourite month is always February, when we celebrate Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day.

And a why clause will modify the noun “reason”:

Do you know the reason why Isabel isn't in class today?

Positions of Adverb

Adverbs can come in different positions:

 the beginning position,

 the middle position, and

 the end position.

If we have several adverbs together, the usual word order is: Manner - Place - Frequency - Time –
Purpose. Usually only one adverb at a time can occupy the beginning position or the middle position
in a clause. However, more than one adverb at a time can occupy the end position in a clause. (See
this chapter below)

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If a group of words (having a subject and verb) acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a sentence),
it is called an adverb or adverbial clause:
When this class is over, we're going to the movies.

In English we never put an adverb between the verb and the object.

1. Adverbs which modify adjectives and other adverbs

An intensifier is an adverb which is used to modify adjectives and adverbs adding a greater or
lesser emphasis to the meaning: fairly, quite, rather, so, too, very… An intensifier is not usually used
to modify verbs.
As a general rule, these adverbs immediately precede the words they modify:
The package is extremely large.
Buses depart quite regularly.

Intensifiers can emphasize, or tone down:

 Emphasizers:
I really don't believe him.
He literally wrecked his mother's car.
She simply ignored me.
They're going to be late, for sure.
The teacher completely rejected her proposal.
I absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings.

 Downtoners:
I kind of like this college.
Joe sort of felt betrayed by his sister..
We can improve on this to some extent.
The boss almost quit after that.
The school was all but ruined by the storm.

The word “really” is often used as an intensifier in informal English:

The film was really good.
You did that really well.
The adverbs “ago” and “enough” are exceptional, since they usually follow the adjectives or adverbs
they modify:

That happened long ago.

He is old enough to make his own decisions.
We ran fast enough to catch the bus.
Is that music loud enough?
These shoes are not big enough.
She didn't run fast enough to win (followed by an infinitive).

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When “enough” is used as an adjective
modifying a noun, it precedes the noun: Do we
have enough apples to make a pie?
However, when “ago” is used with a noun, it
follows the noun: That happened six months ago.
The reason for this may be found in the history of
the word. “Ago”, formerly spelled “agone”, was
originally a past participle.

The adverb “too” comes before adjectives and

other adverbs: She ran too fast.
If “too” comes after the adverb it probably
means “also” and is usually set off with a
comma:
Jasmine works hard. She works quickly, too.

2. Other types of adverbs

The following table gives examples of six

different types of adverb which can be used to
modify verbs.

Adverbs of Adverbs of Adverbs of Adverbs of Connecting Negative

Frequency Manner Place/location Time Adverbs Adverbs
always carefully ahead again also barely
ever correctly back early consequently hardly
frequently eagerly forward late furthermore little
generally easily here now hence never
never fast high sometime however not
often loudly low then moreover nowhere
rarely patiently near today nevertheless rarely
seldom quickly outside tomorrow otherwise scarcely
sometimes quietly somewhere tonight therefore seldom
usually well there yesterday thus

Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of frequency may occupy:
 The beginning position:
Often the wind blows less strongly at night.

Most adverbs can occupy this position, emphasizing the adverb.

  The middle position:

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 Adverbs of frequency which consist of single words most often occupy this position,
which varies depending on the type of verb used in the sentence. Adverbs in the middle
position occupy the locations indicated below:
1. They follow the Simple Present and Simple Past of the verb “to be”:
We are always on time.

2. They precede the Simple Present and Simple Past of verbs other than “to be”:
He rarely makes a mistake.

3. They follow the first auxiliary, in tenses which have auxiliaries:

I have often wondered about that.

4. They precede the first auxiliary, or the Simple Present or Simple Past of the verb “to
be”, in short answers:
Have you seen this movie before? No, I never have.

In negative statements, and negative questions with “not”, adverbs in the middle
position usually follow the word “not”:
Negative Statement: They do not often miss the bus.
Question with Not: Does he not usually know the answers?

In affirmative questions, and negative questions with the contraction “n't”, adverbs in
the middle position usually follow the subject of the clause:
Affirmative Question: Is it always this cold in February?
Negative question with contraction (“n't”): Doesn't he usually know the answers?

It should be noted that the adverbs daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and annually usually
do not occupy the middle position of a clause.

  The end position:

That is, after an intransitive verb, or after the direct object of a transitive verb:
He speaks seldom. / I visit her frequently.

Adverb phrases and clauses of frequency usually occupy either the beginning or end position of a
clause:
Once in a while, I like to try something new.
We visited the museum as often as we could.

Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time usually occupy:
 the beginning position of a clause: Today I will go to the library.
 the end position of a clause: I will go to the post office tomorrow.

In the end position, adverbs of time usually follow adverbs of manner and adverbs of location.

With a few exceptions, such as “now”, “then” and “once”, most adverbs of time may not occupy the
middle position of a clause. The adverbs “now”, “then” and “once” may occupy any of the three
positions in a clause:

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  Now it is time to leave.
 It is now time to leave.

 It is time to leave now.

“Sometimes” is an adverb of frequency, whereas “sometime” is an adverb of time.

 I sometimes see him in the park.
 I would like to read that book sometime.

Adverb phrases and clauses of time usually occupy either the beginning or end position of a clause:
At nine o'clock, the train will leave.
I will call you when I am ready.

Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner
  most often occupy the end position: they follow an intransitive verb, or the
direct object of a transitive verb:
We waited patiently for the play to begin.
I sold the strawberries quickly.

 An adverb of manner may be placed at the beginning of a clause, in order to

emphasize the idea expressed by the adverb:
Patiently, we waited for the show to begin.
Quickly, I sold the strawberries.

   Adverbs of manner are often placed in the middle position of a clause,

particularly when the clause contains no adverb of frequency:
I slowly opened the door. [Before the main verb]
I have carefully considered all of the possibilities. [Between the auxiliary verb and the
participle of the main verb]

Adverbial phrases and clauses of manner usually occupy the end position of a clause.
We arrived on foot.
We finished the work as quickly as we could.

Adverbial phrases and clauses of manner are sometimes placed at the beginning of a clause, for
emphasis: As quickly as we could, we finished the work.

Connecting adverbs:
They are often used to connect the ideas expressed by the clauses in which they occur
to ideas expressed in previous clauses: however, nevertheless, therefore. A connecting
adverb is usually separated by commas from the rest of the sentence.

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  Connecting adverbs are often placed at the beginning of a clause:
I would like to go skiing. However, I have too much work to do.
She was very busy; nevertheless, she found time to go swimming.

   Many connecting adverbs may be placed in the middle position of a clause.

This is often done when the clause contains no adverb of frequency.
I am, nevertheless, anxious to continue.
We thus had no difficulty finding the motel.
We have, therefore, decided to do it.

The adverb however may occupy any of the three positions in a clause:
However, it has stopped snowing.
It has, however, stopped snowing.
It has stopped snowing, however.

Connecting adverbial phrases are most often placed at the beginning of a clause: As a result, I
decided to study hard.

Adverb phrases and clauses of purpose

  Adverb phrases and clauses of purpose usually occupy the end position of a
clause, and follow any other adverbs, or adverb phrases or clauses:
I went to the store yesterday to buy a coat.
I need to buy a new coat soon because my old one is worn out.

 Adverb phrases or clauses of purpose are sometimes placed at the beginning
of a clause, for emphasis, usually followed by a comma:
To reach the airport on time, we had to complete the trip in two hours.
Because it was such a beautiful day, I decided to go for a walk.

Adverbs of place (or location)

  Adverbs of place, and adverb phrases and clauses of place, most often occupy
the end position of a clause, where they precede adverbs of time and adverbs of
purpose:
I am going there tomorrow.
He left his bicycle in the driveway last night.

If the verb of a sentence is not a verb of movement (or motion), the most usual order of
the different types of adverb in the end position of a clause is as follows:

We waited patiently outside the theatre all afternoon to buy tickets.

Manner Place Time Purpose

When the verb of a clause is a verb of movement (or motion), any adverb/adverbial of
place (or location) is usually placed immediately after the verb.

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 I will go to the library by bus tomorrow to return the book.
Location Manner Time Purpose

The most usual position of adverbs following a verb: the order of the adverbs following
the two types of verb is the same except for the relative order of the adverb of location
and the adverb of manner.

Verb Verb of movement

Manner Place
Place Manner
Time Time
Purpose Purpose

 Adverbs and adverb phrases and clauses of place are sometimes located at the
beginning of a clause, for emphasis:
Here, the glacier deposited soil and rocks.
On the way to school, she saw a robin building its nest.

Adverbs of place (or location) usually cannot be placed in the middle position of a
clause.

Inverted word order

When used with a verb of motion, an adverb or adverbial phrase of place (or location)
may be placed at the beginning of a clause, followed immediately by the verb, followed
by the noun subject of the verb. This construction is summarized below:

adverb phrase of location + verb of motion + noun subject

Up the hill trundled the train.
Here come our friends.

If the subject of the verb is a personal pronoun, the subject must precede the verb:

adverb phrase of location + pronoun subject + verb of motion

Up the hill it trundled.
Here they come.

“Here” and “there”

These words, indicating location, are often used at initial position, followed by “to be”.
In this construction,
 If the subject is a noun, the subject follows the verb: Here are the tickets. / There was
our bus.
 But if the subject is a personal pronoun, the subject precedes the verb: Here they are. /
There it was.

When the subject follows the verb, care must be taken to make sure that the verb
agrees with its subject:
Here is one of the examples.

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 There are his aunt and uncle.
In the first example, the verb “is” is singular to agree with the singular subject “one”. In
the second example, the verb “are” is plural to agree with the plural subject “his aunt
and uncle”.

“There” used as an introductory word

In addition to being used to indicate location, “there” can also be used as an
introductory word,
 in clauses indicating the existence of something, and
 with verbs such as “to be”, “to appear” and “to seem”

There is a public holiday on Monday.

There are three universities in the city.
There seem to be two possible answers to this question.

In affirmative statements with this construction, the subject follows the verb:
There are only twenty-four hours in a day.
There seems to be a message for you.

In questions with this construction, “there” follows the verb in the case of the Simple
Present or Simple Past of the verb “to be”; otherwise, “there” follows the first auxiliary.
In the case of the Simple Present and Simple Past of verbs other than “to be”, the
auxiliary “to do” must be used:
Is there a post office near here? [Simple Present]
Were there many people on the train? [Simple Past]
Can there be any doubt about it? [Follows the first auxiliary]
Do there seem to be any maple trees in this forest? [Simple Present/Simple Past of other
verbs]

Negative adverbs
Negative adverbs include:
 Adverbs with an explicit negative meaning, such as never, not and nowhere, as well as
 Adverbs with an implied negative meaning, such as hardly, scarcely and seldom.

Double negatives: there is a rule that a clause containing one negative word expresses
a negative meaning, but a clause with two negative words expressed an affirmative
meaning. In this second case, it is considered that one of these words negates the other,
so that an affirmative meaning results. The presence of two negative words in a clause is
referred to as a double negative. In some dialects of English, clauses with two negative
words may express a negative meaning.

 Inverted word order

If a clause begins with a negative adverb, inverted word order must usually be used,
with the subject following the auxiliary verb: “to be”, “to have” or “to do”:

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Negative adverb / auxiliary verb + subject
adverbial phrase +
Never before was I so eager to reach home.
Little did we think we would meet again.
Seldom had they tasted such a delicacy.
Scarcely had we left the house, when it began to rain.
Not for many years was the true story known.
No sooner did the bell ring than the children ran out of the school.
Seldom were there* more than five ducks on the pond.
Rarely had there* been more swans on the lake than there were that day.

*Note that “there” behaves like the subject, following the auxiliary verb.

Interrogative adverbs

 The adverbs “how”, “when”, “where” and “why” can be used as interrogative
adverbs at the beginning of direct questions.
How are you?
When is he coming?
Where were you?
Why did you say that?

   “How”, “when”, “where” and “why” can also be used at the beginning of
subordinate clauses:
Be ready to start when you hear the signal.
He camped close to where the brook flows into the lake.

   “How”, “when”, “where” and “why” can also be used at the beginning of
indirect questions:
I want to know how he did that.
I wonder when they will arrive.
Please tell me where the school is.
I will ask why she left early.

As pointed out previously, inverted word order is not used in indirect questions. Thus,
the subject of an indirect question precedes the verb:
We should find out how the information was transmitted.
Ask her when she will be here.
I wonder where they are.
Please find out why he could not come with us.

If for a tranquil mind you seek,

These things observe with care:
Of whom you speak, to whom you speak,
And how, and when and where.
Anonymous

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Order of Adverbs

There is a basic order in which adverbs will appear when there is more than one.
It is similar to the order of adjectives, but it is even more flexible.

Subj+Verb Manner Place Frequency Time Purpose

Mum swims enthusiastically in the pool every morning before dawn to keep in shape.
Dad walks impatiently into town every afternoon before supper to get a
newspaper.
She naps in her room every morning before lunch.

In practice, it would be highly unusual to have more than two or three (at the most) adverbial
phrases. Because the position of adverbs is so flexible, one or two of them would probably move to
the beginning of the sentence:
Every afternoon (Frequency) before supper (Time), Dad impatiently (Manner) walks into town (Place)
to get a newspaper (Purpose).

When that happens, the introductory adverbial modifiers are usually set off with a comma.

More notes on adverb order

 As a general principle, shorter adverbial phrases precede longer adverbial phrases,

regardless of content. In the following sentence, an adverb of time precedes an adverbial
phrase of frequency because it is shorter (and simpler):

Dad takes a brisk walk before breakfast (Time) every day of his life (Frequency).

 A second principle: among similar adverbial phrases of kind (manner, place, frequency, etc.)
the more specific adverbial phrase comes first:

My grandmother was born in a sod house on the plains of northern Nebraska.

She promised to meet him for lunch next Tuesday.

 Bringing an adverbial modifier to the beginning of the sentence can place special emphasis
on that modifier. This is particularly useful with adverbs of manner:

Slowly, ever so carefully, Jesse filled the coffee cup up to the brim, even above the brim.
Occasionally, but only occasionally, one of these lemons will get by the inspectors.

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