How many adverbs can you find in this sentence?
If you listen really attentively to any conversation, you will probably find that adverbs have been used surprisingly often as they are phenomenally useful both as descriptive modifiers and as intensifiers, providing a most effective means of indicating whether we are especially interested in a topic of conversation or merely moderately interested or perhaps totally lacking in interest.
Did you find 12 adverbs when you read that sentence? (Click to check your answers.)
See if you can work out which word each adverb is modifying. Hover over (or click) an adverb, to highlight the word it is modifying. Some adverbs will be modified by other adverbs.
The sentence above illustrates the three uses of adverbs:
- they modify verbs: listen attentively; will probably find; have been used... often; are especially interested; (are) moderately interested; (are) totally lacking
- they modify adjectives: phenomenally useful; most effective
- they modify other adverbs: really attentively; surprisingly often; merely moderately, perhaps totally