Year 4 · English · Language
Adverbs
Using words such as 'quickly', 'yesterday' and 'outside' to tell how, when and where an action happens.
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These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to UK year groups by age (Year 1 is the year a child turns 6 in England). They are not mapped to the National Curriculum in England or the curricula of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, so check them against your own plans.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Recognise adverbs as words that tell more about a verb.
- Use adverbs to tell how, when and where an action happens.
- Choose precise adverbs to make writing clearer and more interesting.
Success looks like
- I can find the adverb in a sentence.
- I can say whether an adverb tells how, when or where.
- I can add an adverb to improve a sentence.
The big idea
A verb tells what someone or something does. An adverb adds more information about the verb. It answers questions such as how?, when? and where?
- How? (manner): The tortoise walked slowly. She sang beautifully. He closed the door gently.
- When? (time): Yesterday we baked bread. We will leave soon. I finished early.
- Where? (place): The children played outside. Come here. The cat ran upstairs.
Many adverbs that tell how end in -ly. We usually make them by adding -ly to a describing word: quick → quickly, soft → softly. If the word ends in y, change the y to i first: happy → happily, easy → easily.
Not every adverb ends in -ly. 'Yesterday', 'soon', 'outside', 'here', 'fast' and 'well' are adverbs too. And not every word ending in -ly is an adverb ('friendly' and 'lovely' describe nouns). The test is the job the word does: does it tell how, when or where the action happens?
Adverbs can move around in a sentence: 'Yesterday we went to the market' and 'We went to the market yesterday' both work. Choosing the right adverb helps readers picture the action: 'She closed the door quietly' paints a very different picture from 'She closed the door angrily'.
Worked examples
Finding the adverb
Find the adverb in: 'The puppy barked loudly.'
- Find the verb: 'barked'.
- Ask: how did it bark? Loudly.
- 'Loudly' tells how, so it is an adverb of manner.
Answer: 'loudly' (tells how)
How, when or where?
What does the adverb tell in: 'We played outside after lunch'?
- Find the verb: 'played'.
- Ask how, when or where. Where did we play? Outside.
- 'Outside' tells where.
Answer: 'outside' tells where.
Improving a sentence
Improve 'The girl ran.' with an adverb that tells how.
- Think about how she might have run: quickly, nervously, happily.
- Choose one that fits the story, for example 'quickly'.
- 'The girl ran quickly.' or, for more effect, 'The girl ran quickly to catch the bus.'
Answer: The girl ran quickly.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
Which word is the adverb in: 'The tortoise walked slowly.'?
slowly — 'Slowly' tells how the tortoise walked.
'Yesterday we baked bread.' What does 'yesterday' tell us?
when — 'Yesterday' tells when we baked bread.
'The children played outside.' What does 'outside' tell us?
where — 'Outside' tells where the children played.
Choose the best adverb: 'The baby was asleep, so we spoke ___.'
quietly — We speak quietly so we don't wake a sleeping baby.
Which sentence has an adverb that tells how?
She sang beautifully. — 'Beautifully' tells how she sang. 'Today' tells when and 'upstairs' tells where.
Turn 'quick' into an adverb by adding -ly. Type the word.
quickly — quick + ly = quickly.
Turn 'happy' into an adverb (change the y to i, then add -ly). Type the word.
happily — happy → happi + ly = happily.
Type the adverb in: 'Leo finished his chores early.'
early — 'Early' tells when Leo finished.
Watch out for
- Thinking every adverb ends in -ly. 'Soon', 'here', 'outside', 'fast' and 'yesterday' are adverbs too.
- Thinking every -ly word is an adverb. 'A friendly dog' uses 'friendly' to describe a noun, so it is an adjective.
- Spelling 'happyly' or 'easyly'. Change the y to i before adding -ly.
Tips for parents
- Play 'In the manner of the word': your child does an action (brushing hair, walking) in the manner of an adverb you choose, such as 'sleepily'.
- When reading, pause on an adverb and ask, 'Does this tell how, when or where?'
- Encourage your child to choose one or two strong adverbs rather than adding one to every verb.
Go further
- Sort a pile of adverb cards into How?, When? and Where? groups.
- Rewrite a short paragraph three times with different adverbs and talk about how the mood changes.
- Make an adverb word wall of 'better than very' words, such as 'extremely', 'barely' and 'eagerly'.
About 30 minutes
You'll need
- Three cards labelled How?, When? and Where?
- A list of verbs on paper (walk, eat, sing, jump, whisper)
- Pencils and lined paper
Key words
- verb
- A doing or being word, such as 'run', 'sing' or 'is'.
- adverb
- A word that tells more about a verb, such as how, when or where something happens.
- adverb of manner
- An adverb that tells how, such as 'quickly' or 'carefully'.
- adverb of time
- An adverb that tells when, such as 'yesterday' or 'soon'.
- adverb of place
- An adverb that tells where, such as 'outside' or 'here'.
Still tricky?
For parents
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