What is Adverb Phrase
A phrase is a group of words that do not contain a complete thought. An adverb phrase is a group of words that functions as an adverb. An adverb is used to modify a verb, adjective or another adverb. Therefore, adverb phrases too can be used for these functions.
Adverb phrases express how, where, when, how often, how long and why something happens. Consequently, they can be grouped into various categories based on the type of information they convey. Before looking at different types of adverb phrases, let us first look at some examples of adverb phrases.
Examples of Adverb Phrases
I’ll see you in a minute.
The cat slept on the sofa.
She spoke very gently.
Hannah fell asleep holding a mystery novel.
That girl is behaving incredibly foolishly.
Unfortunately for them, the train was late by 2 hours.
Time goes very quickly.
They sold their old house two months ago.
We’ll be there as soon as possible.
Without a doubt, she is the most talented girl I’ve ever seen.
The little bird perched on a branch.
Note that when the verb phrase is at the beginning of the sentence, a comma is used to separate it from the rest of the sentence.
These adverbs can be grouped into various types depending on the type of information they present.
Manner: Adverb phrases that describe how something happens
She rubbed the baby’s back very gently.
She sings with the voice of an angel.
Time: Adverb phrases that describe when something happens
I’ll come there as soon as possible.
We left the theater at the end of the second act.
Place: Adverb phrases that describe where something happens
I met him at St. Mary’s Church.
He kept the money on the table.
Duration: Adverb phrases that describe how long something happens.
I’m going out for few minutes.
The medicine will dull the pain for a few hours.
Frequency: Adverb phrases that describe how often something happens.
Every now and then, we see her on the street.
They almost never go out during the weekends.
Degree: Adverb phrases that describe to what degree or how much something happens.
I love her very much.
He is incredibly handsome.
In addition, adverb phrases can be also used to express speaker’s opinion, perspective or ideas about something. For example,
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t understand a single word.
In my opinion, this is a very serious issue.
Adverb Phrase – Summary
- An adverb phrase is a group of words that function as an adverb.
- Adverb phrases express how, where, when, how often, how long and why something happens.
- They can be grouped into different types based on the type of information they present.
- Adverb phrases of time, manner, place, degree, frequency, etc. are some of these types.
