adverb

Grammatical part of speech for words that modify or describe verbs (‘she ran quickly’), adjectives (‘a beautifully clear day’), and adverbs (‘they did it really well’).

Most adverbs are formed from adjectives or past participles by adding -ly (quick: quickly) or -ally (automatic: automatically).

Sometimes adverbs are formed by adding -wise (likewise and clockwise, as in ‘moving clockwise’).

Some adverbs have a distinct form from their partnering adjective: good (adjective) becomes well (adverb), as in ‘it was good work; they did it well’). Others do not derive from adjectives: very (‘very nice’) tomorrow (‘I'll do it tomorrow’). Some adverbs, on the other hand, are the same as adjectives: pretty (‘it's pretty good’).

Sentence adverbs modify whole sentences or phrases: ‘Generally, it rains a lot here’; ‘Usually, the town is busy at this time of year.’