English Grammar Mind Map · SSC / BPSC / BSSC
An Adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, and another adverb.
Each is explored in detail in the next tab, along with sentence-function labels (AOT, AOP, AOF, AOD, AOR, AOM) used to identify what kind of adverb is present in a sentence.
today, tomorrow, yesterday, the day before yesterday, etc.
She came yesterday.
here, there, everywhere, nowhere, etc.
He went there.
always, seldom, never, hardly, frequently, etc.
I always go to college.
too, very, much, quite, etc.
She is very beautiful.
consequently, therefore, hence.
I therefore left college.
Shows how an action is done — typically formed with -ly.
She sings beautifully. They fought bravely.
| # | Sentence | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | She came yesterday. | AOT |
| 2 | He went there. | AOP |
| 3 | I always go to college. | AOF |
| 4 | She is very beautiful. | AOD |
| 5 | I therefore left college. | AOR |
Used to ask questions about time, place, frequency, degree, reason, or manner.
| # | Type | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adverb of Time | when, how long |
| 2 | Adverb of Place | where, whence, whither |
| 3 | Adverb of Frequency | how often, how many times |
| 4 | Adverb of Degree | how much, how far |
| 5 | Adverb of Reason | why |
| 6 | Adverb of Manner | how, in what way |
| # | Sentence | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | When did she come? | AOT |
| 2 | Where do they live? | AOP |
| 3 | How often do you go there? | AOF |
| 4 | How much did you pay for this phone? | AOD |
| 5 | Why did you do this? | AOR |
| 6 | How did she behave with you? | AOM |
The relative adverb clearly joins two full clauses.
This is the time when she comes.
Do you know the place where she lives?
The adverb sits within a single reported/embedded clause.
I do not know when he will come.
I know where Rahul lives.
| Adjective + ly = Adverb | Noun + ly = Adjective |
|---|---|
| Wise + ly = wisely | Friend + ly = friendly |
| Beautiful + ly = beautifully | Brother + ly = brotherly |
| Honest + ly = honestly | Man + ly = manly |
| Careful + ly = carefully |
| Word | Breakdown | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Cowardly | Coward + ly | Adjective |
| Timely | Time + ly | Adjective |
| Amazingly | Amazing + ly | Adverb |
| Gladly | Glad + ly | Adverb |
| Earthly | Earth + ly | Adjective |
| Suddenly | Sudden + ly | Adverb |
| Adversely | Adverse + ly | Adverb |
| Oily | Oil + ly | Adjective |
| Talkly | Talk + ly | ✗ Not a valid word |
| Bodily | Body + ly | Adjective |
| Growly | Grow + ly | ✗ Not a valid word |
| Costly | Cost + ly | Adjective |
| Slowly | Slow + ly | Adverb |
| Practically | Practical + ly | Adverb |
| Good Quality ✗ | Bad Quality ✓ |
|---|---|
| too happy | too dull |
| too healthy | too difficult |
| too glad | too careless |
| too strong | too weak |
Note: "Too" is normally used with a bad quality, not a good one.
| Good Quality ✓ | Bad Quality ✓ |
|---|---|
| very good | very bad |
| very active | very dull |
| very easy | very difficult |
Both mean the same thing but attach to different degrees of comparison.
| Very (Positive Degree Adj.) | Much (Comparative Degree Adj.) |
|---|---|
| very good | much better |
| very wise | much wiser |
| very beautiful | much more beautiful |
| Very form | Much form |
|---|---|
| the very best | much the best |
| the very wisest | much the wisest |
| the very most beautiful | much the most beautiful |
| # | Sentence | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | I am too glad. | very glad |
| 2 | This news is too good. | very good |
| 3 | She is too beautiful to be rejected by any young man. | ✓ Correct (too...to structure) |
| 4 | She is much more honest than I. | ✓ Correct |
| 5 | She is much the most diligent girl in the class. | ✓ Correct |
| Fast (Adjective — तेज़) | Fast (Adverb — तेज़ी से) |
|---|---|
| A fast train | Bolt runs fast. / The train is running fast. |
Q. He ran so fastly fast that he reached the destination in just two minutes.
| Late — Adjective (स्वर्गीय) | Late — Adverb (देरी से) |
|---|---|
| My late grandfather | This train will come late. |
| Hard — Adjective (कठोर) | Hard — Adverb (मेहनत से) |
|---|---|
| a hard surface | She works hard. |
| Sentence | Correction |
|---|---|
| She cannot succeed because she works hard. | works hardly |
| He worked hardly and broke all the previous records. | worked hard |
| She works hard; so she is sure to fail. | works hardly |
| Wrong | Correct |
|---|---|
| My father went to London on last Monday. | My father went to London on Monday last. |
| He will go to Shimla on Next Friday. | He will go to Shimla on Friday next. |
| She completed her graduation in last year. | She completed her graduation last year. |
| My grandfather died in last month. | My grandfather died last month. |
Deny, Prevent, Prohibit, Forbid, Hardly
Rarely, Scarcely, Unless, Until, Both
Lest (takes "should", never "not")
| Wrong | Correct |
|---|---|
| He denied that he had not called her. | He denied that he had called her. |
| We are prohibited from not entering the staff room. | We are prohibited from entering the staff room. |
| My father forbade me not to see Mohit again. | My father forbade me to see Mohit again. |
| # | Sentence |
|---|---|
| 1 | Unless you study diligently, you'll never understand trigonometry. |
| 2 | Until she accepts my apology, I will not leave. |
| 3 | Neither of the girls has brought the flowers. |
| 4 | If your hands are dirty, don't touch your new dress, lest you should spoil it. |
| 5 | He noted that long-distance firms are still prohibited from accessing certain local phone services, such as high-volume calling plans. |
| 6 | Our director would not have signed the contract unless she had had a lawyer present. |
| 7 | You won't be able to get a ticket for the match unless you're prepared to pay a lot of money for it. |
| 8 | The woodman stirred the fire until the flames leaped high and the sparks flew out of the roof hole. |
| 9 | That was the end of the conversation and neither of them brought the subject up again that night. |
| 10 | I make it a rule to read the newspaper everyday lest I should fall behind the times. |
Frequency adverbs: Hardly, Rarely, Scarcely, Always, Seldom, Never, Certainly, Occasionally, Frequently, Generally, Often, etc.
| Wrong | Correct |
|---|---|
| I will miss you certainly. | I will certainly miss you. |
| She goes to college hardly. | She hardly goes to college. |
| She has seldom eaten chicken. |
| General | Inversion |
|---|---|
| I have never gone there. | Never have I gone there. |
| She has seldom eaten chicken. | Seldom has she eaten chicken. |
| She hardly goes to college. | Hardly does she go to college. |
| They rarely talk to each other. | Rarely do they talk to each other. |
| He hardly went to college. | Hardly did he go to college. |
| General | Inversion |
|---|---|
| He had hardly opened the door when the two strangers entered the house. | Hardly had he opened the door when the two strangers entered the house. |
| We had scarcely reached home when it started raining. | Scarcely had we reached home when it started raining. |
| The bell rang and the students came out of the class. | No sooner did the bell ring than the students came out of the class. |
| She finished cooking and some guest arrived. | No sooner did she finish cooking than some guest arrived. |
| She behaved so rudely that everyone got offended. | So rudely did she behave that everyone got offended. |
| She performed so well that everybody got impressed. | So well did she perform that everybody got impressed. |
| Not only she read but she also wrote. | Not only did she read but she also wrote. |
| She forgot my birthday and also didn't apologise for forgetting it. | Not only did she forget my birthday, but she also didn't apologise for forgetting it. |
| He went there. | So did I. (Affirmative) |
| He did not go there. | Neither/Nor did I. (Negative) |
| # | Sentence | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | She answered the police officer's questions truthful because there is nothing to hide since she just defended herself from the hooligans. | truthfully |
| 2 | Adam expert maneuvered the components of the machine into their proper positions. | expertly |
| 3 | Jenn is reading so quick that it is difficult to understand even a single word. I don't know how she is selected for the debate team. | quickly |
| 4 | I am full of energy today because I slept sound last night. Sleep meditation along with aromatherapy really helps in calming your senses. | soundly |
| 5 | Her outfit showcased her delightful quirky personality and you shouldn't judge her based on her dressing style because everyone is free to dress the way they want to without any inhibitions. | delightfully |
| 6 | All of them work very carefully right from the beginning till they finish. | No Error |
| 7 | More than half the food products targeted at babies and toddlers have a high sugar content and are excessive sweet. | excessively |
| 8 | She was so emotional stable that she was not moved by their decision to suspend her. | emotionally |
| # | Sentence | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohini won this beauty pageant because she is too smart and compassionate. This proves that international pageants are moving ahead from the patriarchal norms and becoming more inclusive and intellectual. | very |
| 2 | Time is very important than money. At the end of your life, it's guaranteed you will be out of time and more than likely out of money as well, if you don't value time. | much more |
| 3 | The famine was very severe that several people perished. Even the rich faced the burnt because of the lack of resources in the market. | so |
| 4 | Climbing plants had grown over the walls, giving the building an appearance very more ancient than it was before. | much more |
| 5 | It was much difficult to come out because the stadium was full of viewers altogether. | too |
| 6 | The policies framed by the Kerala state government nowadays are much good as compared to the previous policies. Undoubtedly it is an ideal example of how a well-governed state should operate. | much better |
| 7 | This is the much lowest price I can offer for the quality like this. If you have any doubts you are free to search the market for a price lower than the one I offered. | much the |
| 8 | The night was too cold that we had to wear two coats because we forgot to bring the jackets since the weather forecast wasn't indicating such a huge drop in the temperature. | so |
| 9 | He ran so fastly that he reached the destination in just two minutes. | fast |
| # | Sentence | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scarcely she had drunk the magic liquid then she began to see everything in strange and vivid colours. | had she ... when |
| 2 | No sooner the train had arrived at the station then the passengers rushed towards it. | had the train ... than |
| 3 | So nicely they organised the event that it was hard to tell that they are going through a financial crisis. | did they organise |
| 4 | Rarely I have a chance to read fiction. | do I have |
| 5 | No sooner did the watchman saw the chairman than he started saluting. | see |
| Topic | Key Rule / Fact |
|---|---|
| Definition | Adverb modifies a Verb, Adjective, or another Adverb; also qualifies a Preposition or Conjunction. |
| 3 Kinds | Simple, Interrogative, Relative |
| Simple Adverb — 6 types | Time (AOT), Place (AOP), Frequency (AOF), Degree (AOD), Reason (AOR), Manner (AOM) |
| Interrogative Adverb | Same words as Relative Adverb (when, where, why, how) but used to ASK a question |
| Relative Adverb | Same words but CONNECTS two sentences; can be Explicit (full clause joined) or Implicit (embedded) |
| Formation — Adj + ly | Adjective + ly = Adverb (wise→wisely, honest→honestly) |
| Formation — Noun + ly | Noun + ly = Adjective (friend→friendly, man→manly) — a major exam trap |
| Too | Means "more than required"; normally used with BAD qualities only (too dull, too weak) |
| Too...to structure | too + Adj + to + V1 (इतना...की) / too + Adj + to be + V3 (negative tone) — here good/bad both allowed |
| Too...to = So...that | too beautiful to be rejected = so beautiful that she cannot be rejected |
| Very | Means "in great degree"; used with BOTH good and bad qualities; goes with Positive Degree adjective |
| Much | Used with Comparative/Superlative Degree adjective (much better, much the best) |
| Very = Much (superlative) | The + very + superlative = much + the + superlative (the very best = much the best) |
| Fast / Fastly | "Fastly" does NOT exist — "Fast" is both Adjective and Adverb |
| Late / Lately | Late = Adj (स्वर्गीय) / Adv (देरी से); Lately = Adv only, means "recently," used with Present Perfect |
| Hard / Hardly | Hard = Adj (कठोर) / Adv (मेहनत से); Hardly = Adv meaning "scarcely" — opposite meaning, not a degree variant |
| Adverb + Preposition (time) | Never "on next/last Monday" or "in last week" — correct: "on Monday next/last", drop preposition before last week/month/year |
| Double Negative — never use "not" with | Deny, Prevent, Prohibit, Forbid, Hardly, Rarely, Scarcely, Unless, Until, Both, Lest |
| Lest | Always followed by "should," never "should not"/"may not" — the negative sense is built-in |
| Position of frequency adverbs | Hardly, Rarely, Scarcely, Always, Seldom, Never, Certainly, Occasionally, Frequently, Generally, Often — go between HV and MV or before MV |
| Inversion structure | Adverb + Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb |
| Words triggering Inversion | Hardly, Rarely, Scarcely, Seldom, Never |
| Hardly/Rarely/Scarcely connector | ...+ when (never "than"/"then") |
| No sooner | Always used with Inversion; always followed by "than" (never "then"/"that") |
| So + Adverb | Can be used with Inversion (So rudely did she behave that...) |
| Not only...but also | Inversion can be made with "not only" (Not only did she read but she also wrote) |
| So / Neither-Nor | Also used with Inversion for agreement — So did I (affirmative), Neither/Nor did I (negative) |