Author: Indigo Curnick
Date: 2026-09-26
Introduction
This blog is part of a series on phrases and clauses, the hub of which you can find here.
The main word in an adverb phrase is an adverb. We looked at adverbs briefly here. The structure is an adverb with some optional pre-modifiers or some optional post-modifiers. The structure is:
- (pre-modifiers) adverb (post-modifiers)
Some examples
- Adverb: surprisingly
- Pre-modifider + adverb: very surprisingly
- Adverb + post-modifier: surprisingly for her
- Pre-modifier + adverb + post-modifier: very surprisingly for her
Pre-Modifiers
The pre-modifiers of adverb phrases typically express degree, emphasis, approximation, or comparison. They are usually themselves adverbs. Essentially there are three categories: degree modifiers, intensifying modifiers and comparative modifiders.
First, degree modifiers specify how much of the main adverb there is. Typical degree modifiers include:
- very
- quite
- rather
- too
- so
- almost
- nearly
- barely
For example:
- very slowly
- too quickly
- almost instantly
The intensifying modifiers either hype up or diminish the adjective. Typical intensifiers include:
- really
- utterly
- surprisingly
- incredibly
- pointlessly
For example:
- really well
- utterly hopelessly
- incredibly quickly
- pointlessly carefully
Finally the comparative modifiers compare the adverb against some other state. Typical comparators include:
- much
- far
- a lot more
- much less
- slightly
- even
For example:
- much sooner
- far better
- much less loudly
- even earlier
Post-Modifiers
Post-modifiers for adverb phrases are much richer than pre-modifiers. There are a few different kinds that we'll look at.
Prepositional Phrase
The most common kind of adverb phrase post-modifier is the prepositional phrase. I won't cover all the details of prepositional phrases here (that's for another blog), but in short, they are phrases which begin with a preposition. TODO: Link
Some examples:
- independently of the committee
- similarly to that one
- fortunately for us
- separately from the others
- locally in the town
Infinitive Phrase
A very common kind of post-modifier for adverb phrases is an infinitive phrase. Again, I won't cover all the details of the infinitive phrase here (again, for another blog), but in short they are phrases which begin with a verb in the infinitive form. The infinitive is the to form of the verb e.g. to help, to see, to run.
Some examples:
- early to catch the train
- enough to graduate
- slowly to matter
- independently to survive
Comparative Phrase
Comparative phrases are a relatively common adverb phrase post-modifier. As expected, I won't cover them in detail but in short they begin with a comparative word, for example, like, than, as. Usually when used in adverb phrases, these start with than. For example:
- sooner than expected
- quicker than imagined
- other than specified
Finite Clause
Finite clauses are clauses which contain a verb which shows tense. These can appear as post-modifiers of adverb phrases, though they are a little less common:
- independently of what they decided
- similarly to how they behaved
- sooner than we expected
Purpose of Adverb Phrases
Traditionally, we think of adverb phrases as coming in four kinds based on their purpose:
- Adverb phrase of time
- Adverb phrase of place
- Adverb phrase of manner
- Adverb phrase of reason
An adverb phrase of time states when something happens, or how often, for example:
- It will be ready in a minute.
- After the game, we go into town.
- They arrived very recently.
An adverb phrase of place states where something happens, for example:
- He was sitting in the front.
- She lives somewhere nearby.
- It's upstairs.
An adverb phrase of manner states how or in what way something is done, for example:
- It worked remarkably well.
- He closed the door very carefully, as to not make a noise.
- They went about their work with great optimism.
An adverb phrase of reason states why or for what purpose something is done, for example:
- He went to the town to find his sister.
- We lost that match due to playing recklessly.
- We go to work in order to make money.
Conclusion
We've seen plenty of uses of adverb phrases in this blog. While we haven't covered every single possible use and detail of adverb phrases, this should be more than enough to allow you to identify them in sentences. Recall in particular the structure of an adverb phrase:
- (pre-modifiers) adverb (post-modifiers)
References
Murray, L. (1859 (1795)) English Grammar Adapted to the Different Classes of Learners. With an Appendix, Containing Rules and Observations, for Assisting the More Advanced Students to Write with Perspicuity and Accuracy. John Murphy & Co.
Greenbaum, S., Nelson, G. (2002) An Introduction to English Grammar. Pearson Education Limited
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., Svartik, J. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Longman.
Collins Editors, (2017). Cobuild English Grammar. Harper Collins Publishers.