Adverbial Phrases in English

Adverbial phrases ensure your sentences are more precise and help with the tone.

In this lesson, you’ll learn some common phrases and practise using them.

What are the common adverbial phrases?

Time

  • Continuously
  • Simultaneously
  • For good (permanently)

Emphasis

  • Arguably
  • Admittedly
  • Unsurprisingly
  • Triumphantly

Degree and Manner

  • Utterly
  • Substantially
  • Relentlessly
  • Profusely

Structure

Adverbial phrases can be used in different advanced structures such as:

  • Fronting
  • Inversion

Examples

Unsurprisingly, the company’s profits increased substantially after the policy change.
Continuously and relentlessly, she worked on the project until she completed it for good.
Never had he triumphantly celebrated so profusely, even though the team had been training simultaneously for months.

Practise

Drag the words into the correct sentences.

Common mistakes learners make

  • Confusing time meanings
  • Using ‘for good’ incorrectly
  • Wrong position of adverbs

Common mistakes learners make

  • Confusing time meanings
  • Using ‘for good’ incorrectly
  • Wrong position of adverbs