Adverbial Phrase: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what an adverbial phrase is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on adverbial phrases, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What is an adverbial phrase?

According to Your Dictionary, adverbial phrases, also known as adverb phrases or adverbial clauses/adverb clauses, modify a verb, infinitive phrase, adjective or another adverb and function as an adverb modifying another word. This could be an infinitive verb, single adverb, and more. These multi-word expressions are a group of words that usually answer the questions of how, where, why or when something was done. These may contain a prepositional phrase, or be a prepositional phrase acting as an adverb. The different types of adverb phrases are those that describe how, where, why, and when, adjunct adverbials, disjunct adverbials, conjunct adverbials, adverbial phrase of time states, adverbs of place, and more.

While an adjective describes a noun or main subject, adverbs describe predicates. There are many types of phrases that can be used in a sentence, including a verb phrase or other qualifier. Knowing subject-verb combination and other grammar terms can eliminate confusion.

What are examples of adverbial phrases?

An adverbial phrase can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are many examples of adverbial phrases from Your Dictionary and Learn Grammar that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. The first sentence, second sentence, third sentence, and all other sentences contain adverbial phrases.

  •  Mary needs to drive her new car much more carefully.
  •  David runs five miles every day for soccer.
  •  She went online for more information.
  •  Are you thinking in this way?
  •  They have a house right by the ocean.
  •  This product is available in all places.
  •  We strolled through the vegetable gardens very slowly.
  •  I will meet you tomorrow at the mailbox.
  •  She responded very rudely, for pity’s sake.
  •  We are working so hard to complete the project.
  •  Bob is trying to win the game by hook or by crook.
  •  We will reconvene earlier than usual.
  •  I will not do that, never in a million years!
  •  Truly happy, I gave him my answer which rolled off my tongue.
  •  The dog came in for his bath, incredibly reluctantly.
  •  I saw a lot of trash beside the highway.
  •  Sometimes I don’t clean under the bed.
  •  Take this medication as often as needed.
  •  The student is trying heart and soul to pass the exam.
  •  He stood on this very spot and lied to me.
  •  Don’t talk to me in that tone.
  •  I came here yesterday for the worksheets.
  •  Once upon a time, the lady lived here.
  •  The mystery books were placed next to the crime dramas.
  •  At every turn, problems blocked his path.
  •  So as not to disturb anyone, Michelle tiptoed to bed.
  •  Meet me at the mall later this evening.
  •  We are going to watch a movie on Friday.
  •  John was walking so quickly.
  •  She flew the plane through the fog calmly and skillfully.
  •  The man was shouting very loudly.
  •  Bob nodded like a bobblehead.
  •  The children opened their presents with delight.
  •  Jeff was speaking so roughly.
  •  Next year Jack will come here.
  •  In the forest, many creatures snarl and growl.
  •  Put the flowers by the birdbath.
  •  Dad spoke softly to calm her fears.
  •  Jose always arrives sooner than the other students.
  •  Samantha is trying to do the work quickly.
  •  Sam said it in a polite way.
  •  Come closer to get a better look.
  •  You need to wash your hands better than that.
  •  He decided to join a gym to get in shape.
  •  You are walking so slowly.
  •  The seamstress mended the hem with needle and thread.
  •  She slammed the door in a huff.
  •  They must kiss before sunset to break the spell.
  •  The man seldom comes here.
  •  She took some time off for a much-needed vacation.
  •  The parade coursed around the town square.
  •  I made them understand the plan in an easy way.
  •  The oath was recited somewhat hesitantly.
  •  Alana spoke in a low voice.
  •  Without thinking, he turned down the road.
  •  He made his decision as quickly as possible.
  •  He performed the tasks without care.
  •  They came in a group to make us understand.
  •  To see the view, Harry climbed to the peak.
  •  The line was moving frustratingly slowly.

What are other literary techniques and devices?

There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you. 

  •  accusative
  •  direct speech
  •  parenthetical | parenthetically
  •  quasi-
  •  perfect
  •  interjection
  •  gerund
  •  possessive pronoun
  •  article
  •  number
  •  main verb
  •  combining form (comb. form)
  •  prepositional passive
  •  adverb (adv.)
  •  declarative
  •  present tense
  •  element
  •  anticipatory
  •  construed (const., constr.)
  •  conditional
  •  stem
  •  vocative
  •  neuter
  •  attributive
  •  periphrasis | periphrastic
  •  suffix
  •  determiner
  •  head
  •  complement
  •  comparative
  •  subject
  •  bare infinitive
  •  indirect speech
  •  dative
  •  interrogative
  •  cataphoric
  •  agree | agreement
  •  adjective
  •  indirect passive
  •  noun phrase
  •  case
  •  complementary
  •  second person
  •  modal verb | modal auxiliary verb | modal auxiliary
  •  subjunctive
  •  dual
  •  prepositional object
  •  direct question
  •  past participle
  •  locative
  •  mass noun
  •  pronoun (pron.)
  •  collective noun
  •  combination
  •  copular verb | copula
  •  participial adjective
  •  indirect question
  •  direct object
  •  preposition (prep.)
  •  anaphoric
  •  indirect object
  •  subjective
  •  pro-form
  •  unmarked genitive
  •  reflexive
  •  non-finite
  •  passive
  •  concrete
  •  postmodify | postmodifier
  •  double object
  •  possessive adjective
  •  to-infinitive
  •  modify | modifier
  •  noun (n.)
  •  intensifier
  •  ellipsis | elliptical
  •  possessive
  •  main clause
  •  instrumental
  •  construction
  •  predicative
  •  masculine
  •  premodify | premodifier
  •  demonstrative
  •  prepositional phrase
  •  morpheme
  •  clause
  •  auxiliary verb | auxiliary
  •  pleonasm | pleonastic
  •  zero
  •  impersonal (impers.)
  •  genitive
  •  plural
  •  past tense
  •  proper noun | proper name
  •  personal pronoun
  •  optative
  •  adverbial | adverbially
  •  transitive
  •  prefix
  •  conjunction (conj.)
  •  active
  •  definite article
  •  indefinite
  •  passive infinitive
  •  verb (v.)
  •  agent noun
  •  person
  •  base form
  •  protasis
  •  parasynthetic
  •  participle | past participle | present participle
  •  progressive
  •  positive
  •  collocation | collocate
  •  abstract
  •  tense
  •  absolute (absol.)
  •  object | direct object | indirect object
  •  first person
  •  apodosis and protasis
  •  dependent clause
  •  special use
  •  mood
  •  cognate object
  •  non-referential
  •  nominal relative | nominal relative clause
  •  indicative
  •  superlative
  •  inflection | inflected | inflectional
  •  present participle
  •  singular
  •  objective
  •  apposition
  •  gender
  •  phrasal verb
  •  part of speech
  •  filler
  •  relative
  •  appositive
  •  third-person
  •  nominative
  •  compound | compounding
  •  count noun
  •  feminine
  •  finite
  •  verbal noun
  •  imperative (imper.)
  •  causative
  •  sentence adverb |sentence adverbial
  •  subordinate clause
  •  antecedent
  •  intransitive
  •  simple
  •  common noun
  •  phrase (phr.)
  •  that-clause
  •  similative
  •  infinitive

Overall, an adverbial phrase is a group of words that describe a verb.

Sources:

  1. Glossary of grammatical terms | OED 
  2. Examples of Adverbial Phrase | Learn English 
  3. Adverb Phrase Examples | Your Dictionary