19 Adverbs to Express Your Opinion in English | Build Your Vocabulary

Hey, I'm Annemarie with Speak Confident English,

and I've got a question for you.

What's the difference between these two sentences?

The restaurant will be closed on Thursday for a private event.

Apparently, the restaurant will be closed on Thursday for a private event.

Of course, in the second sentence we have that extra word apparently,

but why and do we really need it?

Apparently along with words such as obviously clearly, kindly,

and frankly is an adverb in English more precisely it's a comment.

Adverb comment,

adverbs elevate your speech by adding nuance and emotion.

Moreover,

they help you highlight your emotions and attitudes towards something which

allows you to more easily express your opinion in English.

These adverbs can be used in polite diplomatic communication. And finally,

they also indicate cultural fluency.

So let's go back to that sentence. Apparently,

the restaurant will be closed on Thursday for a private event. In this sentence,

that word apparently adds on additional meaning and nuance.

It tells others that this information is true based

on what you currently know. However, maybe there's been an update,

maybe something has changed. Do we need this extra word? Well,

that depends. That depends on what you want to say.

Do you want to indicate a concrete fact that the restaurant will be

closed? There's no question.

Or do you want to insert that nuance,

that understanding that this is true based on what you know?

However, it's possible things have changed.

I know that using adverbs can be a bit of a challenge.

Sometimes it's hard to know what these adverbs mean and how or when you should

use them. So in this Confident English lesson today,

I want to introduce you to 19 advanced adverbs so you can more

clearly express your opinion in English and indicate your understanding about

something that you know with each adverb.

You'll understand exactly what it means,

and I'll give you example sentences so you can see how to use it in your English

speaking and writing.

But if this is your first time here, welcome. I am Annemarie,

an English confidence and fluency coach.

Everything I do is designed to help you get the confidence you want for your

life and work in English. If you want more free resources from me,

including lessons I have on fluency and confidence building,

as well as my in-depth How to Say What You Want in English training,

visit my website at speakconfidentenglish.com. I want to start.

This lesson with a quick review of adverbs. What are they?

Why are they important, and how do you use them? Where do you put them?

In the sentence?

Adverbs are words that provide extra information about the action

that someone or something is taking. It provides extra information about verbs.

It also provides extra information about adjectives. For example,

is someone beautiful or really beautiful?

These words are useful because they provide more information.

For example, they can describe how, when, where, and why something happened.

And most importantly, adverbs can help make our communication more engaging,

deep, and precise.

The adverbs you're going to learn today are specifically comment adverbs.

These adverbs are used to give context or help others better

understand the situation. They can also be used for emphasis and clarity.

And lastly, they can highlight your attitude, your feelings,

and your opinion on the information you're sharing.

Let's talk briefly about where to put the adverb in a sentence so your sentences

are accurate and then we'll move on directly into three different uses of how to

use these 19 comment adverbs that you're going to learn today.

Because the adverbs you're learning today are focused on giving extra

information about someone's viewpoint or they provide some sort of evaluation,

you'll find these adverbs usually come at the very beginning of the

sentence. You saw this in the example I started with. Apparently,

the restaurant will be closed on Thursday for a private event. However,

occasionally you'll also see these adverbs put in the middle of the sentence

just before the verb. For example,

the restaurant will apparently be closed on Thursday for a private event.

And then finally,

sometimes in informal speaking you might hear the adverb at the very end.

It's almost like someone forgot to add it at the beginning,

so they add it at the end.

The restaurant will be closed on Thursday for a private event apparently.

With that, let's get into our 19 comment adverbs.

To better organize this list, I've divided them up into three distinct uses.

Use number one adverbs that indicate how likely we think

something is. Use number two,

adverbs that indicate our attitude or our emotional response to

something that was said. And finally, use number three,

adverbs that show your judgment about someone's actions.

For the first group,

we're going to look at seven adverbs We use to indicate how likely something is,

and this is exactly how the word apparently is used apparently

indicates that something seems.

To be true based on the information available similar to the sentence

we had before, "Apparently,

the restaurant will be closed on Thanksgiving day." Now,

just as you might guess,

the word certainly adds on an extra layer of assurance or

affirmation. In fact, it emphasizes that assurance.

It can also be used to indicate complete agreement or willingness.

For example, I certainly can meet you at 9:00 AM on Tuesday.

Our third adverb clearly can be used to indicate a high level

of clarity or understanding. It also indicates that something is evident,

obvious or easy to see. For example, clearly,

we need a good plan before jumping into action similar to our adverb,

certainly we can also use definitely in fact this

indicates a high level of certainty or firm

assertion. For example,

we should definitely call the doctor's office to reschedule the appointment.

Let's pause here for a moment and again, imagine this sentence without the word.

We could certainly say we should call the doctor to reschedule this

appointment. However, by adding that adverb,

we have an extra layer of meaning or nuance.

We understand your attitude and how strongly you feel about the need

to make an appointment or to reschedule the appointment.

Number five on our list is undoubtedly this is used to indicate a strong

unquestionable belief or certainty. For example,

undoubtedly Susan's help contributed to the success of this event.

In other words, it's without question. Number six is obviously,

and this means that something is easily seen, understood, or recognized.

In other words, there's no need for further explanation.

For example,

we really need a family vacation this year has been hard, obviously.

Why do you think I added the word obviously at the end in this example?

As I mentioned earlier,

we use this in informal spoken speech and it's often as an afterthought

or something that you want to add at the end to underscore or

highlight everything that you've said. And finally,

number seven for this category is presumably now so far

we've had adverbs that indicate a rather high level of certainty

or perhaps even indicate that there's no question. However,

this one is different.

This one is used to indicate an educated guess.

In other words,

it's based on reasonable assumptions or some evidence.

For example,

presumably they're stuck in traffic and it'll be a while before they arrive.

Now, in that sentence,

because I'm using presumably there's a sense that maybe I don't really

believe that's true or I'm not really sure that that's accurate information.

Before we go on to our second set of comma adverbs,

I want to pause here and ask you to practice one adverb you've learned so far.

For example,

use an adverb such as obviously clearly or certainly to

indicate your overall attitude or your high level of confidence that something

is true.

Share in an example sentence with me below and now let's move on to seven

comment adverbs you can use to indicate your attitude or emotional response

first, surprisingly, this is used to indicate that something is unexpected,

unanticipated, or astonishing. For example,

the engine on this car won't last too long, surprisingly. Next,

frankly,

we use this adverb to indicate direct honesty.

For example, frankly,

I'd rather stay in than go out this weekend similar to the word

frankly. We can also use honestly,

which indicates that what you say is genuine or without deception.

For example, honestly, I don't have the energy to take on my tasks today.

Number four in this category is generally this is used to indicate

that you view something as common or typical. For example,

the company generally doesn't allow employees to take more than three weeks off

during the year.

I highlighted that this category of adverbs is focused on indicating your

attitude or emotional response, and with the word generally,

it's almost indicating a lack of emotional response.

You don't really have a strong feeling toward this issue. Instead,

you're indicating that you view this as something common or normal from your

point of view. Number five on our list is luckily, and as you might imagine,

we use this to indicate that we've had some positive or

fortunate outcome by chance. For example,

luckily we stocked up on batteries before the power outage.

Next on the list is naturally we use this adverb to

indicate that something is logical or expected.

For example,

my goals naturally changed over time as my knowledge expanded.

And number seven,

sadly of course this one is used to indicate your feelings of sorrow

or regret. For example, sadly,

one of NASA's programs will be discontinued by the end of the year.

I want to go back to the question we discussed at the beginning.

Do we need these extra words in a sentence,

and I think this example highlights how useful adverbs can be.

I could simply state a fact that NASA has a program that will be

discontinued later this year,

and by adding on one simple word, sadly,

I give you my feelings about this fact.

I've added on that nuance and emotion.

And now category number three,

adverbs you can use to show your judgment towards someone's actions.

Number one, bravely. Of course,

this is used to indicate that you view someone else's actions as being

courageous, maybe even fearless. For example,

Tina bravely faced the audience and presented next

carelessly. If you describe something as happening carelessly,

it indicates that you see it as thoughtless or maybe even done

with negligence. In other words, there's a lack of caution.

For example, let's not write this email carelessly.

We need to connect with this client. Number three,

in this category generously,

you might use this to suggest that you view someone's actions as being

kind or unselfish.

You could also use it to say that someone gave or shared something

willingly. For example,

she generously donated all the new toys to the fundraiser.

Number four,

kindly we use this to indicate goodwill and friendliness.

For example,

kindly she took extra time to explain the pros and cons of the role

and our final adverb wisely.

You might use this to say that you view someone's actions as having

sound judgment or careful thought.

It also indicates a good understanding of a situation.

For example, wisely she invested in the company at the right time.

Now, I know I've introduced you to many new adverbs today,

and the best thing you can do now is choose two or three to practice

using in real sentences.

That is the number one way to not just learn,

but remember how to use these adverbs so that you incorporate them

naturally in your English conversations and in your English writing.

Earlier I asked you to select an adverb,

such as obviously clearly or certainly. Now,

I want you to think about someone who has done something courageous in your

eyes. For example,

maybe you have a coworker who gave a presentation in English for the very first

time,

or maybe your daughter walked to school for the first time by herself.

How would.

You describe those actions in a sentence using the adverb bravely?

If there's another adverb on this list that you'd really love to remember right

now for future conversations in English,

go ahead and create an example sentence and share it with me below.

If you found today's lesson helpful to you,

I would love to know and you can tell me in one very simple way.

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Thank you so much for being here and for watching this lesson.

I really appreciate it and I look forward to seeing you next time.