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Order your copy of the books on Amazon!In this activity, students will learn how adverbs add detail to sentences by modifying verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. By practicing the correct placement and use of adverbs, students will gain confidence in making their sentences more descriptive and specific.
Student Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Adverbs ESL Activity Preparation:
Prepare a list of common adverbs of manner (e.g., quickly, slowly, carefully), time (e.g., yesterday, today, soon), place (e.g., here, there, everywhere), and frequency (e.g., always, often, rarely). Create a worksheet with simple sentences that lack adverbs, such as “She walked to the store,” “They finished their work,” and “He speaks.” Leave space for students to add suitable adverbs to complete each sentence.
For a more interactive element, gather some action cards with verbs like “jump,” “draw,” “write,” and “speak.” Write each action on a card, and also prepare a set of adverb cards separately to be used in a group activity.
Adverbs ESL Activity Guidelines:
Start with a brief explanation of adverbs, emphasizing that adverbs are words that describe how, when, where, or how often something happens. Explain how different types of adverbs serve different purposes: for instance, adverbs of manner describe how an action is done, while adverbs of time indicate when something happens. Provide a few examples on the board, such as “She sings beautifully” (manner), “He left yesterday” (time), and “They play outside” (place).
Next, give students the worksheet with sentences that lack adverbs. Instruct them to add one or two adverbs to each sentence, making the sentences more descriptive and meaningful. For instance, they might change “She walked to the store” to “She walked quickly to the store,” or “He speaks” to “He speaks loudly.”
Once students complete the worksheet, review their sentences as a group, discussing how each adverb changes or enhances the meaning of the sentence.
For an interactive extension, use the verb and adverb cards. Divide students into small groups, and give each group a set of verb cards and a set of adverb cards. Ask each group to pick a verb and an adverb and create a sentence using both. For example, if they pick “jump” and “carefully,” they might say, “She jumps carefully over the puddles.”
Each group takes turns sharing their sentences with the class, encouraging creativity and helping everyone see how adverbs can be applied in different contexts.
Follow-Up ESL Activities:
To reinforce adverb usage, assign students a short paragraph to write about their morning routine, using at least five adverbs to describe how or when they do various activities. Alternatively, you could conduct a guessing game where one student performs an action based on a specific adverb (e.g., “walks slowly”), while others guess the adverb being acted out. This activity brings fun to practicing adverbs and helps students remember their various uses.
If you have extra time, try playing the King’s Cup ESL Board Game as a fun way to finish up the lesson.