Adverbial Phrases Explained: How to Use Adverbial Phrases

An adverbial phrase is a group of words that together behave as an adverb. Adverbial phrases, also known as adverb phrases, modify other parts of speech—such as verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs—and other phrases.

In English grammar, adverbial phrases describe why, how, where, or when an event occurred without using a subject or a verb. Instead, adverbial phrases often combine multiple adverbs, as in the sentence “She cooks very well.” Adverbial phrases can also use prepositional phrases, as in “I’ll leave in two hours.”

Adverbial clauses contain a subject and a predicate, as in the example sentence “We go to the shore because we own a home there.” The “because” is the start of the adverbial clause, “we” is the subject, and “own a home there” is the predicate.

On the other hand, adverbial phrases contain neither a subject nor a predicate, as in “We left the shore the week before.” In that sentence, “the week before” operates as an adverb phrase, modifying when the subjects left the shore, but no subject or predicate is used.

In the English language, adverbial phrases can serve as different kinds of modifiers:

1. 1. Intention (why): These adverbial phrases highlight the purpose of an event or action, as in the example sentence “To ensure they had a table, they made a reservation.” Here, “they made a reservation” is a complete sentence unto itself, and everything else before the comma—“to ensure they had a table”—acts as an adverbial phrase describing the intention behind the independent or main clause.
2. 2. Manner (how): Adverb phrases describing the manner of an event or action are often similes, as in the sentence “He ran like a cheetah,” or prepositional phrases, as in “I sleep in total darkness.” In the first example, the simile “like a cheetah” modifies how the subject runs. In the second sentence, the prepositional phrase “in total darkness” modifies how the subject sleeps.
3. 3. Time (when): A group of words illustrating time modify when an event occurs, as in the sentence “Grandma eats at six o’clock.” The adverbial phrase “at six o’clock” modifies when the subject eats a meal.
4. 4. Location (where): Multi-word phrases can show the location of an event or action. In the example sentence “He rents an apartment in New York,” the prepositional phrase “in New York” modifies where the subject rents his apartment.

Adverbial phrases can be intensifiers, prepositional phrases, similes, and more. In the following sentences, various adverbial phrases show how, why, when, and where an action occurred:

1. 1. “He left his grammar book in the study.” In this example, “in the study” is a prepositional phrase acting as an adverbial phrase that shares where the subject left his book.
2. 2. “She plays piano well, but her brother plays quite well.” The first “well” is a single adverb modifying how the woman plays; the second phrase contains two adverbs, “quite” and “well,” making it an adverbial phrase. Intensifiers like “quite,” “very,” “rather,” and “really” show the degree to which an adverb modifies a verb.
3. 3. “During the performance, they crawled on the floor like babies.” The simile “like babies” modifies how the subjects crawled on the floor.

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