How to Begin a Sentence With an Adverb

Using adverbs effectively can improve the quality of your writing.

An adverb is a word that helps to describe or explain a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Adverbs explain things such as how, when, where, why and to what degree. Many adverbs end in the letter pair "ly," although some adverbs do not share this ending and some adjectives end in "ly" as well. You can begin a sentence with an adverb if you want to immediately offer your reader some information concerning the action contained within your sentence.

Instructions

1. Choose a subject and verb for your sentence. The subject is what or whom the sentence is about, and the verb is the action or the state of being. For example, you might choose the subject "cat" and the verb "crept."

2. Choose an adverb that describes the verb of the sentence. For example, the cat may have crept "stealthily."

3. Write the adverb first and use a capital letter, since it will be the first word in the sentence. Add a comma after the adverb.

4. Write the subject, along with any articles or adjectives that you might choose to describe the subject. For example, you might write, "Stealthily, the young cat...."

5. Write the verb of the sentence, along with any phrases that further explain the verb. For example, you might complete the sentence with the following verb and prepositional phrase: "Stealthily, the young cat crept across the floor."

References

• Capital Community College: Grammar- Adverbs
• ESL Desk: Grammar- Adverbs