Upon request, I’m writing another post about adverbs and verbs. I hope you find it helpful!

Most adverbs end with -ly. Quickly, sadly, awfully, angrily, happily, softly, loudly. These are all adverbs. Well, imagine reading something like this:

Example: Slowly, he walked towards her. Although he was walking slowly, his thoughts were moving quickly through his mind. Was he making the right choice? He began walking more quickly, began walking briskly towards the girl. She was waiting for him, and as he drew nearer she called his name.

Yikes. Did you count the adverbs in that paragraph? There are five. Doesn’t it sound cluttered? Too much -ly. Now read this version:

Revised version: He walked towards her, lingering every so often along the way. Although he hesitated, thoughts whirled through his mind like a furious cyclone. Was he making the right choice? He quickened his pace, now striding towards the girl. She was waiting for him, and as he drew nearer she called his name.

You may have noticed that I didn’t just cut out the adverbs. I made the paragraph a little more descriptive and threw in a simile that wasn’t there before. Do you know why? Because once you cut out unnecessary adverbs, you have room for better writing!

But sometimes you will not find a verb that can get rid of your adverb. And that’s okay. Sometimes an adverb is simply what fits best and makes the most sense.

If you’re having trouble deciding when to use adverbs and when not to, try using thesaurus.com. I generally keep it open on my computer whenever I’m writing anything. It’s quite useful. I just typed in “walk slowly” and it gave me synonyms!

I hope this post was helpful and clarified anything that wasn’t explained in my previous adverb post. If you have any questions, leave them in a comment!