Adverbial phrases

1. What are adverbial phrases?

Adverbial phrases are groups of words that add information such as time, place, manner, or frequency.

They help you say when, where, how, and how often something happens, so your meaning is clear.

• Time (When?): in the morning, at night, on Mondays
• Place (Where?): at school, in the park, at home
• Manner (How?): in a hurry, on foot, without help
• Frequency (How often?): every week, twice a month, three times a year

An adverb is one word (often, here, yesterday). An adverbial phrase is a group of words (in the morning, at school, every week).

2. Placement of adverbial phrases in a sentence

The position of adverbial phrases in a sentence is important to make your sentences clear.

2.1 General structure

A common order at the end of a sentence is manner + place + time. A sentence does not need every type of phrase.

Subject	Verb (and object)	Manner phrase	Place phrase	Time phrase
I	read books		at home	in the evening
She	exercises		at the gym	after work
I	go		to the gym	every week
She	walks	in a hurry	to the station	every morning
They	complete the forms	by hand	at reception	in the morning

An empty cell means that this type of phrase is not in the sentence. You do not need to use every type of phrase.

You can also put a time or frequency phrase at the beginning to focus on it:

Time or frequency phrase	Subject	Verb	Place phrase
In the evening,	I	read	at home
Every week,	we	play football	in the park

Frequency phrases such as every week and twice a month usually go at the end or at the beginning of the sentence.

Examples:

• “I read a book at home in the evening.”
• “She drinks coffee at the café in the afternoon.”
• “He plays football at the park on Saturdays.”
• “They eat fast food at a restaurant on weekdays.”
• “She goes to the station on foot every morning.”
• “I go to the gym after work.”
• “We walk in the city centre on Sundays.”

This lesson focuses on phrases such as every week. Compare “I often read at home” with “I read at home every evening”: one-word adverbs such as often have a different position. See the Frequency Adverbs lesson.

2.2 Two common placements

1. At the end: “She finishes the report in a hurry at the office every afternoon.” (manner + place + time)
2. At the beginning to focus on the time: “In the evening, I read at home.”

Use a comma after a fronted time or frequency phrase, especially when it is longer: “Every week, we play football in the park.” With a short phrase, the comma is often optional: “Today I read at home.”

3. Negative sentences and questions

In negative sentences, make the verb negative; the adverbial phrase normally stays in the same place:

• “I study at the library on Sundays.” → “I don’t study at the library on Sundays.”
• “She is not at work in the morning.”
• “They do not go swimming every week.”
• “She walks to the station in a hurry every morning.” → “She doesn’t walk to the station in a hurry every morning.”

For emphasis, a time or frequency phrase can move to the beginning: “On Sundays, I don’t study at the library.” At A2, manner phrases such as in a hurry do not normally go at the beginning.

Use a question word to ask for the information in an adverbial phrase:

• How often do you go swimming? — “Twice a week.”
• Where do you study after class? — “At the library.”
• When do they play football? — “On Saturdays.”
• How long do you practise? — “For two hours.”
• How do you get to school? — “By bus.”

In two-clause sentences, keep each phrase close to the activity it describes:

• “I don’t work on Saturdays, but I study at home on Sundays.”
• “She goes to the gym after work, and she relaxes at home in the evening.”

4. Time phrases: duration and limits

Time phrases can also show duration or an end time:

• Use for + a period: “I practise for two hours.”
• Use since + a starting point: “I have lived here since 2022.”
• Use from ... to/until ... for a start and end time: “The library is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.” / “I work from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.”
• Use all day or all morning for the whole period: “We study all morning.”

Use	Meaning	Example
for	a length of time	“We have waited for twenty minutes.”
since	the point when something started	“We have waited since 3 o’clock.”

With a duration, use for in negatives and questions too: “I haven’t seen Mia for two weeks.” / “Have you lived here for a long time?” Use since when you name the starting point: “I haven’t seen Mia since Monday.”

5. Common mistakes

6. Quick recap

• An adverb is one word; an adverbial phrase is a group of words.
• Adverbial phrases can tell us when, where, how, or how often something happens.
• When all three are present at the end, the usual order is manner + place + time.
• Frequency phrases such as every week usually go at the beginning or end, while one-word adverbs such as often usually go before the main verb.
• Use How often...?, Where...?, When...?, or How long...? to ask about these phrases.