Adverbs
Adverbs are words which describe or amplify the action of a verb. They fall into groups describing when, where or how things happen, e.g. 'always', 'upstairs', 'quickly'.
There are also adverbs which are used to qualify an adjective or another adverb. These could be described as 'adverbs or degree', e.g. he arrived very late. He did it extremely badly. He worked surprisingly long hours.
Very often you can recognise an adverb in English because it ends in -ly. In German, adverbs are used in much the same way as in English and are particularly important in improving ones fluency in written and spoken language.
The most common adverbs are:
| also | then, therefore, so |
| Also blieb ich in der Schule (So I stayed at school) | |
| auch | also, too |
| Er musste auch nach Hause gehen (He also had to go home) | |
| bald | soon |
| Sein Vater kommt bald. (His father is coming soon) | |
| damals | then - in the sense of 'at that time' in the past |
| Wir wohnten damals in Bonn. (We were then living in Bonn) | |
| dann | then - in the sense of 'after that' or 'next' |
| Wir aßen unser Frühstück und gingen dann zur Arbeit. (We ate breakfast and then went to work) | |
| denn | then - in the sense of 'well then' or 'so' |
| Was ist denn los? (What's the matter?) | |
| doch | yet, however, but, after all, used for emphasis - many meanings! |
| Er ist doch nicht gekommen (He did not come after all) | |
| Er kann doch singen! (He can sing) | |
| doch | used to contradict a negative question and meaning yes - like 'si' in French |
| Hast du ihn gesehen? (Haven't you seen him?) | |
| Doch, ich have ihn gestern gesehen. (Yes, I saw him yesterday) | |
| eben | just, exactly |
| Das ist es eben, was er sagte. (That is just what he said) | |
| erst | not until, only |
| Sie kam erst um vier Uhr an. (She did not arrive until 4 o'clock) | |
| Nina ist erst 20 Jahre alt. (Nina is only 20 years old) | |
| fast | almost |
| Er schlief fast ein. (He almost fell asleep) | |
| ganz | quite, completely |
| Der Himmel war ganz schwarz. (The sky was quite black) | |
| genug | enough |
| Er lief nicht schnell genug. (He did not run fast enough) | |
| gerade | just - like 'eben' |
| gern | shows liking |
| Ich trinke gern Bier. (I like drinking beer) | |
| immer | always, still |
| Er kommt immer spät an. (He always arrives late) | |
| jetzt | now |
| Es ist jetzt halb vier. (It is now half past three) | |
| kaum | hardly, scarcely |
| Er konnte kaum sehen. (He could hardly see) | |
| lange | for a long time |
| Der Mann stand lange vor dem Haus. (The man stood for a long time outside the house) | |
| leider | unfortunately |
| Heute abend kann ich leider nicht kommen. (Unfortunately I cannot come this evening) | |
| mal | just - reducing the emphasis in a command |
| Sagen Sie mir mal, was geschah! (Just tell me what happened!) | |
| noch | yet, still |
| Er schläft noch. (He is still sleeping) | |
| Sonst noch etwas? (Would you like anything else?) | |
| Noch ein Glas Wein, bitte. (Another glass of wine please) | |
| nur | only (don't confuse with 'erst') |
| Ich wollte nur schlafen. (I only wanted to sleep) | |
| oft | often |
| Sie fuhr oft in die Schweiz. (She often went to Switzerland) | |
| plötzlich | suddenly |
| Er wurde plötzlich krank. (He suddenly became ill) | |
| schon | already |
| Es regnet schon. (It is already raining!) | |
| sehr | very, very much |
| Danke sehr. (Many thanks) | |
| Er ist sehr klug. (He is very clever) | |
| sofort, sogleich | immediately |
| Wir gehen sofort nach Hause. (We are going home immediately) | |
| sogar | even |
| Er wollte sogar meine Adresse haben. (He even wanted my address) | |
| sonst | otherwise |
| Du musst mir es sagen, sonst kann ich nicht mitkommen. (You must tell me, otherwise I can't come) | |
| vielleicht | perhaps |
| Sie haben vielleicht recht. (Perhaps you are right!) | |
| wieder | back, again |
| Er kam wieder nach Hause . (He came back home again) | |
| wohl | in the sense of 'I suppose' |
| Sie wissen wohl, was geschieht. (I suppose you know what is happening.) | |
| ziemlich | rather |
| Das kostet ziemlich viel. (That costs rather a lot) |
Many adjectives can also be used as adverbs! When used as adverbs they do not have any case endings.
The most common ones are:
| früh | early (adjective and adverb) |
| gut | good (adjective), well (adverb) |
| einfach | simple (adjective), simply (adverb) |
| langsam | slow (adjective), slowly (adverb) |
| leicht | light, easy (adjective), lightly, easily (adverb) |
| schnell | fast, quick (adjective), quickly (adverb) |
| spät | late (adjective and adverb) |
| vollkommen | complete (adjective), completely (adverb) |
Adverbs of place are also common
oben -above, upstairs
dort - there
mitten plus preposition - in the middle of
unten - below, downstairs
da - there
hier - here
E.g. Er ging nach oben - He went upstairs