At these higher levels, expansion of the range of adverbs available to learners remains a central focus of learning.
Time
By the B2 level learners can use a wide range of adverbs and adverb phrases to refer to the timing of an event.
I look forward to hearing from you shortly and I thank you in advance. (Cambridge English: First; Catalan)
It sounded like a muffled laugh, and she instantly recognised it as her mother’s. (Cambridge English: First; Slovene)
You know it’s very difficult to decide what to buy if you need both things simultaneously. (Cambridge English: First; Russian)
The trend that has appeared rather recently and is very common among young people nowadays is named “casual chic”. (Cambridge English: Proficiency; Greek)
Manner
They can also use a wide range of adverbs of manner to modify how something happens.
She realises that he is a very dangerous man and that she should take his warning seriously. (Cambridge English: First; Swedish)
Today I read the notice “Volunteers needed urgently” and I would like to be one. (Skills for Life: Level 1; German)
As our parking space has been used illegally by the public, we will change our parking system. (Cambridge English: Business 2; Japanese)
Degree with adjectives
At the C1 level learners are able to use a wide range of adverbs with adjectives to express degree or intensity.
It deals with the friendship between two completely different men. (Cambridge English: Advanced; German)
It is extremely important that the project is finished before September. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Greek)
The last thing I would like to mention is that you have lost a single passenger’s luggage three times, which is totally unacceptable. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Swedish)
Certainty
Learners at the C1 level can also use a wide range of adverbs to indicate degrees of certainty.
It was undoubtedly an unforgettable experience. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Portuguese)
Television programmes are undeniably a way of keeping ourselves well informed and open to a special knowledge of every aspect of our lives. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Polish)
I bought a skirt, a pair of jeans and a white dress, because I absolutely need new clothes for your party! (Cambridge English: Key; Italian)
Stance
C1 level learners use a wide range of stance adverbs (simply, truly, surely, apparently, naturally, surprisingly, inevitably, literally, exceptionally, frankly, clearly, amazingly, wisely, admittedly, etc.) to indicate an attitude or viewpoint, often in clause initial position.
We can’t truly blame ourselves for this unlucky beginning. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Greek)
Apparently someone made a mistake writing the details I gave over the phone. (Skills for Life: Level 2; Polish)
Naturally I inclined towards the second option. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Romanian)
Luckily for me, I stayed with a kind and helpful host family but they lived four miles from the school. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Swedish)
Distancing
Once the C2 level is achieved, learners can use adverbs mid clause to distance the writer from what he or she is saying. Adverbs are used as stance devices at C1, but it is not until C2 that they appear mid-clause and take on a distancing function.
He left school at the age of 16, and joined the “Universidad xxx” – the best one in Chile, supposedly – to study Economics. (Cambridge English: Proficiency; Spanish - Latin American)
The author of the letter apparently has no experience of being a parent in our times. (Cambridge English: Proficiency; Polish)
He was quite nice to me, surprisingly, and he told him that he would do his best but that the music was not too loud. (Cambridge English: Proficiency; French)
So, at these final stages of learner development with adverbs, learners are able to demonstrate learning through their wide range of adverb choices, and at the highest level, learners show skill in using adverbs to achieve a particular effect.
