Adverbs of Time | Examples, Definition & Placement
Adverbs of time such as “soon,” “recently,” and “later” indicate when something happens relative to now or a time in the past or future. Adverbs like “always,” “sometimes,” and “never,” which tell us how often something happens, are usually categorized as adverbs of frequency.
Have you heard from JJ recently?
We’re just pulling into the parking lot now.
You’ll figure it out eventually.
What is an adverb of time?
The term adverb of time typically refers to single words used to specify when something occurs in relation to another time, such as the time of speaking (e.g., “now,” “then,” “soon,” and “tomorrow”). Alternative terms for “adverbs of time” include “time adverbs,” “temporal adverbs,” and “adverbs of relative time.”
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For instance, “before” can also be a subordinating conjunction (e.g., “Give me a call before you go”), and “then” can also be an adjective (e.g., “He didn’t realize, but he was talking to the then prime minister of the UK, Margaret Thatcher”).
Adverbs may be categorized differently according to the context. “Just” can also be classified as an “adverb of degree,” for instance (e.g., “I’m just a bit tired”).
Multi-word adverbial phrases such as “last week,” “in January,” “all of a sudden,” and “at the moment” are sometimes categorized as adverbs of time for teaching purposes.
Placement of adverbs of time
An adverb of time typically comes after an adverb of place if these two types of adverbs are used together (e.g., “I’m meeting him there later,” or “I’ll be away tomorrow”). Many adverbs of time, including “now,” “then,” “later,” “soon,” and “afterward,” usually go at the end of the clause if timing is an important focus of the message.
| Adverb of time | Examples in a sentence | Meaning | Typical sentence positions |
| Now | We should go home now before it starts to rain.
Quiet, please! The movie’s starting now. |
At present |
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| Then | We’ll both be at the meeting tomorrow, so I’ll speak to you then.
I didn’t go to that party; I wasn’t living in New York then. |
At that time in the future/past | |
| Later | She’s not at school today, but I can give it to her because I’m seeing her later. | At a time after another time (e.g., now) | |
| Afterward/afterwards | We’re going to the movies and for a burger afterward. | At a time after something else | |
| Soon | She’s five already, so she’ll be starting school soon. | In a short time | |
| Today | Have a big breakfast because we’re going on a long hike today. | The day on which you’re speaking | |
| Yesterday | My legs are aching because we went on a long hike yesterday. | The day before the day on which you’re speaking | |
| Tomorrow | Make sure you get a good night’s sleep because we’re going for a long hike tomorrow. | The day after the day on which you’re speaking | |
| Just | Marie’s here; I just saw her a moment ago.
I’m at the hotel now; I’ve just arrived. We’ve just been discussing that. |
Very recently |
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| Currently | Unfortunately, that model is currently out of stock.
We currently import most of our wood from Canada.We’re currently importing most of our wood. |
At the present time/for a limited time |
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Frequently asked questions about adverbs of time
- What are the different types of adverbs?
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Adverbs can be classified in many ways. Depending on context, some adverbs fall into more than one of the categories.
Examples of adverb types include the following:
- Adverbs of manner
- Adverbs of time
- Adverbs of place
- Adverbs of purpose
- Adverbs of frequency
- Adverbs of degree
- Interrogative adverbs
- Relative adverbs
- Conjunctive adverbs
- Focusing adverbs
- Is it to late or too late?
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It is too late, not to late (e.g., “I checked online to see if there were any tickets left for the concert, but we’re too late; they’re all sold out”).
Use the adverb of time “late” without “too” if you just mean “after the arranged time” (e.g., “Sorry I’m late,” or “I missed the bus and was half an hour late”).
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you avoid errors like “to” instead of “too” in your writing.
- Is it to early or too early?
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It is too early, not to early (e.g., “I got there much too early; the building wasn’t even open yet, so I had to wait outside in the cold”).
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you to use adverbs of time like “early” correctly in your writing
- What does too little too late mean?
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If you say that assistance is too little, too late, you are being critical because you think that it came after it was really needed and more assistance was required (e.g., “A team of workers arrived earlier today to assist with emergency flood protection, but many local residents, who have been calling for help for days, feel that the response is too little, too late”).
QuillBot’s free Paraphrasing Tool can suggest alternatives to the idiom too little, too late that fit the specific context of your text.
- Is it afterward or afterwards?
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The adverb of time afterward means exactly the same as afterwards.
“Afterward” is the most commonly used variant in American English, while “afterwards” is the most commonly used variant in British English.
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will give you spelling suggestions based on your variety of English.
