In contrast to adjectives which qualify nouns, an adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or even another adverb.
Here is an example of a Swedish phrase where the adverb modifies the verb:
Remark about the direction of the arrows: These diagrams are dependency trees which represent the syntactic structure of a sentence. The direction of the arrows goes from the head word to its dependent word.
Next, an example of a Swedish phrase in which the adverb modifies the adjective:
Finally, an example of a Swedish phrase in which the adverb modifies another adverb:
Adverbs of frequency are used to indicate how often an action or an event occurs. Here is a list of the most common Swedish adverbs of frequency:
Adverb | translation |
---|---|
alltid | always |
ständigt | constantly |
dagligen | daily |
vanligtvis | usually |
oftast | most often |
ofta | often |
normalt | normally |
ibland | sometimes |
stundom | sometimes |
stundtals | occasionally |
emellanåt | occasionally |
sällan | rarely |
aldrig | never |
Here are some example Swedish phrases which illustrate the use of these adverbs of frequency:
The purpose of an adverb of degree is to indicate “to what extent” or “how much” an adjective or another adverb applies.
Adverb | translation |
---|---|
fullständigt | completely |
helt | entirely |
avsevärt | considerably |
synnerligen | particularly |
mycket | very / a lot |
väldigt | very |
allra | very |
ganska | quite |
tämligen | rather |
någorlunda | fairly |
tillräckligt | enough |
nästan | almost |
delvis | partly |
förhållandevis | relatively |
något | somewhat |
lite | slightly |
knappast | hardly |
Here are some example Swedish phrases which illustrate the use of these adverbs of degree:
The purpose of an adverb of place is to provide information about “where” or “in what location” an action or an event occurs.
Adverb | translation |
---|---|
här | here |
härifrån | from here |
hit | to here |
där | there, where |
därifrån | from there |
dit | to there |
någonstans | somewhere |
annanstans | elsewhere |
överallt | everywhere |
ingenstans | nowhere |
utanför | outside |
utomhus | outside |
inomhus | indoors |
bort | away |
undan | away |
iväg | away |
utomlands | abroad |
Here are some example phrases which show the use of these Swedish adverbs of place:
The purpose of an adverb of time is to indicate when an action (or an event) occured.
Adverb | translation |
---|---|
nu | now |
redan | already |
ändå | still |
fortfarande | still |
förr | before |
efteråt | afterwards |
i dag | today |
i går | yesterday |
häromdagen | the other day |
nyligen | recently |
snart | soon |
snarast | as soon as possible |
omedelbart | immediately |
genast | immediately |
direkt | immediately |
tidigt | early |
tidigare | earlier |
sent | late |
senare | later |
samtidigt | at the same time |
numera | nowadays |
Below are some examples of Swedish phrases which illustrate the use of adverbs of time:
The purpose of an adverb of manner is to provide information about “how” or “in what way” something happens.
The table below shows some of the most common Swedish adverbs of manner:
Adverb | translation |
---|---|
väl | well |
riktigt | really |
verkligen | really |
snabbt | quickly |
hårt | hard |
gärna | gladly |
plötsligt | suddenly |
fort | fast |
rakt | straight |
allvarligt | seriously |
dåligt | badly |
illa | badly |
oväntat | unexpectedly |
noga | carefully |
sakta | slowly |
Below are some Swedish phrases which illustrate the use of these adverbs of manner:
Adverbs of probability (which are also known as “adverbs of certainty”) are used to indicate how likely something is, or how sure the speaker is about something.
Here is a table with the main Swedish adverbs of probability:
Adverb | translation |
---|---|
definitivt | definitely |
uppenbarligen | obviously |
visst | certainly |
förvisso | certainly |
kanske | perhaps |
nog | probably |
förmodligen | probably |
troligen | probably |
troligtvis | probably |
antagligen | presumably |
möjligen | possibly |
eventuellt | possibly |
Below are some example phrases which illustrate the use of these Swedish adverbs of probability:
The purpose of conjunctive adverbs is usually to connect two clauses or sentences. For this reason, they are also called “connective adverbs” or “linking adverbs”.
Conjunctive adverbs serve to indicate the relationship between the clauses or sentences which they connected. Examples of such relationships are “cause and effect” and “contrast”.
In the table below are some of the most common Swedish conjunctive adverbs:
Adverb | translation |
---|---|
också | also |
även | also |
då | then |
sedan | then |
dessutom | furthermore |
därför | therefore |
dock | though |
däremot | however |
emellertid | however |
därmed | thus |
således | thus |
annars | otherwise |
istället | instead |
äntligen | at last |
slutligen | eventually |
likaså | also |
Adverb | translation |
---|---|
ut | out |
upp | up |
därefter | thereafter |
nämligen | namely |
hur | how |
bara | only |
så | so |
ju | right |
fram | forward |
allt | all |
just | just |
ännu | yet |
vidare | further |
ytterligare | further |
tillbaka | back |
igen | again |
mest | mostly |
ner | down |
länge | for a long time |
när | when |
tillsammans | together |
lika | in the same way |
först | firstly |
bra | well |
runt | around |
längre | longer |
varför | why |
för | too |
hem | home |
heller | either |
över | above |
långt | far |
fast | fixed |
minst | at least |
ihop | together |
hemma | at home |
mindre | less |
alltså | consequently |
helst | preferably |
ned | down |
precis | precisely |
egentligen | actually |
faktiskt | actually |
särskilt | particularly |
ute | outdoors |
bäst | best |
hittills | so far |
ens | even |
främst | mainly |
alls | at all |
var | where |
säkert | for sure |
förstås | of course |
stort | largely |
än | yet, still |
inne | in |
kraftigt | strongly |
naturligtvis | of course |
exempelvis | for example |
borta | away |
igång | started |
rätt | correctly |
alldeles | quite |
någonsin | ever |
ungefär | approximately |
fullt | fully |
överens | in accord |
åtminstone | at least |
enkelt | simply |
absolut | absolutely |
strax | soon |
enbart | solely |
endast | only |
senast | latest |
lätt | easily |
knappt | hardly |
totalt | in total |
annorlunda | differently |
snarare | sooner |
alltför | overly |
fel | incorrectly |
extra | extra |
förbi | past, over |
gott | well |
bättre | better |
högt | highly, loudly |
någonting | anything |
högst | at most |
framåt | forward |
ända | all the way |
sist | lastly |
nere | down |
uppåt | up, upwards |
givetvis | of course |
tyvärr | unfortunately |
tvärtom | on the contrary |
starkt | strongly |
närmast | nearest |
samman | together |
visserligen | admittedly, although |
relativt | relatively |
närmare | closer |
ordentligt | properly, thoroughly |
mera | more |
speciellt | especially |
rent | purely |
cirka | about |
respektive | respective |
återigen | once again |
uppe | up |
klart | clearly |
ytterst | extremely |
efterhand | afterwards, with time |
ekonomiskt | economically |
alltmer | increasingly |
åter | again |
fritt | freely |
längst | farthest |
vart | to where |
självklart | of course, obviously |
svårt | with difficulty |
oftare | more often |
hellre | rather, preferably |
djupt | deeply |
tydligen | apparently |
förut | before, previously |
framförallt | above all |
liksom | as well as |
öppet | openly |
förhoppningsvis | hopefully |
sammanlagt | in total |
norr | north |
lågt | lowly |
dubbelt | twice |
litet | a little |
extremt | extremely |
småningom | gradually |
tätt | tightly |
utifrån | from the outside |
frivilligt | voluntarily |
därtill | thereto |
generellt | generally |
bakåt | backwards |
värst | worst |
varav | of which |
näst | next |
medvetet | consciously |
varifrån | from where |
lagom | just righ |
gemensamt | commonly |
automatiskt | automatically |
billigt | cheaply |
successivt | gradually |
personligen | personally |
igenom | through |
väsentligt | essentially |
gratis | free (at no cost) |
nedåt | downward |
nyss | just recently |
förgäves | in vain, for nothing |
söder | south of |
jättebra | great |
isär | apart |
utmärkt | excellently |
kontinuerligt | continuously |
ovanligt | unusually |
långsiktigt | long term |
vilt | wildly |
sämre | worse |
officiellt | officially |
fortsättningsvis | hereafter |
allmänt | generally |
onekligen | undeniably |
rimligen | reasonably |
bitvis | at times, partially |
verkligt | really |
självfallet | of course |
indirekt | indirectly |
parallellt | in parallel |
perfekt | perfectly |
inledningsvis | initially |
därutöver | additionally, beyond that |
likadant | similarly |