3rd Grade Adverb Worksheets

Print worksheet gives 8 sentences: circle what each adverb tells, or the comparing form that fits.

Your own questions: sentence with ___ = right / wrong

A sample is on the sheet. What you type replaces it.

What you type stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to us.

Questions

Set

Text size

More options

Letter style

Kind of sheet

Paper

Direction

Add a "Name" and "Date" line at the top Add an answer key as the last page

All 162 sentences

How, when or where? 84

A fox was seen near the barn recently. (recently)
A hawk circled overhead. (overhead)
A woodpecker is drumming nearby. (nearby)
The astronomy club meets tonight. (tonight)
The baby yawned sleepily in her car seat. (sleepily)
The bakery opens early on market days. (early)
The balloon drifted away. (away)
Bring the wet laundry inside. (inside)
The canoe paddles are kept there. (there)
Check the bus schedule beforehand. (beforehand)
The cherry blossoms will open soon. (soon)
The chickens wandered outside. (outside)
The chipmunk quickly stuffed its cheeks. (quickly)
The choir sang joyfully at the harvest fair. (joyfully)
The class ate lunch outdoors. (outdoors)
The clown bowed deeply to the audience. (deeply)
The comet will return someday. (someday)
The crab scuttled backward. (backward)
The crowd waited patiently for the gates to open. (patiently)
The diver stayed underwater. (underwater)
Few people send telegrams nowadays. (nowadays)
Glitter got everywhere. (everywhere)
The gopher hid its roots underground. (underground)
Grandpa carefully glued the teacup handle. (carefully)

Show all 162 sentences (138 more)

How, when or where?, continued

He calmly explained the rules of the card game. (calmly)
The hikers whispered quietly near the owl's nest. (quietly)
Hold the rope tightly while I tie the knot. (tightly)
The hummingbird's wings beat fast. (fast)
I have seen that film before. (before)
I will water the ferns later. (later)
The jugglers perform next. (next)
The kettle is whistling now. (now)
The kittens eagerly lapped the warm milk. (eagerly)
The lantern glowed brightly inside the tent. (brightly)
The last bus arrived late. (late)
Lena neatly folded the map along its creases. (neatly)
The lifeguard blew her whistle immediately. (immediately)
The lifeguard bravely swam through the surf. (bravely)
The line of ducklings moved forward. (forward)
The log floated downstream. (downstream)
The lost kite eventually came down. (eventually)
The mail truck came earlier. (earlier)
The marble rolled down. (down)
The marching band played loudly under my window. (loudly)
My aunt is studying abroad. (abroad)
My cousin plays the accordion well. (well)
My left sock must be somewhere. (somewhere)
My sister practices her tuba upstairs. (upstairs)
My uncle has been baking bread lately. (lately)
One duckling stayed behind. (behind)
The otter slid smoothly down the muddy bank. (smoothly)
Our class visits the fire station tomorrow. (tomorrow)
Our goalie trained hard all winter. (hard)
The paper plane did not fly far. (far)
The pitcher gripped the ball firmly. (firmly)
The plumber is fixing the sink today. (today)
The pond froze overnight. (overnight)
The ponies galloped wildly around the paddock. (wildly)
The puppet show begins shortly. (shortly)
Rain tapped softly on the tin roof. (softly)
The red kite soared up. (up)
Rinse the paintbrushes first. (first)
The runaway pumpkin rolled downhill. (downhill)
The sailors rowed ashore. (ashore)
The salmon swim upstream. (upstream)
The scout walked ahead. (ahead)
She answered the riddle easily. (easily)
She proudly pinned the ribbon to her jacket. (proudly)
The skater spun gracefully across the rink. (gracefully)
The snow finally melted off the porch. (finally)
Stack the firewood here. (here)
The tide went out, and then we hunted for crabs. (then)
The tired hikers trudged home. (home)
The toddler clumsily stacked the wooden blocks. (clumsily)
The tortoise crossed the driveway slowly. (slowly)
The tulips have already bloomed. (already)
The vet spoke gently to the trembling rabbit. (gently)
The waiter politely refilled every glass. (politely)
The washing machine rumbles downstairs. (downstairs)
We ate lunch and washed the dishes afterward. (afterward)
We once lived beside a lighthouse. (once)
We picked blackberries yesterday. (yesterday)
We played board games indoors. (indoors)
We pushed the wagon uphill. (uphill)

Faster or fastest? 78

The announcer speaks ___ than the mayor. clearlier, more clearly, most clearly
Ben writes ___ in pen than in pencil. more neatly, most neatly, neatlier
The delivery came ___ than we expected. more soon, sooner, soonest
The fox crept ___ to the henhouse than before. closer, closest, more close
The headlamp shines ___ than the candle. brightlier, more brightly, most brightly
I sing ___ with a cold than without one. badlier, worse, worst
I untangled the fishing line ___ than the yarn. easilier, more easily, most easily
It snowed ___ this year than last year. least, less, more little
The kids lined up ___ for recess than for the quiz. eagerlier, more eagerly, most eagerly
The librarian speaks ___ than the gym teacher. more quietly, most quietly, quietlier
The mail arrived ___ today than yesterday. earlier, earliest, more early
My grandmother waits ___ than I do. more patiently, most patiently, patientlier
My hamster sleeps ___ in winter than in spring. deeplier, more deeply, most deeply
My sister runs ___ than our dog. faster, fastest, more fast
The new sled glides ___ than the old one. more smoothly, most smoothly, smoothlier
The new waiter greets guests ___ than the old one. more politely, most politely, politelier
No one marched ___ than the drum major. more proudly, most proudly, proudlier
The oak log burned ___ than the pine log. longer, longest, more long
Of all my chores, I like raking leaves ___. best, better, most well
Of all my cousins, Dev works ___. harder, hardest, most hard
Of all our games, we play checkers ___. more often, most often, most oftenest
Of all the bats, this one flew ___ to the ground. lower, lowest, most low
Of all the birds at the feeder, the wren sings ___. more sweetly, most sweetly, sweetliest
Of all the deer, the fawn came ___ to our porch. closer, closest, most close
Of all the fans, the youngest waited ___. more patiently, most patiently, patientliest
Of all the farm animals, the rooster wakes ___. earlier, earliest, most early
Of all the firefighters, the rookie climbed ___. braveliest, more bravely, most bravely
Of all the garden animals, the snail moves ___. more slowly, most slowly, slowliest
Of all the instruments, the tuba played ___. loudliest, more loudly, most loudly
Of all the knots, this one holds ___. more tightly, most tightly, tightliest
Of all the marchers, the drummer stepped ___. more proudly, most proudly, proudliest
Of all the months, it rains the ___ in August. least, leastest, less
Of all the pets, the parrot talks the ___. more, most, mostest
Of all the puppies, the smallest ate ___. eagerliest, more eagerly, most eagerly
Of all the rides, the coaster went ___. faster, fastest, most fast
Of all the singers, the soloist sang ___. best, better, most well
Of all the skaters, I spin ___. baddest, worse, worst
Of all the sleds, the wooden one glides ___. more smoothly, most smoothly, smoothliest
Of all the stars that night, the lowest one shone ___. brightliest, more brightly, most brightly
Of all the storms this year, the one last night hit ___. harder, hardest, most hard
Of all the students, Ravi worked ___. more quietly, most quietly, quietliest
Of everyone at the sleepover, I stayed awake ___. later, latest, most late
Of everyone in my class, Tess writes ___. more neatly, most neatly, neatliest
Of everyone on the boat, the cook spoke ___. calmliest, more calmly, most calmly
Of the five kites, the green one flew ___. higher, highest, most high
Of the five puzzles, I solved the last one ___. easiliest, more easily, most easily
Of the four packages, mine arrived ___. most soon, sooner, soonest
Of the four speakers, the youngest spoke ___. clearliest, more clearly, most clearly
Of the six runners, Ana finished ___. more quickly, most quickly, quickliest
Of the three arrows, the last landed ___ to the target. most near, nearer, nearest
Of the three campers, I slept ___. deepliest, more deeply, most deeply
Of the three candles, the blue one burned ___. longer, longest, most long
Of the three helpers, Grandpa held the chick ___. gentliest, more gently, most gently
Of the whole class, Omar asked ___. more politely, most politely, politeliest
Of the whole crew, the captain steered ___. carefulliest, more carefully, most carefully
Of the whole family, Mom gets up ___. earlier, earliest, most early
Of the whole team, Mia ran ___. faster, fastest, most fast
Our goalie plays ___ in the rain than in the sun. best, better, more well
The owl flew ___ to the ground than the hawk. lower, lowest, more low
The pilot spoke ___ than the passengers. calmlier, more calmly, most calmly
The puppy eats ___ than the old dog. more, most, mucher
The rooster woke ___ than the farmer. earlier, earliest, more early
The rowers pulled ___ against the wind than with it. harder, hardest, more hard
The second arrow landed ___ to the target than the first. more near, nearer, nearest
She carried the eggs ___ than the potatoes. carefullier, more carefully, most carefully
The small dog barked ___ than the big one. bravelier, more bravely, most bravely
The snail moves ___ than the beetle. more slowly, most slowly, slowlier
The stream flows ___ after a storm than in a drought. more quickly, most quickly, quicklier
The stunt kite climbed ___ than the box kite. higher, highest, more high
The tide came in ___ than the fishermen expected. faster, fastest, more fast
Tie this knot ___ than the last one. more tightly, most tightly, tightlier
Tomas studied ___ for this quiz than for the last one. harder, hardest, more hard
The trumpets played ___ than the clarinets. loudlier, more loudly, most loudly
The vet handled the kitten ___ than the bulldog. gentlier, more gently, most gently
We stayed up ___ than usual on Friday. later, latest, more late
We visit the lake ___ in summer than in winter. more often, more oftener, most often
The wren sings ___ than the crow. more sweetly, most sweetly, sweetlier
You juggle ___ than you did last month. best, better, more well

How this list was compiled: Written for this page. In the first set one adverb of the sentence is repeated in brackets and tagged with what it tells: how, when or where. Adverbs that tell how often (always, never, sometimes) were left out, because they fit none of the three cleanly. In the second set a blank takes the comparative of an adverb (with than) or its superlative (of all), beside the other form and one that standard English does not use, such as more fast or quietlier. Every bracketed word was checked as an English adverb in Wiktionary, en.wiktionary.org, read 2 October 2026; the two skills follow the Common Core language standards L.3.1a and L.3.1g, read the same day. No person, brand or character is named. Licence: own work

How it works

Each sheet draws 8 of our sentences. In one set an adverb is printed again in brackets, to label how, when or where. In the other a blank takes the comparing form: faster, fastest, more quietly.

Read the full guide

How, when or where?

Smoothly, fast and well tell how. Soon, yesterday and overnight tell when. Upstairs, nearby and downstream tell where. Many adverbs end in -ly, but hard, late, here and home are adverbs in our sentences too.

Faster or fastest?

Pick this set under Set. Than calls for the comparative (ran faster than, spoke more quietly than); of all calls for the superlative (ran fastest, spoke most quietly). Short adverbs take -er and -est, adverbs in -ly take more and most, and well and badly become better, best, worse, worst.

Words that tell how often, such as always and never, are left out: they are not how, when or where.

Questions and answers

What is an adverb?

A word that tells more about a verb, an adjective or another adverb. In these sentences each adverb tells how, when or where the action happens: sang joyfully, opens early, rolled downhill.

What do 3rd graders learn about adverbs?

The Common Core asks third graders to explain the function of adverbs in particular sentences (L.3.1a) and to form and use comparative and superlative adverbs (L.3.1g). The two sets follow those two standards.

Do these work as adverb worksheets for 4th grade?

Yes, as review. The one adverb rule the fourth grade standards add is relative adverbs (where, when, why) in L.4.1a, which these sheets do not cover.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. It prints as the last page, with the right word circled under each sentence. Uncheck Add an answer key as the last page under More options to print the sheet alone.

All 162 sentences

How, when or where? 84

How, when or where?, continued

Faster or fastest? 78

How it works

How, when or where?

Faster or fastest?

Questions and answers

More tools