In the sentence 'Tom ran quickly to the finish,' which word is an adverb?

In the sentence 'Tom ran quickly to the finish,' which word is an adverb?

• A. To
• B. Finish
• C. Tom
• D. Quickly

Answer: (D)

Adverbs modify verbs to tell how an action happens. In this sentence, the action is running, and the word that describes how Tom ran is quickly. It answers the question “how did Tom run?” and directly describes the manner of the verb, which is the job of an adverb. To/, and finish are part of a prepositional phrase that adds direction (“to the finish”), with to as the preposition and finish as the noun object of that preposition—neither of these describe how the running occurred. Tom is the subject, a proper noun name for the person performing the action.

Adverbs modify verbs to tell how an action happens. In this sentence, the action is running, and the word that describes how Tom ran is quickly. It answers the question “how did Tom run?” and directly describes the manner of the verb, which is the job of an adverb.

To/, and finish are part of a prepositional phrase that adds direction (“to the finish”), with to as the preposition and finish as the noun object of that preposition—neither of these describe how the running occurred. Tom is the subject, a proper noun name for the person performing the action.