Focus Adverbs 
Today’s English lesson for advanced English learners (B2/C1) is about Focus Adverbs.
What are focus adverbs? Good question and I am glad you asked it.
Well, they are adverbs we use to highlight the most relevant parts of our sentences when we speak and write English.
In the following sentence the focus adverb is highlighted in bold.
- I just need a few more minutes to finish my essay.
You would say this if you were talking to a teacher and you wanted to stress the fact that you need more time.
You could say ‘I need a few more minutes’ without using ‘just’ but the sentence doesn’t have the same effect.
Here are some more examples with the adverb in bold.
- I mostly listen to music at the weekend.
- Only I can tell you the answer to the question.
- You only know the answer because I told it to you.
The most common focussing adverbs are as follows:
- Generally, largely, mainly, simply, particularly, notably, primarily, chiefly, (e)specially, mostly
Here are some examples of how we can use these adverbs:
He especially likes to holiday in Spain.
Many people didn’t go to the party, most notably Eddie.
They were mostly people I had never met before.
He generally doesn’t like to meet new people.
We use the adverbs only, just, simply, even at the beginning of a sentence.
Only Penny has been to Rome.
Just Rodney went to the Party.
Even I can speak a little Spanish.
Simply do what you have to do.
There you go. Those are some examples of how we use this type of adverb in English.
Remember to start using focusing adverbs to improve your fluency skills and make you sound more like a native English speaker.
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