Adverbs of Time: English Vocabulary List

for a short duration

"She spoke briefly."

"She briefly explained the situation to her boss and then went back to her desk to finish the report."

in a very short time

"The show will start shortly."

"The meeting will start shortly so please take your seats and turn off your mobile phones."

used to describe a period of time that has no end

"I will love you forever."

"I will remember this day forever because it was the happiest day of my entire life."

in a way that is instant and involves no delay

"Call the doctor immediately."

"You should see a doctor immediately if you have a high fever and difficulty breathing properly."

after or at the end of a series of events or an extended period

"He eventually found his keys."

"He eventually found his lost keys under the sofa after searching the entire house for an hour."

at this moment or time

"I am leaving now."

"I am eating lunch right now so can I call you back later this afternoon when I am free?"

after the thing mentioned

"We ate then left."

"First we went shopping then we had dinner at a nice restaurant near the harbor."

at a time following the current or mentioned moment, without specifying exactly when

"I will call you later."

"I will call you later tonight after I finish my homework and have something to eat for dinner."

in a short time from now

"See you soon."

"The bus will arrive soon so please wait at the stop and have your ticket ready to show the driver."

after a long time, usually when there has been some difficulty

"Finally we are home."

"Finally the weekend has arrived and I can relax and forget about work for two whole days."

before the present or specified time

"I already ate breakfast."

"I have already finished my homework so now I can watch television or play video games."

at or during a time that is not long ago

"I recently bought a car."

"I recently started learning how to play the guitar and I am making slow but steady progress every week."

for one more instance

"Please say that again."

"Please say that again because I did not hear you the first time over all this noise."

up until the current or given time

"I have not eaten yet."

"I have not finished my breakfast yet so please wait a few more minutes before we leave."

up to now or the time stated

"She is still sleeping."

"She is still waiting for the bus at the stop because it has not arrived despite being twenty minutes late."

at the present time

"I am busy today."

"I have a lot of work to do today so I cannot go out for lunch with you unfortunately."

at a time within the 24-hour period immediately preceding the current day

"We went swimming yesterday."

"We went to the beach yesterday and had a wonderful time swimming and building sandcastles with the children."

used to describe a period of time that has no end

"I will remember this day forever."

"I will remember this day forever because it was the happiest day of my entire life."

in a way that is instant and involves no delay

"You should see a doctor immediately."

"You should see a doctor immediately if you have a high fever and difficulty breathing properly."

at this moment or time

"I am eating lunch right now."

"I am eating lunch right now so can I call you back later this afternoon when I am free?"

after the thing mentioned

"First we went shopping then we had dinner."

"First we went shopping then we had dinner at a nice restaurant near the harbor."

at a time following the current or mentioned moment, without specifying exactly when

"I will call you later tonight."

"I will call you later tonight after I finish my homework and have something to eat for dinner."

after a long time, usually when there has been some difficulty

"Finally the weekend has arrived."

"Finally the weekend has arrived and I can relax and forget about work for two whole days."

up until the current or given time

"I have not finished my homework yet."

"I have not finished my homework yet so please give me a few more minutes before we leave."

up to now or the time stated

"She is still waiting for the bus."

"She is still waiting for the bus at the stop because it has not arrived despite being twenty minutes late."

at the time or point immediately following the present

"Next we will dance."

"Next we will visit the museum and then go to the park for a picnic lunch together."