In a sentence, very can be used as adjective or adverb, with adverb being a far more common use.
Very as adjective
As an adjective, very is used to restrict a noun to a particular person or thing (the very book), or to describe the furthest point of something (the very end of the street). Examples:
This is the very book I have been looking for weeks.
He is the very man who conned me last year.
The pharmacy is at the very end of the street.
After the trek, we met at the very top of the mountain.
Very as adverb
The word very can function as an intensifying adverb, in which role it means to a great degree or extremely. As an intensifying adverb, it can modify adjective (first two examples) or another adverb (last two examples). Examples:
The exam was very tough.
The presentation was very interesting, revealing few new insights.
To catch it, he ran very quickly after the bus.
She ran the last leg very fast to win the 4×100 hurdle race for her team.
It’s easy to tell apart adjective very from adverb very. Meaning of course is one way. Another way is to see what follows very. When functioning as adjective, it’s followed by noun; when functioning as adverb, it’s followed by adjective or adverb.
