The concept of adverb in Japanese is not as clear as English. 形容動詞 can be adverbialized through conjugation, and 名詞 too can be used as an adverb with some particles. There are general guidelines as explained below, but in some cases you can say the same thing in multiple ways, and the exceptions must be learned as they are.
Most of the adverbs that mimic sounds or movements, and practically all of the ones that repeat noises and movements like ぐるぐる, ふらふら, ぼろぼろ can be used by themselves, or with と.
- 彼はふらふら(と)歩いていた -> He was staggering along
- 雨がぱらぱら(と)降って来た -> Rain started falling
- 誰かが戸をドンドン(と)叩いた -> Someone banged on the door
The same goes for most of the adverbs that end with り.
- 彼はばったり(と)倒れた -> He fell/collapsed flat with a thud
- もっとゆっくり(と)話してもらえますか？ -> Could you speak more slowly?
- 彼は御土産をどっさり(と)持って帰って来た -> He came home with tons of souvenir
There are some that always used with と and those are entered in the dictionary that way.
- さっさと失せろ！ -> Go away quickly! Beat it!
- 彼は夏の間にぐんと背が伸びた -> He grew a lot during the summer
形容動詞 conjugates to end with に to be an adverb
- 彼女は綺麗に化粧をした -> She put on makeups beautifully
- 作業は安全に行うことが何よりも大切だ -> It is most important to do the work safely
Many nouns can be adverbialized with 格助詞で.
- 駅まで全速力で走った -> I ran to the station full speed
- 自分の事は自分でやれ -> You take care of your own stuff yourself
Since many 形容動詞 can also be nouns, you can say the same thing with either に or で.
- 彼等は必死 に/で 逃げた
- 会議は中途半端 に/で 終わった -> The meeting ended vaguely, with no clear conclusions
やたら can be both 形容動詞 and adverb.
- 今日はやたら(と/に)暑い -> It is so hot today
意外 too can be both 形容動詞 and adverb, but as an adverb always used with に or と
- 修理は意外 と/に 安かった
Also there are some ambiguous words. For instance ぎりぎり is mostly 形容動詞, however it is usually not be adverbialized with に. Instead it acts like an adverb, even though it will never be used with と or する like a normal adverb. There is no clear rule for them and these must be learned as they are.
- 締切りにぎりぎり(
に)間に合った -> I barely made the deadline (used like an adverb) - 締切りにぎりぎりで間に合った -> I barely made the deadline (used like a noun)
- 締切りにぎりぎりの所で間に合った -> I made the deadline in the very last minute (形容動詞)
一生懸命 too is 形容動詞, but usually is not adverbialized with に, and almost used like an adverb
- 彼は一生懸命(
に)勉強している -> He is studying hard
にも is a literary expression and used for adverbs describing the manner how something significant happened.
- 爆発が起こった時、幸運にも誰も建物の中にいなかった -> Fortunately there was nobody in the building when the explosion occurred