What Adverbs of Manner Are
An adjective says what a person or thing is like. An adverb of manner says how somebody does something: slowly, carefully, well. Most of them are an adjective with -ly on the end.
ADJECTIVEdescribes a person: what is he like?
My father is a careful driver.
Careful describes the noun driver, so it stays an adjective.
ADVERBdescribes an action: how does he do it?
Careful adds -ly and becomes carefully, after the verb drives.
My father drives carefully.
Carefully tells us how he drives. It comes after the verb.
Use an adjective for a person or thing. Use an adverb for how somebody does something: a careful driver, drives carefully.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"Can you speak , please? I don't understand."
- Question 2
"Linh is a girl. She never shouts."
The forms
VERB + ADVERB
SVadverb
The children played happily.
With no object, the adverb comes straight after the verb.
WITH AN OBJECT
SVobjectadverb
She opened the door slowly.
The adverb comes after the object, not between the verb and the object.
BE / LOOK / FEEL + ADJECTIVE
Sbe / look / feel / soundadjective
You look tired.
These verbs say what a person or thing is like, so an adjective follows them.
-LY SPELLING
- slowslowly
- carefulcarefully
- happyhappily
- easyeasily
- gentlegently
- terribleterribly
Usually just add -ly · consonant + y → -ily · -le → drop the e, add y
IRREGULAR
- goodwell
- fastfast
- hardhard
- latelate
- earlyearly
Good → well · fast, hard, late and early do not change · there is no fastly · hardly is a different word meaning almost not
She is a good swimmer and She swims well mean the same. Good goes with the noun swimmer, and well goes with the verb swims.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"The old man smiled at the children."
- Question 2
"My brother plays football very ."
- Question 3
"She speaks ."
When to use them
Fast or slow
He fixed the bike quickly.
How fast the action is.
Signal words: quickly · slowly · fast
How somebody speaks
The teacher explained the lesson clearly.
How loud, clear or kind the words are.
Signal words: clearly · loudly · politely · quietly
A feeling behind the action
The man shouted angrily.
What the person felt while doing it.
Signal words: angrily · sadly · happily · calmly
Well or badly
Tuấn plays the guitar badly, but he loves it.
How good the result is.
Signal words: well · badly · terribly · perfectly
Adjective vs. adverb
After a verb, the verb decides. An action verb (run, speak, drive) takes an adverb. Be, look, feel, sound and smell describe what a person or thing is like, so they take an adjective.
| ADJECTIVE | ADVERB | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | what is it like? | how is it done? |
| Comes after | be, look, feel, sound, smell | action verbs: run, speak, drive |
| Example | The music sounds loud. | They played the music loudly. |
| Never say | You look beautifully. · I feel sadly. | She sings beautiful. · He answered polite. |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"Mmm, the pizza smells !"
- Question 2
"The waiter answered us , so we left the restaurant."
Common mistakes
Incorrect:The bus moved slow in the rain.
Correct:The bus moved slowly in the rain.
Moved is an action verb, so it needs the adverb slowly rather than the adjective slow.
Incorrect:My mother cooks goodly.
Correct:My mother cooks well.
The adverb from good is well. We do not say goodly.
Incorrect:He works hardly every day.
Correct:He works hard every day.
Hard does not change as an adverb. Hardly is a different word that means almost not.
Incorrect:She speaks very well English.
Correct:She speaks English very well.
The adverb cannot come between the verb and its object, so very well goes after English.
Incorrect:You look beautifully in that dress.
Correct:You look beautiful in that dress.
Here look is about what the person is like, not an action, so it takes an adjective.
Incorrect:The children laughed happyly.
Correct:The children laughed happily.
Happy ends in a consonant + y, so the y becomes i before -ly.
Incorrect:He drove fastly to the hospital.
Correct:He drove fast to the hospital.
Fast is both the adjective and the adverb; there is no word fastly.
Quick check · 7 questions
Choose the correct word:
Hùng answered the phone politely and wrote down the message.
- A. politely — Correct
- B. polite
- C. politer
Answer: A. politely
The sentence says how Hùng answered, so it needs the adverb politely. Polite is the adjective, for describing a person: a polite boy.
Choose the correct spelling:
The test was short, so we finished it easily.
- A. easily — Correct
- B. easyly
- C. easy
Answer: A. easily
Easy ends in a consonant followed by y, so the y turns into i before -ly: easily, the same way happy becomes happily.
Choose the correct spelling:
Please hold the baby carefully.
- A. carefully — Correct
- B. carefuly
- C. careful
Answer: A. carefully
An adjective ending in -ful just adds -ly, so the adverb has two l's: carefully, beautifully.
Choose the correct word:
Did you sleep well last night?
- A. well — Correct
- B. good
- C. goodly
Answer: A. well
Sleep is an action verb, so it needs an adverb. The adverb from good is well; goodly is not a word you can use here.
Choose the correct word:
Linh studied hard for her exam, and she passed.
- A. hard — Correct
- B. hardly
- C. hardily
Answer: A. hard
Study hard means study a lot. Hardly is a different word. It means almost not.
Choose the correct word order:
He plays the piano beautifully.
- A. plays the piano beautifully — Correct
- B. plays beautifully the piano
Answer: A. plays the piano beautifully
The piano is the object of plays. The adverb does not go between a verb and its object, so it comes after the piano.
Choose the correct word:
This bed feels soft. I love it.
- A. soft — Correct
- B. softly
Answer: A. soft
The sentence describes what the bed is like, not an action, so feel takes the adjective soft.
See whether it really stuck.
Start the quiz · 12 questions
