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1. Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner are the largest group of adverbs. Most adverbs of manner are closely related to
corresponding adjectives. Although some words can be used as either adjectives or adverbs, in most
cases, adverbs of manner are formed by adding ly to the corresponding adjectives.
i. Adjectives ending in ic
However, when the adjective ends in ic, the syllable al is usually added before the ly ending. For
example:
Adjective Adverb of Manner
dramatic dramatically
scientific scientifically
specific specifically
When the adjective ends in le preceded by a vowel, in most cases, ly is simply added to the positive
form of the adjective. For example:
Adjective Adverb of Manner
agile agilely
sole solely
However, in the case of the adjective whole, the final e is removed before the ending ly is added:
Adjective Adverb of Manner
whole wholly
v. Adjectives ending in y
When the adjective ends in y preceded by a consonant, the y is usually changed to i before the
ending ly is added. For example:
Adjective Adverb of Manner
busy busily
easy easily
happy happily
However, in the case of the adjectives shy and sly, ly is simply added to the positive form of the
adjective:
Adjective Adverb of Manner
shy shyly
sly slyly
When the adjective ends in y preceded by a vowel, in most cases, ly is simply added to the positive
form of the adjective. For example:
Adjective Adverb of Manner
coy coyly
grey greyly
However, in the case of the adjective gay, y is changed to i before the ending ly is added:
Adjective Adverb of Manner
gay gaily
It should be noted that while most adverbs which end in ly are adverbs of manner, other types of
adverb may also end in ly. For instance, consequently and subsequently are connecting adverbs.
The following are adverbs of frequency which are formed by adding ly to the corresponding
adjectives.
Adjective Adverb of Frequency
frequent frequently
rare rarely
usual usually
b. Adverbs which do not use the ending ly
The adverb of manner well appears unrelated to the corresponding adjective, good. Good and well
both have the comparative form better and the superlative form best.
Adjective Adverb of Manner
good well
It should be noted that in addition to being used as an adverb, the word well can also be used as an
adjective with the meaning healthy. The adjective well is most often used as a predicate adjective.
e.g. Well used as an Adjective: I hope you are well.
Well used as an Adverb: He did well on the examination.
In the first example, well is a predicate adjective, modifying the pronoun you. In the second
example, well is an adverb of manner, modifying the verb did.
The following table gives examples of adverbs of manner, location, time and frequency which have
the same forms as the corresponding adjectives.
Adjective Adverb of Manner
fast fast
hard hard
little little
loud loud or loudly
much much
straight straight
It should also be noted that there are several adjectives ending in ly which have no corresponding
adverbs:
friendly
likely
lively
lonely
silly
ugly
When it is desired to use one of these words to modify a verb, an adverb phrase of manner may be
used. In the following examples, the adverb phrases are underlined.
e.g. He behaved in a friendly manner.
They acted in a silly way.
The following table gives examples of pairs of adverbs which are closely related, but which have
different meanings.
Adverbs With and Without ly Endings
Whereas adjectives modify nouns, pronouns, and expressions which serve the same grammatical
functions as nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
i. Adjectives which modify nouns compared with adverbs which modify verbs
The following examples illustrate the distinction which must be made between adjectives which
modify nouns and adverbs which modify verbs. The adjectives and adverbs are printed in bold type,
and the words which are modified are underlined.
e.g. Adjective: It has been a quiet afternoon.
Adverb: The afternoon passed quietly.
In the first pair of sentences, the adjective quiet modifies the noun afternoon, whereas the adverb
quietly modifies the verb passed. In the second pair of sentences, the adjective good modifies the
noun musician, whereas the adverb well modifies the verb plays.
ii. Adjectives which modify nouns compared with adverbs which modify adjectives
The following examples illustrate the distinction which must be made between adjectives which
modify nouns and adverbs which modify adjectives.
e.g. Adjective: a large wooden building
Adverb: a largely wooden building
In the first pair of phrases, the adjective large modifies the noun building, and the adverb largely
modifies the adjective wooden. Thus, the phrase a large wooden building has the meaning a big
wooden building, whereas the phrase a largely wooden building has the meaning a building
mostly made of wood.
In the second pair of phrases, the adjective conspicuous modifies the noun clouds, and the adverb
conspicuously modifies the adjective dark. Thus, the phrase conspicuous dark clouds means that
the clouds themselves are noticeable; whereas the phrase conspicuously dark clouds means that
the darkness of the clouds is noticeable.
iii. Predicate adjectives which modify the subjects of verbs compared with adverbs which
modify verbs
As pointed out previously, certain verbs, called linking verbs, can be followed by predicate
adjectives. A distinction must be made between predicate adjectives which modify the subjects of
linking verbs, and adverbs which modify verbs.
A few linking verbs, such as the verb to be, can be followed by predicate adjectives, but cannot be
modified by adverbs of manner. In the following examples using the verb to be, the nouns which
are modified are underlined.
e.g. He is happy.
The wind was strong.
In these examples, the predicate adjectives happy and strong modify the subjects he and wind.
However, there are several verbs which can be used either as linking verbs followed by predicate
adjectives, or as non-linking verbs modified by adverbs of manner. The following examples
illustrate the use of the verb to appear as a linking verb and as a non-linking verb.
e.g. Linking Verb: His uncle appeared kind.
Non-linking Verb: His uncle appeared punctually at ten o'clock.
In the first example, kind is a predicate adjective which modifies the noun uncle. In the second
example, punctually is an adverb of manner which modifies the verb appeared.
If the subject of the verb is to be modified, a predicate adjective is required after such verbs;
whereas if the verb is to be modified, an adverb is required. In the pairs of examples below, the
verbs to grow, to look and to turn are used first as linking verbs followed by adjectives, and then
as non-linking verbs modified by adverbs. The adjectives and adverbs are printed in bold type, and
the words which are modified are underlined.
In these examples, the predicate adjectives slow, anxious and cold modify the subjects he, they and
weather; whereas the adverbs of manner slowly, anxiously and coldly modify the verbs grew,
looked and turned.
The adverb of time soon also uses the endings er and est:
Positive Form Comparative Form Superlative Form
soon sooner soonest
It should be noted that adverbs formed by adding ly to one-syllable adjectives are sometimes used
with the endings er and est.
e.g. We walked slower and slower.
They sang the softest.
ii. Ellipsis
Ellipsis is often employed in comparisons using adverbs. For instance, in the second half of such
comparisons, instead of repeating the verb, the first auxiliary may be used, or the verb may be
omitted entirely. In the following examples, the words which would usually be omitted are enclosed
in square brackets.
e.g. I can run as fast as you can [run].
He moves as slowly as a snail [moves].
Her eyes shone as brightly as stars [shine].
As is the case with comparisons using adjectives, comparisons using adverbs can be combined with
phrases or clauses.
e.g. She performs better in front of an audience than she does in rehearsal.
They walked faster when they were on their way to school than they did
when they were on their way home.
In the first example, the two situations being compared are distinguished by the phrases in front of
an audience and in rehearsal. In the second example, the two situations being compared are
distinguished by the clauses when they were on their way to school and when they were on their
way home. The use of ellipsis should be noted. In the first example, the auxiliary does is used
instead of repeating the verb performs. In the second example, the auxiliary did is used instead of
repeating the verb walked.
For adverbs which form the comparative with more, the following construction is used:
more + and + more + positive form
of adverb
The following are further examples of the use of this type of construction. In these examples, the
comparative forms are underlined.
e.g. The more cleverly we hid the Easter eggs, the more enthusiastically the children searched for
them.
The more I scold her, the worse she behaves.
As shown in the examples, in this type of construction the two clauses beginning with the must be
separated by a comma.
In the case of adverbs which form the superlative with the ending est, the superlative is sometimes
preceded by a possessive adjective, instead of by the definite article, the. In the following examples,
the possessive adjectives are printed in bold type.
e.g. He ran his fastest.
I did my best.