Adverbs

We can form a lot of adverbs by adding ly to an adjective.

slow →slowly, careful→ carefully, easy →easily, soft→ softly, bad →badly, serious →seriously, permanent →permanently, quick →quickly, rapid→ rapidly

We use a few words such as fast, hard, late, and low as either adjectives or adverbs.

He is a fast learner. He learns fast.

She is a hard worker. She works hard.

Good is an adjective. It modifies a noun. Examples: He is a good student. / Good food makes you look good.

Well is its adverb. It modifies a verb, an adjective or a whole sentence. Examples: He studies well./ He works well.

We often use well to tell that we are in good health. Examples: I am very well, thank you./ Ben was sick yesterday but now he is well.

Many adverbs end in - ly. It is the case of adverbs of manner + some adverbs of degree.

• If the adjective ends in –y, replace it with –i and then add –ly.

happy →happily

angry→ angrily

lucky→ luckily

• If the adjective ends in –able, -ible, or –le, replace the e with –y

probable→ probably

gentle →gently

humble →humbly

• If the adjective ends in –ic, add –ally

basic →basically

economic→ economically

BUT → public → publicly

• Irregular adverbs

Most adverbs are formed by adding –ly to an adjective. However, there are some irregular adverbs :

good→ well

fast →fast

hard →hard

late →late

early →early

daily →daily

• nice → nicely immmediate → immediately extreme → extremely

BUT true → truly due → duly whole → wholly

NOTE : not all words ending in -ly or -lly are adverbs : silly, friendly, likely, lonely, lovely.

These are adjectives and have no adverb form. To supply this deficiency, we use a similar adverb or an adverb phrase. e.g. My dog is very friendly. He behaves in a friendly way.