Adverbs for Manner 1 (Word Forms)
Telling how something is done
An adjective versus an adverb for manner
| AN ADJECTIVE | ADVERB OF MANNER |
|---|---|
Use an adjective to modify the quality or character of a noun. |
Use an adverb to modify how a person performs an action or activity. A similar meaning may be expressed with a prepositional phrase. "in … manner" |
He is an excellent tennis player. |
He plays tennis excellently. (adverb) |
He is a graceful athlete. |
He moves gracefully. |
He is a smart player. |
He dresses smartly. (fashionably) |
He is a defensive player. |
He will play defensively in tomorrow's game. |
He is a professional athlete. |
He appears professionally at fundraisers. (appear – take part in a public event) dynamic verb) |
He is an expert player. |
He plays expertly. |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
For word order, see: Adverb of Manner 2
With dynamic verbs only!
| DYNAMIC VERB | STATIVE VERB |
|---|---|
Adverbs modiify the action of "dynamic verbs" (action verbs). Some dynamic verbs have an equivalent stative verb form which cannot be modified by an adverb. |
An adverb is not used with a "state of being" verb. There is no action happening! |
Alberto is quietly looking at you. (to see with eyes focused)* |
Alberto looks tired.(Alberto = tired.) |
Alberto Benigni possibly is appearing on stage tonight. (is performing) |
Alberto appears pleased. (Alberto = pleased.) |
Alberto is rapidly becoming a good technician. (is working to become, self-actualizing) |
Alberto becomes excited. (Alberto = excited.) |
Robert DeNiro is proudly acting in this movie. (is performing) |
Alberto acts strange. (Alberto behaves strangely.) |
You are slowly getting better each day. (are improving in health or are taking action to improve) |
BUT: Alberto gets angry easily. (Alberto becomes angry.) |
Also see States of Being | Sensory States | Mental States | Possession States | Emotion States | Other States
Adverbs of Manner
Ending in -ly
Changing Adjective Word Forms to Adverb Word Forms (suffixes)
| ADJ. FORM + LY | –Y to – ILY | – LE to – LY | – IC to – iCALLY |
|---|---|---|---|
For most words, add -ly to the end of an adjective form to create an adverb word form. |
For words with more than one syllable ending in -y, replace the -y with -ily. |
For words with more than one syllable ending in -le, replace the -le with -ly. |
For words ending in –ic, replace –ic with –ically. |
late – lately |
angry – angrily |
able – ably |
academic – academically |
right – rightly |
busy – busily |
capable – capably |
acoustic – acoustically |
hopeful – hopefully |
easy – easily |
idle – idly |
artistic – artistically |
complete – completely |
happy – happily |
noble – nobly |
classic – classically |
real – really |
lucky – luckily |
possible – possibly |
magic – magically |
definite – definitely |
ready – readily |
probably – probably |
politic – politically |
mature – maturely |
voluntary – voluntarily |
|
tragic – tragically |
EXCEPTIONS true – truly |
ONE SYLLABLE dry – dryly (One syllable - no change.) |
EXCEPTIONS subtle – subtly – not easily noticed |
EXCEPTIONS public – publicly / publically |
full – fully |
coy – coyly |
smile – smiley |
|
whole – wholly |
sly – slyly |
hole – holey |
|
|
shy – shyly |
rule(?) – unruly "an unruly crowd" |
|
Adverbs for Manner (just a few)
abnormally |
calmly |
deliberately |
furiously |
justly |
miraculously |
quickly |
tastefully |
accidentally |
carefully |
delightfully |
gently |
kindly |
miserably |
readily |
tenderly |
accurately |
cautiously |
desperately |
gracefully |
knowledgeably |
musically |
regretfully |
terribly |
affectionately |
cheerfully |
dependably |
guiltily |
lawfully |
naturally |
religiously |
thoroughly |
anxiously |
clearly |
distinctly |
happily |
leisurely |
neatly |
romantically |
uniquely |
artfully |
cleverly |
doubtfully |
harshly |
lifelessly |
noisily |
sadly |
universally |
awkwardly |
colorfully |
eagerly |
helpfully |
luckily |
oddly |
safely |
untruthfully |
awesomely |
comfortably |
easily |
hurriedly |
lovingly |
officially |
secretly |
vocally |
badly |
competitively |
extraordinarily |
imaginatively |
loyally |
painfully |
silently |
voluntarily |
beautifully |
confidently |
expertly |
irresponsibly |
magnificently |
personally |
skillfully |
warmly |
briskly |
cowardly |
famously |
jealously |
maturely |
proudly |
sleepily |
watchfully |
brutally |
crazily |
fashionably |
jokingly |
mechanically |
punctually |
steadily |
weakly |
busily |
customarily |
freely |
joyfully |
mindlessly |
purposefully |
suspiciously |
willingly |
External Resources: " Adverbs List". ESL Desk. http://www.esldesk.com/vocabulary/adverbs
LDOCE. (word definitions) http://www.ldoceonline.com (Note in most cases the adjective form appears in the dictionary with the adverb form entry at the bottom.)
Adverbs of Manner
Ending in -ways and -wize
Adverbs of manner ending in -ways and -wise
| ADVERB FOR MANNER | ADVERB FOR OPINION |
|---|---|
In the examples below, the -wise adverb modifies the verb. "in this/that way" |
In the examples, below the adverb ending in -wise modifies the idea of the clause, and it limits the viewpoint of the speaker to a specific viewpoint, area or domain. See Adv for Opinion "viewpoint". |
He turned the dial clockwise. "in the circular direction that the hands of a clock turn" |
Weatherwise, it will be a great day for surfing. "In the way or view to the weather…" |
She folds her towels lengthwise. "with the fold as the length of the item" |
The water is cold and it is windy. †Otherwise, it is a great day for surfing. "In other ways…" |
They placed the box on the shelf sideways. "with the side facing you" |
Pricewise, it's a good deal. "In the way or view of the price…" |
clockwise |
counterclockwise |
crosswise |
edgewise / ways |
†healthwise |
†job-wise |
†likewise |
†money-wise |
lengthwise / ways |
sideway/ sideways/ sidewize |
|
|
†otherwise |
†pricewise |
†time-wise |
†weatherwise |
It's hard to get a word in edgewise — to succeed in entering a conversation or expressing one's opinion in spite of competition or opposition
†The suffix -wise can be added to a number of words to limit the specific area or domain. A hyphen is used with a new term that is created for a specific use. See Hyphens.
††always - not related to the -ways and -wize suffixed words
Adverbs of Manner
Other Forms
Word Form Exceptions
| UNCOMMON ADVERB FORMS | SHIFT IN MEANING | ||
|---|---|---|---|
In these words, the adjective and adverb word forms are the same, or already end in -ly. |
In these words the adjective and adverb differ in meaning. |
||
good–well |
He is a good runner. (adj.) |
hard (tough) –hardly (barely) |
A desk has a hard surface. (adj.) |
fast–fast |
He is a fast runner. (adj.) |
late (tardy) –lately (recently) |
He arrived late to work. (adj.) |
hard–hard |
It was a hard game. (adj.) |
high (related to height) –highly (very much) |
The picture is high on the wall. (adj.) |
loud–loud or loudly |
He is a loud speaker. (adj.) |
free (no cost) –freely (without restriction) |
Water is free. (adj.) |
early – early (already ends in -ly) |
It is the early/ daily edition of the newspaper. (adj.) |
pretty (beautiful) –pretty (rather) |
She is a pretty child. (adj.) |
friendly – in a friendly manner |
He is friendly. (adj.) |
short (not tall) –shortly (soon) |
The distance is short. (adj.) |
lovely – in a lovely way |
Her dancing is lovely. (adj.) |
right (correct, direction) –right (exactly) |
You are right. (adj.) |
Common Mistakes
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
*He was breathing hardly. |
He was hardly breathing. (adv of degree – barely, not much) |
*She arrived lately. |
She arrived late. (She was not on time.) |
*The car goes extremely fastly. |
The car goes extremely fast. (adv of degree – extremely, very; adv of manner –fast.) |
He feels badly about the matter. |
I feels bad. He is "not well" (Use an adjective with a state-of-being verb.) |
He becomes happily when he sees her. |
He becomes happy when he sees her. See States of Being |
The crowd went wildly. |
The crowd went wild. went (stative verb) – behaved, acted; wild (adj.) – out of control) |
He is very successfully and earns a lot of money. |
He is very successful and ...be + (adj) . (stative verb) |
An angry gopher
Practice
Using Adverbs in Sentences
- Select the word order that best completes the sentence.
- Then click the button on the right to check your answer.
Practice 2
"Fourno" Lamb
Each year, we roast a spring lamb in the traditional way. That is to say, the lamb is prepared in a careful way as it has been for hundreds of years.
After we select a side of lamb, we take it home, and prepare the fourno, a stone oven. First, my father builds a fire in a skillful way with dried wood from old fruit trees. It takes a while for the wood and the oven to get hot. In a happy way, he sits outside "feeds" the oven and talks to my uncle. He checks the burning wood frequently to see if it is turning a light gray color. On the side, we prepare the lamb. First, we wash it with water and lemon and pat it dry in a thorough manner. Then, we slice garlic in a fine way and insert in a gentle way under the skin of the lamb. We sprinkle the lamb in a light manner with salt, pepper and oregano and place it in a large pan.
If needed, we tie the lamb in a secure way so that it won't fall apart. Then, we place the pan in the oven with the side facing out. As the lamb cooks, he adds twigs of rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano into the flames in a quick manner. The wonderful smell of the roasting lamb and the smokey herbs causes us to wait in an impatient manner. In the last half hour of cooking, we arrange cut potatoes in a neat manner around the lamb in the pan.
When the lamb is ready, we take our places at the table and await our first bite in an eager manner. We sit together as a family and eat in a joyful manner.
Edit the sentence so that the prepositional phrase of manner is an adverb of manner.
- Enter your response in the edit box.
- Compare your response to the answers on the right by clicking the "check" button. The less preferred placement is shown in brackets […].