Adverbs of manner describe how an action is done. They modify verbs and answer the question “How?” in a sentence, adding detail about the way, style, or speed of the action.
Most adverbs of manner are formed by adding “-ly” to an adjective (quick → quickly, careful → carefully). A small group keeps the same form as the adjective (fast, hard, late), and one is fully irregular: “well” from “good.” Adverbs of manner come after the main verb, or after the object when the verb takes one.
What Are Adverbs of Manner?
An adverb of manner is a word that tells how an action is done. It modifies a verb and answers the question “How?” about the action in a sentence. Most adverbs of manner are formed from adjectives by adding “-ly”, though a small group keeps the same form as the adjective and one is fully irregular.
- She sings beautifully.
- He drives carefully.
- They worked quickly on the project.
- The child slept peacefully.
- She speaks English fluently.
Note that adverbs of manner modify verbs only. They do not modify adjectives or other adverbs, which sets them apart from adverbs of degree like “very” and “extremely.”
Common Adverbs of Manner in English
The most common adverbs of manner in English are formed from adjectives by adding “-ly”. A small group keeps the same form as the adjective (fast, hard, late, early), and a few take an irregular form. Others describe a specific way of doing an action, such as speed, style, or attitude.
- -ly adverbs: quickly, slowly, carefully, badly, happily, angrily, quietly, loudly
- Adverbs without -ly (same form as adjective): fast, hard, late, early, straight
- Irregular: well (from good)
- Style and attitude: politely, rudely, kindly, gently, firmly, patiently
- Speed: quickly, slowly, rapidly, steadily, hastily
How to Form Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner are formed from adjectives in three main ways. The most common way is adding “-ly” to the adjective; the second involves a spelling change before “-ly”; the third is irregular formation that follows neither pattern.
Regular Formation With -ly
For most adjectives, the adverb of manner is formed by adding “-ly” directly to the adjective. The adjective describes a quality; the adverb describes how the action shows that quality.
- quick → quickly (She runs quickly.)
- slow → slowly (He speaks slowly.)
- careful → carefully (She drives carefully.)
- loud → loudly (They laughed loudly.)
- polite → politely (He answered politely.)
Spelling Changes When Adding -ly
Some adjectives change their spelling before “-ly”. Adjectives ending in “-y” change to “-i-” and add “-ly”; adjectives ending in “-le” drop the “-e” and add “-y”; adjectives ending in “-ic” add “-ally” instead of just “-ly”.
- Adjectives ending in -y → change to -ily: happy → happily, easy → easily, angry → angrily
- Adjectives ending in -le → drop -e, add -y: gentle → gently, simple → simply, terrible → terribly
- Adjectives ending in -ic → add -ally: automatic → automatically, basic → basically, dramatic → dramatically
Note that “public” is the exception to the “-ic → -ally” rule. The adverb form is “publicly,” not “publically.”
Irregular Adverbs of Manner
A small group of adverbs of manner does not follow the “-ly” pattern. The main one is “well” (from the adjective “good”); others keep the same form as their adjective and never take “-ly”.
- good → well (She speaks English well.)
- fast → fast (He runs fast.)
- hard → hard (They worked hard.)
- late → late (She arrived late.)
- early → early (We finished early.)
- straight → straight (Walk straight ahead.)
Note that adding “-ly” to some of these words creates a different adverb with a different meaning. “Hardly” means “almost not,” not “in a hard way”; “lately” means “recently,” not “in a late way.”
Compare:
- He works hard. (with effort) ✓
- He hardly works. (almost not) ✗ different meaning
Adjectives That Are Also Adverbs
A small group of words serves as both an adjective and an adverb of manner without any change in form. The context shows which function the word has in a sentence.
- fast: a fast car (adjective) / She drives fast (adverb)
- hard: a hard worker (adjective) / She works hard (adverb)
- late: a late arrival (adjective) / She arrived late (adverb)
- early: an early riser (adjective) / She wakes up early (adverb)
Position of Adverbs of Manner in a Sentence
Adverbs of manner have three possible positions in a sentence: after the main verb (or after the object when there is one), before the main verb for emphasis, or at the start of the sentence for stronger emphasis. The default position is directly after what the adverb modifies.
After the Main Verb or Object
With an intransitive verb (no object), the adverb of manner comes directly after the verb. With a transitive verb that takes an object, the adverb comes after the object, not between the verb and the object.
- She sings beautifully. (intransitive verb + adverb)
- He drives the car carefully. (transitive verb + object + adverb)
- The child slept peacefully. (intransitive)
- She answered the question politely. (transitive)
Compare:
- She drives carefully the car. ✗
- She drives the car carefully. ✓
Before the Main Verb
An adverb of manner can also appear before the main verb, though this position is less common and slightly shifts the emphasis. It works with adverbs that describe deliberate action, such as carefully, slowly, quietly, and patiently.
- She carefully opened the letter.
- He quickly finished his meal.
- They quietly left the room.
Note that this position is used more in written English than in speech, and it reads as slightly more formal.
At the Start of a Sentence
An adverb of manner can start a sentence for strong emphasis. This position highlights the way the action was done and is common in narrative or descriptive writing.
- Slowly, she opened the door.
- Angrily, he threw the letter in the bin.
- Carefully, the surgeon made the first cut.
Note that a comma follows the adverb when it comes at the start of a sentence.
Comparative and Superlative Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner form comparatives and superlatives in two main ways. Short adverbs (one syllable, or those that share their form with an adjective) add “-er” and “-est”; longer “-ly” adverbs use “more” and “most” before the adverb. A small group is irregular and has its own forms.
1. Short adverbs (add -er / -est):
- fast → faster → fastest: She runs fast. She runs faster than her sister. She runs fastest of all.
- hard → harder → hardest: He works hard. He works harder than before. He works hardest on Mondays.
- late → later → latest: She arrived late. She arrived later than expected. She arrived latest at the party.
2. -ly adverbs (use more / most):
- quickly → more quickly → most quickly: He finished quickly. He finished more quickly than his brother. He finished most quickly of all.
- carefully → more carefully → most carefully: She drives carefully. She drives more carefully in the rain. She drives most carefully at night.
3. Irregular:
- well → better → best: She sings well. She sings better than her sister. She sings best of all.
- badly → worse → worst: He plays badly. He plays worse than yesterday. He plays worst of all.
Note that “more fast” and “most quick” are not English. The pattern for each adverb is fixed, and mixing them produces incorrect forms.
Common Confusions With Adverbs of Manner
Four pairs cause the most confusion for learners of English. Each pair contains two related words that split by function, meaning, or form.
Good vs Well
“Good” is an adjective; “well” is the adverb of manner formed from it. Adjectives modify nouns, and adverbs modify verbs, so the choice depends on what the word modifies in the sentence.
- She is a good singer. (adjective, modifies “singer”)
- She sings well. (adverb, modifies “sings”)
- That is good food. (adjective, modifies “food”)
- The chef cooks well. (adverb, modifies “cooks”)
Compare:
- She sings good. ✗
- She sings well. ✓
Note that “well” also serves as an adjective when it means “healthy” (“I feel well”), but as an adverb of manner it means “in a good way.”
Hard vs Hardly
“Hard” is an adverb of manner meaning “with effort” or “with force.” “Hardly” is an adverb of degree meaning “almost not.” The two words have completely different meanings and are not two forms of the same word.
- He works hard. (with effort)
- He hardly works. (almost not at all)
- She hit the ball hard. (with force)
- She could hardly hear him. (almost not)
Compare:
- He hardly worked all day. (unusual: implies he did almost nothing)
- He worked hard all day. ✓ (normal: implies he put in effort)
Fast vs Fastly
“Fast” is both an adjective and an adverb of manner. There is no word “fastly” in English, and “fast” does not take an “-ly” ending in any form.
- She is a fast runner. (adjective before noun)
- She runs fast. (adverb after verb)
Compare:
- She runs fastly. ✗
- She runs fast. ✓
Late vs Lately
“Late” is an adverb of manner meaning “after the expected time.” “Lately” is an adverb of time meaning “recently.” The two are separate words with different meanings, not two forms of the same word.
- She arrived late. (after the expected time)
- She has been busy lately. (recently)
- We stayed late at the party. (until a late hour)
- I have not seen him lately. (recently)
Compare:
- She arrived lately. ✗ (should be “late”)
- She has been busy late. ✗ (should be “lately”)
Common Errors Learners Make With Adverbs of Manner
Six errors recur most commonly when learners use adverbs of manner in English.
- Using an adjective instead of an adverb. We say “She sings well,” not “She sings good.” Adverbs of manner modify verbs; adjectives modify nouns.
- Adding “-ly” to fast, hard, or late. We say “She runs fast,” not “She runs fastly.” The words fast, hard, and late already serve as adverbs and do not take “-ly.”
- Confusing “hard” and “hardly.” We say “He works hard,” not “He works hardly.” “Hardly” means “almost not,” which changes the meaning entirely.
- Placing the adverb between the verb and the object. We say “She drives the car carefully,” not “She drives carefully the car.” Adverbs of manner come after the object, not between the verb and the object.
- Confusing “late” and “lately.” We say “She arrived late,” not “She arrived lately.” “Late” is manner (after the expected time); “lately” is time (recently).
- Using “goodly” as the adverb of “good.” We say “She sings well,” not “She sings goodly.” The adverb form of “good” is “well,” and “goodly” is not used in modern English.
FAQs
Q1. What is an adverb of manner?
An adverb of manner is a word that tells how an action is done. It modifies a verb and answers the question “How?” about the action in a sentence. Common examples in English include “quickly, slowly, carefully, well, fast, hard, beautifully,” and “loudly.”
Q2. How are adverbs of manner formed?
Most adverbs of manner are formed by adding “-ly” to an adjective: quick → quickly, careful → carefully. Some adjectives change spelling before “-ly”: happy → happily, gentle → gently, automatic → automatically. A small group is irregular: “well” from “good,” or the adverb keeps the same form as the adjective (fast, hard, late, early).
Q3. Where does an adverb of manner go in a sentence?
An adverb of manner comes after the verb, or after the object when the verb takes one. “She sings beautifully” places the adverb after the intransitive verb “sings.” “She drives the car carefully” places the adverb after the object “the car.” An adverb of manner can also come before the main verb for emphasis, or at the start of a sentence for stronger emphasis.
Q4. What is the difference between “good” and “well”?
“Good” is an adjective and “well” is the adverb of manner. “Good” modifies nouns, as in “a good singer.” “Well” modifies verbs, as in “She sings well.” Saying “She sings good” is a common learner error; the correct form is “She sings well.”
Q5. Why is there no word “fastly”?
“Fast” is one of the few words that serves as both an adjective and an adverb of manner without changing form. There is no word “fastly” in English, and adding “-ly” to “fast” creates a non-word. The same is true for “hard,” “late,” and “early.”
Q6. What is the difference between “hard” and “hardly”?
“Hard” is an adverb of manner meaning “with effort” or “with force.” “Hardly” is an adverb of degree meaning “almost not.” The two words have completely different meanings. “He works hard” means he puts in effort; “He hardly works” means he does almost nothing at all.
Q7. How do adverbs of manner form comparatives and superlatives?
Short adverbs (fast, hard, late) add “-er” and “-est”: fast, faster, fastest. Longer “-ly” adverbs use “more” and “most” before the adverb: carefully, more carefully, most carefully. Two irregular adverbs have their own forms: well → better → best, and badly → worse → worst.
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