Grammar
Adverbs of manner: how actions happen
Your colleague asks how you finished a task so quickly. You can say, I worked carefully and followed the instructions closely. Adverbs of manner add that useful detail to an action.
Use common adverbs of manner to explain how an action happens.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
Please speak slowly and clearly. /pliːz spiːk ˈsləʊli ænd ˈklɪəli/
The short answer
Use an adverb of manner to describe how someone does an action. Many adjectives become adverbs by adding -ly, but some common words have special forms.
Please read the message carefully.
Why it works: Carefully explains how the person should read the message.
5 more examples
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The nurse explained the instructions clearly.
Clearly tells us how the nurse explained the instructions.
Not this:The instructions
were clear. What changes: Clear describes the instructions. Clearly describes the action explained. -
Please close the door quietly.
Quiet changes to quietly to describe the action close.
Not this:The room
is quiet. What changes: Quiet is an adjective here because it describes the room. -
The receptionist greeted the visitors politely.
Politely tells us the manner of the receptionist's greeting.
Not this:The receptionist
is politeto visitors. What changes: Polite describes the receptionist. Politely describes the action. -
He completed the form easily.
Easy changes to easily: y becomes i before -ly.
Not this:The form
is easy. What changes: Easy describes the form. Easily describes how he completed it. -
Mina plays the piano well.
Well is the usual adverb of manner for good.
Not this:Mina
is a good pianist. What changes: Good describes the noun pianist. Well describes how Mina plays.
Read the full guide
First find the action. Then ask how it happens. The answer may be an adverb such as slowly, politely, or well. Use the adjective form to describe a person or thing, and use the adverb form to describe an action.
Ask how the action happens
An adverb of manner answers the question how. Start by finding the verb, then ask how the person does that action. In We walked slowly, walked is the action and slowly gives more information about it.
The guide spoke slowly for the new visitors.
Spoke names the action. Slowly describes the way the guide spoke.
Make many adverbs with -ly
Many adverbs of manner are made by adding -ly to an adjective. Careful becomes carefully, polite becomes politely, and sudden becomes suddenly. These adverbs often come after the verb's object.
The driver stopped the car suddenly.
Choose the word for how someone listens: careful or carefully?
Use carefully. It describes the action listens.
Change y to i before -ly
When an adjective ends in consonant plus y, change y to i before adding -ly. Easy becomes easily, happy becomes happily, and angry becomes angrily. This spelling change is part of the adverb form.
The new software installed easily.
Use easily, not easyly, when you describe how the software installed.
Use well for good actions
Use good before a noun or after be to describe a person or thing. Use well to describe how an action happens. This is one of the most common special forms in English.
You explained the problem well.
Say You are a good teacher, but say You teach well.
Keep the same form with fast and hard
Some common words are both adjectives and adverbs. Fast and hard do not need -ly when they describe an action. Use fast for speed and hard for effort.
The team worked hard before the deadline.
The cyclist rode fast down the hill.
Hardly has a different meaning. It means almost not.
Place the adverb where it describes the action
An adverb of manner often comes after the verb or after the verb's object. Put it close to the action it describes. This helps the listener see what happened and how it happened.
I checked the address carefully before I sent the package.
Put the words in order: carefully / reviewed / the manager / the report.
Write: The manager reviewed the report carefully. Carefully describes reviewed.
Before you go
Remember this
Ask how an action happens, then choose an adverb of manner. Many adverbs end in -ly, but good becomes well and words such as fast and hard do not need -ly. Use an adjective for a person or thing and an adverb for an action.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Adverbs of manner: how actions happen"
What is an adverb of manner?
An adverb of manner tells us how an action happens. The nurse explained the instructions clearly uses clearly to describe the action explained.
The nurse explained the instructions clearly.
How do I make an adverb of manner?
Many adverbs of manner are made by adding -ly to an adjective. For example, quiet becomes quietly in Please close the door quietly.
The instructions were clear.
Why does easy become easily?
When an adjective ends in consonant plus y, change y to i before adding -ly. He completed the form easily shows the spelling pattern.
Please close the door quietly.
What is the adverb form of good?
The usual adverb form of good is well. Mina plays the piano well describes how she plays, while good describes a person or thing.
The room is quiet.
Do fast and hard need -ly?
No. Fast and hard can already describe an action, as in The cyclist rode fast down the hill. Hardly has a different meaning: almost not.
The receptionist greeted the visitors politely.