Adverbs Spelling
Adjective vs. Adverb Review
Adjectives describe nouns (things).
- My dog is slow.
Slow is an adjective since it describes the subject (my dog).
How is my dog? Slow
Adverbs describe verbs (actions).
- My dog eats slowly.
Slowly is an adverb since it describes the way my dog eats.
How does my dog eat? Slowly.
Adverbs -LY
Adverbs are normally formed by adding -LY to the end of an adjective.
E.g. Quick – Quickly
For adjectives that end in -l or -e, we simply add -ly:
|
special + ly |
= specially |
|
terminal + ly |
= terminally |
|
literal + ly |
= literally |
|
nice + ly |
= nicely |
|
polite + ly |
= politely |
There are of course some expectations:
|
true |
truly |
|
whole |
wholly |
|
due |
duly |
|
full |
fully |
Adverbs ending in -Y
For adjectives that end in -y, we remove the -y and add -ily:
|
crazy |
crazily |
|
happy |
happily |
Adverbs ending in -LE
For adjectives that end in a consonant + le we remove the -e and add -y:
|
terrible |
terribly |
|
horrible |
horribly |
|
noble |
nobly |
|
idle |
idly |
Adverbs ending in -IC
If the adjective ends in -ic, we add -ally:
|
ironic |
ironically |
|
enthusiastic |
enthusiastically |
|
realistic |
realistically |
Except: public – publicly
Irregular Adverbs
Some adverbs, are irregular:
|
Adjective |
Adverb |
Example |
|
fast |
fast |
The man drives very fast (quickly). |
|
good |
well |
You Speak English very well. |
