The adverb

The adverb is a part of speech which expresses some circumstances that attend an action or state, or points out some characteristic features of an action or a quality.

Kinds of Adverb

Manner – happily, quickly, fast, bravely, etc.

Place – here, near, down, inside, etc.

Time – now, still, yet, today, etc.

Frequency – often, always, never, twice, etc.

Degree, measure and quantity – very, much, hardly, quite, nearly, almost, etc.

Cause & consequences – therefore, accordingly, etc.

Interrogative, relative – where? When? Why? How?

and conjunctive (to introduce subordinate clauses): when, where, etc.

The majority of adverbs are formed by adding –ly to an adjective:

Slow – slowly, heavy – heavily, beautiful – beautifully

But: cozy – cozily; terrible – terribly; true – truly; dramatic – dramatically; whole – wholly.

The adverbs loud(ly), cheap(ly), quick(ly), slow(ly) are often used without –ly in everyday English. When used with –ly, they are more formal.

Don’t talk so loud(ly). Come as quick(ly) as you can.

The following words end in –ly but they are adjectives: friendly, likely, lively, motherly, lonely, lovely, silly, ugly, cowardly, etc. To form their adverbs we use the words in a(n) … way(manner).

He is really a very friendly person. He talked to me in a friendly way.

Some of the adjectives can be made into adverbs by adding –ly, but in these cases the meaning changes:

Close – to: leave little space between, not far: Stay close to me; follow close behind someone.

Closely – thoroughly, tightly; in a close manner: He was closely guarded; follow an argument closely.

Direct – by the shortest way or without stopping; fly direct to Moscow; without intermediary: I contacted the manager direct.

Directly – closely: The matter concerns us directly; exactly: directly opposite.

Easy – gently, slowly: Take it easy.

Easily – without difficulty: win easily; without doubt: It is easily the best film I’ve ever seen; possibly: This could easily be the answer to your question.

Full – exactly, very: He was kicked full in the stomach.

Fully – completely: She was fully satisfied with her new job.

Free – without cost: The admission is free.

Freely – willingly, without control: He freely admitted his fault.

Hard – strongly, with great effort: work hard, hit hard.

Hardly – scarcely, barely: She hardly knew him.

High – at a high level/altitude: Prices have risen very high.

Highly – very much: I highly appreciate your job.

Last – after all others: When did you see him last?

Lastly – finally: I’d like to thank my teachers, my friends &, lastly, my mom.

Loud – in a loud manner (if the verb is not followed by an object, usually with sing, talk, laugh): He always talks so loud. He laughed loud & long.

Loudly – to make smth public (usually if the verb is followed by an object): She complained loudly of having to wait. He called loudly for help.

Near – close: The hotel is near the airport.

Nearly – almost: She is nearly as tall as her father.

Pretty – very, rather: pretty difficult, feel pretty well.

Prettily – nicely, pleasantly: speak/sing/dress prettily.

Right – correctly: do a sum right; completely: read a book right through; well (with go, come, turn out): Things went right at last.

Rightly – sensibly, wisely: She very rightly refused; justly: Act rightly towards your neighbours.

Sharp – at right angles: turn sharp right/left.

Sharply – quickly, abruptly: turn sharply; speak sharply to smb.

Short – without finishing: stop short; fall short of the target.

Shortly – soon: She’ll be arriving shortly.

Wide – to the full extend, fully: Open your mouth wide.

Widely – to a large extent or degree: differ widely in opinions; over a large area (often in compounds): widely known; travel widely.

Wrong – incorrectly: do a sum wrong; badly (with go): Things went badly.

Wrongly – mistakenly, unwisely: I think she decided wrongly; unjustly: act wrongly towards one’s neighbours.