Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner describe how an action happens, usually formed by adding -ly to an adjective (slow → slowly) and placed after the verb, or after the object if the verb has one.
Formula
Examples
Usage
- •Describing how an action happens
- •After the main verb, or after the object if there is one
- •With action verbs like speak, drive, work, write, listen, play
- •Making descriptions more detailed and interesting
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Try 5 cards free — no signup →How do you form adverbs of manner?
Most adverbs of manner are the adjective + -ly: slow → slowly, quick → quickly, careful → carefully. A few common ones are irregular and don't add -ly at all: good → well, and hard, fast, and late stay exactly the same as their adjective form.
These irregular forms are worth memorizing early because they're some of the most frequently used adverbs in everyday English — "She works hard," "He arrived late," "I did well on the test."
Where does the adverb of manner go in a sentence?
The adverb usually comes right after the verb ("She drives carefully") or after the object if the verb has one ("He speaks English fluently" — not between the verb and the object).
In more formal or literary writing, adverbs of manner can move to the front of the sentence for emphasis: "Slowly, she opened the door." This is a stylistic choice, not the everyday default position.
Comparison Table
| Form | Adjective | Adverb | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular (-ly) | slow, quick, careful | slowly, quickly, carefully | She drives carefully. |
| good (irregular) | good | well | I did well on the test. |
| fast (same form) | fast | fast | He runs fast. |
| hard (same form) | hard | hard | They worked hard all day. |
| late (same form) | late | late | The train arrived late. |
Save this comparison chart
More Examples
She drives carefully.
Adverb right after the verb
He speaks English fluently.
Adverb after the object (English)
They worked hard all day.
Irregular: hard stays hard, no -ly
I did well on the test.
Irregular: good becomes well
The train arrived late.
Irregular: late has the same form as the adjective
He plays the guitar well.
Adverb after the object, showing skill
Common Mistakes
- ✗Using the adjective instead of the adverb: "She sings beautiful." should be "She sings beautifully."
- ✗Writing "goodly" instead of "well" as the adverb form of good.
- ✗Putting the adverb between the verb and the object: "She speaks fluently English." should be "She speaks English fluently."
- ✗Adding -ly to words that already work as adverbs, like "fastly" instead of "fast".
Tips
- ✓Most adverbs of manner = adjective + -ly (slow -> slowly, quick -> quickly).
- ✓Learn the irregular ones by heart: good -> well, fast -> fast, hard -> hard, late -> late.
- ✓Put the adverb after the verb, or after the object if the verb has one.
Advanced Notes
Adverbs of manner usually come right after the verb, or after the verb's object if it has one. In more formal or literary writing, they can move to the front of the sentence for emphasis: "Slowly, she opened the door." A few very common words - hard, fast, late, well - don't follow the regular -ly pattern and need to be memorized separately, and learners often confuse "hard" (adverb: working hard) with "hardly" (a different word meaning "barely"), which is a trap worth flagging early.
FAQ
Why is "She sings beautiful" wrong?
Beautiful is an adjective, but here it's describing how she sings — an action — so it needs the adverb form: "She sings beautifully." Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs of manner describe verbs.
Why is "goodly" not a word?
Good is one of the irregular adjectives whose adverb form doesn't add -ly — the adverb of good is well, not "goodly": "I did well on the test," not "I did goodly on the test."
Why is "She speaks fluently English" wrong?
The adverb of manner goes after the object, not between the verb and the object: "She speaks English fluently," not "She speaks fluently English."
Why is "fastly" wrong?
Fast is already an adverb in its own right — it doesn't need -ly added to it. Say "He runs fast," not "He runs fastly." The same is true for hard and late, which don't change form between adjective and adverb.
What is the difference between hard and hardly?
Hard as an adverb means "with a lot of effort": "They worked hard all day." Hardly is a completely different word meaning "barely" or "almost not": "I hardly slept last night." They look similar but aren't related in meaning.
Practice
- 1.She sings .
- 2.I did on the test.
- 3.He speaks English .
- 4.They worked all day.
- 5.The train arrived again.
Compare With
Other A2 Topics
Present Continuous
Used for actions happening now or temporary situations
Past Continuous
Used for interrupted past actions or background description
Future with Going to
Used for decided plans and evidence-based predictions
Comparatives and Superlatives
Used for comparing qualities between items or identifying the extreme
Prepositions of Time and Place
Used for time and location relationships using in, on, at
Can / Could
Expresses ability, possibility, or polite requests
Adverbs of Frequency
Used for stating how often something happens
Possessive 's
Used for showing ownership or association using apostrophe + s
Quantifiers: Some, Any, Much, Many, A Lot Of
Used for unspecified quantities in positive, negative, and question contexts
Basic Linkers: And, But, Or, Because, So
Used for connecting ideas within or between sentences
Object Pronouns: Me, You, Him, Her, It, Us, Them
Used for replacing nouns as the object of a verb or preposition
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable nouns can be counted (a book, two books); uncountable nouns cannot (water, money).
Too and Enough
Say when something is more than needed (too) or exactly enough (enough).