Adverbs such as quickly, badly and suddenly tell you how something happens. Most are an adjective + -ly, with a few exceptions: hard, fast, late, early and well.
A adjective + -ly = adverb
Tom sat down at seven o'clock. At five past seven his plate was empty. He ate his tea very quickly.
Maya was reading on the sofa. Suddenly the cat jumped through the window.
Quickly and suddenly are adverbs. Most adverbs are adjective + -ly:
| adjective | adverb |
|---|---|
| quick | quickly |
| bad | badly |
| sudden | suddenly |
| careful | carefully |
| heavy | heavily |
Spelling: a final -y becomes -ily: easy → easily, heavy → heavily.
- He ate his tea very quickly.
- Suddenly the cat jumped through the window.
- I found the house easily.
B Adverbs tell you how
An adverb tells you how something happens, or how somebody does something. It usually describes a verb.
Compare the two. An adjective describes a noun, or comes after be, look, feel etc. An adverb describes the action.
| adjective (Unit 85) | adverb |
|---|---|
| Leo is very quiet. | Leo speaks very quietly. (not 'speaks very quiet') |
| Be careful! | Drive carefully! (not 'drive careful') |
| It was a bad game. | We played badly. (not 'played bad') |
| I feel nervous. (= I am nervous) | I waited nervously outside the office. |
- The bus stopped suddenly.
- She closed the door slowly.
- Please read the question carefully.
- It's raining heavily.
- You explained it perfectly.
C hard, fast, late, early
These four words are adjectives and adverbs. Do not add -ly.
| adjective | adverb |
|---|---|
| Nurses have a very hard job. | My brother works very hard. (not 'hardly') |
| Holly is a fast swimmer. | Holly can swim fast. |
| The train was late. | We got home late. |
| We had an early lunch. | I got up early. |
- Kieran works very hard.
- Don't drive so fast.
- The film finished late.
D good (adjective) and well (adverb)
Good is an adjective. The adverb is well.
| adjective | adverb |
|---|---|
| Your Spanish is very good. | You speak Spanish very well. (not 'very good') |
| It was a good match. | Both teams played well. |
Well is also an adjective that means 'healthy, not ill'. It is the polite answer to a question about your health, whatever the truth of the matter.
- "How are you?" "I'm very well, thanks. And you?"
- Ellie sings really well.
- That was a good meal.
Exercises
86.1 Read each scene and complete the sentence with one of these adverbs.
badlycarefullyfastloudlypatientlyslowly
A dog is standing at the gate, barking at the postman with its mouth wide open.
The dog is barking loudly.
The dog is barking loudly.
A man is painting a door. There is paint on the floor, on the window and on his shoes.
He paints very .
He paints very badly.
A waitress is crossing the room with a tray of full glasses, looking at each step.
She's walking .
She's walking carefully.
An old man is driving along the motorway. Every other car is overtaking him.
He's driving very .
He's driving very slowly.
A girl is typing on a keyboard. Her fingers are moving so quickly you can hardly see them.
She can type very .
She can type very fast.
A man has been in the queue at the post office for forty minutes. He is calm and reading a newspaper.
He's waiting .
He's waiting patiently.
86.2 Complete each sentence with a verb from box A and an adverb from box B. Put the verb in the correct form.
cookdriveeatget upreadspeakstudyunderstandcarefullyclearlyearlyeasilyhardquicklywellwell
The roads are icy tonight, so please drive carefully.
The roads are icy tonight, so please drive carefully.
Lucy every evening. She wants to pass all her exams.
Lucy studies hard every evening. She wants to pass all her exams.
Grandad can't hear very well, so you have to when you talk to him.
Grandad can't hear very well, so you have to speak clearly when you talk to him.
Rhys never on Sundays. He stays in bed until eleven.
Rhys never gets up early on Sundays. He stays in bed until eleven.
My dad . His Sunday roast is famous in our street.
My dad cooks well. His Sunday roast is famous in our street.
Slow down! Don't . You'll get hiccups.
Slow down! Don't eat so quickly. You'll get hiccups.
I've read this letter three times, but I still don't it very .
I've read this letter three times, but I still don't understand it very well.
Isla's handwriting is terrible. You can't her notes very .
Isla's handwriting is terrible. You can't read her notes very easily.
86.3 Which is right? Choose the adjective or the adverb.
Please don't talk so ___ (loud / loudly). The baby's asleep.
loudly
Please don't talk so loudly. The baby's asleep.
Why are you ___ (nervous / nervously)? It's only a short test.
Why are you nervous? It's only a short test.
Could you walk a bit more ___ (slow / slowly)? I can't keep up.
Could you walk a bit more slowly? I can't keep up.
Get off the sofa, Jack! Why are you always so ___ (lazy / lazily)?
Get off the sofa, Jack! Why are you always so lazy?
Megan is a very ___ (patient / patiently) teacher.
Megan is a very patient teacher.
Mum works very ___ (hard / hardly). She has two jobs.
Mum works very hard. She has two jobs.
We were watching the telly when the lights went out ___ (sudden / suddenly).
We were watching the telly when the lights went out suddenly.
Please be ___ (careful / carefully). That vase is very old.
Please be careful. That vase is very old.
Our team played ___ (bad / badly) and lost five nil.
Our team played badly and lost five nil.
This soup smells ___ (wonderful / wonderfully). Can I have some?
This soup smells wonderful. Can I have some?
86.4 Put in good or well.
Kofi is a good cook. He cooks very well.
Kofi is a good cook. He cooks very well.
Zara did very in her driving test.
Zara did very well in her driving test.
The film was really . I enjoyed it a lot.
The film was really good. I enjoyed it a lot.
The boiler is twenty years old, but it still works .
The boiler is twenty years old, but it still works well.
How's your grandma? Is she ?
How's your grandma? Is she well?
Did you have a time in Bristol? Was the food ?
Did you have a good time in Bristol? Was the food good?