Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner tell us how something happens.
Paul says:
'...that ended very abruptly...'.
If we ask: how did it end? - The answer is 'abruptly'.
Paul also says:
'...she calmly announced that she had fallen in love with someone
else.'
If we ask: how did she announce it? - The answer is 'calmly'.
Other examples:
He swims fast. How does he swim? - fast.
She sings beautifully. How does she sing? - beautifully.
I opened the door wide. How did I open the door? - wide.
She quickly finished her dinner. How did she finish? - quickly.
Adverbs of manner - position
Adverbs of manner are usually placed after the main verb.
He swims fast.
She sings beautifully.
It is possible to place the adverb before the verb. This places emphasis
on the adverb.
She calmly announced that she had fallen in love with someone else.
She quickly finished her dinner.
But some adverbs are always placed after the verb.
These adverbs are: well, badly, hard, fast.
The team well played. - WRONG
The team played well. - RIGHT
He performed badly.
The students tried hard. (note: hard is an irregular adverb - don't
say hardly) The dogs ran fast. (note: fast is an irregular adverb - don't
say fastly)
Adverbs of manner - verbs with objects
If the verb has an object, the adverb of manner is usually
placed afterthe object, not between the verb and object.
I opened wide the door. - WRONG
I opened the door wide. - RIGHT
He ate the chocolate cake greedily. She typed the email hurriedly.
However, it is still possible to place the adverb before the verb, to
emphasise the adverb.
He greedily ate the chocolate cake. She hurriedly typed the email.
Adverbs of manner - beginning position
Some writers put an adverb of manner at the beginning of a sentence,
to catch the reader's attention and make him/her curious:
Slowly, carefully, she opened the box.
This use of adverb position makes the reader want to find out more.
What is in the box? Why did she open it slowly and carefully?
Adverbs of manner - more than one verb
When there is more than one verb in a clause, the position of the adverb
is very important. If it is placed with the verb, it modifies the action
described by the verb. If it is placed at the end of the clause, it
describes the manner of the whole action described in the clause.
Compare:
She slowly decided to leave the party. = slowly modifies decided.
She decided to leave the party slowly. = slowly modifies leave the
party.
The teacher quietly asked the children to finish their game. = quietly
modifies asked.
The teacher asked the children to finish their game quietly. = quietly
modifies finish (their game).
Adverb modifiers - a bit, quite, most, fairly, very, extremely
You can give more information about most adverbs of manner by using a
word such as:
a bit
quite
most
fairly
really
very
extremely
These words are always placed before the adverb.
Very carefully, she carried the baby upstairs.
She carried the baby upstairs very carefully.
She very carefully carried the baby upstairs.
He finished his homework really quickly.
Common adverbs of manner
angrily badly beautifully calmingly
carefully cautiously cleverly dangerously
eagerly excitedly foolishly fast
furiously greedily happily hard
hurriedly kindly nervously politely
quickly quietly secretly silently
slowly softly stupidly unhappily
well wickedly willingly wisely
GRAMMAR WORKSHEET
ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS
Circle the adjective or the adverb to complete each sentence.
Example: My friend is a _____ driver. [ careful / carefully ]
1. My classmate is a _____ person. [ nice / nicely ]
2. I can speak Spanish very _____. [ good / well ]
3. Katrina took a painting class, so she can paint _____ pictures. [ beautiful / beautifully ]
4. Mr. Smith looked _____ at me when I arrived late. [ angry / angrily ]
5. Of course, I was _____ when I got an A+ on the exam. [ happy / happily ]
6. The music is too _____. Please turn it down! [ loud / loudly ]
7. My friends all tell me that I sing _____. [ bad / badly ]
8. The thief _____ took the money and walked out the door. [ quiet / quietly ]
9. The cat waited _____ for the mouse to come out of the hole. [ silent / silently ]
10. My cousin always walks very _____. [ quick / quickly ]
11. The work that my boss gave me was _____. [ easy / easily ]
12. Thomas is very _____. He always helps me. [ kind / kindly ]
13. The little boy _____ kept the cookie for himself. [ selfish / selfishly ]
14. The man _____ opened the door and looked inside. [ nervous / nervously ]
15. The fireman _____ rescued the people from the burning house. [ brave / bravely ]
16. I _____ offered to help my friend study for his exam. [ happy / happily ]
17. She is the most _____ person I know. [ polite / politely ]
18. It was midnight, and I heard a _____ noise outside. [ strange / strangely ]
