Adverbs of manner


Adverbs of manner

 
Adverbs of manner are usually formed from adjectives by adding –ly:
bad > badly; quiet > quietly; recent > recently; sudden > suddenly
but there are sometimes changes in spelling:
easy > easily; gentle > gently
If an adjective ends in –ly we use the phrase in a …. way to express manner:
Silly > He behaved in a silly way.
Friendly > She spoke in a friendly way.
A few adverbs of manner have the same form as the adjective:
They all worked hard.
She usually arrives late.
I hate driving fast.
Note: hardly and lately have different meanings:
He could hardly walk = It was difficult for him to walk.
I haven’t seen John lately = I haven’t seen John recently.
We often use phrases with like as adverbials of manner:
She slept like a baby.
He ran like a rabbit.

Adverbs of manner and link verbs

We very often use adverbials with like after link verbs:
Her hands felt like ice.
It smells like fresh bread.
But we do not use other adverbials of manner after link verbs. We use adjectives instead:
They looked happily happy.
That bread smells deliciously
delicious.

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