Giving information about manner: adverbs - Adverb forms and meanings related to adjectives

Giving information about manner: adverbs

types of adverbs 16 There are several types of adverbs:

adverbs of time, frequency, and duration, for example 'soon', 'often', and 'always'. Because these are all related to time, they are dealt with fully in Chapter

adverbs of place, for example 'around', 'downstairs', and 'underneath'. These are dealt with in the section on place beginning at paragraph 82.

adverbs of manner, for example 'beautifully', 'carefully', and 'silently'. See the section beginning at paragraph 36 for more information about these.

adverbs of degree, for example 'almost', the section beginning at paragraph 415 for more information about these.

linking adverbs, for example 'consequently', 'furthermore', and 'however'. These are dealt with in paragraphs 10.73 to 10.81.

sentence adverbs, for example 'alas', 'apparently', 'chiefly', and 'interestingly'. See the section beginning at paragraph 10.56 for more information on these.

broad negative adverbs, for example 'barely', 'hardly', 'rarely', 'scarcely', and 'seldom'. These are dealt with at paragraphs 83 to 90.

focusing adverbs, for example 'especially' and 'only'. These are dealt with in the section beginning at paragraph 10.87.

Adverb forms and meanings related to adjectives

17 Many adverbs are related to adjectives. The main relationships and rules of formation are explained below.

Many adverbs are formed by adding '-ly' to an adjective. For example, the adverbs 'quietly' and 'badly' are formed by adding '-ly' to the adjectives 'quiet' and 'bad'.

Most of the adverbs formed in this way are adverbs of manner, so some people refer to adverbs of manner as '-ly' adverbs.

Sit there quietly, and listen to this music.

I didn't play badly.

He reported accurately what they said.

He nodded and smiled warmly.

For more information about adjectives, see Chapter 2.

18 Some '-ly' adverbs have slightly different spellings from the adjectives they are related to, for example 'nastily', 'gently', 'terribly, 'academically', 'truly', and 'fully'. For information about these adverbs, see the Reference Section.

19 Not all adverbs ending in '-ly' are adverbs of manner. Some are adverbs of degree, such as 'extremely' and 'slightly': see the list at paragraph 4

I enjoyed the course immensely.

Mansell narrowed the gap slightly, but soon Prost was edging away again.

A few are adverbs of time, duration, or frequency, such as 'presently', 'briefly', and 'weekly': see the lists of these in Chapter

At 10.15 a.m. soldiers briefly opened fire again.

Mr Kinnock can presently be seen experiencing the same sort of trouble.

Others are adverbs of place, such as 'locally' and 'internationally', linking adverbs such as 'consequently', or sentence adverbs such as 'actually'. For lists of adverbs of place, see the section beginning at paragraph 82. For lists of sentence adverbs, see Chapter 10.

The lady replied: 'Well, you live locally and have never caused any bother.'

These efforts have received little credit internationally.

They did not preach. Consequently, they reached a vastly wider audience.

There suit remains something to say. Several things, actually.

20 Most adverbs formed by adding '-ly' to an adjective have a similar meaning to the adjective, for example 'quietly' and 'beautifully' have similar meanings to 'quiet' and 'beautiful'.

She is thoughtful, quiet and controlled.

'I'm going to do it', I said quietly.

His costumes are beautiful, a big improvement on the previous ones.

The girls had dressed more beautifully than ever, for him.

21 Some '-ly' adverbs have a different meaning from the meanings of their related adjectives. For example, 'hardly' means 'not very much' or 'almost not at all' and is not used with any of the meanings of the adjective 'hard'.

This has been a long hard day.

Her bedroom was so small she could hardly move in it.

22 Some '-ly' adverbs are not related to adjectives, for example 'accordingly'. Some are related to nouns, for example 'bodily', 'purposely', 'daily' and 'weekly'. For lists of these, see the Reference Section.

23 Adverbs ending in '-ly' are very rarely formed from some types of adjectives.

most classifying adjectives, for example 'racist', 'eastern', 'female', 'urban', 'foreign', and 'available'. See Chapter 2 for lists of classifying adjectives.

most colour adjectives, although '-ly' adverbs from these are occasionally found in works of literature.

His face appeared, lit redly.

He lay still, staring blackly up at the ceiling.

some very common qualitative adjectives which refer to basic qualities:

adjectives which already end in '-ly', for example 'friendly', 'lively', 'cowardly', 'ugly', and 'silly'.

most adjectives that end in '-ed', such as 'frightened' and 'surprised'. See the Reference Section for a list of the common ones which do form '-ly' adverbs, such as 'excitedly' and 'hurriedly'.

same form as adjective 24 In some cases, an adverb has the same form as an adjective and is similar in meaning. For example, 'fast' is an adverb in the sentence 'News travels fast' and an adjective in the sentence 'She likes fast cars'.

a fast rail link from London to the Channel Tunnel.

The driver was driving too fast for the conditions.

In these cases, the adverb is usually placed immediately after the verb or object, and rarely in front of the verb.

There are also a number of words ending in '-ly' which are both adverbs and adjectives, for example 'daily', 'monthly', and 'yearly'. These relate to frequency and are explained in paragraph 120.

25 Several postdeterminers, including 'further', 'next', 'only', 'opposite', and 'same', have the same form as adverbs but no direct relation in meaning. Note that 'well' is an adverb and adjective, but usually means 'not ill' as an adjective, and 'with skill or success' as an adverb.

He has done well.

two forms 26 Sometimes, two adverbs are related to the same adjective. One adverb has the same form as the adjective, and the other is formed by adding '-ly'.

He closed his eyes tight.

He closed his eyes tightly.

They also instituted a legacy which will cost this country dear.

Holes in the road are a menace which costs this country dearly in lost man hours every year.

The German manufacturer was urging me to cut out the middle man and deal with him direct.

The trend in recent years has been to deal directly with the supplier.

Here is a list of common adverbs that have both these forms:

Note that the '-ly' adverb often has a different meaning from the adverb with the same form as the adjective.

The river was running high and swiftly.

I thought highly of the idea.

He has worked hard.

Border could hardly make himself heard above the din.

When the snake strikes, its mouth opens wide.

Closing dates for applications vary widely.

Note that, with some words that are adverbs and adjectives, the addition of '-ly' forms a new adverb and a new adjective, for example 'dead' and 'deadly', 'low' and 'lowly'.

27 Some adjectives do not form adverbs at all. These include the common qualitative adjectives listed in paragraph 23, such as 'big' and 'old'.

Here is a list of some more adjectives that do not form adverbs:

Note that the adverbs relating to 'content' and 'drunk' are formed by adding '-ly'  to the forms 'contented' and 'drunken', thus giving 'contentedly' and 'drunkenly'.

28 If there is no adverb related to an adjective, and you want to give in additional information about an event or situation, you can often use a prepositional phrase.

In some cases, the prepositional phrase involves a noun that is related to the adjective. For example, there is no adverb related to the adjective 'difficult', but you can use the related noun 'difficulty' in the prepositional phrase 'with difficulty' instead.

He stood up slowly and with difficulty.

In other cases, for example with adjectives that end in '-ly', a general noun such as 'way', 'manner', or 'fashion' is used.

'Fishing?' she said in a silly way.

He greeted us in his usual friendly fashion.

Prepositional phrases may be used even if an adverb does exist, for example when you want to add more detailed information or to add emphasis.

She comforted the bereaved relatives in a dignified, compassionate and personalized manner.

At these extreme velocities, materials behave in a totally different manner from normal.

adverbs not related to adjectives 29 Some adverbs are not related to adjectives at all. This is especially true of adverbs of time and place. See Chapter 5 for adverbs of time, and the section beginning at paragraph 82 for adverbs of place.

It will soon be Christmas.

There are also some other adverbs that are not related to adjectives.

For a list of the common adverbs that are not related to adjectives, see the Reference Section.

Comparative and superlative adverbs

30 You may want to say how something happens or is done in relation to how it happens on a different occasion, or how it was done by someone or something else. You can do this by using adverbs in the comparative or superlative.

He began to speak more quickly.

Red-legged partridges are most commonly seen in the eastern counties of England.

Most adverbs of manner (see paragraph 36) have comparatives and superlatives.

A few other adverbs also have comparatives and superlatives: some adverbs of time ('early' and 'late', see paragraph 70), frequency ('often' and 'frequently', see paragraph 114), duration ('briefly', 'permanently', and 'long', see paragraph 123), and place ('near', 'close', 'deep', 'high', 'far', and 'low', see paragraphs 68 and 89).

31 The forms and uses of comparative and superlative adverbs are generally similar to those of adjectives. For more information about comparatives and superlatives of adjectives, see paragraphs 2.108 to 2.117.

However, unlike adjectives, the comparative of an adverb is usually formed with 'more' and the superlative with 'most', and not by adding '-er' and '-est'.

The people needed business skills so that they could manage themselves more effectively.

First she might have some useful information. More importantly, a damaging precedent could be set.

the text which Professor Williams's volume most closely resembles.

For me, Haitink is the conductor who re-writes those maps, most often and most convincingly.

irregular forms 32 Some very common adverbs have comparatives and superlatives that are single words and not formed using 'more' and 'most'. Note that adverbs that have irregular comparatives also have irregular superlatives.

'Well' has the comparative 'better' and the superlative 'best'.

She would ask him later, when she knew him better.

I have to find out what I can do best.

'Badly' has the comparative 'worse' and the superlative 'worst'.

'I don't think the crowd helped her,' Gordon admitted. 'She played worse.'

The expedition from Mozambique fared worst.

Note that 'worse' and 'worst' are also the comparative and superlative of 'ill' when it is an adverb or adjective.

33 Adverbs which have the same form as adjectives also have the same comparatives and superlatives as the adjectives. For example, 'fast' has 'faster' and 'fastest', and 'hard' has 'harder' and 'hardest'. For a list of common adverbs which have the same form as adjectives, see paragraph 2

This would enable claims to be dealt with faster.

They worked harder, they were more honest.

The winning blow is the one that strikes hardest.

The sugar should be preserving sugar as this dissolves fastest.

The tax burden increased fastest for the poor and for those with children.

34 Some adverbs have comparatives and superlatives with 'more' and 'most', but also have single word comparatives and superlatives.

They can be built more quickly.

You probably learn quicker by having lessons.

A child cools off quickest if the parents fade away and go about their business.

The American computer firm will be relying more heavily on its new Scottish plant.

South Africa's diamonds, gold, and uranium weigh heavier in the balance than Guinea's bananas.

The burden fell most heavily on Kanhai.

Illiteracy, like other forms of educational disadvantage, weighs heaviest on the groups who are already disadvantaged in other ways.

35 The structures involving comparatives and superlatives are generally the same for adverbs as for adjectives:

the use of 'no' and 'any' with comparatives: see paragraph 2.168

He fared no better on the other road.

Omoro didn't want to express it any more strongly.

the optional use of 'the' with superlatives: see paragraph 2.122

His shoulders hurt the worst.

Old people work hardest.

the use of submodifiers with comparatives and superlatives: see the section beginning at paragraph 2.162

The situation resolved itself much more easily than I had expect.

There the process progresses even more rapidly.

the use of 'than' after comparatives: see paragraph 2.111

This class continues to grow more rapidly than any other group.

Prices have been rising faster than incomes.

You might know this better than me.

They managed to keep his circulation going more successfully than we did.

repeating comparatives to indicate changes in extent: see paragraph 2.16

It continues to function more and more effectively.

Adverbs of manner

adverbs of manner 36 You often want to say something about the manner or circumstances of an event or situation. The most common way of doing this is by using adverbs of manner. Adverbs of manner give more information about the way in which an event or action takes place.

He nodded and smiled warmly.

The young man struck his father and accidentally killed him.

manner 37 Many adverbs of manner are used to describe the way in which something is done. For example, in the sentence 'He did it carefully', 'carefully' means 'in a careful way'.

They think, dress and live differently.

He acted very clumsily.

You must be able to speak fluently and correctly.

38 Here is a list of common '-ly' adverbs which describe the way in which something is done:

feelings and manner 39 Adverbs formed from adjectives which describe people's feelings, for example 'happily' or 'nervously', indicate both the way in which something is done and the feelings of the person who does it.

For example, the sentence 'She laughed happily' means both that she laughed in a happy way and that she was feeling happy.

We laughed and chatted happily together.

Gaskell got up wearily and headed for the stairs.

They looked anxiously at each other.

Rudfolph coughed miserably in the rain as he turned into Vanferhoff Street.

40 Here is a list of adverbs which describe the feelings of the person who does something as well as the way in which it is done:

41 Adverbs of manner can also indicate the circumstances in which something is done, rather than how it is done. For example, in the sentence 'He spoke to me privately' 'privately' means 'when no one else was present' rather than 'in a private way'.

After dinner she got hold of the President and spoke to him privately.

He had publicly called for an investigation of the entire school system.

Britain and France jointly suggested a plan in 195

Since then I have undertaken all the enquiries personally.

42 Here is a list of adverbs which are used to indicate the circumstances in which an action takes place:

43 Most adverbs of manner are formed from qualitative adjectives, for example 'stupidly' from 'stupid', and 'angrily' from 'angry'. For more information about the forms of adverbs, see paragraph 17.

44 Instead of using an adverb of manner, you can sometimes use prepositional phrases or noun groups to give more information about the manner or circumstances of an action.

'Come here,' he said in a low voice.

I know I have to do it this way.

In some cases you may have to do this, because there is no adverb. See paragraph 23.

Adverbs of degree

45 When you want to give more information about the extent of an action or the degree to which an action is performed, you often use an adverb of degree.

I enjoyed the course immensely.

I had almost forgotten about the trip.

Overall, the operation had gone very well.

46 Here is a list of adverbs of degree:

from adjectives 47 Adverbs of degree are often formed from adjectives by adding '-ly'. Some are formed from qualitative adjectives, for example 'deeply', 'hugely', and 'strongly', and some from classifying adjectives, for example 'absolutely', 'perfectly', and 'utterly'.

A few adverbs of degree are formed from postdeterminers, such as 'entirely'.

See Chapter 2 for more information about types of adjectives.

position in clause 48 You can use adverbs of degree in the usual position for adjuncts.

I admired him greatly.

I greatly enjoyed working with them.

Protesters say that tunnels could greatly reduce the environmental disturbance.

However, you rarely use an adverb of degree at the beginning of a clause. For example, you do not usually say 'Greatly I admired him'. For more information about placing adverbs at the beginning of a clause, see paragraph 10.93.

A few adverbs of degree are nearly always used in front of the main verb:

For example, you usually say 'He almost got there', not 'He got there almost'.

The president of the European Commission largely ignored the British conditions.

He really enjoyed talking about flying.

The result virtually ensures Scotland's place in the finals.

Some adverbs of degree are almost always used after the main verb:

This was a different level of communication altogether.

Mr Botha exaggerated somewhat in comparing the incursion with Hitler's invasion of Poland.

Spear says she admires Lloyd's tremendously.

49 A group of adverbs of degree are called emphasizing adverbs. These are formed from emphasizing adjectives (see paragraph 2.40).

Note that the emphasizing adverb 'outright' has the same form as an adjective, an adverb of manner, and an adverb of degree.

50 You use an emphasizing adverb such as 'absolutely', 'just', 'quite', or 'simply' to add emphasis to the action described by a verb. Emphasizing adverbs usually come in front of verbs.

I quite agree.

I absolutely agree.

I just know I'm going to be late.

I simply adore this flat.

In a verb group, the emphasizing adverb comes after the auxiliary or modal and in front of the verb.

Someone had simply appeared.

I was absolutely amazed.

However, 'absolutely' can occasionally be used after verbs as well.

I agree absolutely with what Geoffrey has said.

For other uses of emphasizing adverbs, see paragraphs 10.85 to 10.8

51 You can use some adverbs of degree in front of other adverbs. When adverbs of degree are used like this they are called submodifiers.

They can also be used as submodifiers in front of adjectives; this use is explained in paragraphs 2.145 to 2.173, where lists of submodifiers and their meanings are also given.

He prepared his speech very carefully.

He was having to work awfully hard.

Things changed really dramatically.

We get on extremely well with our neighbours.

We were able to hear everything pretty clearly.

The paper disintegrated fairly easily.

He dressed rather formally.

Every child reacts somewhat differently.

Note that 'moderately' and 'reasonably' are mainly used in front of adverbs which do not end in '-ly'.

He works reasonably hard.

A few adverbs of degree can be used as submodifiers with comparatives: see the section beginning at paragraph 2.162.

This could all be done very much more quickly.

I thanked him again, even more profusely than before.

I hope you can see slightly more clearly what is going on.

Note that 'still' can also be placed after the comparative.

They're doing better in some respects now. Of course they've got to do better still.

other adverbs of degree 52 There are some special adverbs of degree. These include 'much', which can be used as an adverb of degree in negative clauses, and in reported questions after 'how'.

Programs and program efficiency have not developed much.

These definitions do not help much.

They told the farmer how much they wanted to get the harvest in.

She had observed how much they disliked her.

'Very much' is also used in a similar way.

She is charming. We like her very much.

The comparative adverbs 'better' and 'worse' and the superlative adverbs 'best' and 'worst' can also be adverbs of degree.

You know him better than anyone else.

It is the land itself which suffers worst.

'More' and 'less' can be used as comparative adverbs of degree.

Her tears frightened him more than anything that had ever happened to him before.

The ground heats up less there.

'Most' and 'least' can be used as superlative adverbs of degree.

She gave me the opportunity to do what I wanted to do most.

They staged some of his least known operas.

Comparative adverbs and superlative adverbs are explained in the section beginning at paragraph 30.

The noun groups 'a bit', 'a great deal', 'a little', and 'a lot' are also used as adverbs of degree.

I don't like this a bit.

The situation's changed a great deal since then.